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Hi! I'm Michael.
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Welcome to this week's useletter.
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The newsletter that's useful. Focussed on your future not my past.
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Hello once again fine reader.
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Today I’m at my dining table. Which is of little relevance except to say, sometimes it’s impossible to know where people are at. I could send you a photo of what I see and you’d know a little bit more, but not what’s behind me, or what mood I’m in, or what I had for lunch and whether it agreed with me or not, etc, etc.
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We’re seldom across all the facts.
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And our assumptions can be misleading.
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I was reminded of all this in a meeting with my MPhil supervisors. I’d made an assertion that large architectural practices were well across innovation and R&D in readiness for change. It turns out I was wrong (by and large). My supervisor had academic research to back it up.
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So it turns out a vast majority of the profession is not really managing future readiness, for many of the reasons I’ve written about (see blog posts below), but for more complex and curly reasons. It’ll likely form part of my MPhil research in some way shape or form.
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I’m thinking about slightly different things this fortnight.
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so it’s not so much keeping up,
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as a call for people to keep up(beat).
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I recognise that in all my posts on architectural practices becoming more future ready, there may also be a fair bit of anxiety and uncertainty that’s taking a mental toll.
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So this fortnight here’s to keeping up(beat).
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PS: Last chance if you're interested in playing around with the AI tools I built as an experiment. Here's a little reminder of what you can try...
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ArchFuture: Future-proof your architectural practice. Assess your firm's readiness across technology, business models, sustainability, and collaboration with our comprehensive evaluation tool.
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ArchCoach: is an AI-powered coaching assistant I developed. Designed specifically for architects to help you think through challenges and improve your practice.
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Keep up
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As I typed those two words the first thing that came to mind was Bobby McFerrin’s hit song from the late 80’s Don’t Worry Be Happy.
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They did then, and they still do.
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Not only is it OK not to be OK, and it’s not helpful to deny it and just "be happy".
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I also realise a call to *keep up(beat)* might also be accused of falling into the trap of forcing a mood. And it’s not my intention for you to do so. I do however want to suggest this fortnight that you adopt hope, so that you might keep up.
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And when I say hope, I mean:
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“Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up. Hopeful people are actively engaged in defying or changing the odds. Optimism leans back, puts its feet up, and wears a confident look, knowing that the deck is stacked.” - David Orr
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To take the small first step to keep up.
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And actively engaging in defying or changing the odds.
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Hence I mean for you to keep up(beat) and also to start think about how you might build a more future ready architecture practice, without it nagging and worrying at you.
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if you’re not OK, please reach out. I’m here to support in whatever way I might be able.
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Here’s to hope and keeping upbeat.
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The culture of practice workshops
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Workshops ending with better practice
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Master practice skills, leadership and elevate your team’s culture.
Build a more efficient and adaptable practice, with a plan for the future.
Level up team skills to amplify practice capabilities, wellbeing and passion.ion.
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Free 45 minute Practice Clarity Consultation
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recent useful blog posts...
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It might be time for the architecture profession’s leaders to starting learning form the ground up.
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There’s two main ways to stand out. Be different. or Be better. Copying is the route to unexceptional.
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Or…
do architects do too many of the wrong things?
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“Hopefulness is not a neutral position. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism.” - Nick Cave
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