Relationships are important, wouldn’t you say? And how you treat others – in work or in play – makes an indelible statement about who you are; as a business and as a person. It is the bell that cannot be un-rung.

Today we are talking about McSpadden Custom Homes and their relationships with their trade and vendor partners. To clarify: trade partners DO something (carpentry, tile laying, etc.) and vendor partners PROVIDE something (cabinets, landscaping). Other home builders often call these folks sub-contractors. At McSpadden we do not use the term “sub-contractor”. Everyone is equal – no one is “Sub”. This is more than semantics – McSpadden’s mission statement includes the phrase “… guided by Servanthood to all those with whom we work.” Wow. That is a really different way of looking at these relationships! (Remember? McSpadden Approach.) This certainly begins to explain how McSpadden has been able to keep such great working relationships with many of the same trade and vendor partners for years. And they do have many – several in each discipline so that each homeowner is able to find their right fit when it comes to products and price points.

The reason this came up is because we had an unusual vendor meeting today. About a month or so ago one of our long time vendor partners sold their business. And you know how that can go. Needless to say we saw them as possibly a wildcard moving forward and considered that the partnership was probably going to change. Well the new owners called us a week or so ago. They asked if they could bring us lunch and sit down with our team. It seems they were well informed about the past relationship the company enjoyed with McSpadden and they wanted it to continue! The meeting went really well and it looks like a new partnership has begun.

How you treat others – in work and in play -- with honesty and respect: this is core to the McSpadden Team. Everyday. Every relationship. Core.