By Brian Dunagan
Remember those days towards the end of your degree program when you were so excited to get your first job? You had the knowledge, skills, and energy to take on the world. Fast forward 20 to 30 years, and now you’re running the show with a great team and the work is streaming in. The projects are interesting and challenging, but along with the job is the real work - invoicing, paying the bills, managing your fine team, working with clients, answering emails and phone calls all day until the clock runs out. The day-to-day can get you down, so what keeps you in the game?
For me, it’s a love of structural design and the opportunity to interact with the whole design team to produce a finished product that exceeds the client’s expectations. I admit that it may seem a bit geeky, but seeing a beautifully designed form driven by structure gives me a thrill. Working with the architects and contractors to bring that design to life is the essence of why I love my job.
Now, this doesn’t happen every day or month, so I look for opportunities to get me to the next round. One such event is coming up next month, the BC Wood annual conference in British Columbia, Canada. I’ve been invited to attend and am really looking forward to it. Not only will I meet great people and enjoy the charms of Whistler, BC, but I’ll be learning about all sorts of new technology and practices that can add value to upcoming projects. Most people don’t get excited about cross-laminated timber or edge matched glulams, but I do! Being able to offer our clients cost-effective means of getting great results without breaking the bank is key to our continued success.
It will be a jam-packed couple of days and I’m excited to share what I learn in next month’s blog.
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