Context & Clarity for Small Firm Architects

Practices have changed over the past 12 months. They'll continue to change. The biggest challenge going forward may be bringing 2019 humanity into a 2021 firm that will remain remote or be some hybrid model. How do we bring humanity, the camaraderie, the personsal connections, the ease of face-to-face that we had, into a permanently remote or hybrid workplace? Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchi...

This isn’t the first time we’ve covered Instagram on Context & Clarity, but it’s been one of our most popular social media topics. It makes sense. The photo and video sharing format plays well with architects wanting to share project photos, sketches, and drone videos. Unlike TikTok, that we talked about last week, I’m guessing you’re probably on Instagram. Lots of architects and other designe...

Since we talk about business of architecture type topics every day on Context & Clarity, talking all week about empathy and emotional intelligence, this week may have come as a surprise. I mean, why wouldn’t we talk about business systems or marketing or something like that? Well, as it turns out, developing emotional intelligence can affect your business, your relationships, and your life, so...

How do we understand ourselves better? I’m talking about emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence is our capability to recognize our own emotions… and those of others (like in empathy) and our ability to discern between different feelings, and label those feelings, and use that information to guide uor thinking and our behavior, and adjust to situations. It seems to me that emotional intelli...

We all move through phases as we experience crisis. It starts with denial, then we start to rationalize somehow, you may dip into depression, before you finally get to acceptance, and hopefully, growth. But this global pandemic and economic, political, and social turmoil has been going on for a year. You don’t necessarily go through those phases on a linear path. You may take two steps forward and...

How do we build a culture of better work? Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail welcome Max Yoder, Co-Founder and CEO of Lessonly, and author of "Do Better Work." • What roles do communication, understanding, and accountability play in creating a culture of good work? • Why is perfectionism a threat? • How should we respond to volatility? Share your experience and advice, and ask your questions...

What we’re really talking about is Empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person, your client, maybe, what they’re experiencing from their point of view. It’s our ability to put ourselves in their shoes. How do you expect to convince someone of the value of what you do, if you don’t put yourself in their shoes? How do you change someone’s life through your work, if you...

There’s A LOT more going on on TikTok than teenage girls dancing. It’s a social media platform that’s come a long way since it’s beginnings as a lip-syncing platform called music.ly. Yes, there are some architects on TikTok. Not that many, but the one’s that are there that I know about are doing some incredible work. They’re telling stories about projects. They’re showing people how to sketch. The...

How can leaders foster workplace culture that produces better work? There's something at the intersection of understanding, communication, and accountability that seems to be the key to us doing better work and being better in our work and in our life. What if you could build a culture in your firm, not only that everyone loved, but that encouraged everyone to do better work? Mentioned in this epi...

We all communicate, but when do we communicate, why do we communicate, and how do we communicate? This conversation about a culture of communication isn't only for firm leaders. It's as much for employees as owners. It isn't only for firms with employees. It's for sole practitioners as well. Because even if you work alone, you don’t work alone. You have clients, contractors, consultants, and other...

For many firms and many people the Global Pandemic brought about radical change to the workplace. Some of that change will be permanent. Some firms are chomping at the bit to get back to what they used to know as normal. What makes a great workplace culture and what does that even mean in a post-Pandemic world? How are things going to continue to change? Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect T...

How do we take back the Master Builder? That's the question we'll start with today on Context & Clarity LIVE. Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail welcome Al Gore and Lance Cayko, Co-Founders of F9 Productions, Co-hosts of the Inside The Firm Podcast, and Teachers of the Architect to Builder course. Many in the profession rue the day that architects gave up the role of...

In a competitive job market, talent and recruitment can be a challenge. In fact, prior to the Pandemic, multiple studies and surveys showed demonstrated that the main concern of firm leaders across the country and, in fact the biggest threat to the AEC industry was lack of available, qualified talent. How do we keep our best employees? If you're an employee, what makes you want to stick around? Me...

Are you using Facebook for your business? Do you have a personal profile? A business page? Have you built a group where you can build a community for your clients? Facebook occupies a large swath of our collective conciousness, so what are the pros and cons, the best practices for using Facebook as an architect, for your architecture firm? Or, should you be using Facebook for your architecture fir...

Many in the profession rue the day that architects gave up the role of master builder. What if you could (if you wanted to) re-establish your place as master builder. How can an architect learn to be more than an architect, learn to be more than an architect, deliver more value to their clients? How can an architect learn to be a builder? Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect To Build is Human

How many times have you met with a prospective client, delivered a proposal to them within 24 hours that detailed everything you talked about... and then they ghosted you? Or they came back and wanted lots of explanation, or worse, wanted you to reduce your fee? How can you write a proposal that's so clear that there's no way that your client can say 'no'? Should you even be writing and emailing p...

How much should you charge? I’m not asking what your hourly rate should be and I’m not talking about a standard fee schedule for the profession. If you think about the value generated by your work, what should you charge for that? How could your practice be transformed if you understood exactly your client valued, on an emotional level, and set your fees based on that value? Mentioned in this epis...

Context & Clarity LIVE - feat. Seth Godin - How did we get here and where do we go from here? Today we welcome Seth Godin, host of the Akimbo podcast, founder of altMBA, author of "The Practice," and a dozen other business books you should read. • How are architects perceived by the public? • What affects that perception? • What can architects do to change that perception? These are just some...

It can be hard to assign a dollar value to the work that you, as an architect do for your clients. studies have shown that people rarely assign value to a number, a price. What if your client somehow makes an emotional connection with the work that you do? Would they be willing to pay you as much as 200% more than another option? Should we be focused on those emotional connections rather than the...

Expectations are a two-way street. Your client expect you to meet a certain schedule and you probably have to manage the workload to meet their schedule plus the schedules of your other clients as well. How are you going to meet their schedule and manage the work load? Maybe a better question is, are you actively working to set their schedule and manage their expectations? Mentioned in this episod...

Architecture is not a perfect profession. There's plenty to love, but from starchitects, to McMansions, to developers, to the HGTV effect, there are plenty of complaints being voiced as well. Do you remember how we got here? More importantly, do you know how we can change the course of the future of the profession?  Mentioned in this episode: EntreArchitect To Build is Human

Is Twitter a useful tool for architects? Are you on Twitter? If you're there are you actually tweeting anything out? Is posting there even the best use of the platform? Here are two things you can do on Twitter that may be even more useful for architects than posting a link to your latest project or article. Mentioned in this episode: To Build is Human EntreArchitect

We all need to have boundaries, if for no other reason than to protect your relationship with your client. Are your clients calling, or emailing, or even texting all hours of the day and night? Do they expect you to pick up or provide an immediate response? How do you handle a client that gets upset if you aren't available 24/7? When do you set your boundaries? How do you set your boundaries and,...

Context & Clarity LIVE - Change your business, feat. Mike Michalowicz What's the most important change you need to make right now? That's the question we'll start with today on Context & Clarity LIVE. Today, Katharine White MacPhail and I will welcome Mike Michalowicz, author of "Profit First," "Fix This Next," and a number of other business books you should read. • What do you need to fix...

Have you ever ended up in a bind because you didn't get explicit approval from your client to move forward to the next phase of work? On one hand, that idea sounds odd because you're the professional and you should be directing the work, but how are you tying your invoicing, maybe even additional services to your phases of design services? Do you have a process for getting approval before you move...