Axium's upcoming complimentary webinars focus on 5 great ideas. The November 22 webinar covers Maximizing Retirement Savings, and December 6 covers Speeding Up Your Billing Process.
The Axium webinar page has details, registration links.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
The Decisiveness Habit
News flash: Not making a decision, is making a decision. A CEO was once asked how he became so successful. His reply: “Good decisions!” The follow-up question was then how he made good decisions. His reply: “Bad decisions!”
Making a decision, even a bad one, is an opportunity to learn and grow. In the July issue of Departures magazine, chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson put bad decisions in the context of “love for the craft” and the learning process.
Effective practices make decisions in a timely manner, and there are many decisions to be made on projects to pursue, revenues to invest, or profits to take or hold. In order to support decision making, effective practices are able to test decisions against the firm’s core values. Did I say something you didn’t understand? Yes, your firm must have core values. These define how difficult decisions can be made. If the firm’s core value is profitability, it will make decisions based on its fiduciary position. If the firm’s values reflect client service and client need above all else, decisions will be based on clients’ satisfaction.
Why is this important? Because as organizations grow, decisions that must be made on a daily, hourly or minute-to-minute basis cannot be controlled by one person. Decision making must be shared by all levels of the organization. In the absence of clearly defined core values against which staff can test and make decisions, the result is either a lack of decision making (at any or all levels of the organization) or a fear that one will make a mistake and be chastised. This is often called the “paralysis of analysis,” and characterizes an ineffective organization paralyzed by fear.
Let me give you the advice I gave to a senior partner in a successful architectural firm...ready? Staff are going to make mistakes. They are NOT going to always do it your way. Provide staff with the framework to make a decision (values), define the outcome you expect and move your firm forward by practicing the Decisiveness Habit.
Making a decision, even a bad one, is an opportunity to learn and grow. In the July issue of Departures magazine, chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson put bad decisions in the context of “love for the craft” and the learning process.
Effective practices make decisions in a timely manner, and there are many decisions to be made on projects to pursue, revenues to invest, or profits to take or hold. In order to support decision making, effective practices are able to test decisions against the firm’s core values. Did I say something you didn’t understand? Yes, your firm must have core values. These define how difficult decisions can be made. If the firm’s core value is profitability, it will make decisions based on its fiduciary position. If the firm’s values reflect client service and client need above all else, decisions will be based on clients’ satisfaction.
Why is this important? Because as organizations grow, decisions that must be made on a daily, hourly or minute-to-minute basis cannot be controlled by one person. Decision making must be shared by all levels of the organization. In the absence of clearly defined core values against which staff can test and make decisions, the result is either a lack of decision making (at any or all levels of the organization) or a fear that one will make a mistake and be chastised. This is often called the “paralysis of analysis,” and characterizes an ineffective organization paralyzed by fear.
Let me give you the advice I gave to a senior partner in a successful architectural firm...ready? Staff are going to make mistakes. They are NOT going to always do it your way. Provide staff with the framework to make a decision (values), define the outcome you expect and move your firm forward by practicing the Decisiveness Habit.
Karen Compton, CPSM. Karen Compton is principal of A3K Consulting
(Glendale, CA), a business development and strategic planning firm specializing
in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Ms. Compton is also
the founder of Industry Speaks™, a web-based business-to-business portal that connects AEC firms with experienced consultants, provides peer reviews of consultants, reports on key industry trends, and publishes expert reviews of professional courses and books. Contact her at kcompton@a3kconsulting.com.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Transform Your Firm NOW!
Although there is some debate over the exact time frame, Psychology Today has published that it takes approximately 25 days to form a new habit. Some of us run our practices out of habit – this can be good or it can be bad.
A habit is "a settled or regular tendency or practice that has become custom, practice, routine, pattern, convention or norm." It may or may not have any reason behind it. Sometimes decades of repetition foster a habit that bears no relevance to effective firm management in the present day.
I have two client that serve the AEC industry in different markets. When I asked the principals why things are the way they are (in human resources, accounting, time management), the point of reference for both was 25 years ago, when they were working in other practices, as employees! Their ways of doing things had no logic or relevance, they were just habit.
This set me to wondering: What are the habits of highly effective practices? I offer you my observations in this 5-part series.
The Habit of Responsibility
My clients with the most effective practices are those that establish roles and responsibilities. I don't mean job descriptions! Roles and responsibilities, among other things, define an individual's decision making capacity and jurisdiction within an organization, and allow the "buck to stop" with a designated person. As a result, the individual's performance can be established as an expected outcome that achieves a company's objectives such as profitability, client service or service-delivery.
In today's environment, it is not enough to say that Tim is a Project Manager and hand him a job description that outlines his responsibility as "managing projects on-time and on-budget." Effective organizations define the role, quantify and qualify their expectations, provide the employee with feedback on performance and may, if they chose, reward staff for contributions.
