BUILDING - A House or a Brand

I recently learned a lot about building a house. After some thought, I have decided the process is probably much like building a brand.

WORLDTEMPUS - 30 November 2011

Elizabeth Doerr 

Chronicle

Have you ever been involved in the process of building a house? I recently have and what I learned could definitely be applied to building anything – like a company, a brand or a timepiece. There are so many details, big and small, that add up to make one agreeable whole. And if just one of those details is not up to snuff, it can throw the entire process off.

Communication

The first important thing is communication. Someone needs to oversee building, and this is generally the architect, though some owners are the do-it-yourself types and take this task on. I think that it’s always good to hire specialists in their fields, which in the long run will make for a better result or product. I’m a journalist and not a builder, so I was really glad to have hired a competent architect with experience in the field. It made the entire process much more enjoyable and definitely run smoother. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that without my architect, I would never have known to insist on certain aspects, know if I was being cheated in price or what is even in the realm of possibility with respect to my wishes.

House building and brand building both need organization emerging from chaos – or even nothing at all – to succeed. © Worldtempus/Elizabeth Doerr

Watch companies should do the same: hire experts. If you’re a watchmaker, you should be making watches. If you need to sell these watches, it’s best to hire an experienced salesman to get the products get to market. This advice is valid for every size watch company – and free. One-man-shows will simply do better and earn more if experts are in place to handle the details they are best at.

The architect is responsible for hiring tradesmen, handymen and workmen involved in the demolition and rebuilding process and coordinating the timing. This is a very important point because if the workmen don’t come at their allotted time, there will undoubtedly be hiccups and, as a result, delays. Thus, direct and constant communication is a must.

Watch companies need to do the same in order to make a watch, which comprises hundreds of little parts, many of which are not made on premises. Coordinating the supplied parts can certainly be tough and it only takes one component not being delivered on time to delay the completion of a watch. Communication, therefore, is a must. And good communication is priceless.

Patience, perseverance and creativity are needed to achieve difficult goals – both in building and in watchmaking. © Worldtempus/Elizabeth Doerr

Patience, perseverance

Patience and perseverance are also equally required in building as in creating. Things don’t always go the way you thought they were going to in house building – or watchmaking. Sometimes, you just need to be patient and flexible to get the job done right. When you do this, you may well end up with something even better than what you had originally envisioned.

Case in point: when an existing wall was torn down, the actual house’s electricity mains were found in a place they were not expected. The structural engineer would not allow simply slitting the ceiling to hide them, so a suitable alternative had to be found. Working together with the carpenter, the architect and the owners, a solution was attained that exceeded everyone’s expectations: a dropped ceiling containing a decorative starry sky was constructed, adding an unexpected , beautiful element that would otherwise never have come to pass.

This happens continuously in watchmaking, which is a big part of the reason that development times on new movements and complications can be so long and drawn-out. If something doesn’t work the first time, watchmakers, engineers and designers must persevere to find a viable solution – which can end up in a watch that surpasses expectations if the parties involved not only persevere, but patiently chip away to make their horological dreams come true.

Creativity and flexibility are the mother and father of good results. © Worldtempus/Elizabeth Doerr

Good taste

One of the hardest elements about recreating a house – or any permanent object, for that matter – is to find a line and stick to it, if at all possible using what one may consider good taste. Since elements made of metal, wood and cement cannot be “tried on,” one must rely on the secure taste of the architect in conjunction with the owners to create a comfortable environment that does not contain clashing colors and styles. 

The same is very true of watches, although prototyping, 3D printing and CAD/CAM engineering make “trying on” various elements a little more possible – though expensive. Good taste and a secure eye are absolute musts in any case. The wearer must tangibly feel the taste of the designers and engineers 

Do what you say, say what you do

Perhaps the most important maxim that all businesspeople forget more and more frequently is the one that goes, “do what you say and say what you do.” This means businesspeople need to stick to their word, whether in a b2b or a b2c setting. 

In house building, builders and craftspeople have to come one time and deliver what they have promised. Suppliers to watch companies should do the same. Above all, watch brands should deliver to the public what they have promised or they may not retain the loyalty of the consumer.

Every aspect of a lasting juncture must be well thought out and planned in order to succeed, whether it be a house or a timepiece. And if it is, everyone involved will be get what they came for.