The Leadership BluePrint Podcast

In this episode...

Leo Panian, Principal Engineer at Tipping Structural Engineers, offers insight into how his firm is able to attract and retain high quality engineers, including those engineers coming right out of school who tend to bounce from firm to firm.

Episode highlights include:

• Benefits of investing in new hire training
• How to create a culture of engagement
• Leo's best advice for young engineers

Teaching new employees how to communicate with clients, present engineering concepts, and run software are all important parts of their training.

BUT the biggest advantage to investing in new engineers is that it maintains a strong team-centered culture built on trust, openness, and compassion.

This allows a firm to hire top talent while also creating leadership opportunities from within the ranks of the company.

Great podcast for leaders as well as students in the Design World!

About Leo Panian..

Leo is a Principal Engineer at Tipping Structural Engineers headquartered in Berkeley, CA. 

Leo has successfully managed many of the firm's ambitious projects, including the SF Public Utilities Commission Headquarters building, UC Berkeley's Campbell Hall, and an IDIQ contract with the National Parks Service that includes the 2011 post-earthquake evaluation of the Washington Monument.

While he has a wealth of experience in a range of project types, he specializes in steel and concrete structures with a focus on seismic engineering. 

Check out Leo Panian on LinkedIn here.

Jeff Echols, of EntreArchitect, helps support small firm entrepreneur architects with free leadership and business education online.

In April 2020, Jeff started a daily livestream show called Context & Clarity LIVE as a means for architects to connect and support each other through the COVID pandemic.

He also hosts the Build Your Brand Podcast, a mini-series exploring how the best brands in the world think and act differently.

In this episode,

Jeff shares his experiences on how social media content can influence the architecture community. Topics include:

• Advantages of doing livestream
• Why you should give free resources/content with no expectations
• And his biggest takeaway on how architects can improve their leadership mindset

While networking with architects all over the world in over 500 podcasts, he has great insight into the world of small firm architects and the content they find most valuable.

Context & Clarity is a podcast, livestream, and conversation on the Clubhouse app.

Join the daily Context & Clarity livestream on the EntreArchitect Community Facebook Group

Cyberattacks aren't a new phenomenon in 2021, but they are more prevalent than ever with more employees working from home.

Design Firms commonly have liability insurance, but fewer opt for cyber insurance? They rely heavily on email communication and online databases to store client and project information. If this data were breached, this could have devastating consequences.

Boris Rapoport founded a company called ArchIT to address cybersecurity specific to Architecture, Design and Engineering firms. His company understands the software tools that that design professionals use on a daily basis (Revit, Autocad, Bluebeam, etc) and the unique infrastructure needed to protect them.

In this episode...

Boris Rapoport, CEO of ArchIT, joins co-hosts Zach Waters and Courtnee Stevenson to discuss the many layers of protection that Design Firms can implement to decrease their risk of a cyberattack 

Topics covered include:

• Email security
• Password hygiene
• Social engineering
• Processing a cyber claim

Tons of great tips on how to protect your firm!

Email Zach at [email protected] if you'd like to discuss how to add a cyber policy to your insurance program.

Email Boris at [email protected] with any cybersecurity questions or if you're interested in ArchIT.

ArchIT website: http://getarchit.com 

Architects by nature are more left-brained, creative and imaginative in their thinking. But what happens when an architect becomes a CEO or Principal and has to use more right-brain thinking like numbers and reason.

You can see how this can become a problem for architects who take on ownership roles at a firm. 

Architects need financial education that isn't taught in school.

Patrick MacLeamy has leadership experience in the Design Industry to help teach architects and engineers the business side of running a firm.

Patrick spent 50 years at HOK - starting as a Junior Designer at HOK St. Louis in 1967, later becoming Principal at the San Francisco office, COO in 1997, and finally CEO in 2003. He ran the firm for 13 years, helping it grow into one of the top architecture and engineering firms in the world!

He is also currently a Chairman at buildingSMART and the host of the Build Smart Podcast.

In this episode...

Patrick first discusses how firm leaders can cope with COVID-19 and other uncertain economic times... How to make budget cuts? How to approach financial decisions as a team?

Patrick then teaches us about the 3 rules for financial health at a Design Firm. These rules can be found in his new book Designing a World-Class Architecture Firm: The People, Stories, and Strategies Behind HOK:

• 50% Rule: How many people can you afford?
• 10 Month Rule: How much backlog do I need?
• 90 Day Rule: How can long can I afford to wait before being paid?

If you're running a Design Firm and need clear guidelines on how to handle the finances, then this podcast is a must listen!

Ray Brown is the Co-Founder and Chief Mentor at Archibiz, a company who specializes in business education for Architects to build profitable and sustainable practices.

Ray is a business coach and entrepreneur who has worked in the UK, South Africa and the US. He operated at CEO level for over 25 years before relocating to Australia in 2005.

Ray's passion is helping business owners realize their personal potential and that of their organization.

In this episode...

Ray breaks down the 3 most impactful ways to increase your architecture firm's profitability. 

