For many years, CUSTOM HOME and its readers have communicated through the printed page. Then we added www.customhomeonline.com several years ago. Now I am very pleased to announce that we have an in-person event for CUSTOM HOME readers: Directions 2007, a new executive-level conference for custom home builders. It is designed to challenge you to see your business and the way you manage it with fresh eyes and to help you develop strategies to achieve your vision for your company’s future.
In consultation with Custom Builders USA, our partner in this event, we’ve lined up a faculty of dynamic, business-oriented speakers guaranteed to energize and motivate you. They’ll show you new approaches to leadership, management, decision making, marketing, and more. You’ll learn how changes in other industries will affect your business and you’ll discover ways to keep your business growing and vital.
Best of all, from my point of view, Directions 2007 will give the magazine’s staff and readers an opportunity to meet face to face. The conference will take place June 19 and 20 at the Four Seasons Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, Calif. It’s a beautiful setting for what will be a stimulating, idea-filled event that will change the way you think about your business. I invite you to join us in Carlsbad in June and look forward to meeting you there.
Vision Every leader needs a vision for his or her organization that transcends the daily annoyances and that puts bigger challenges in perspective. A vision of what you want your company to be and the drive to make that vision a reality can sustain you when times are difficult and at the same time give purpose and vitality to your company and to your life’s work.
CUSTOM HOME’s 2007 Custom Builder of the Year is a man with a very clear vision for his company. David Warner knows the kind of work he wants to do and the kind of impact he wants to make on the world. Warner’s vision for his building company, Redhorse Constructors, arises out of his understanding and concern for the environment, his love of craft, and his fascination with new technologies and materials. He’s been committed to green building since starting his company in 1982, and today he’s on the verge of becoming a green building product entrepreneur.
Senior editor Bruce Snider spent several high-energy days last summer zooming around the Bay area with Warner to collect material and impressions for the major story you’ll find here. He’s written a terrific profile of a builder who is leading his company and his industry into a more sustainable future.
