News

Date: March 06, 2020
Location: WeWork, 2700 Post Oak Blvd.
Session Sponsors: DPR Construction, The Mathis Group
Venue Sponsor: House & Roberson
Leaders: Jean Daly, Rick De La Cruz
Documentation: Marcia Eddington & Sandy Veras
Speakers: Willow Curry, Amanda Tullos, Bonny McLoud, Maggie Wooldridge, Christian Sheridan, Joe Rivers, Jose Ignacio Perezanta

Jean Daly and Rick De La Cruz led the sixth session of the 2019-2020 Christopher Kelly Leadership Program, “Trending Now” at We Work in the Galleria. The session began with Willow Curry, Writer, Researcher, and Social Practice Artist and her approach to practicing activism in Art, Architecture, and Design within our communities. The discussion focused on how using your profession for positive social change can elevate sustainable community development.

Shifting from community development to sustainable development the scholars welcomed Amanda Tullus to discuss current trends in sustainability. Each scholar talked about what they would like to get out of sustainability in their careers and how we can make sustainability a basis of design, beginning with commitments to quantify goals in any given project.

After a short break the scholars switched gears to discuss parenthood and architecture with Bonny McLoud and Christian Sheridan. Bonny and Christian gave an overview of their experiences balancing the effects of parenthood both personally, within their project teams, and at the office. Once the discussion commenced scholars took a building tour of the We Work offices highlighting the co-working spaces that have been created to allow for versatility and adjustability.

Following the tour the last speakers of the day were Joe Rivers and Jose Ignacia Perezanta to discuss social media platforms and how you can use them to your advantage. The round table focused on how to reach outside your circles, formulate something of value, and be patient to allow things to grow.

Date: February 7, 2020
Location: Workplace Solutions
Session Sponsors: ACME Brick, Co.; Workplace Solutions
Leaders: Marcia Eddington, Sandy Veras
Documentation: Scott Dailey & Lara Richard

The 2019-20 CKLDP class met at Workplace Solutions to hear from a variety of presenters on the art of negotiation. Speakers included developer Ian Rosenberg, consultant Sofia Fronseca, and a panel featuring Sheila Condon, Daimian Hines, Lisa Louck, and JD Ramseur. The presenters and panel worked with scholars to sharpen their skills in negotiation and presentation.

Managing the Message and Relationships: The Investor/Developer Perspective, Ian Rosenberg, INFILL

Ian is a Houston-based historic rehabilitation developer. He worked on a master plan for Sawyer Yards with Sandy (Session leader) and has a lengthy project repertoire in central Houston.

Key Takeaways:

• Worked at Federal Reserve after graduating from undergrad
• Began doing facilities improvement project management, developed an affinity for building and construction
• Federal reserve allowed volunteer opportunities during work. Using this time Ian got involved with a number of community organizations.
• His community involvement grew to include the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, the Midtown Management District, the Main Street Coalition, and the Memorial Park Conservancy
• Went to Architecture school and got a job at a firm. The relationship didn’t work out.
• From there he started INFILL, his development company that has partnered in projects including 13 Celsius, Mongoose vs. Cobra, and Weights and Measures
• “Architecture is a graphic version of math”
• Feels owners get more well received in permitting
• “As long as you pretend you know what you’re talking about that helps”
• Likes working with non-profits for their more open-minded approach
• Connections enable you to accomplish things beyond your own capabilities
• “Own the project…then get pushback”
• Most developers do “plopitecture”
• Foster relationships with consultants who think like you
• Don’t trust blindly. Understand everything. 

Connecting the Dots: The Strategist Perspective, Sofia Fonseca de Nino, KYO Consulting

Sofia founded KYO after spending years on a consulting team for a large corporate firm. KYO is a pre-design services firm that works on the front end of projects with developers.

Key Takeaways:

• Negotiation can be pleasurable
• It is important to set and maintain boundaries and know when to walk away
• Negotiation is discussion aimed at reaching an agreement
• It is better to negotiate with people who you have a relationship with
• It is okay to ask for internal communication before making a committment 
• Large groups can lose connection, excitement with project/client
• “A plan is useless, but planning is everything” -Eisenhower
• “Don’t give away your value”
• “A healthy ‘no’ is important”
• Clearly defined roles and responsibilities are important

Group Activity: “Pitch Anything,” Responding to an RFP and the interview process

Key Takeaways:

Shaking hands is good!

