It’s a story familiar to everyone in the painting industry:  a small company wins a chance to make a big impression with a new customer only to see their hard work be for naught when they unexpectedly run out of paint.   Despite planning meticulously, the team wonders what went wrong and how this costly mistake could have happened.  It isn’t hard to imagine this hypothetical.  A commercial painting company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa wins a contract from the local school district.  The work was straightforward: repainting the classrooms of two elementary schools and one middle-school over a holiday break.  The painting company agreed to provide the materials and the work to complete the job before school resumed.   The job began without delay with each painter working to do the best work possible, hoping their commitment to excellent service would lead to even more work from the school district.

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