When we talk about firm culture, our first thoughts lead us to a busy studio full of staff working with dozens of clients. Don't we need a firm full of people before we can have a firm culture? What if we work alone, as many of you do? Do you have a culture? If so, how important is it to our ultimate success as an architect?

As you may have guessed, Mark R. LePage has a few ideas on that subject. This week on EntreArchitect Podcast, Mark shares his thoughts on The Sole Practitioner Architecture Firm Culture.

Culture is one of those things that sits there and becomes what it becomes if it’s not intentionally thought about and planned. Is your firm culture positive and healthy? Is it doing what it’s supposed to be doing? Is it a negative culture that’s harming your success? Take a look at last week’s episode for more about the importance of scheduling some time to think about your culture and develop your own Foundation of Values.

Marica McKeel, guest writer for this week’s EntreArchitect blog, is working hard to build her newly-growing firm’s culture using off-site weekend retreats to build into her team.

But what if you practice alone and don’t have any staff…do you still have to worry about firm culture? Even a firm culture of one is important. A firm culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how our teams interact and how they handle transactions inside and outside of the studio environment.

If you have beliefs and behaviors and you interact with others inside and outside of the studio environment, then you have a culture; it’s a firm culture of one. What makes up a firm culture of one?

Think of firm culture as the “vibe”. When you walk into your space, what’s the vibe you get? Is it a good feeling, or do you feel your body tense up and your head start to hurt? That’s your culture speaking to you. Just as in large firms, sole practitioners have to be intentional about their firm culture.

FreshBooks

Developing a Powerful Small Firm Culture from the Ground Up by Marica McKeel

EntreArchitect Facebook Group

EntreArchitect Academy

EntreArchitect Academy Digital Course: Construction Management for Small Firm Architects

Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Solis Images

The post EA119: The Sole Practitioner Architecture Firm Culture [Podcast] appeared first on EntreArchitect // Small Firm Entrepreneur Architects.

Mentioned in this episode:

Emerging

Unstruct

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