Holidays frequently seem to be the deadline for project completions – and it happened again this year for Christmas. We took on a job that started the week before Thanksgiving which I had to promise would be completed by 5pm on December 18th.
Before the project began, I put together a schedule that showed how we would integrate all facets of the job in order to hit the deadline. Even then though, I knew it was going to be an aggressive schedule and everything would have to go smoothly to make this happen.
As it sometimes happens, there were setbacks as we progressed. From not getting timely design decisions to products not being available - the domino effect was causing delays. With a week left to complete the job, we had two weeks of work to go. Early starts and long days would be the norm for the final week.
It was during one night of this big push that I stopped for a moment and took in what was going on around me. It was 7pm, we were approaching an 11 hour day, and I had five other people around me who were each working on their tasks. That is when it hit me – I may be the figure head and Commander-in-chief of Coolidge Company (when Wendy lets me), but I am just a sprocket in the gear that keeps everything moving. It is the people who are around me, the ones who don’t get the appreciation and notoriety, who are really the ones who should great credit for all of our success. It is Wendy who came out of the office to help paint; Brett, Brian, and Mark who put aside their own personal lives to work late; it was the subcontractors Jim, Dominic, and Chris who went out of their way to accommodate our fluid schedule – it was everyone working together as a team that was making this possible.
I want to thank each of them because at 5pm on Friday when we left the site - it was completely done, of the utmost quality, and looked beautiful. My coworkers were the reason for this, and the reason we keep getting more work. I appreciate your friendship, your work dedication, and I love you all – thank you and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
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