Small Firms Ideas Exchange

“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself  one.” James Froude 1818-1894

I’ve found that my general design process is more of a thought process. I think my thought process was conceived somewhere during high school and gelled during college. Over the years, I have worked to refine how I think about “things”; this in turn has reeducated and refined my basic design process.

I’m noticing more reiterative and reinforming component to both as I’m considering and evaluating firm management and/or project management processes. On the one hand, it’s very tempting to take how we know to manage projects and apply that to our firms; on the other hand, the MBAs of the world say it should be different: quantifiable aspects should be first.

The quote above seems right, because we call it “the practice” of architecture; in that we are still striving for better ways (plural).

-Lisa Stacholy, AIA

Ok, we’re inundated with information; Web sites, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, seminars, conventions, etc… you get the jist. Oh, I forgot a huge resource, the AIA. 

I’m on a treasure hunt for a seminar that Charles Matta of Virginia (currently working with GSA) put on at a few AIA national conventions. As I recall, the content was something like “Marketing to Get Government Contracts,” or “Small Firms Selling to the Federal Government.” If I recall correctly, it was sometime between 2003 and 2006, and it was sponsored in part by the AIA’s knowledge community Small Project Practitioners (SPP). 

I’m stumped. I’ve “searched” the AIA Web site and can’t find nary a popcorn trail to try and find it. You’d think that’s the kind of information they’d want to have available. So much for having an approachable membership-driven organization.  Maybe I’ll give Charles a call.

But my search gets me to thinking: what stupid things am I doing in my firm which are equally idiotic? Funny thing is, I know that if someone looks from the outside in and asks, “Why do you do this like that?” I’ll have a perfectly good, justifiable reason and logic. It may just not fit outside my reality. To combat this, I realize that I spend a good deal of time thinking things over, externally so to speak.  I’ve got a handful of colleagues/friends (nationwide architects I met through SPP) that I use as my “sanity board”; that is, I call them and say “Hey Karen, am I totally crazy, but this is the idea I had in the shower last night……”.  She’s in Denver (www.arcmatters.com ), I’m in Atlanta; geographically we do things differently but fundamental principles can be discussed and really good suggestions/leading-to-solutions result for both of us. This morning I spoke with my friend Laura in Long Island (www.homefreehome.com) about collecting and organizing data which is accessible for people who might need it.

Seems like there must be a better way; I want to find it.

- Lisa Stacholy, AIA