Murphy’s Law and Its Variations

Today I had quite a chuckle…

In the early afternoon, I received a call from one of my clients about a project… he wanted to know if we had received the drawings and specs yet. I told him “no,” and that I didn’t expect them to arrive today. I assured him that I would let him know when they did.

And… what do you know… 20 minutes later, UPS delivered the drawings and specs. So, far, no big deal. It’s like UPS waited for me to call him before delivering! Sometimes it just happens that way.

Keeping my promise, I promptly emailed my client that the packages have arrived… and I mentioned something about this being a funny sample of Murphy’s Law, that the declaration that we haven’t gotten the drawings caused them to appear.

Shortly thereafter, I received a response

“I typically operate under O'Toole's Law, which is, Murphy was an optimist. I received this email seconds after I emailed the architect to assure me that we were on track. Timing is everything.”

Well, this was hilarious. LOL (laugh out loud). Ok, I couldn’t let this go. I wasn’t familiar with O’Toole’s Law, so off to Google, and subsequently to Wikipedia I went! I became enlightened with the many variations and adaptations to Murphy’s Law:

Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Murphy’s Paradox: The more you plan, the more will go wrong. The less you plan, the more likely that you will fail.

Murphy’s Extended Law: If a series of events can go wrong, they will do so in the worst possible sequence.

O’Toole’s Commentary on Murphy’s Law: Murphy was an optimist.

Silverman’s Paradox: If Murphy’s Law can go wrong, it will.

Finagle’s Law of Dynamic Negatives (Corollary to Murphy’s Law): Anything that can go wrong, will – at the worst possible moment.

I also found other laws, with a similar view as Murphy:

The Unspeakable Law: As soon as you mention something, if it’s good, it goes away; if it’s bad, it happens.

Non-reciprocal Laws of Expectations: Negative expectations yield negative results. Positive expectations yield negative results.

Howe’s Law: Every man has a scheme which will not work.

Zymurgy’s First Law of Evolving System Dynamics: Once you open a can of worms, the only way to re-can them is to use a larger can.

Skinner’s Constant: The quantity which must be multiplied by, divided by, added to or subtracted from the answer you get to give the answer you should have got.

Law of Selective Gravity: An object will fall so as to do the most damage.

Barth’s Distinction: There are two types of people: those who divide people into two types and those who do not.

Ninety-Ninety Rules of Project Schedules: The first 90% of the job takes 90% of the time, the last 10% takes the other 90%.

I was amazed at how many of these laws directly apply to the construction industry!

~Natalie Nigro
President of Nigro Firm, Inc.

What does the economic stimulus package mean to the construction industry?

Newly inaugurated President Barack Obama reports that his $825 billion stimulus package will create or save 3 to 4 million jobs. But what does this mean to the construction industry?

By doling out about $90 billion towards building and repairing highways, bridges, mass transit systems and other infrastructure projects, including "greening" of existing structures and renovating schools, 670,000 new construction jobs are expected to be created by the end of 2010.

Other types of construction related companies could also gain thousands of jobs, according to a study funded by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, including steel makers, concrete, cement, glass, rubber and plastics manufacturers.

How does this effect companies like the Nigro Firm? Our company is a pre-construction service company that performs construction document coordination reviews. We have many years of experience in reviewing construction drawings for public buildings like schools, mass transit structures, fire houses, police stations, libraries, museums, hospitals, universities and more. We expect that we will continue performing these types of reviews and will greatly benefit from the funds filtering into these types of projects. So we are anticipating positive results if the stimulus package is approved and implemented as outlined.

See,

Meltdown 101: What jobs might the stimulus create?

Obama Speaks on Trade, Manufacturing

Small Business Marketing: White Papers

The infamous white paper... Just what are they anyway? Can your company benefit from a collection of them?And should you write them yourself?

We just recently started working with an account executive (sales professional) who has spent many years working in the technology industry. In that industry, the white paper is a standard piece of sales collateral and he asked us if we had such a thing. And we sadly did not. So we have started to work on pulling much of our sales material, industry information and studies into something that can be called a white paper.

So what is a white paper?
White papers started out as an "authoritative" guide to solving a problem, originally as a parliamentary paper enunciating government policy. Currently, white papers are better known as a piece of marketing material, often focusing on how a specific product can offer a solution to a perceived or real industry problem.

