Architects 2Zebras

This Is Your Career on Cracks April 25, 2015

Posted by randydeutsch in architect types.
2 comments

If you expect to become the next Frank Lloyd Wright leave now

Those were the first words I ever heard as a college student

Admitted to the school of architecture

Attending orientation with my parents

A senior administrator got up in front and said to a roomful of 200 freshmen future architects and their parents

If you expect to become the next Frank Lloyd Wright leave now

A questionable student retention tactic – even then

Had it been a Simpsons episode you would have heard the rear door slam

But as the Simpsons wouldn’t be invented for another 10 years, nobody moved

Next the administrator said the 9 most important words I ever heard

Only 3 of you will ever design a building

This was before everybody gets a trophy

Apparently, back then only 3 of us would get trophies

The remainder would go on to toil away in management

Perhaps our prospects would have improved had we worn shoes?

When the administrator said: Only 3 of you will ever design a building

My first thought was: I wonder who the other two are?

It wasn’t: I wonder if I should double major and get an MBA?

I wanted to design buildings, and while I also wanted a job after graduation

No one will let you design buildings with an MBA.

It’s not as if for me designing buildings was a forgone conclusion

I grew up in a split-level house in the suburbs

The architectural equivalent of living in a van down by the river

We didn’t come from either money or good taste

And we clearly didn’t know any architects

In your career you will spend 5 years sitting at a desk & 2 years sitting in meetings.

No one ever goes into architecture because they want to sit in meetings

Yet apparently this is what all but 3 of us were signing up for

What all but three students would get to do with their lives

Architecture students are a confident and resilient bunch

Every student in that room must have wondered who the other two are?

And yet, we didn’t all go on to design buildings

Some became technical architects, some became managers

The ones with MBAs – became our clients

And about half went on to other fields

And so, at my first career crossroad

I chose the design of buildings  over meetings

And spent 30+ years – a career – doing what I love

And in all that time I never had a bad day.

While I never became Frank Lloyd Wright, I became something even more important for me to become: myself

And I got to do this because at every career crossroad

I again and again chose the design of buildings over meetings

I did this because a life NOT designing buildings – not acting on our world, not making a positive contribution, not adding value – was for me unimaginable

But as importantly, a life NOT designing buildings was somebody else’s life

And as long as I remembered this – and acted on it – everything would work out

And it did, both creatively and financially. And it can for you as well.

You can be one of the three

One of the three who designs buildings

One of the three who creates an innovation

One of the three who experience meaning & purpose in their work

One of the three who makes a difference

One of the three who helps transform the world

But there comes a time in every career, for some sooner, some later

When we no longer see ourselves as one of the three.

Why is that? Why do we give up on our promises and dreams?

There are times when we choose money over our dreams

And work for a paycheck.

Other times when we’ll be frustrated or bored with what we do.

And be dissatisfied with our job.

Our dreams change, or we forget our dreams.

We give up on our dreams. But, as often, our dreams give up on us.

During an internship I designed my first building – before I graduated college

And very quickly realized I had achieved my dream of being one of the three.

Michelangelo said: The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

Our dreams, in other words, are too small

They’re too easily achieved

They’re not enough to sustain a life-long career

So what does it take to sustain a long, fulfilling career?

Upon graduation, I decided to find out and treat my career as an experiment

In this experiment I would do two things:

1. Always have two careers
2. And I would change one of them every 7 years.

You can think of your two careers like majors and minors:

1. Always have a minor to go along with your major
2. And change your minor every 7 years.

It turns out that to sustain a long, fulfilling career

You need to have a bunch of short, fulfilling careers.

Think of each as a 7-Year Career

Most careers look like this.

Which really mean they look like this.

We all know people like this.

Following the formula: Work. Repeat. Retire.

If careers were meals, most people’s career looks like this:

all meat, no potatoes

Instead, think of your career as a main career with a side

I wanted a well-balanced career

To major in salmon with a minor in broccoli.

If it works for nutrition, why not for our careers?

