Don’t Cut Back on Training!
During tough economic times, it’s easy to cut back.  But cutting training can have serious disadvantages.

It’s not unusual to cut back on manpower, purchases, and many other costs when times are tough and business is down.  Let’s face it – this year is a challenging one!  And when the going gets tough, you need your team to be at their best.  As the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going!

That’s why it’s more important than ever to realize how important training is for your company.  When you postpone maintenance or sales  training, you’re putting your company’s assets at risk because there is a much higher likelihood that there will be ...

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Manipulating the Eye 1: The Power of Lines in Design
Understand the clients’ desires and the space’s limitations, then use line to make it seem larger, or smaller, or more interesting.

As landscape designers, we are required to worry about so many structural and scientific elements in design that when it does come down to the look that the client wants, we’ve made many concessions.  These concessions may focus on function, site assets, and the site’s constraints.
 
Before design begins
There is a hierarchy of priorities that usually take precedent before we can begin the actual design, such as ...

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Meet a Design/Build Revolutionary: Ralph Brown

Profile: Ralph Brown, Director of Business Development, Hardeman Landscape Nursery Inc., Tampa, FL

Employees: Approximately 50 employees + office staff

Mix: 65% Commercial Bid/Build, 35% Residential Design/Build, plus some maintenance

Affiliated companies are:

• Sitecrafters of Florida Inc. — Site Development Work
• Hardeman Kempton & Associates — Landscape Architecture

Years in Landscape Business: 20+

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What's New at the Kinman Institute
What can you learn in a Model Making Class?

In past years, the Kinman Institute has offered a Model Making class for the ‘non artist’ — someone who wants to create a visual resource to the client to show their design intent but without drawings or blueprints.  In this supplemental class, participants learn they can create a model as fast, or faster, than a drawing.  They also learn how to use models as a presentation sales tool to show the client how construction should be executed.  They can also use models to show construction foremen and managers the plan.

Are you interested in the Model Making class?  This class, like the upcoming Construction Techniques class, will be offered on a supplemental basis.

For more information on these classes or regular Kinman Institute seminars, visit www.kinmaninstitute.com, email: cynthia@kinmaninstitute.com, or phone: 614-764-8733(TREE).

Past Articles

Check out these articles from previous issues of Design Build Revolution.

• Challenge Yourself to Design Better

• The Value of Networking, and Why We Should Network with ‘True’ Peers

• Travel Inspires Us All

• Buy my bushes, please!

• What You Don’t Know Can Help You

• How to Lead Your Business Through Uncertain Times

• Get Paid for Design

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