Critique

Lately I’ve been doing some reflecting on some online discussions I’ve had with some Facebook friends.

Before I go on, let me say something about FB. A number of folks I know through business have invited me to be their Facebook  friends, which of course is flattering. Although I’ve allowed a few business associates in, I try to keep Facebook for actual people I know, most of whom are personal friends, former classmates and such. Please undertstand if I ignore a request. I’d be glad to link up through LinkedIn, which I do use for business. Thanks.

Back to the premise for this post.

A couple of my friends are very outspoken politically. One is on the left and the other on the right. Both are pretty much yellow dog voters and neither is good at seeing the other side. As a result many of their debates result in ad hominem attacks. In my view, if you want to make a point, stick to the issue and support your position with facts. It’s not that different from designing a landscape actually.

Anyway, it made me wonder: Is there a place for critiquing the individual rather than the individual’s actions? I most definitely say “yes.” BUT, and there must be one, it ought to be a positive critique.

Here’s what I’m getting at.  If an employee, colleague or child does a really bad job at something, criticize the job,not the person. “Gee, I don’t think this is your best effort” is better than “You are an idiot and incapable of doing anything right!”

BUT, if that same person does a really nice job, sure you can say, “Wow you did a great job!” But you can also say, “You know, Hugo, you have gotten really good at this!” Both are positive, but just as a negative ad hominem attack is personal in a negative sense, if you make it personal in a positive sense, it’s that much more powerful. It’s just my opinion though.

On a related note, if someone compliments you, you can simply say, “Thank  you,” or you can even add “Aren’t you nice?” and throw it back!

I’m interested in comments if you have any.

Leaves

I firmly believe that leaves belong on trees. When they end up on the lawn, that means 2 things. One is that winter isn’t far away. The other is that I have to do something with them. So, rather than gather them and toss them over the fence, this year we decided to clean them up.

Like any other kids, mine like to make a big leaf pile. Fortunately they are old enough rake and use the leaf blower, so that means less work for Dad. When they were done, I chopped them up with the mower and bagged them. I see lots of people bagging without chopping, and I guess that’s up to them, but it seems inefficient to me.

After chopping, which takes only a few minutes, they don’t blow around as much. Wind is the enemy. Also, they take less space and fewer bags!

In past years, I’ve spread the leaves around the garden and mulched in my roses for winter. I’ll probably do that with the next batch next weekend.

It’s hard to believe that that big pile fit into two bags! Granted, most were dry silver maple leaves. I don’t know that I would have had the same success with wet Norway maple or oak leaves.

More Ideas

None of these are original. All were received in an email and I thought they would make a nice addition to my Ideas post.

Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone-else to hold them while you chop.

Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

For high-blood-pressure sufferers, simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you’ve hit the “Snooze” button.

If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives. Then you’ll be afraid to cough.

You need only two tools in life: WD-40, and duct tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape.

If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you’ve obviously got an electrical problem.

Ideas

My kids don’t like a lot of my ideas. Well, I can tell you I do get a lot of ideas. I can also tell you that not all of them are GOOD ideas. But, Linus Pauling said, “The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas.” That’s why brainstorming sessions are so effective.

So…here are some…ideas. You be the judge.

Since we turn off the lights when we leave a room, I figure why not turn off the TV during commercials?

Likewise, when at  a red light, why keep the engine running? Just shut it off and save some gas…and the planet, of course.

Reuse dental floss and coffee filters.

TV and water used to be free. Now we pay for cable and buy water in bottles. Last week a salesman came in to my business to sell me a new concept. He suggested I could save the hassle and cost of the jugs for the water cooler by using their new product that uses no bottles! They hook up a water line and fresh cool water comes out! No bottles! I told him I’ve already got one of those.

Okay, one more idea, but I will not accept credit, except for bringing it to your attention.

http://www.landscapeonline.com/research/article/7840

Office Space in Glenview

If you know anyone looking, we have some space available in our building on Waukegan Rd. in Glenview, IL.

Click here for listing.

Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future….

Just read a really great blog entry by college friend and fraternity brother Howard Getson. Take a look: Click here.

Just Thinking…

I was doing some thinking. Do you?

“I think therefore I am.” – René Descartes

“Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too.” – Voltaire

“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.” – von Goethe

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” – Oscar Wilde

“No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.” Voltaire

“The world we have created is a product of our thinking.” -Albert Einstein

“What luck for rulers, that men do not think.” Adolf Hitler

And one of my favorites: Thinking As A Hobby by William Golding. Download at MS Word here.

“Please consider your commitment to our environment before printing this email”

This tag line appears at the bottom of a lot of emails I get. Maybe you’ve noticed it too.

A few observations:

• There are many people who prefer to read printed words rather than those on a screen. Or they would rather sit in a comfortable chair to read, so they print many of their longer emails to read later. By the time the get to the tagline….too late! How about make it your first line?
• I thought that recycling saves the planet??? If I don’t print, I don’t have anything to recycle. Hmmmm…. a conundrum. Probably better to print, you know, just to be safe.
• Have you seen Google’s new service?

Speechless

I’m not quite sure what to say, other than “Wow!”

Teleseminar

On September 23 and 24, I participated in a teleseminar hosted by Chris Heiler of LandscapeLeadership.com. If you are interested in downloading the recordings, click here. It was an interesting experience and an opportunity to meet Jeffrey Scott. Our topic for the first night was “Understanding The Value of Design.” The second night was entitled “Surviving in a Struggling Economy.”

Over the course of the two nights we discussed a number of things. One that is a hot spot for many landscape designers is that of charging design fees. Can you charge them? How much? Do you rebate? All tough questions with no black and white answers.

For the majority of my professional life, I have charged a pretty healthy design fee, at least compared with other design/build companies. But it was never enough to fully cover the time spent. We never rebated. It’s a matter of principle. But it’s also more complicated than that. It will take several blog entries to cover.

As a small company, doing fairly complicated projects, we couldn’t whip out a decent design in an hour or two. When you have 30, 40, 50, 60 or more hours in a design, you can’t afford to give it away. But how much can you charge? That’s a tough one. If you are design/build, the goal is to build it. There is a pain threshold that cannot be ignored. If you do, sure, you may get your design fee, but you may alienate the client and lose the installation. At least that’s the way I view it.

It’s not a black and white issue, and there are some creative ways to go about putting a value on your time, getting a commitment from your client, and maintaining a professional image. More later.