I didn’t want sequential careers, one after the other

So I made my careers concurrent. Like this

And yes sometimes they can be really concurrent.

While I haven’t written a play in over 20 years, a day doesn’t go by when I haven’t used something I learned while being a playwright.

You can think of your 7 year careers like microbrews

Only with your life’s work, not beer

The key thing is to stick with it for 7 years

No dabbling, with one thing one day, and another the next

Doing something else alongside your main job has multiple benefits:

• It guarantees that you are always learning and growing
• It acts as a relief valve for the pressures and sometimes disappointments of your main job, and
• It can positively impact your main job, and vice versa

For example, in my own career, when I wasn’t able to design buildings – due to the economy, or a fickle client – it didn’t bother me because I was writing plays on the side. One creative outlet relieved the other, until building design picked up again.

Think of your main job like a puzzle

and your side job like a second puzzle.

Each made up of your skills, talents, interests and passions

You would think having two jobs would just add two lines on your resume.

Or mean that you are working twice as much. It doesn’t.

What happens between your two careers is closer to alchemy

When you have two careers, the overall effect is like taking the two puzzles apart and, using the same pieces, putting them back together again, creating something new and compact.

By doing so, you are in essence creating a better version of your former self.

And when you do this every 7 years, you’re assuring that you are growing and transforming throughout your career.

Why 7?

Besides the 7 days of creation

We regenerate our skin every 7 days

Our body’s cells renew every 7 years

We’re essentially a new person every 7 years

Allowing land to lie fallow every 7^th year

returns moisture and nutrients to the soil, restoring productivity.

As a professor, it takes 7 years to achieve tenure

7 years to earn a sabbatical

There’s the 7th inning stretch and the 7-year itch

But there’s a more compelling reason you change your career every 7 years

People have a hard time thinking more than 7 years into the future.

Here’s a case in point demonstrated by this career timeline exercise

The career timeline is an experiment I do with my students

With birth at one end and the proverbial milk truck on the other

I ask my students to place their career goals along this timeline:

• Graduation; Employment; Taking exams and licensure;
• Falling in love; Getting married; Finding a home;
• Starting a family; Starting a firm; Winning recognition

Here’s what I discovered: They inevitably placed all of them in the first 7 years

Who can blame them?

Who can really say what will happen beyond the 7-year time horizon?

No one knows what will happen in even a decade ahead

The future is fuzzy

Creating a career is like writing a novel

E.L. Doctorow said that Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.

Careers are long – it makes sense to break them into chunks

To break them into chunks, it helps to think of your career in terms of successive sigmoid curves

Each chunk of our career has an arc

We start by learning something new, then get gradually better at it

Then we become something of an expert

There comes a time when we peak – and our output becomes less and less effective

At the same time our interest wanes or we get burned out

And we’re looking for something else to keep us – and our interest – active

You cannot earn a high income just by showing up on time and doing an average job. So you must constantly improve.

The goal should be to jump off onto something new, starting the whole process over

Ideally you would do that before your effectiveness starts to decline

And your expiration date arrives

The problem with successive sigmoid curves is knowing when the inflection point (crossroads) occurs: You can’t

No one knows when that pesky inflection point occurs

A lot of times you don’t know until after you look back in retrospect and say

I should have gotten off (the second red x) and it is just too late

Since you can never know when the best time is to move on

I decided to jump off and onto a new interest every 7 years.

As an architect, I like to think of a career path like a concrete sidewalk

This is my walk home from the train

In 20 years I made this walk 6000 times

Those keeping score with fitbits that’s 60 million steps

Sidewalks aren’t made in one long ribbon

Why should our careers be?

Now lets look a little more closely at our career path

Not quite as smooth as you were led to believe

We build sidewalks over all sorts of things: roots, utilities.

Metaphorically what are the roots underneath your career?

Ever-shifting technological trends

Fickle employers

An unpredictable economy

We’re building the foundations of our careers over roots!