1. Having a vision - where do you want to be in 5 years? Are all employees on the same path?
2. Using financial measures - establish ways to measure if you are reaching your financial goals
3. Positioning/Specializing - get really good at a few specialties and be picky when choosing clients

Connect with Ray on LinkedIn

Learn more about Archibiz

This is the second podcast with Patrick MacLeamy, former CEO of HOK and Founder of buildingSMART International. He has worked with architects and designers for over 50 years!

Zach and Patrick continue their discussion of the lessons Design Professionals can learn from his book, Designing a World-Class Architecture Firm: The People, Stories and Strategies Behind HOK. 

In this episode...

Patrick shares the origin story of HOK and how its founder George Hellmuth came up with the innovative leadership ideas that made the architecture firm so successful. Patrick goes through Hellmuth's key principles for a depression-proof firm and how they can be applied today.

Four Principles for a Depression-Proof Firm:

1. Attract and keep talented people
2. Provide full time marketing
3. Diversify project building type, geography, and services
4. Leadership needs to be specialized

For more information on Patrick's book go to macleamy.com.

Also check out the first podcast with Patrick, Episode 1 of The Leadership BluePrint Podcast, where he discusses the difference between managing and leading.

Marissa Feliciano is an expert on building business relationships, specifically at a Design Firm. She is currently the Business Development Manager at HPI Architecture. She is responsible for leading business development and client stewardship for the Senior Living division and establishing a continuous and consistent brand presence for the firm.

Marissa has been invited to speak at industry events and on podcasts on such topics as:

• Business Development
• The Seller-Doer Model
• Personal Branding
• Speaking and Storytelling
• Business Networking and Relationships

In this episode...

Marissa discusses the elements of emotional intelligence that make a great leader.

Daniel Goleman's five elements of emotional intelligence are:

1. Self Awareness
2. Self Regulation
3. Motivation
4. Empathy
5. Social Skills

This episode puts a special focus on how empathy can improve your leadership. Being open to new ideas, recognizing your weaknesses, and mentoring new employees all require this characteristic.

Zach and Marissa also discuss how vulnerability and empathy work hand in hand to improve your leadership.

Tune into this episode to learn strategies that can help you build better relationships with your team and your clients!

References from podcast:

What Makes a Leader: Why Emotional Intelligence Matters by Daniel Goleman

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Mindset by Carol Dweck (on growth mindset vs fixed mindset)

Brene Brown Ted Talk on vulnerability

Simon Sinek: how can leaders show empathy?

If you have any questions for Marissa, message her on LinkedIn.

John McNulty is the Founding Principal of MBH Architects, a full service architectural firm headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area with offices in New York City, Denver, and Mumbai.

As a member of the US Navy and a lifelong philanthropist, McNulty has cultivated a firm that is devoted to teamwork and community service projects.

MBH works with the Good Tidings Foundation to design art, music, and athletic spaces for children in underserved communities across the US. The firm also has an internal community service committee to promote firm member's volunteerism.

In this episode...

McNulty gives us the components of building a successful team and how he has been able to implement these at MBH over the past 30 years. He addresses questions including... 

• What do you do when a talented employee is a poor teammate?
• How to retain employees over time in a society where people are constantly jumping job to job?
• Why he implemented peer reviews across all departments at his firm? 
• What advice would you give up-and-coming Design Professionals?

McNulty is a great person and leader! A lot can be learned from the positive culture he has created at MBH!

To learn all about MBH including its design projects and philanthropic work to to http://www.mbharch.com/

Today, 83% of prospective clients are eliminating firms from consideration, because of their online presence.

Design Professionals used to be able to rely on word-of-mouth referrals to gain clients, but nowadays websites and social media are the best way to market.

Bryon McCartney, of ARCHMARK, is a branding and marketing guru who specifically works with Architectural Firms to increase their visibility and attract better clients. 

IN THIS EPISODE..

Bryon talks about many factors that create an effective Design Firm website. He has evaluated and graded over 500 design firm websites! So it's safe to say he's done his research.

He shares some major mistakes Design Firms are making including

• Out-dated software
• Poor first impression on home page
• No communication of company values
• Inconsistent branding

Is your firm's website sending the right message to future clients?

For information on Bryon McCartney and ARCHMARK go to archmark.co 

Tyler Pew, the Founding Principle of LMNOP Design, is featured on this episode of The Leadership BluePrint Podcast. 

His firm LMNOP Design works collaboratively with their clients to answer the following questions:

"How can the design improve the customer experience?"

"How are users going to connect to the brand?"

"Is the design lining up with the client's values?"

Even a small decision like a restaurant's table size can have an impact on the overall customer dining experience. Tyler takes pride in paying attention to these details and branding his project's environment in the correct way. 

An exciting project discussed in the episode is his firm's design for a Municipal Marketplace in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. They are working with a non-profit organization called La Cocina (Spanish for "the kitchen") that supports low-income and immigrant women growing food businesses. 

It sounds like an amazing organization that is making a big impact for small business in the community. Check out these links!

Learn more about the La Cocina Municipal Marketplace

Get to know the women behind La Cocina's new marketplace.

Tyler goes on to talk about the ways we as a Design Industry can support diversity & inclusion in our communities. 

To learn more about Tyler and LMNOP Design check out lmnopdesigninc.com