Flipp There are apparently no types inherent to the construction contractor trades. We have introverts and extroverts, dreamers and schemers, plodders and sprinters. There couldn't be one best way to be a contractor, though we each carry some notion of what constitutes the best set of attributes for one to possess. Jesse, the structural contractor who will install the new beams to support the roof, also agreed to prepare the proposal for replacing the underlying structure beneath the front porch deck, a separately permitted project spawned by the porch work. Both are exacting efforts requiring skills in three simultaneous dimensions. Despite this old place not natively exhibiting level or plumbness, he'll create level and plumb-enough elements that should harmoniously mesh with existing elements. He came over yesterday to assess what the porch work will require. He asked hard questions. I called Pablo, the concrete contractor, for some answers and Joel, our carpenter, for others.

I am learning that I tend to misrepresent measurements. I couldn't, for instance, recall if the porch deck stock was specified as 3/8 or 3/4 thick, so I called Joel to get Jesse a correct answer. Contractors naturally presume the owner knows more about the project than he probably could. As the owner, I want to avoid ceding one of my few presumed superpowers, so I can goad myself into specifying stuff I should properly let my other contractors correctly specify. Jesse and I discussed the sense that credibility might be stressed and how he responds to those internal pressures. He, too, can goad himself into a certainty unwarranted by the circumstances, and he's learning, like I'm learning, to remain watchful so that he can catch himself behaving like that self he'd rather not make such decisions. It's a constant struggle to stay authentic, which was why I was following Jesse around, asking my innocuous questions while he was trying to estimate effort. We were getting to know each other, recognizing our gifts and acknowledging our differences. We might one day perform more seamlessly as a result.

We adopt curious beliefs to resolve the inherent ambiguity around us. Jesse and I discussed one of the more curious notions, that the customer is always right. I confessed that my years working as a consultant convinced me that the customer was probably almost always wrong, and it never helped when either of us presumed their underlying rightness instead. Customers can be wrong without losing their status as customers. The provider need not rub their customer's nose in their ignorance, for that act would disclose a certain ignorance on the provider's part. Until the provider learns the language capable of informing their customer of their errors, they act as a pretender more than a provider. If the customer needs their provider to stroke their ego, they will be dissatisfied with their provider. Providers are wise when carefully choosing their customers, especially when they need the work. One really should be at least yea high before fully qualifying as either customer or provider. Only certain maturities need apply.

However, in every project, one or two people will have yet to figure out who they are relative to the rest of the world. Every project becomes a passion play where participants play out their personality traits with each other on their own big stage. I will always find the most extroverted the most annoying and appreciate perhaps more than warranted the otherwise underappreciated, quiet, introverted ones. Likes attract, but they say little about ability or competence. I play out my shit even when in the role of the owner. I sense some projecting their owner garbage onto me just because of my position and perhaps due to a bad experience with some owner in their past. Who we decide to be this time will prove defining, for this project presents a fresh opportunity to confirm and also disconfirm previous experience. Whether or not we recognize ourselves in it, we write our own story here.

I explained to Jesse that the best I've managed after so many project years expended might be that projects always turn out the way they were supposed to turn out. They were never even distantly intended to turn out as expected, for the chances of that happening in this universe remained something close to zero, probably negative. It's incumbent upon us to recognize the beneficence of whatever the cement mixer spits out and to address any shortcomings that might result. We dare not hold ourselves to narrow expectations and principles but nurture broader generosity between us. You get to be you and, me; I get to be me. Diversity will rule this engagement, too, just like always, and our GiftsDiffering will undoubtedly surprise and perhaps even delight us in the end.

©2024 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #Grace, #PureSchmaltz