Notes from live projects, and from teaching.

1. Ten welders, scaling to eighty.

A contractor in France needed ten welders to start on a large rail and energy project, scaling to eighty. Before anyone signed, the customer flew to the workshop in Portugal and did all the testing there. They saw the people, the certifications and the work itself. Everything was clear before the contract, and that's why it holds.

2. The €1.5 million lesson.

Years ago I committed to a refinery contractor on the strength of a subcontractor's yes, on electrical and instrumentation work outside my own expertise. They couldn't deliver. I lost the contract and every future project with that company, and the project director stopped speaking to me on site. Today nobody gets my name on a project before I've checked them in person.

3. From 100 to 20, and back.

When COVID hit, my business dropped from 100 to 20 percent almost overnight. I couldn't control the market, so I kept the relationships warm through the dry months. When the projects came back, they came back to the people who'd stayed in touch.