Context & Clarity for Small Firm Architects

How do we understand and manage expectations in the pursuit of 'the best'? That's the question we'll start with today on Context & Clarity LIVE. Katharine White MacPhail and I will welcome entrepreneur, serial podcaster, and development consultant, to Context & Clarity. Join the conversation this week as we explore how we understand and manage expectations as we learn how to be the best em...

What’s your architecture origin story? What drove you to get into the profession? Mine starts with baseball stadiums, barns, Frank Lloyd Wright, and This Old House. Everybody has their own unique story and I’m always curious, what inspired you? A character from a TV show or a movie? Maybe you’re like me and a show like ThisOldHouse made an impact. Or was it, like for one of my students, county cou...

This week, I wanted to group several services together that I’m calling similar, so let’s talk about Thumbtack, NextDoor, and HomeAdvisor for architects. I know there are several others out there and the landscape continues to change, so if you have another one that you like (or hate) be sure to leave it in the comments. My experience with these services is that your mileage will vary. I know some...

How can you be a better you, in all forms? All week we've talked about being better leaders, employee, and colleagues. Many times we think about those roles in the work context, but your family, your your friends, and your community need you to be the best you can be in their context as well.  Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect To Build is Human

As I look back over the week, it strikes me that, at least according to my definitions, one characteristics that the best leader, the best employee, the best colleague all need to posses is selflessness. A vision that stretches beyond and is bigger than me. I don’t see how I could possibly be the best leader, employee, or especially colleague if I was focused only on myself. I don’t think that can...

You may not be an employee. You may be the boss! Or, you may be a solo architect that’s neither employee nor employer. If that’s your context today, that doesn’t mean that this conversation isn’t for you. I’m guessing that at some point in your career you’ve been an employee. When I was getting ready to graduate from college, I got a couple of memorable pieces of advice. One was to work like it wa...

How are architecture, historic preservation, sustainability, race, and gender connected? That's the question we'll start with Thursday on Context & Clarity LIVE. Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail will welcome architect and preservation professional, Nakita Reed to Context & Clarity. In addition to her work at Quinn Evans, Nakita speaks on the topic of interconnectedness and has a wo...

I believe there’s a leadership vacuum today. It doesn’t matter where you look, politics, corporate, family, the church… I think the world is starving for leaders. I’m not sure if this is accurate or not, but it seems to me that leadership has eroded over time. It didn’t disappear over night. So, if I’m right. If we’re in desperate need of good leaders what does it take to be a good leader? I think...

All week, we’ve been talking about thinking bigger; bigger than your own work, bigger than the profession, bigger than you, the individual. We've considered how we’re connected as communities, in the human condition, and through the built environment. The question today is: What’s the least that you can do? If we continue talking about, wondering about, arguing about, even ignoring the interconnec...

How can it be that there empty, abandoned buildings, and there are homeless people? There are buildings that need people and people that need buildings. There's an interconnectedness of architecture, historic preservation, sustainability, race, and gender that you may not realize, that you may have never thought about. The question is, once we understand those connections what are we going to do a...

Do you work in a silo? Are you in a bubble? Silos aren’t just in big firms and they're a big threat. How can we do our best work, be our best selves in a silo? O believe we thrive when we immerse ourselves in our community. I think we need to break down silos, understand the people that we work with, that we work for, that are impacted by what we do. Afterall, how can we do our best work, if we do...

It’s easy to get caught up in your profession. The good, the bad, the ugly. The ability of design to change lives. Why don’t people understand what we do? Are HGTV and Houzz ruining us? The intensity of the past 12 months with massive layoffs, food insecurity, racial and social strife, and polarized politics, tells us there’s more to worry about than HGTV, but what can architecture, or an architec...

What's more important, courage or confidence? That's the question we'll start with Thursday on Context & Clarity LIVE. What do you think? Is one more important than the other? Can you have one without the other?  In a surprise twist, Jeff Echols and Katharine MacPhail don't welcome Debbie Millman, but instead, writer, Roxane Gay to talk about being creative, putting yourself out there, an...

A few weeks ago, someone brought up a very real risk for small and especially solo firms. What happens when one of us gets sick, or worse, maybe incapacitated? That’s really easy to imagine in the midst of a global pandemic, so I’d like to explore how we should prepare for an extended shut down. Is there a way to create a safety net to help our colleagues in a time of extreme need? For the good of...

Do you use email marketing? Do you have an email newsletter? Just like any digital or social effort, email marketing takes creativity, and persistence. You need to be consistent and that’s not easy. In the spirit of full transparency, I spent a few weeks recently burning down my email list. Now, I have a small list of people that are interested enough that they said, please keep sending me emails....

Are you confident? Are you authentically confident? You might say, of course I'm confident. Don’t all professionals need confidence? The answer is probably yes, but think about what's necessary to become authentically confident. It starts with courage and taking the first step forward. Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect To Build is Human

Do you suffer from perfectionism? I know it’s hard, especially in a profession so vulnerable to disputes. Of course you want things to be perfect. What’s that perfection costing you? What are you missing out on? The bottom line is that perfect is an excuse. Perfectionism is the opposite of courage. What are you going to do today to move forward? What’s your next step? Mentioned in this episode: To...

Do you have impostor syndrome? Have you ever felt you’re not good enough, not qualified enough?  I think there are plenty of times in an architect’s career that they may experience imposter syndrome. What qualifies you to work on that new project type? or that project that’s bigger than you’ve done before? You realize that’s a ridiculous fear right? I know we have these fears, but if we reall...

How do you speak human in a technology world? That's the question we'll start with Thursday on Context & Clarity LIVE. Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail will welcome Bryan Kramer, who's best know for sparking the "Human 2 Human" movement. He's the author of, "There Is No B2B or B2C: It’s Human to Human H2H” and "Shareology: How Sharing is Powering the Human Economy". The question for Br...

What are you afraid of? As I think back across my career, I realize that many of the worst stories I have to tell, start with fear. Maybe you’ve experienced similar things. I've suffered from fear of not having work, a scarcity mindset, fear of making phone calls, I guess fear of rejection, and fear of having difficult, honest conversations. What are you afraid of? What fear is holding you back ri...

You're probably posting something online right now, but is it what you should be posting? If you want to connect with clients online, what should you be posting? What does what you post say about you and what do you become known for? Let's talk about what architects should post on social media and why. Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect To Build is Human

The more technology creeps into our lives and our worlds, the easier it is to connect and work, but what are we losing? Are we making better, more meaningful connections? At the same time that technology is making it easier to communicate, it is making it harder to connect on a human level? Mentioned in this episode: To Build is Human EntreArchitect

There’s so much incredible technology at your disposal right now. At a minimum, you may be using some BIM software right now. Maybe the least you’re doing in presentations is spinning the BIM model around or showing photorealistic renderings. You may even be using some form of virtual reality or even augmented reality program. How do you feel about AI in architecture? When’s that going to creep in...

If you're busy and overwhelmed by inquiries, how do you respond? You may use automation or other technology in to help you weed through and qualify leads, schedule conversations, and onboard new clients, but how do you keep the personal touch in technology driven processes? Afterall, your clients want an architect that feels like the right fit. They don't want to buy architecture from  Amazon...

How can emotional intelligence change your life? Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail welcome Enoch Sears, founder, architect, and host of the podcast, "Business of Architecture". • How can emotional intelligence change your life and business? • How can you understand your clients better? • How can you get to know yourself better? Share your experience and advice, and ask your questions. Menti...