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The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) registered positive growth for American architecture firms during the month of November 2019. According to a newly published report from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the ABI scored at 51.9 last month, signaling the second month of modest... View full entry
Efforts to modernize suburban campuses can be as basic as organizing placemaking activities like after-work concerts or food truck Fridays. Usually, though, they require a much deeper investment in elements like upgraded lobbies, outdoor furniture, ball courts, fitness centers, grab-and-go cafes, greenways, bike storage facilities and open-plan offices that let in substantial natural light. — The New York Times
In her NYT piece about the renewed commercial interest in the suburban office park typology, Amanda Abrams takes a closer look at the latest investments and transformations at North Carolina's Research Triangle Park. "After all, with downtowns everywhere becoming increasingly expensive," writes... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core How many times have you sent a client past-due invoices, only to hear nothing back? Small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the U.S. were owed $825 billion in 2016, according to figures released by invoicing financing company Fundbox. And the value of... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core As an architect, you want to spend your time designing, creating, and innovating. But as a firm principal, you need to make sure you have a healthy cash flow to pay for those projects and support your passions. Manage your cash flow well, and you can stay in... View full entry
The rise of the start-up, non-traditional approach to becoming a design professional has turned into a movement popular amongst self-starters, inquisitive young adults, and those wishing to make a career pivot. The "unconventional design education" has fostered an attitude intended to motivate... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core Your world revolves around projects. And while you know it’s important to keep these projects running smoothly and profitably, it’s not always obvious what you should be tracking to ensure the outcome you desire. The growth and ultimate success of... View full entry
Sometimes there's that candidate with the perfect application package. It's too good to be true. At least it seems so. There may be some question marks surrounding a few details. Maybe the experience level doesn't match the reported responsibilities on a particular project. Someone two years out... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core If you want your clients to respect and treat you like the expert you are, instead of as an employee or subordinate, then you need to set clear and consistent boundaries with them. Far too often, we don’t take the time to think through the consequences of... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core. All too often architects find themselves dealing with clients and prospects who treat them as employees, rather than fellow business owners (Related: Clients from Hell… and Other Love Stories). Even if your clients aren’t difficult on purpose... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core How would you like an extra $2,800 tax deduction at the end of the year? For 2018 (filing your taxes in 2019), the IRS lets you deduct 54.5 cents per mile for business purposes. So, if you drive 100 miles a week for business, that’s a potential mileage... View full entry
This post is brought to you by BQE Core. ePayments will allow BQE Core users to speed up cash flow by sending automated invoices that clients can pay instantly via credit or debit cards. BQE Software Inc. and Stripe have partnered to help professional service firms get paid faster via online... View full entry
Demand for design services in July remained essentially flat in comparison to the previous month, according to a new report released today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).
AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 50.1 in July showed a small increase in design services since June, which was a score of 49.1.
— AIA
"The data is not the same as what we saw leading up to the last economic downturn, but the continued slowing across the board will undoubtedly impact architecture firms and the broader construction industry in the coming months," said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. "A growing... View full entry
An organization that relies upon individual goals or performance benchmarks to evaluate employees...needs to be careful to design competitions and structure comparisons that thwart the efforts of some workers to sabotage their colleagues. Otherwise, saboteurs may bring down everyone’s numbers — including their own. — Stanford Business
Associate professor, Szu-chi Huang at the Stanford Graduate School of Business has been studying how competitions within the workplace materialize among larger teams. She explains that competition inside companies "is something that needs to be carefully structured and managed." And that while... View full entry
Companies want employees to share what they know. After all, research has found that this leads to greater creativity, more innovation, and better performance, for individuals, teams, and organizations. Yet despite companies’ attempts to encourage knowledge-sharing, many employees withhold what they know — a phenomenon known as knowledge hoarding or knowledge hiding. — Harvard Business Review
A team of researchers have been exploring the dynamics behind knowledge sharing in work environments. While this is something many leaders encourage, their study has found that sometimes individuals within a team have certain reasons for hiding knowledge that might be able to help the rest of the... View full entry
It is critical that we learn to distinguish and differentiate our roles from our self. We get into trouble when we lose ourselves in our role instead of thinking in a detached way about how the role is viewed by others...we forget that others in our organizations are reacting to the role we represent in their work lives, not necessarily the interesting and thoughtful people we think we are. — Harvard Business Review
When we identify who we are with what we do professionally, set backs at work can often prompt us to spiral down emotionally. When something is merely an organizational issue we take it as a personal issue. Harvard University Lecturer, Timothy O’Brien, talks about the importance of... View full entry
