Context & Clarity for Small Firm Architects

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 others in your ecosystem and therefore, culture.Mentioned in this episode:All AccessAll Access

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:All AccessAll Access

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 the master builder. Some, think the idea of the modern architect becoming the modern master builder is absurd, so here are the questions:• Can architects re-establish the role of master builder?• Should architects reclaim that role?• Should you become the master builder?Share your thoughts and opinions, and ask your questions.Mentioned in this episode:All AccessAll Access

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?Mentioned in this episode:All AccessAll Access

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 firm?Mentioned in this episode:All AccessAll Access

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:All AccessAll Access

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 proposals?Mentioned in this episode:All AccessAll Access

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 episode:All AccessAll Access

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 of the topics we'll discuss. What questions do you have?Mentioned in this episode:All AccessAll Access

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 fact that it’s hard to quantify some dollar value your work creates.Mentioned in this episode:All AccessAll Access