When in architecture school, we each had a professor who told us that architecture should be practiced for the art and the art alone. “If you want to make money”, he said, “quit now, take a walk across campus and enroll at the business school.” Some took the advice, left the profession and today are […]
Getting Publicity
The February issue of Architect magazine includes an article written by Fred Bernstein titled, Getting The Publicity You Need. In December, Claire Whitaker closed the doors of The Kreisberg Group, a P.R. firm she lead as president for five years, and moved across town to her new position as the head of public relations for […]
Customer Evangelists
Traditionally, architects have obtained commissions through word of mouth. Complete a project successfully and your client will recommend your firm to their friends and family. What if your clients not only recommended your firm, but worshipped it? What if they were so happy with your services that they went out of their way to spread […]
White Windows
Many years ago, before Annmarie and I started our residential architecture firm, I was a project manager with Kaeyer, Garment & Davidson Architects in Mt. Kisco, New York. I worked very closely with the senior partner at the time, Dick Kaeyer. My first assignment as Project Manager was a major addition and renovation project for […]
Corporations Seek MBAs with Design Skills
The February issue of Contract magazine includes an article titled, Design Business. In addition to the prerequisite MBA, top corporations are seeking candidates with empathizing, problem-finding and creative design skills. Many business schools are integrating design courses with their MBA curriculum. Design schools are finally getting the message as well. Business skills are an important […]
Remark-able Customer Service
I am constantly looking to other industries to find ideas for my own business (a great tip for architects in itself). Here’s a very interesting post about customer service by Joel Spolsky, CEO of Fog Creek Software.