An Introduction

The last time I went to D.C. for a retail installation, I had to make a stop at the World Bank for one of our projects. It was late in the day, raining cats and dogs, no umbrella, but I had to make a quick, 15-minute stop on the way to the airport to catch a flight home. I was DETERMINED to catch that flight.

Well, 15 minutes turned into 30, and when I got back to the rental car parked on the street, not only was the wrecker in the process of towing it, but I received a ticket. Panic set in. In order to catch my plane, I would first have to follow the wrecker, get my car out of hock, and then return my car to the rental agency.

You can probably imagine how much that stop cost me.

We had a good laugh about it over staff meeting the following Monday morning, and after we all finished laughing, we decided that the issues that inevitably come up on retail projects – both big and small - are generally pretty funny.

While the car issue was of my own creation, in the retail world, you're subject to a long list of complications because of the number of variables - both man-made and otherwise – that can affect a project. Some days I kind of feel like Indiana Jones with that big, rolling boulder headed straight at me ... but without the soundtrack. It's usually a little comical ... and sometimes very comical.

So this blog is for sharing a laugh or two in our ongoing quest to deliver on time, on budget, and with zero headaches for our clients ... which we are able to pull off, despite the road-blocks) 99% of the time.

I hope these entries bring you a laugh as well. Enjoy.

P.S. I managed to make my scheduled flight.