Never tell the client you’re missing a person

Incorporate the values and priorities of the client

Spin negatives into positives. Don’t solicit negative traits.

Don’t say “down and dirty”

Face shortcomings head on, but don’t dwell

Round Table Discussion: “Closing the Deal”

Sheila Condon, Clark Condon Associates
Daimian Hines,, Hines Architecture
Lisa Louck, Esq.
JD Ramseur, Hoar Construction

Q1: How to position yourself for opportunities

JD: Be Genuine

Sheila: Love people. Build relationships. Face to face is best. Don’t be afraid to fire a client.

Lisa: Show interest and meet more people.

Daimian: Personal brand is stronger than business brand. Only act in ways that fulfill your brand. Collaborate with people you like.

Sheila: Pick a day to schedule calls and meetings. Keep track of prospects.

Daimian: “I’m a good, authentic listener.” Met with Jamaican Prime Minister and addressed his concerns. Adjust and redirect quickly and adaptively. A small firm can pivot faster.

Sheila: 30-70% of her time is invested in marketing. Address distinct client groups to show cross section in resume. Uses education as a marketing approach.

Q2: Social Media

Daimian: A lot of normal work is marketing. Clients want to see social equity on social media. There is value in building a brand on social media. 

Sheila: Social media isn’t her world. She delegates to people more qualified. Has a good corporate instagram following. Social media is a “shotgun” approach.

Q3: The Pitch

JD: “It’s better to lose early”

JD: Be genuine, don’t oversell

Lisa: Provide value / interest to clients

Daimian: Clients appreciate the truth

Sheila: It is your obligation to bring up concerns to the client

Q4: Tale of a drastic turn

Sheila: Presentation turned into town hall attack on plan. On the fly her and her team turned it into a community input meeting. 

Daimian: Have a plan B. Bring boards in case a presentation fails. Take advantage of creative expression on presentation. 

Sheila: Listen to your gut when it tells you to avoid a project.

Q5: Best advice for turning people into business

Lisa: Know your connection. 

Daimian: Provide skills to fill in gaps in groups. Use expertise to build trust.

Sheila: Show what capabilities are.

Q5: Changes in Architecture

JD: More GMP and CMAR work. Work with people you know, like, and trust.

Lisa: People are becoming more aware about litigation and the legal process. Bring in appropriate experts for issues. Have appropriate cyber protection, indemnification, and data management.

Q6: Biggest mistake Architects make

Lisa: Assuming everything will be fine. Architects should attack issues up front in the contract. Provide framework for wiggle room, escalation, and timeline.

Sheila: Many people don’t even read their contracts. 

Lisa: Make sure contracts are appropriate and fair.

Daimian: Structural firms usually look into liability the most out of all consultants.

Q7: How to approach fee discussion

Sheila: Start with scope. Don’t provide cost until scope is laid out. Don’t give anything away! Some prospective work is okay, but be confident of your value.

JD: Balance “free work” to build relationship and get paid

Daimian: Provide realistic construction expectations. Do things that you’re passionate about.

Date: January 10, 2020
Location: Big Brothers Big Sisters, 1003 Washington Ave Houston, TX 77002
Title: Community Engagement
Session Sponsors:
Inkind Sponsor: Dewberry
Venue Sponsor: Big Brothers Big Sisters
Leaders: Scott Dailey & Lara Richard
Documentation: Shelby Fisher & Qeturah Williams