Many smaller firm leaders feel it isn't necessary to define roles and responsibilities because everyone does everything. However, in these instances it is even more critical for employees to know which contributions are valued and which are less important. This alone resolves most issues of unmet and unrealistic expectations for both employees and employers.
Of the firms I've worked with, I estimate only 15% have adopted the Habit of Responsibility. If the percentage is roughly the same throughout the industry, is your firm in this effective minority?
A habit is "a settled or regular tendency or practice that has become custom, practice, routine, pattern, convention or norm." It may or may not have any reason behind it. Sometimes decades of repetition foster a habit that bears no relevance to effective firm management in the present day.
I have two client that serve the AEC industry in different markets. When I asked the principals why things are the way they are (in human resources, accounting, time management), the point of reference for both was 25 years ago, when they were working in other practices, as employees! Their ways of doing things had no logic or relevance, they were just habit.
This set me to wondering: What are the habits of highly effective practices? I offer you my observations in this 5-part series.
The Habit of Responsibility
My clients with the most effective practices are those that establish roles and responsibilities. I don't mean job descriptions! Roles and responsibilities, among other things, define an individual's decision making capacity and jurisdiction within an organization, and allow the "buck to stop" with a designated person. As a result, the individual's performance can be established as an expected outcome that achieves a company's objectives such as profitability, client service or service-delivery.
In today's environment, it is not enough to say that Tim is a Project Manager and hand him a job description that outlines his responsibility as "managing projects on-time and on-budget." Effective organizations define the role, quantify and qualify their expectations, provide the employee with feedback on performance and may, if they chose, reward staff for contributions.
Many smaller firm leaders feel it isn't necessary to define roles and responsibilities because everyone does everything. However, in these instances it is even more critical for employees to know which contributions are valued and which are less important. This alone resolves most issues of unmet and unrealistic expectations for both employees and employers.
Of the firms I've worked with, I estimate only 15% have adopted the Habit of Responsibility. If the percentage is roughly the same throughout the industry, is your firm in this effective minority?
Karen Compton, CPSM. Karen Compton is principal of A3K Consulting
(Glendale, CA), a business development and strategic planning firm specializing
in the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Ms. Compton is also
the founder of Industry Speaks™, a web-based business-to-business portal that connects AEC firms with experienced consultants, provides peer reviews of consultants, reports on key industry trends, and publishes expert reviews of professional courses and books. Contact her at kcompton@a3kconsulting.com.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, 15th Ed., November 2013 – Compton Contributes Networking and Business Development Chapter
Industry Speaks™ Founder and A3K Consulting Principal Karen Compton, CPSM, contributed a chapter to the just-released 15th Edition of Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice. Compton covers the topic of “Networking and Business Development.”
Authored by The AIA with industry leaders as contributors, this comprehensive guide is the profession's standard on practice issues. The content has been significantly revised to reflect the changing nature of the business of architecture related to the impact of integrated practice.
Available for pre-order November 14, 2013; shipping begins the week of November 18. The book is also available in electronic pdf format. See the AIA webpage for details and order information.
Authored by The AIA with industry leaders as contributors, this comprehensive guide is the profession's standard on practice issues. The content has been significantly revised to reflect the changing nature of the business of architecture related to the impact of integrated practice.
Available for pre-order November 14, 2013; shipping begins the week of November 18. The book is also available in electronic pdf format. See the AIA webpage for details and order information.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
ENR Best 2013 Projects Awards
Engineering News Record Best Projects Awards are a series of special events to celebrate and honor building teams around the nation that created the best projects of 2013. Projects are selected by juries of local prominent industry professionals. Categories awarded cover a variety of categories - from Best Green Project to Best Highway Project and many more.
Upcoming Best Projects events by city, including San Francisco, Long Beach, Baltimore and Dallas, with registration information, on this webpage.
Upcoming Best Projects events by city, including San Francisco, Long Beach, Baltimore and Dallas, with registration information, on this webpage.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Industry Speaks Review of ProjectNote:
Project Information Management Software
Designed by Colorado-based architect Doug Porterfield, ProjectNote™ is a computer-based software system that digitally stores, archives and manages project design and construction information. The application allows project teams to manage design elements such as sketches, drawings or graphic files, as well as project emails, correspondence such as RFIs, submittals, closeouts and punch list documentation.
The ProjectNote interface is easy to use and appears to be a "lite" version of Newforma®. ProjectNote, however, reflects a wide variety of work flows, and does accommodate BIM and 3D clash data. The server and workstation syncing and cloud capabilities make it easy to use, although it isn't clear what ProjectNote uses as its search engine and this may affect the software performance.