One of the dirty little secrets I share with my architecture students is this:

All concrete cracks

We confront microscopic cracks everyday

Like a concrete sidewalk, our careers need to accommodate these cracks

Otherwise they’ll take over

Cracks will sometimes appear in your careers due to

• Your interests waning
• You get burned out doing one thing
• Your salary prices you out of a position
• Emerging talent steals your place

When cracks do occur in our careers we can try to hide or mask them

Crack what crack? I don’t see a crack…There’s no crack here. Just us birds!

And sometimes there are just too many to try and hide them.

This is what your career looks like when you don’t control the inevitable cracks

This is your career on cracks!

Cracks appear when

• We aren’t happy in our career
• We can’t be ourselves
• We can’t speak our mind
• We are playing by someone else’s set of rules
• We’re biting our tongues
• We’re swallowing our pride

Constantly addressing these forces drain our psychic energy and take its toll

Concrete cracks – but you can control where they occur

We do this in architecture by creating control joints.

By creating a break, we induce a crack

The crack goes where we want it to go, not randomly where it can catch us by surprise

In your career path, it leaves you in control

You can saw cut a seam in your career path

Think of it as creating a career control joint

You can relieve these tensions by creating a career control joint every 7 years

Before I leave, let me leave you with this.

If you are working toward one career, start planning for your next

Either once your current one has played out or to run along side it

Careers are long. To assure that yours remains that way, do these 2 things:

1. Always have two careers, and
2. Change one of them every 7 years.

You change your side career every 7 years

• to avoid an existential crisis midway through your career
• to keep from becoming complacent and bored
• to keep from falling behind and becoming obsolete
• to keep from falling into the trap of living someone else’s idea of who you are

You can look at having two careers two ways:

As an unfortunate economic and social reality, or you can view it as an opportunity to expand meaning, purpose and possibility in your life.

By changing your career every 7 years you are in essence, with each iteration, creating a better version of your former self.

And in that way you assure that you are always evolving and improving

Always doing what you love

Always doing what it takes to sustain a long, fulfilling career.

While you may never became Frank Lloyd Wright, you’ll became something even more important for you to become: YOU!

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Author’s Note: This is a transcript of my TEDx talk delivered on 041915. Due to technical difficulties, nearly half of the slides were projected blank (white on white); and since the speaker’s clicker didn’t advance the slides, but instead the stage monitor, the advancement of slides were not in sync with the oral presentation according to those present. Thus the representation of the content here. Hope you enjoyed it!

For Architects, No Leadership Outside Of Technology November 27, 2013

Posted by randydeutsch in architect types.
1 comment so far

In a discussion over at the KA Connect LinkedIn Group, the question was asked:

How will the role of a senior architect change over the next five years?

Looking into my crystal ball, I responded first – largely in terms of technology.

While no one knows where the profession will be in five years, I listed some changes that one would do well to be mindful of.

I wrote:

While developing skills is important, mindset and attitudes are equally important.

Be flexible and open about exposing yourself to digital technology. At the start of every project, ask which technologies will help you achieve your project goals and work for everyone involved. No one solution will work best for all involved in every situation.

We will need to become more comfortable working directly from our models to fabrication – not just in terms of technology, but taking on the associated risk. If possible, take a class in how to code.

Architects will be expected to customize their tools, making them optimal for each project, especially by looking under the hood – or risk losing out to those who are comfortable doing so.

Be prepared to work in a less linear manner (linear checklists like AIA document D200 will come in handy only in retrospect.) In the near future, a barrage of information and insight will come at us simultaneously, from the earliest stages of design, from every party involved in the project, including trades.

In the future, your professional judgment will have less to do with applying the knowledge and skills your learned from books and in school – even from experience – than from developing the ability to aggregate the input of experts and other sources you have access to, including analysis and building data. We will need to resist the temptation to seek consensus as we’ve done in the past. Our architectural judgment will best be thought of and appreciated as a social act of filtering and aggregating input from others.

You can read the rest of my and others’ comments here.