Overview

Scott Dailey and Lara Richard led the fourth Session of the 2019-2020 Christopher Kelly Leadership Program, “Community Engagement”. The session began with Josh Hawes with the Spring Branch Management District and Michael Robinson with SWA Group discussing the various projects they have worked together on within Spring Branch. Josh and Michael reviewed the real-life engagement strategies they have used within the Spring Branch community. Scholars were then assigned a specific demographic and challenged to create and present a community engagement plan to gain support within that demographic for a local park redevelopment project. Next, Big Brothers Big Sisters representative, Carlee Morgan presented on the history and impact in the Houston Community. Afterward, Carlee led the Scholars on a tour of Big Brothers Big Sisters Houston facility. Finally, the Scholars welcomed Kim Hanschen with Open Architecture Collaborative who spoke on the history of Open Architecture Collaborative and the importance of listening, communication and allyship when engaging with the community. Scholars were then assigned a community member role while Kim led a mock public meeting on a pocket park project in the Fifth Ward. After hearing all the community concerns, Scholars were divided into assigned groups and tasked to design the pocket park based feedback of their assigned community member roles.

Presentation: Spring Branch Management District & SWA

Josh Hawes, Deputy Executive Director with Spring Branch Management District began the session by going over how management districts function and talked about the role he has played in the process of the Spring Branch transformation. Josh explained that the Spring Branch transformation started out as a 15 year plan with a focus on creating a hike and bike trail, transforming Long Point Road, and revitalization of Hayden Park. Josh discussed various obstacles he has faced with the mentioned projects and talked about the importance of community engagement in all three. 

Next, Michael Robinson with SWA Group presented on SWA’s history with community engagement and shared his framework for how to engage with the community. Michael worked closely with Josh on the Spring Branch transformation projects and throughout his presentation, he referenced the specific projects and how they utilized various engagement strategies for each one. Michael described his framework for community engagement is balancing rules versus expectations, balancing power versus interest, and balancing scope versus cost. Evaluating these pillars will help inform your community engagement strategy. Michael also focused on the idea of appreciative inquiry. Appreciative inquiry is an approach that focuses on strengths rather than weaknesses. Michael emphasized that discussions with the community should always be led with appreciative inquiry and as facilitators, we should focus on the positive and try to amplify that. Lastly, Michael revealed that his community engagement strategy can be broken down into four steps: educate the community, encourage the community and promote participatory design exercises, listen to input and use all of this to inform the design, and unveiling the design to the community. Overall, Michael stressed that the most important aspect of community engagement is to meet people on their terms and make them feel concluded. 

Activity: Community Engagement Plan

After a brief Q&A with Josh and Michael, Scholars were split into groups challenged to analyze a specific demographic type within Spring Branch. Scholars received information on Hayden Park in Spring Branch and were tasked to develop a community engagement plan that targets their assigned group demographic that is designed to gain support for Hayden Park redevelopment project. The four demographic groups were the existing Korean community, millennials, families, and empty nesters. Each group researched these community groups and utilized the skills previously discussed by Josh and Michael, to present on their specific community engagement plan.

Presentation: Big Brothers Big Sisters

After a short break, Big Brothers Big Sisters representative, Carlee Morgan, presented on the history of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and the impact the organization has had on the Houston Community. She explained all the different ways someone can get involved with Bid Brothers Big Sisters and explained the areas where the program has the largest needs. Carlee then took the Scholars on a tour of the Houston Big Brothers Big Sisters facility.

Presentation: Open Architecture Collaborative

The final speaker for the Session was Kim Hanschen with Open Architecture Collaborative. Kim started her presentation by discussing the history of Architecture for Humanity and how it evolved into Open Architecture Collaborative (OAC). Kim shared some of the local Houston projects OAC has worked on in the Near Northside and Fifth Ward.  She noted some of the challenges and successes of these community based projects. Kim then went on to review the three pillars of OAC: inclusivity, collaboration, and volunteers. The first pillar she discussed was inclusivity. Kim talked about the importance of inclusivity and allyship when engaging with the community. She stressed the importance of self-examination and recognizing your own bias. This type of self-evaluation can aid in creating an inclusive, safe space for the community.  Next, Kim touched on the topic of communication. 

She emphasized the value of listening and advised that when communicating with the community, you should be listening more than you are speaking. The ability to listen is a vital part of effective communication and allows you to build trust within the community. Kim then discussed the volunteers that OAC depends on to run their organization. Lastly, she expressed the idea of being a partner, not an expert when participating in community engagement. Kim accentuated how a diversity of views enriches the solution and as designers, we should always recognize the value the community brings to the table during design. Community members are necessary and they should be empowered. Overall, building a consensus within the community starts with relationship building and gaining the trust of the community members. 

