In my 31 years in the bath-and-kitchen industry, one element stands out for me as the most important in projects like those you are working on with your clients. Any project’s success as a whole will only be as good as the sum of its parts. With that in mind, the way I make my project successful for my client is to assemble the best team of people to execute the design the client has agreed to.

I should mention here that I’ve been involved on both the design and installation sides of the business at different times in my career. Today I am continuing to hone my skills as a designer, specializing in bath-and-kitchen showrooms. Previously, I worked my way through Kent State University as a carpenter on many home-remodeling jobs.

I also have been involved in projects for large corporations. These assignments have ranged from designing their 100,000-sq.-ft. facilities down to selecting flower arrangements for a client’s dinner party.

Creating a team of people that have talent, reliability, and passion for the project and their work is by far the hardest part of getting any concept from the drawing board to reality. Having said what I believe makes the most successful project, the next question is how do you as a designer or project manager get this dream team of people to perform for you, and make you look like a hero in the eyes of the client?

Where To Find Team Members

This kitchen remodel project was brought to my firm by a contractor I’ve had a long-standing relationship with, and I accepted the project based on that connection.

No matter where you live or what market you are in, it won’t take you long to find the best tradesmen, shops, contractors and designers. You’ll find the names of those who have a good reputation coming up time and time again. My experience as a tradesman and designer has shown that designers make the best source to find craftsmen. The reason for this is that designers travel in a very tight-knit community. For the most part, they know one another and openly share information.

Another source to help you create your dream team is a good general contractor. Such a general contractor knows that his finished project is only as good as his subcontractors.

Remember the line earlier that success as a whole will only be as good as the sum of its parts? Now, if you’re a showroom consultant and must assemble this dream team for your client’s projects, this quest will eventually pay great dividends in two ways:

1. You will have the right people to execute your projects, helping to create a great customer base and build your reputation as a quality source for future retail customers.

2. Creating a good team means that you are included in the team and your company will receive referrals from team members in the future as projects come in from their pool of contacts.

A contractor, one of my most trusted team members, brought a kitchen remodeling project to my firm recently when the customer asked him to solve design problems. I took on this difficult job mainly because of our long-standing relationship, which also helped us work together to satisfy the customer.

Keep in mind you should have several teams of people. Some members can overlap or be on multiple teams. I have four teams depending on the size and the scope of the project. My large commercial projects have one or two tradesmen who work on my smaller projects as well. Even though I have tradesmen that I have used for more than 20 years, I always keep my eye out for eager new talent, not to replace loyal workers but to fill gaps should schedules conflict.

What To Avoid

I have been involved in projects that range from designing a 100,000-sq.-ft. corporate facility down to selecting flower arrangements for a client's dinner party.

As with every scenario, you have to watch for the downsides. After a period of time, some people have a tendency to get complacent and maybe a bit sloppy in their work. They may give a little less effort because they may feel little need to impress anyone on your jobs. This is human nature.

I try to be lenient with my team players because I value their work as part of my success. I also hold their feet to the fire, however, and expect them to deliver nothing less than what the client is expecting.

Another issue that comes up, generally on larger jobs, is finger pointing. I see this frequently when I am introduced into a job after most of the team is already in place. The builder or general contractor can be heard saying, “It’s not on the drawings,” and the architect is saying, “That’s not what I wanted” or “It’s not in the specs.” This finger pointing adds tension to an already tense situation where we’re usually already dealing with deadlines, budgets and overruns.

The approach that I have had much success with is to have a meeting before beginning the project with as many team members as I can gather to present as much information as possible about the job at hand. This gives everybody the opportunity to speak up and inform other team members of needs, scheduling of work, sequence of events and any potential roadblocks to the project’s timely completion.

The main point I establish with the team is what is expected of them in the time frame allotted and, most importantly, that I will be available for help with any problems that come up. Members of my team know that they will be able to come to me for assistance. They realize that I welcome their thoughts and opinions for solutions, especially if we can head off potential problems before we become entrenched in them.

The approach that I have outlined may seem simple and just plain common sense. It is. And this approach can be applied to many other tasks you may encounter in your business.

I am always amazed at how many projects involving large amounts of money lack a cohesive team. Whether you are a team leader or a team member, if you start by implementing this approach, you will see others follow your lead.

Nothing is better at the end of a project than to hear how happy your client is with you and your team. And that you were part of the solution, not part of the problem.