There are some platform downsides to ProjectNote which consumers should note. It is not capable (at this time) of running on a Macbook® Pro since Microsoft OneNote does not have a OneNote engine for Mac®. According to the designer, there is an app for Mac®, Outline+, that will allow a Mac® user to view any OneNote application. However, it will not allow additions or edits. We've pointed this out to the designer and we believe they are working to find a solution. The OneNote app for iPhone® and iPad® may allow you to open ProjectNote and work within the application using SkyDrive or Sharepoint. The other challenge is that you can't use ProjectNote on older operating systems. It requires Windows Office 2007 or newer, a 500Mhz processor, 256 MB RAM and 2.0GB of disk space. For firms that don't regularly upgrade hardware, this might be a challenge.
All of that said, ProjectNote offers a low-cost solution for digital project management. The base price of ProjectNote A-E and GC is $495.00 for up to three users. ProjectNote FM (which comes with a copy of ProjectNote A-E included) is $695.00 for up to three users. All prices increase proportionately by $200.00 as additional users are added (example: ProjectNote A-E for up to six users costs $695.00 and for 10 users $895.00). Special reduced pricing is available if more than 20 users are needed.
To learn more, go to www.project-note.com
Reviewers:
Rena M. Klein, of RM Klein Consulting and author of Architect's Guide to Small Firm Management (Wiley 2010), rena.m.klein@gmail.com.
Paul Veloz, Director of Technology for HMC Architects, Ontario, California, paul.veloz@hmcarchitects.com.
The ProjectNote interface is easy to use and appears to be a "lite" version of Newforma®. ProjectNote, however, reflects a wide variety of work flows, and does accommodate BIM and 3D clash data. The server and workstation syncing and cloud capabilities make it easy to use, although it isn't clear what ProjectNote uses as its search engine and this may affect the software performance.
There are some platform downsides to ProjectNote which consumers should note. It is not capable (at this time) of running on a Macbook® Pro since Microsoft OneNote does not have a OneNote engine for Mac®. According to the designer, there is an app for Mac®, Outline+, that will allow a Mac® user to view any OneNote application. However, it will not allow additions or edits. We've pointed this out to the designer and we believe they are working to find a solution. The OneNote app for iPhone® and iPad® may allow you to open ProjectNote and work within the application using SkyDrive or Sharepoint. The other challenge is that you can't use ProjectNote on older operating systems. It requires Windows Office 2007 or newer, a 500Mhz processor, 256 MB RAM and 2.0GB of disk space. For firms that don't regularly upgrade hardware, this might be a challenge.
All of that said, ProjectNote offers a low-cost solution for digital project management. The base price of ProjectNote A-E and GC is $495.00 for up to three users. ProjectNote FM (which comes with a copy of ProjectNote A-E included) is $695.00 for up to three users. All prices increase proportionately by $200.00 as additional users are added (example: ProjectNote A-E for up to six users costs $695.00 and for 10 users $895.00). Special reduced pricing is available if more than 20 users are needed.
To learn more, go to www.project-note.com
Reviewers:
Rena M. Klein, of RM Klein Consulting and author of Architect's Guide to Small Firm Management (Wiley 2010), rena.m.klein@gmail.com.
Paul Veloz, Director of Technology for HMC Architects, Ontario, California, paul.veloz@hmcarchitects.com.
Mobility 21 Panelists: Boomers & Millennials Seek Walkable Urban Lifestyle
More than 1,000 professionals and elected officials gathered for Southern California's largest transportation summit October 29.
At an afternoon breakout, planning directors from Los Angeles and San Diego focused on California's Sustainable Communities Strategy and its implications for senior citizens.
Walkable urban neighborhoods are becoming more important for Boomers as they age; and the same dense urban lifestyle is preferred by Millennials. This makes the demand for such housing strong, but creates vocal opposition in neighborhoods with strong activists. As a result, panelists noted that politicians are happy to cut the ribbon on a new transit line, but not at all happy to be known for promoting high-density, transit-oriented residential development.
The challenges for urban designers: taking advantage of a demand for sustainable lifestyles, leveraging political will, and designing communities, transportation, and information technology to serve a growing senior population.
At an afternoon breakout, planning directors from Los Angeles and San Diego focused on California's Sustainable Communities Strategy and its implications for senior citizens.
Walkable urban neighborhoods are becoming more important for Boomers as they age; and the same dense urban lifestyle is preferred by Millennials. This makes the demand for such housing strong, but creates vocal opposition in neighborhoods with strong activists. As a result, panelists noted that politicians are happy to cut the ribbon on a new transit line, but not at all happy to be known for promoting high-density, transit-oriented residential development.
The challenges for urban designers: taking advantage of a demand for sustainable lifestyles, leveraging political will, and designing communities, transportation, and information technology to serve a growing senior population.
Elise Kalfayan, Editorial Director, Industry Speaks™. Elise Kalfayan blogs about transportation, development, and regional issues facing Southern California on her community news blog SunroomDesk.com. She can be reached at ekalfayan@industryspeaks.com.
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