Activity: Community Meeting and Pocket Park

After Kim completed her presentation, she then handed out community role assignments to each Scholar. Scholars had to represent the views of their community role. Kim then led a mock public community meeting to discuss a new pocket park proposed in the Fifth Ward. Each Scholar had to voice the opinions of their role in the public forum.  After hearing all the various views from the community, Scholars were then assigned to groups to design the pocket park based on the needs of their assigned community member roles. Each group presented their designs addressing common interests across multiple community members, including safety, public performance spaces, community gardens, and dog parks.

Date: December 6, 2019
Location: 800 Capitol St.
Title: The Art Of Negotiating
Session Sponsors: DLR Group, Skanska
Leaders: Shelby Fischer, Qeturah Williams
Documentation: Kevin Perks, Barak Yaryan
Speakers: Laura Dempsey, David Combs, Tammy Canon

Introduction

Session 3 focused on the world of contracts and negotiations with an emphasis how to build relationships throughout the process to achieve success for both parties. Prior to the session, scholars were asked to watch a video on Harvard’s “Principles of Negotiation” and review a brief of a character for a role-playing negotiation session. 

Shelby Fischer and Qeturah Williams opened the session with an introduction to common negotiation mistakes featuring Jack Donaghy and how to shape a negotiation based on the goals of the negotiation. The group discussed lessons learned on past negotiations with both successful negotiations and mis-steps.

Sales and Relationship Building

Laura Dempsey of Building Systems Design shared her experience with client negotiations throughout her career. Her central theme was “everybody sells” and that negotiations come up all the time, as seen in scenarios ranging from how much to charge for a service to when the kids will go to bed. Laura gave an overview of the modern history of sales to the scholars with key figures and their well-known books and distilled the essence of each approach. From this, her analysis of sales centered around answering five key questions: 1) who are you? 2) what do you do? 3) why is it important to the client? 4) how much does it cost? 5) how fast is the ROI?

To answer the five key questions, Laura described how understanding the value of relationships is in risk mitigation.  and the importance of understanding the values of the firm, client, team, and yourself. The process for addressing the questions was delivered through the key steps of Discovery, Developing a Relationship Plan, Assembling the team, and Executing the Plan. 

After the presentation Laura led a discussion of real world negotiation challenges and scenarios with the Scholars. The key takeaways were that relationships matter, values are important, boundaries and important, silence is a relationship killer, and finding the Jedi master on your team that can connect with the Jedi Master on your clients’ team is profoundly beneficial for building trust in negotiations.

Contracts

David Combs of Corgan went into detail with a presentation to the scholars on common Architectural contract negotiation points, and how to mitigate contract risk. David discussed the various owner architect, architect consultant, and owner contractor types of contracts and how these are often modified from the AIA standard contracts in ways that increase the risk for architects. He also described how these contracts interact with each other and the importance of third party obligations which are referenced from the general conditions in the contractor’s agreement.

David described the process of contract negotiation and the difference of Legal versus Business choices in contract negotiation.  Legal items are things that the Architect’s lawyer should review, such as liability, indemnification, insurance, standard of care, dispute resolution, and the specific language of a contract. Business decisions for an architect include fee, hourly rates, scope of services, design schedule, basic service, additional services, and deliverables (the instruments of service).  David discussed the importance of having the architect’s consultants sign the architects contract for legal purposes and that the owner can authorize changes during CA.

David discussed with the scholars how contracts define the initial information from the owner (i.e. the program, site, cost/budget, milestone dates, etc.) and the importance of awareness in when any of these change so that the owner is aware when add services are being asked for. It is important to be clear on add services before proceeding with add services. The scholars engaged in a dialogue with David based on previously encountered contract scenarios and the importance of using contracts. 