What are the benefits of white papers?
White papers give you the opportunity, with quite a bit of text and detail, to explain how your product and services can solve a problem for your potential clients or customers. In our case, we will focus on how our construction document review services can save interested parties tons of money. It is difficult to quantify how well white papers work, but marketers and many companies believe they do and 46 % of content marketers are expected to devote funds to white papers in 2009. (See Marketers focus on content in 2009).

Should you write them yourselves?
This could go either way. In one respect you and those in your company know your product inside and out and know what kind of image you want to project. Also, some white paper writers are expensive, some writers advertise at $2000-$7500 per white paper. On the other hand, professional white paper writers have experience. It takes experience to know how to narrow focus in on a product and present information in a clear and concise manner. You could also write them yourself and then hire a professional editor to review it, which can run about $40/ hour depending on who you work with. Other editors charge per word or per contract.

Since The Nigro Firm likes the hands on approach and is a relatively small company compared to most construction service companies, we are going to write our own and have them peer edited and professionally edited. So, look forward to seeing those soon.

For more information, check out:
Writing White Papers
White Paper Source
Study Guides and Strategies, Writing White Papers
Writing a White Paper

Cartoonist: Working with Chaise Payan

We have been working with cartoonist Chaise Payan for a while now, he has created many colorful, creative and fun cartoons for us, many of which are featured on Blueprint Bluepers. Working with a cartoonist is interesting, especially considering he has to take our ideas and real construction document errors and turn them into art. This is one of the first so-called "professional" contracts this young artist has had, it has been a unique experience for him to migrate from creating art that he wants to do, to creating art that a client wants. But he has met the challenge and is doing a great job, we really like working with him.

Here are some thoughts from the President, Natalie Nigro, about working with Chaise.

1 – His attention to detail is amazing. Not only that, there is almost always fun stuff hiding in his cartoons, for example look more closely at “I Heart F...” in the cartoon "Dead End Exit," the text wraps around the mug out of view, we keep wondering what word the F starts?

2 – He always comes up with stuff that we would never expect or be able to think up ourselves… but his cartoon ideas are always fabulous! All we have to do is give him the gist of an idea, brainstorm with it a bit, and he runs with it. He knows us and what we like and then comes up with highly creative, wonderful pieces.

To turn the tables, when we asked Chaise what it was like to work with the Nigro Firm he said, "One thing I find interesting in creating images is how people react to them, so it's nice to work directly with a team of people that are responsive to what I'm making."

We have four new cartoons coming up, here is a sneak preview of one that we are getting ready to publish.

We haven't come up with the text yet, but we can't help but compare this cartoon beagle to real canine behavior.



Someone even created a porcelain replica of a beagle enjoying a doggie "water fountain."

Well, come back soon and visit Blueprint Bluepers to see our great cartoons created by Chaise.

Small Business Marketing: Branding and naming your product

One of the steps in every companies marketing process is the branding of their product. The Nigro Firm faces a challenge that many companies have faced, how do you name or brand a product that is so hard to describe in only a few words?

Our services are referred to in a variety of ways, as constructablity reviews, construction document reviews, design coordination reviews, interdisciplinary coordination reviews, construction document cross checks and our favorite, since it is the most accurate, construction document coordination reviews. However, none of these terms or phrases roll of the tongue and none of them are that creative, they are just a description really.

So, when it comes to branding the Nigro Firm product we are faced with a unique challenge. How do we turn "construction document coordination review" into something that is easy to say and remember? We haven't come up with anything yet, but in the thinking process we are going to keep a few points in mind:

• The name should some how relate to the service.
• The brand name should not be so close to a competitors name that they get confused.
• Don't get so creative that people can't figure out how to spell it or say it.
• Since we work with companies all over the planet it should be something that is flexible enough to be used in any country.
• The name should make sense and send a clear message.
• It should be something that is not dated, it should be able to stand the test of time.

Well, we are off to the think tank; we will let you know when we come up with something.

About the Nigro Firm: Working with Natalie Nigro

It may sound cliche, but we all know that a company is only as good as its' people.

So in order for you to get to know us a little better, from the inside out, I am going to tell you about the inner core of the Nigro Firm. I am going to tell you a little about Natalie Nigro our President. And not the kind of stuff you typically see in a resume or a company portfolio, I am going to tell you a little about her, what she likes and dislikes and what it is like to meet her.

