Small Firms Ideas Exchange

I’m acting as an owner’s representative on a project. The contractor calls me before he calls the owner, the front office folks, or the user groups in the building. It's one of “those” phone calls. “Hey there Lisa. Well, um, we had a pipe burst in the building last night…”.  My first response was “Are you serious? knowing that this contractor and I can joke around. He assured me he was not joking. I headed over to the site.

It is a funny situation to be in. I’m not the owner (just acting on their behalf); I’m not the design architect (knowing the likely “behind the scenes” discussions); and I need to work with the contractor on projects independent to this one.

So first I focus on getting the facts:  what, where, how, when (and the inevitable), what are we gonna do about it? Then I visit the site and see for myself (although clean up operations have begun) so I can report back to the owners (and the design team with whom the owner has a contract):

a) A brief history of an on-going punch list item which has yet to be fully resolved has failed (again).
b) The failure and the timeline as I could ascertain regarding the failure.
c) What are the areas which were affected and what fixes will be required?
d) Other questions/issues and when will it be completed? Who will pay for it?

It dawned on me as I was typing up the information that there is only one time when you can gather the true facts on what happened. That’s as soon as it happened, not after clean up, not after repair work. I seem to recall an insurance seminar on disaster recovery and in this short-term retrospective, I realized I had most of the stuff to capture all the information. Have you ever had one of "those” phone calls? What did you do? How do you make sure you capture the information you (or your client or the GC) might need in the future? What suggestions do you have? No, you can’t suggest hiding under your desk.

Most states have a requirement for continuing education units (or CEUs). The AIA requires 18 hours per year to maintain membership in good standing.  I’ve found that there are a lot of “free” CEUs available that I typically find via e-mails or vendor-sponsored events. Sometimes I’ll have a question on a particular product I’m researching for a project; a lot of national manufacturers have programs they can offer which comply with AIA rules for CEUs. 

I’m especially happy with the CEU programs offered by my O/E insurance carrier XL Insurance (http://www.xldp.com/ins_edu.html).  First, I like that the learning sessions have real meat in them, with very useful information on how I can run my practice and projects better. Second I have found a very good “return on investment” for my time spent and the things I have learned. Third, I really like getting the premium discounts when I complete a module.

How and where do you get your CEUs? Do you find “free” ones? Do you attend local lunch/learn events? Do you purchase monographs from NCARB? Do you read articles in trade publications, take their test, and fax in for your grade and credit (for a fee of course)? What or where are the other sources of education?

I’d like to thank Dawn for suggesting a blog topic. If I’ve got her background correct, she’s trained as a structural engineer and an architect and has noticed (and taken the time to write) that many architects still practice as though they are still in school (I call that the Vintage Studio Mindset) rather than approach what we do as a business and take essential steps to be leaner (and gentler?).  Dawn noted that only 10% of buildings in the United States are designed by architects and that architects (in general) should be more supportive of each other (like teaming). Does anyone have confirmation of this statistic?

What's my thought of this? The major difference I’ve noticed in the profession since getting registered in ’94 is that small firms/practitioners have the word share embedded in their hardwires. We are more willing to trust, ask, and collaborate; that is how we (small firms like mine) have learned to flourish.  The opposite side of the share coin is trust. It takes a while to find the right chemistry of teaming folks. You make a few mistakes in the process but hopefully things don’t blow up while you’re refining the mix.

My direct experience is that most large firms/practitioners want to hang on very tightly for the fear that if one little part is let go of the whole thing might slip away. So it seems like there are two separate forces working on our field:

1)  small firms who can do it and step up to the plate to make it happen for clients, i.e., who what that and how

2) large firms (I mean really large firms) that step up to the plate (as the chest-pounding CroMagnon) and make it happen.

Ultimately, both opposites still serve the same purpose (accomplishing the project for the client).