The last portion of contract discussion with the scholars discussed what items should be specifically described in contracts for Construction Administrations phase services and in the owner to provide the contractor agreement as well as including the Architect in communications with the General Contractor. Finally, the group discussed the four principals of contract negotiations: 1) separate the person/emotion from the issue 2) negotiate in an interest oriented way 3) develop good criteria that a good solution should fulfill 4) develop several options.

Negotiation Simulation

In the final component of session three, Tammy Canon led the scholars in a negotiation role playing scenario with scholars playing a city planner and developer in a progressive negotiation based on opposing incentives for each character. Scholars utilized their negotiation skills and techniques learned from the pre-session resources and in session training to reach a “win-win” solution. Tammy moderated the negotiation with increasing complexity for each round of negotiation.

Each scholar participated in the series of negotiations based on their assigned character to reach an agreement meeting their weighted outcome requirements. As each set of negotiators went through the simulated negotiation, the audience of scholars observed the effectiveness of various negotiation techniques. The essential lesson from the exercise was that negotiation requires understanding what is important to the negotiating partner, in addition to understanding what is important to yourself for the negotiation. Through the negotiation simulation, with the help of Tammy Cannon as the moderator, the scholars developed a tangible skill in determining what is important to their negotiating partner, which is a skillset that will make each scholar a better architect, a better businessperson, and a better project partner throughout their careers.

Date: November 1, 2019
Location: Metalab
Title: Entrepreneurship and Business Management
Session Sponsors: Prism Renderings
Leaders: Barak Yaryan & Kevin Parks
Documentation: Sofia Dusek & Kiza Forgie

Prior to CKLDP Session 2 on entrepreneurship and business management the below preparatory reading and informational podcast set the stage for what was to come.

• Friction Podcast: ‘The Basic Hygiene of Management’
• Managing the Professional Service Firm, (Seven page summary), David Maister

Hosted at Metalab, the session began with a welcome and presentation by Thomas Perry; AM radio talk show host of ‘Right Path Real Estate’. His presentation focused on entrepreneurship and his amazing story of how his healthcare insurance business went from being a casualty of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 to successfully owning and operating Houston Home Buyers and ultimately selling it to become a Real Estate talk show host.

The session focused on four areas of Entrepreneurship and Business Management:

1. Entrepreneurship and Business Management through Office and Firm Management
2. Entrepreneurship and Business Management through Leadership, ownership, and transition
3. Entrepreneurship and Business Management through Financial and succession planning
4. Entrepreneurship and Business Management through Business and project management standards

Following the presentation by Thomas Perry, the scholars jumped into an interactive break out session in which the scholars were broken into four groups and challenged to develop a business plan using some of the principles Thomas had discussed during his presentation. Scholars were tasked with quickly developing a pitch for the new business. Elements of the business pitch were required to include: a business name, business focus, location, traction, vision, credibility, and product source. Ultimately scholars were required to present to a panel of judges in which Thomas Perry took part.

In keeping with the topic of education for the day, a round table discussion was held next with a focus on starting a firm, building a culture, and planning for growth. Four business owners ranging from a sole practitioner to a business owner with 150 plus employees were invited to the discussion and moderated by our scholars Barak Yaryan and Kevin Parks. The businesses and owners represented included: Danny Rigg of Rigg Studio, Becky Zimmerman member of Design Workshop, James Harrison co-owner of Harrison Kornburg, and Joe Meppelink co-owner of Metalab.

The session ended with a role playing group session amongst the scholars involving the game ‘Brick by Brick’ by Procore. Scholars were invited to engage in a simulation of a construction project where each scholar played a role as a Project Manager, Superintendent, or Tradesman.

The Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program, Houston (CKLDP-Hou) is pleased to announce the ongoing support of our Founding Benefactor Sponsor for the 2019-2020 Class, Corgan! Thank you for supporting Houston emerging professionals!

Applications for the 2019-2020 CKLDP AIA Houston class will be due June 24th, 2019.

A Q+A Session will be held at Kirksey on June 4th, 2019 at 6pm.

 

The Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program, Houston (CKLDP-Hou) is pleased to announce the ongoing support of our Founding Benefactor Sponsor for the 2019-2020 Class, Perkins + Will! Thank you for supporting Houston emerging professionals!