say is to join with those who think all contractors are crooks. Neither is accurate but the few give a bad name to the many. I am a firm believer that if we simply do right ourselves and serve others as we should, we will have more work than we can handle that is profitable, and we will be setting a high standard for everyone else. Michael Stone's advice: Make sure to meet the owner up front, and really understand the budget ahead of time. I have dealt with more than 90 different architec- tural firms over the years and it didn't take me long to figure out the stuff that Kevin and Mitt are talking about. To combat this, I simply told the ar- chitects that before I would do any estimate, I wanted to meet with the owner and we were going to discuss their budget for the job. No meeting with the owner, no estimate from our firm. I would not budge on that issue. If we had the meeting and the owner had realistic budget expectations, we would move on from there. If we had a meeting but the budget got in the way, then I would simply tell them to get their budget in line with reality and when they did, give me a call. That approach stops the games and the time wasting right up front. These points are useful. There are other points here, and these are defined from my rather extreme interdis- ciplinary focus. I've made it my business to know the var- ious trades/interests through the construction cycle, and that of course includes architects as well as contractors. Architects are battling against "low bid wins the job" mentalities in their own work selection process. They've been successful through the Brooks Act in the U.S. for public sector work in ensuring selection is based on quality rather than price (a practice, alas or fortunately, depending on your perspective) that gives a real advan- tage to incumbents with strong personal relationships with procuring authorities. Great architects in the private sector also combine the relationship-focused rather than price-based selection process with a strong value deliv- ery model; the most astute are forging these with Build- ing Information Modelling and Integrated Project Design initiatives, where the architect/contractor and owner align their interests and objectives from the start. In the residential project environment, architects usu- ally enter the picture for higher-end initiatives rather than mass-market tract homes. (In Canada, it seems, even the largest home builders often hire designers rather than professional architects to develop their in-house plans.) Here, it seems, you should be able to work within a community of knowledgeable individuals with reason- able budgets and expectations, and know when to walk when below-profit pricing is in the picture. Easier said than done, I realize, when you are strug- gling to stay afloat. I think the key (though a longer term answer than a quick fix) is to really build your architec- tural relationships through community and association contributions, and then be selective about where you work. Mark Buckshon is president of the Construction News and Report Group of Companies, which pub- lishes the Canadian Design and Construction Report and several other publications and websites in both Canada and the U.S. He has written two books relating to construction marketing and social media, and a pub- lishes a daily blog at www.constructionmar- ketingideas.com. He can be reached at buckshon@cadcr.com or (888) 432-3555 ext 224. www.merx.com/events merk@merx.com www.merx.com The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Spring 2014 – 11