We are a process oriented firm.  We see this as one of our strengths and one of our differentiations.  Not many creative firms seem to understand the value of process.  We spell out several of our processes (interpretive planning, design-build, quality control, etc.) in most of our proposals.  We’ve heard from several of our clients that one of the reasons they hired us was because of our processes and procedures.  While that’s a great thing for us, we’ve noticed that these are typically the clients that have gone through the process of building exhibits more than once which means they have probably worked with other firms that were not process oriented (or the project manager has a business background and appreciates a thorough plan of attack).  These clients understand the importance of process and procedures and the benefits of working with a firm who believes in them.

My question is, how do we make the clients who have never worked on an exhibit project before understand the importance of a well-defined and thought-out process?  Well, it’s difficult.  As a proposal writer, it’s something I’ve been trying to improve upon for the past three years.  Something I had never considered before, until a meeting earlier this week, was that some clients may glance over our procedures and immediately see dollar signs.  Is that true?  I see them as a cost saving measure – they keep the project on schedule, within budget, they keep the team on track, all decisions are documented as to avoid miscommunication and costly mistakes, deliverables are spelled out so there are no surprises at the end of each phase, etc.  For example, at our kickoff meeting (our first meeting with a client) we may spend an hour filling out our extensive measurement checklist. This may ultimately save time however, because by depending solely on the architect’s floor plan, the client’s grand opening could really be spoiled if we arrive for installation and find out we need to re-fabricate something because something doesn’t fit.  A few of us visited a museum last week where one of their exhibits had to be re-fabricated because the designer mismeasured something by four feet!  It seems inconceivable that a professional could make a mistake like that, but we’re all human, so procedures help guard against human error.

Our processes and procedures are in place to help.  Not to add red tape for the sake of red tape and not to waste time just to run up the bill.  We have taken the lessons learned from every project we have completed over the last 19 years to formulate a plan for every project going forward that helps us avoid the mistakes made on previous projects.  Mistakes happen, but we learn from them and try to not let them happen again.

If you’ve been the recipient of one of our proposals, We'd really appreciate hearing from you.  One of our core values is constant improvement, so any reactions or constructive criticism would be useful.

If you haven’t received one of our proposals, but have thoughts about processes and procedures, We'd love to hear from you, too.