The discussion that ensued followed two lines of thought: one emphasizing the architect’s future technological role, the other emphasizing leadership skills.

To this last point, Ed Friedrichs wrote:

All of the above is interesting, but the most salient talent today and going forward will be leadership skills – the ability to inspire an entire team of participants to collaborate, to contribute the best they have to offer, in order to bring value to a client. We’ve all experienced the chaos which ensues when there is no leadership talent on a project, whether from the architect, contractor or another participant. We also know that when that leadership skill and style becomes manifest, the project flourishes, no matter who steps up. The leader keeps everyone focused on achieving solutions that will explicitly contribute to the enhancement of the client’s business – more sales in a store, higher repeat and referral guests in a hotel, less absenteeism and higher employee satisfaction and engagement in the workplace.

Bob Buday concurred with Ed and added:

I imagine these leadership skills will become even more important in the years ahead as projects become far more complex: more technologies that must be managed, more “moving parts,” more firms that must be coordinated and from more parts of the world, etc. I imagine that raises the game of project leaders (and their bosses in upper management at an architecture firm) — but especially leaders of big projects who must (more than ever) periodically (or more) remind everyone on the project of the goals, timelines, mission, etc. 

Or to use the words of Francis Ford Coppola, the famed moviemaker (“The Godfather,” “Apocalypse Now,” and more): “One of the secrets to making a great movie is making sure everyone is making the same movie.” 

I’m not an architect. But I imagine that as projects get bigger and more complex, it becomes easier for everyone on a project “not to be making the same movie.”

RTKL’s Michael Woods mentioned the importance of providing metrics:

To Ed’s point, the leadership of an architect that understands, manages and communicates the metrics of design that really matter to the client are probably the biggest change. This isn’t something that we are prepared for in school or in practice until very recently. I’m concerned by the emphasis I see on the tools and technologies instead of metrics that really matter. Design matters even more than it did in the past to our increasingly sophisticated clients, but metrics are an important dimension that we must master.

…

So there you have it: the changes that will come about for architects in the next five years will involve adjusting to new technology, acquiring leadership skills, and mastering the management of design metrics.

Except for this: I believe that these three areas will be inextricably integrated and linked.

In other words, in five years there will be no leadership outside of technology. There won’t be project leaders and teammates who work in technology. We will be leading projects not as in the past, top down, but from the middle – and by extension – from the model. To imply that leadership will be a separate package of skills is not to thoroughly imagine where the profession and industry are headed. The development of leadership skills will come about from working within the technology, not as a series of workshops, seminars or from executive coaching. There won’t be one without the other.

Similarly, leaders will be held accountable for their acts of design volition. The burden of proof will be in the data. We won’t be able to lead without it, nor the means for acquiring and analyzing it.

So, how will the role of a senior architect change over the next five years? Technology, leadership and metrics will become inseparably intertwined and the architect will be ill-prepared and ill-advised to master one without the others.

13 Tips to Make the Most of Your AIA 2013 Convention Experience June 8, 2013

Posted by randydeutsch in architect types.
7 comments

In recent years, as an author and speaker I’ve attended and participated in dozens of conferences around the country. Subsequently, I’ve picked up some tips along the way on how to get the most out of one’s limited time and resources.

With the AIA 2013 National Convention in Denver just around the corner, I thought I’d share a few hard-earned tactics on how to enhance your convention experience.

1. It’s not about the programs

I used to think that the formal presentations were what conventions were all about. No more. This is especially hard for me to admit because

• I love to learn – I’m energized by learning – and find the cornucopia of education sessions offered at the AIA Convention to be particularly enticing; and
• I’m presenting at this year’s convention and wouldn’t want you to be a program no-show because of something I wrote here.

But ever notice all those firm principals hanging out just outside the entry of the conference rooms – or in the lobby – while programs are in session? They know a secret that it has taken them a career to learn and that I will share with you right now:

The programs are the least important part of the convention.