First Meeting
When I first met Natalie Nigro, I was coming in to talk to her because I heard from a friend that they were looking for someone to help out in the office. I think I actually met Natalie and Shirley, her mother and partner, on a Saturday afternoon, to accommodate my work schedule at the time. My first impression was that she was cheery, personable and curious about me, how I worked and how I thought. It turned out that I did not fit the position she was looking for, but she thought she could fit me into the company in a different capacity. She asked me when I could start and I said, "Right now." And she took me up on it. Our first project, believe it or not, was to install an office corner desk. A few seconds into the project I already figured out how Natalie and Shirley work together, how their different talents and strengths could be focused into a single project. Shirley was working the tools and lying under the desk taking care of the "infrastructure" so to speak and Natalie had the level out ensuring "quality control." As soon as I saw Natalie pull the level out and REALLY use it, I knew what kind of lady I was going to be working with.

Personality Traits
Natalie is a dynamic and intelligent woman, but here are a few of the highlights:

• She is a list maker and actually completes her tasks.


• She is a researcher... she never starts a new endeavor without knowing what she is getting into.


• She has a big brain... she can understand complex topics, mathematics, physics and tedious procedures.


• She rarely gets angry, but if she does, she has a really good reason.


• She is a good communicator and knows how to handle delicate or stressful topics without stressing out who she is talking to.


• She is extremely flexible, except when it comes to deadlines.


• She is always willing to lend a helping hand, which is why she has to get out of the office from time to time, otherwise she would never stop helping reviewers.
  

Things she likes (not work related):

• World of Warcraft (WOW)... she would play all night if she could.
  
• Beagles and cute kitties or any stray that needs a home.


• Raw, vegan, vegetarian and organic food, though if she has to cook, pizza delivered is good enough.


• Collectible swords, shields and medieval weapons... she even has a spear in her office.


• American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.


• Dog training and organic pet diets... she makes the beagles' dog food every day, no store bought bags of dog food for them.
  

Things she does not like (not work related):

• Yard work, mowing lawns or snow removal... if on her own she would have a condo.


• Heavy metal or hard rock and roll... Barbra Streisand and Abba suit her fine.


• Spicy food... mild is her version of "hot and spicy."


• Uncomfortable clothes... no high heels or business dress for her, unless she absolutely must.


• Mornings... though she does often work in the early hours of the morning, she would rather work at the crack of noon.

Well, now you know a little about Natalie Nigro. So next time you call her up to plan a coordination review you can ask her how the beagles are and how late she stayed up the night before playing WOW.

And if you want to read a little about her in a professional sense see, The Nigro Firm's President Natalie Nigro.

Or check out, Who answers the phones at the Nigro Firm.

You are also always welcome to just give her a call, she will tell you all about construction document coordination reviews.

Authored by:
Pamela S. Stevens, Content Development and Writer

Top 10 Ways to Save Money in Construction Costs in 2009 (Not Really)

We like to have fun every now and then and inject humor into our sites, as the new year approaches we have created our top ten ways to save money in your constructions costs and the cost of running your company in 2009...not really, meaning really DON'T follow these tips, they are just for fun.

Top Ten Ways to Save Money for Construction Companies in 2009...Not Really

10. Require all offices to run the coffee maker TWICE per each load of coffee grounds and reuse the filter.

9. Replace all toilet rolls with single ply paper and only allow each employee to use one square per visit.

8. Save costs on gas by only working on projects downhill from the construction supply center.

7. Reduce the number of porta-potties on site and supply a bucket for overflow.

6. Instead of providing a weekly box of donuts just buy a single bag of M&Ms and give out one to each person.

5. Cover worn tread on work truck tires with duct tape, duct tape fixes everything right?

4. Use error ridden construction drawings to line the inside of worn out work boots to keep your crews feet warm and dry.

3. Replace all company cell phones with two cans and a string or pagers recovered from 1989.

2. Go back to dial-up, it will slow down your Internet service to the point that your employees will get frustrated with trying to shop on Amazon or check their MySpace and will actually get bored enough to ...work.

1. Call us...seriously, no kidding, joking aside we can save you tons of money. Give us a call.