Our Values: Integrity
Our work is guided by seven core values—principles that guide our process, our decisions, and our actions. Principal among these is integrity: “We begin with the end in mind and imbue our work with a sense of purpose and intention. We uphold our explicit and implicit commitments, and seek and embody truth, respect and kindness.”
What does this all mean, especially in the context of landscape design? It’s worth a much longer conversation, but let’s unpack it briefly to start:
Solid.
“We begin with the end in mind and imbue our work with a sense of purpose and intention.” This sentiment is inspired by Dr. Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and reflects that we embark on our work (e.g. a creative exploration of various design approaches, the production of a planting plan, or simply a meeting) with a vision of the outcome we desire (e.g. three wildly different schematic designs, an accurate and well-organized working drawing, or an efficient discussion).
This not only keeps us focused on — true to — our goals, it also keeps us mindful of why we are pursuing them in the first place.
”We uphold our explicit and implicit commitments…” Our clients must trust us, often before we’ve entirely earned it. We are charged with projects worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, with peoples’ hopes and dreams for what may be their largest single investment.
We know we’re worthy of that trust; but how do they?
It begins with our word. We do what we say we will — from being on time for our very first phone call, to taking responsibility if things under our control go wrong, to delivering a landscape that is as beautiful as we promised.
We also uphold our commitments to each other: days off truly are, internal critiques are honest and constructive, and “I got you” means you have no greater ally.
And, we uphold our commitments to our world: in choosing this industry we have made an implicit promise to make the earth better, to use less water, to nourish pollinators and other wildlife, and to honor the people and cultures around us as well as those who came before us.
”…and seek and embody truth, respect and kindness.” For us, these are the three components of integrity, all interrelated.
Truth is sacrosanct, a universal constant upon which we can all agree, even if it’s difficult to hear or own.
Most of our projects, for instance, are not truly environmentally “sustainable,” as they require more natural resources than they return. That’s a truth, even though we’d love to claim otherwise. (And it’s also true that we can and will identify choices to make each project as sustainable as it can be.)
Truth and respect go hand in hand; we respect our clients and our colleagues enough to tell each other the truth — for instance, the true amount of water a project is likely to require. That can be a hard truth, but necessary to tell (or there will be a much harder discussion later.)
And from that same respect arises kindness: not just the gentle delivery of an inconvenient truth, but also a spirit of empathy to deliver that truth as gracefully and sensitively as possible. If the truth is a “problem,” we propose solutions. If the truth is a criticism, we make it constructive. And when the truth is good news — you’re on budget! you’re saving water! — we celebrate it.
Because true integrity demands nothing less.