It is whom you meet or see going in or out of the programs that matters. So, by all means, attend and participate in the programs – just be sure to linger on the way in and out. And when waiting for the presentation to start, introduce yourself to the speaker and strike up a conversation with those sitting nearby.

2. Don’t just sit there – participate in programs

The education programs have been designed this year to be especially engaging and interactive. No more sage on the stage, leaning on a podium, pontificating on the importance of their work. AIA has said goodbye to the old presenter’s standby and hello to Phil Donahue-style edutainment.

You should still expect to learn a lot – in fact, a great deal more than in past conventions – because each of your presenters has been trained over the past six months on how to help you learn and engage in the material, to assure learning takes place and your expectations are more than met.

3. You can’t do everything. Know your schedule and goals

There are just way too many events competing for your attention. So prioritize – and have a plan.To start, know where you’re supposed to be and when.

Author Don Peppers has some sage advice from a lifetime of “living mouth to hand.”

Before the conference starts, be clear on your goals and what you want to get our of the convention. Ask yourself:

• Do you want to consolidate existing relationships or meet new people?
• Do you want to acquire “how to” expertise or to gather industry insights and intelligence?
• From a personal standpoint, are you trying to grow your “personal brand” or make connections with others?
• Learn more in order to do your current job better, or to get to the next level?

Like AIA membership itself, what you get from attending a conference will be based on what you put into it. And as with design assignments, the time you put into the planning will pay off many times over in the end. You won’t regret it.

4. Forget networking. Just ask questions instead

The word ‘networking’ seems to put architects on edge. What it boils down to is interacting with your peers and engaging them in conversation.

Most would be thrilled to have you come up and introduce yourself, and ask a question or two, exchange cards and move on.

You never know what might become of it – and what doors may open for you on account of a simple social exchange. So, instead of networking, simply introduce yourself and ask:

• What have you been working on lately?
• Discuss your reactions to the last presentation.
• Talk about what you’re working on.

And the networking – and conversation – will take care of itself.

5. Don’t be a sponge, engage

Architects so often think of themselves as sponges. Taking-in all that surrounds them.

Stop soaking. At the Expo, don’t just look at products and play who can collect the most swag.

Instead, engage with the reps. Get to know them: they can be a fount of industry wisdom and you never know when they might come to your rescue on a project.

Look around. You might see former classmates or former colleagues.

Check out this infographic explaining what to do and what not to do when visiting the convention expo.

In terms of the exception for when you should not under any circumstances engage, here’s one word of advice:

If you see a former employer cavorting with someone who is, um, not their spouse? Turn the other way. Even if you’ve caught eyes – they will appreciate it. This has happened to me three times – with three separate former employers on three separate occasions – and each time resulted in the most awkward conversations.

The difference between a convention and conference? A convention is where conventional behavior takes place. Or it at least seems to.6. Allow for some downtime

With all of this meeting, greeting, engaging, dis-engaging and participating, you’ll need to recharge your batteries.

Architects tend to be introverts. Instead of being energized by social occasions, they’re drained by all of the energy required to meet and greet.

So give yourself a break. Better yet, several of them. Perhaps steal away to your hotel room for a short nap between events, or for a walk outdoors in the fresh air.

7. Make the most of after-hours socializing

I tend to spend the evening hours putting the finishing touches on my conference presentations. Mistake. Instead of tweaking and un-tweaking, I should be out and about taking-part in after-hour activities.

Some sound suggestions on why what goes on at night is as important a part of any conference or convention as what happens by day.

8. Get to know those you interact with on social media

You’ve probably engaged in more back and forth with some of the convention attendees – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Architizer, (fill-in-the-blank) – than you have with your own family members.

Here’s your chance to put a face to the handle and get to know your social media buds in person. Who knows? They may be your future peers, colleagues, friends or employers – you never know.

MeetUp with Your Twitter Friends at the AIA 2013 TweetUp.

9. Can’t attend in person? Attend the Virtual Convention

Face it – conventions are expensive and not every firm can afford to send everyone they would like to have represent the firm.

