The great unknown
We plan out our jobs, workflow, schedules … everything we can think of. And then we try to factor in the unexpected with contingency clauses and other exclusions.
We plan out our jobs, workflow, schedules … everything we can think of. And then we try to factor in the unexpected with contingency clauses and other exclusions.
But there is a rub. Once we factor in a specific potential problem, it is no longer unexpected. We have anticipated it and allowed for the possibility that it might occur. So it now becomes expected.
The collective volume of these expected events is called experience, which could be defined as having been around long enough to make most of the common mistakes.
The unexpected is still out there. For everything we have learned, there are any number of things we still have to learn. If these events were expected, we would already be aware of them and safe from being blindsided.
I would suggest that it is impossible to factor in the unexpected other than to be aware that it is out there, ready to teach us yet another lesson.
David DeCristoforo possesses an extensive resume as designer/maker of fine furniture, high-end cabinetry and architectural woodwork. His experience in professional woodworking spans a period of 35 years. For the past 20 years David DeCristoforo Design has been located in Woodland, California. During this time David's shop has ranged in scope from a "full on" cabinet production shop with as many as 15 employees to a small fine furniture and custom millwork shop, working with his son, David RBJ, a highly skilled maker in his own right.