Leland,
> Criteria # 1 seems most important for a boutique/small company.
I found that even if you are doing say $60M per year gross you still 
have to adhere to criteria #1. Whereas for me the expenditure may be 
relatively smaller there is a quantifiable cost for an estimate and 
response regardless of the size of the venture and a need for a 
cost:benefit analysis of either a very simple or a more complex manner 
depending on just how much resources are at stake.

At Apple where we were incredibly inefficient and pretty much responded 
to everything that we could get to come in the door I would on a normal 
year estimate $12M for every $2M of contracted work. More than 50% of my 
energies went into responding, the remainder into marketing, project 
management and business maintenance.

As to the adversarial nature of the business I received last week a copy 
of the AIA National/AIA California Council, Integrated Project Delivery: 
A Guide. It is basically a model for project delivery that incorporates 
cross-disciplinary roles (owner, designer, contractor etc.) into teams 
(trust relationships), process (early contributions of expertise), risk 
(shared rather than shifted to anyone else available), 
compensation/reward (team success tied to project success), 
communications/technology (digital vs. paper based) and agreements (to 
ptomote multi-lateral open sharing and collaboration). You might want me 
to send you a copy but you have to promise me a long lunch at Richters.
> I prefer working with a team, negotiating costs and sharing expenses; an open book.
>   
A problem is when you open your book but they don't.

At crux my issue with the drawings showing up without introduction is 
that I am fairly sure someone that knows how to find me originated them 
to be sent. What I don't know is who that is.

][<en

--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>