Nor can individuals justify the cost of attending each year. That’s what the virtual convention is for: on demand live streaming, simulcasts and the virtual expo.

When attending virtually, you’re not peering in, spying on presentations. Speakers are trained to address and engage attendees who are participating in programs from outside the classroom.

Not convinced and would still like to attend in person? Here are some ideas for how to go about convincing the powers-that-be to give you the green light – and the green – on attending.10. Approach a big-name architect

Don’t be intimidated – they’re people, too.

I wish someone had told me that before meeting Morphosis principal Thom Mayne FAIA at a past AIA convention. He couldn’t have been more friendly and patient, doing all he could to get me from just standing there making blblblblbl sounds with my lips and index finger.

Or upon approaching Peter Eisenman FAIA – suddenly at a loss for something to say – asking him to deconstruct his signature for me (he did, without hesitating, as though he were asked to do this a hundred times a day.)

Or the time I saw architect Scott Simpson going up the escalator while I was going down. Instead of catching eyes and saying hello (and gushing that I’ve read all of his articles in DesignIntelligence including this and this and this and this and this and this and this and even his books) I just kept my head down and pretended that I didn’t see him (on second thought, maybe that was best.)

Some sound advice on how to approach (and how NOT to approach) your hero.

Here’s some great tips on how to be confident, even when you’re not.

11. Leave your work at the office

You are here to learn, to engage, to converse and to have fun. And there is nothing less fun than to see a colleague doing office work at the convention – and no better way to alienate your peers. They are just not impressed that you are so busy that you can’t set your work aside for a few days.

Taking a call from back at the office now and then is unavoidable – but be sure to make every effort to plan specific times when you can address questions from your team or fires that need putting out – to assure you are getting the most from attending the convention.

12. Look for an opportunity to get involved

The convention is perhaps the one time and place where you are exposed to all the AIA does for members – and the public – and an ideal time to recalibrate your level of involvement.

Find a knowledge community to meet with upon your return from the convention. Make a commitment to get involved.

My initiation to AIA was attending knowledge community meetings, which led to serving as a local director, then vice-president, and so on. Step up your involvement a notch this year – you never know where it can lead.

13. What to do as soon as you return home

Within the first few days back, send each of those you met at the convention a brief hand-written note or email, reminding them

that you met them at the convention, saying:

• how much you enjoyed meeting them,
• how much you enjoyed their presentation (especially if they presented,) perhaps asking them for a copy of their presentation – or
• just let them know that you enjoyed your conversation with them.

You do this because you authentically care about them as a person – but it also helps them remember you and your name the next time you see them.

It would be a fascinating exercise to fill-out a program for the convention – after the fact – based on how you really spent your time. Most of you would be surprised. Let me know if you have tips of your own that you’d like to share.

–       Randy Deutsch AIA, LEED-AP

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Learn more about the AIA 2013 National Convention here and here.

Download the AIA 2013 Convention App for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, Android BlackBerry/Windows Phone.

Learn what’s new at this year’s convention.

Download a PDF version of the 2013 convention guide to review the daily schedule, exhibitors, and more.

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On June 20, 2013 at the AIA 2013 Convention in Denver, I will be leading a early morning session on how to lead in the new world of practice – live in person and also on-demand for the virtual convention. To learn more, please click the link below:

TH107: (Re)Learning to Lead with BIM and IPD

2013 AIA National Convention

Thursday, June 20, 2013 | 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Denver, CO Convention Center, Room 201

Earn 1.00 AIA LUs + GBCI

http://eventscribe.com/2013/AIA/TwitterPres.asp?Pres=33487

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Also, in July 2013, I will be leading a 2-day Harvard GSD Executive Education seminar. To learn more, please click the link below:

BIM: Lessons in Leadership

July 8, 2013 – 9:00am – July 9, 2013 – 5:00pm

Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

Earn 14 AIA/CES

http://execed.gsd.harvard.edu/programs/bim-lessons-leadership