Did you see the Pixar movie, Finding Nemo? Remember the little fish that guarded the bubbles in the fish tank treasure chest as his bubbles?  He’d run (swim) over to the treasure chest just as it was about blow its bubbles and say, “My bubbles!  Mine! Mine! Mine! My bubbles! I think of that when I experience a big firm wanting to keep it all for themselves. (Ok but I have 3 kids, stock in Disney, and love a good silly laugh).  After a while, when the fishes and (other animals) worked together (no I’m not socialist or communist) they figured out how to get Nemo hooked up with his dad and how to escape (or to quote Ellen DeGeneres as Dory “Ex Capeee”) the fish tank (did they ever figure out how to get out of the plastic bags?)  But I digress.

From my perspective, I see that larger firms have a harder time adapting to changing environment whereas smaller firms are just built to recognize and adjust to a new sense of balance requirement (OK, I do karate too; hence the reference to adjust and balance.)

If you haven’t yet taken a look at the SPP web site, I encourage you to do so (www.AIA.org/SPP). Look specifically at the SPP Journal Archive. I remember working on one issue a few years back called Collaborate—immensely appropriate for this discussion.  There is also another issue called School of Hard Knocks, where we shared (freely) what we learned.

Let’s talk a little pragmatics of an office. How do you handle the necessary “evil” of computers?  I have a small network (server, 5 PCs, plotter, scanner, network printer, etc.) that has developed over the years along with the methodology  and I've slowly (painfully) started to periodically upgrade portions of the full computer system (10-base T gig switches, newer processors, external hard drives, back up methodology, etc.).  Last week I had the gig switch die. No, I did not have a back up to use (duh, who does that?) so I had to wing it down to Office Desperate. It took a few hours to remove and replace and rearrange the pieces, but it was back up and running 98 emails later. I’m wondering if there is a better way to manage the technology that lets our office run.  Any one have any helpful tips?  My tip from this lesson is I’m going to keep the cheapie one I got from Office Desperate on hand and get a replacement unit for the one that fried.  Hopefully I’ll get some compensation from the battery back/surge suppressor manufacturer (that unit was only 2 months old!).

—Lisa Stacholy, AIA

I have had the good fortune to speak at a variety of AIA conventions (national and some states). This past week I was one of several featured speakers at the Arkansas state convention. 

First, I want to throw roses at the AIA Arkansas board, the speakers selection committee, and most of all Joie K. who made everything look easy, perform seamlessly, and who took every effort to make my job as a speaker so pleasant (Joie, you rock!). 

Second, I want to thank Barbara Ann (another speaker whose topic was "On the Lighter Side of Dark") for sharing the wonderful story of her service dog with me.  It's these moments of inception that can result in the most powerful partnerships.

Keeper is Barbara Ann's 10-year-old German Shepard that watches out for her.  When Barbara Ann met her new dog, the dog's name was Peaches. She decided a new name was defiantly in order. When a service dog is matched with a new person, the new team of dog and person are trained on how to work together—much of which depends on the rapport between the two and the ability of both to communicate with each other, hence the importance of the name.  During training Barbara Ann said she was puzzling on what she would like to rename the dog, knowing that it is a critical piece of core communication that she was intending on changing.  Nearing the "graduation," the new dog/person team takes a journey to a new location yet unexperienced by either member. In Barbara Ann's and Peaches' training, the trip involved mass transit (both train and bus), urban city streets (which were under construction with jack-hammers, etc., with a few emergency vehicles thrown in for good measure)—in short, the most difficult of situations faced the new partners (but the best test of their partnership). 

Incidentally dogs, especially service dogs, are best rewarded with praise.  Upon arriving at the destination, Barbara Ann said she knelt down close to Peaches and began telling her she was wonderful, she could rely on her, and ended with, "You sure are a keeper." The trainer told Barbara Ann she just found the perfect name—Keeper.

I tell this story in tribute to Barbara Ann, her accomplishments and to honor Keeper and all the other service dogs like her who devote their lives to one master. I also tell this story to remind myself of the power partnerships, good will, and hope for the future.

—Lisa Stacholy, AIA