Count on Expertise to Have Your Back

The people you align yourself with are very significant, especially in the business world. Not only will your colleagues impact your reputation, but they can directly influence your business. If your partners are not the best of the best, they can easily bring your business down. This is why assessing a potential partner’s reputation and understanding of the project is so important. The more experience a company has, the greater their expertise—there is just no way around it. The saying holds true “practice makes perfect”, and no one wants their company to be the guinea pig for a new colleague.

At Four Columns, we recently demonstrated to one of our clients, Worldwide Turnaround Management Company, how important it is to have our expertise on their side. WTMC is an industry leader in supplying project controls personnel, turnaround specific training, and support services. To celebrate their leadership in the field, we have created promotional materials featuring other iconic, pioneering leaders, such as Benjamin Franklin, Neil Armstrong, Thomas Edison, and most recently Secretariat.

When we sat down to design their Secretariat advertisement, we pulled two photos and decided to move forward with one that worked best for our design. The finished product was great, but there was one last detail to secure before it could be finalized—the rights to use the photo.

After searching for the owner of the photo, we finally got in contact with them and were offered the rights to use it… for the small price of $1200. We thoughtfully declined the rights because the advertisement wasn’t much more than the photo itself. So our plan of action changed and we began to work with the other photo. While it wasn’t the ideal situation, we were able to move forward and still create an ad we were proud of and WTMC was pleased with—not only because it was a striking promotion, but also because we were able to save WTMC from the headaches of legal issues and lost revenue.

Many would hope our story is not a unique one and it’s just a story of good business, but sadly this isn’t the case. Whether it be neglect of details or lack of knowledge, all too often business partners and contract hires, especially in our field, can get colleagues into trouble. This is why aligning yourself with people who are experts in your field is so essential. Their knowledge does not only guarantee work done well, but also a sense of protection for your business. At Four Columns we proudly boast that we have your back—and you can count on our expertise.