Rich the Architect

Technology Silos exist in all aspects of life and work. In the past year I have experienced some negative aspects of this though working with collaborators on a project that use their own workarounds for their own efficiency. In this case it has made others less efficient, including the team I am working on. On the other side, silos similar to this can make a project more efficient. Think of specialty tools for a contractor, which I give the example of a drywall contractor here.

What are some technology silos you can think of, positvie or negative, in your day to day? Let me know your thoughts, and email me at: [email protected]

Now that I've identified my principles how do I test them on a regular basis. On this episode I go over how I have a weekly meeting with myself (coffee and breakfast provided by my boss, oh wait that's me) to identify certain situations in the past week and test to see which principles were used. Then I go over how I may be able to use these principles to evaluate an ideal team member to work with, whether its an employee, consultant, or client.

Combining the last two principles, which are Principle 7 (Quick Communication) and 8 (Follow the Follow). Both work well together because I want to get information to others as quick as possible, and once that information is in their hands I want to make sure the next steps are being made by others.

The details of a project can be broken down into not only the design of a project, but also the design of the process of a project.

The daily grind of running and operating a business can take its toll over time, so making sure I'm fresh and ready to go is very important. I go over how I can keep it fresh on business operations and processes, along with how I do it on a daily basis.

As a younger professional I worked with a senior project manager who would tell me to always look at the pros and cons of whatever is involved in the design of a project. Today, I still look at that and sometimes it can help me determine if a client is a good fit or not. I also offer my opinions of made up deadlines for designing for the environment that is a sure sign of an groups or individuals pushing an agenda rather than an idea that is beneficial to all.

With my third principle, it's fitting that this is being released in August, since this is the month most people do slow down. I came up with this principle in response to how I've seen stress being created in project with unrealistic expectations to project timelines and expected quality of product. Slowing down has led to better quality and less stress, and I go into detail how I deliver that.

The second firm principle is Simplify the Complex. This principle's basic premise is to take any project and break down into smaller, digestible parts. I give a few examples here, the first is how a project used phasing to simplify a lab renovation project I worked on for construction coordination modeling. I also go into how I break apart a typical residential project into design and approval drawings, and then simplify the fees charged to match these deliverables.