From the category archives:

Office Management

Reputation – A follow up

September 27, 2008

As a follow up to the “Reputation” post a while back. I was owed money for design work and the client didn’t want to pay because he didn’t like the design. Although he was given a number of opportunities to stop progress and ask us to start again. I got paid… (I ate about 25% [...]

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Persevere

September 17, 2008

These are interesting economic times. I say interesting because the there are some positives and there are some negatives (leave the media’s “if it bleeds it leads” out of it). There is a new roller coaster ride every day. No one knows what’s going to happen next. We’re in uncharted territory…. So what now? I [...]

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Experience Necessary for Execution

August 29, 2008

Experience is a hot topic these days. But, how much weight needs to be placed on experience? One school, Hard Knocks U, believes there is no better education. The other side, Theoretical College, believes that proper training can prepare you for anything. The truth, as most of us know, lies in the middle. But, then [...]

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First Impressions

August 20, 2008

As I’ve reviewed roughly 125 resumes in the last 24 hours, I was reminded how important first impressions are, especially in the face of the serious competition that is the job market these days. Consider the sheet of paper that says “this is who I am, take your valuable time to consider me…” I am [...]

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What Makes You Special?

August 16, 2008

Seth Godin has some good thoughts on the Intangibles that set you apart from your competition and create a perceived value.  Perceived value takes away from the ’lowest bid’ mentallity.

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Setting an Expectation

August 14, 2008

At various points during interaction with clients and customers, you set an expectation with your presentation and communication.  High, low, somewhere in between. Case in point:  I had dinner a few nights ago at a restaurant that automatically adds 20% gratuity to your bill – regardless of party size (we had five).  I knew this [...]

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Leadership

August 7, 2008

As a leader, the best reward is having a group of people that believe in you and trust your decisions.  More than their hard work and dedication, more than generated profits….

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Reputation

August 6, 2008

I had an interesting comment from a client who decided he did not want to pay his bill.  He said I should make sure to uphold my reputation in town. The backstory: A signed contract with a $3,500.00 budget for conceptual design of a building remodel.  It’s needed in a hurry for the big ICSC meetings [...]

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35 bazillion parts

August 5, 2008

There can be millions of pieces and parts to a building. As an architect, I am in charge of every single one of those parts to make sure they all fit together the right way and are absolutely problem free. Not to mention that the building code is 3 inches thick and references dozens of [...]

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