b'PRESIDENTS LETTERChris WalkerWhere do you live? Tiletopia or Tiletropolis?InTiletopia,substratesareper- paying for others mistakes.fectlyflat,trueandsquare.ClientsHowdoyoumovecloserto diligently seek out the highest-qual- Tiletopia? Knowing and getting paid ity,mostprofessionalinstallertheyforyourexpertise,beingincon-canfind,andhappilypaythemtrolofyouroutcomesbysteering the full amount of their responsiblethejobonewayortheother,and quotebecausetheyareconfidentfinally,choosingjobsandclients thataprincipled,competent,well- that move you closer to your desired trained professional is being retaineddestination. We wish all of our proj-to deliver a first-class project.ects resided in Tiletopia.But some-CuttoTiletropolis:rough,poorlytimes, even when we see it coming, bonded substrates are common. NoTiletropolis sneaks in to undermine allowance exists to repair or replaceour hard work and training. conditionsthatwillsurelyleadtoPlanning is the cure for the slide failure. Preceding trades do not com- into Tiletropolis, but it requires you plete critical tasks, assuring difficultyto continually evaluate if your deci-for follow-on trades in a cascading,sions are on track so you do not get snowballingdescentintodisaster.absorbed by todays crisis du jour. As Five-spottrunkslammercon-artistsstated before, Not having a target is infuriate and disappoint clients whoa sure way to not hit one. Once you were intent on finding loopholes inhave a target, it is an art form to keep your agreement that allowed them tofocusedonit.Perhapsevenmore hold up or not pay you anyway. Grimdifficult is bringing others into your stuff, right!?!plan to help push it along.The good news is, fairy tales real- Accordingtomypreferredrecol-ly can come true! You just need tolectionofaconstructioneragone do your best to control which placeby, every job had a weathered, sea-you live. For the past few months,soned old guy on site. He had an un-thePresidentsLettershavetalkedlit(sometimeslit)cigarpermanently aboutknowingyourworth,pre- affixedinthecornerofhismouth. paring,beingorganizedtodeliverHes the superintendent. He built the ahigh-qualityproduct;essentiallystructurefromthegroundup.He protectingyourselftolessenthewalkedthesite,continuallyobserv-chancethatyoubecometheoneing how every nut and bolt was being 20TileLetter | March 2020'