BlogScarlett Letter #137: One of the top five ways to get technical staff involved in business developmentLackluster. Push-back. Naysayer. Pessimist. Half-hearted. These were some of the descriptors that a group of marketing and business development professionals used when describing their AEC technical staff’s contributions towards business development at a recent networking event. So we dug in and brainstormed for awhile, discussing intentions, expectations, and challenges—both real and imagined. These days in this continued down economy, involvement of technical staff in business development is more vital than ever. I’m nearing completion of a full article on the topic, but for today I’ll share what I believe is a top method for ensuring their active and results-driven participation: Weave business development ... November 30, 2010 Scarlett Letter #136: Maintaining positive group dynamics in AECThe old Righteous Brothers song ‘You’ve lost that lovin’ feelin’, whoa, that lovin’ feelin’ pops into my mind this morning. Why? Well, yesterday I lost a student whom I had been excited (and grateful!) to have in my classroom. {He had no choice but to replace my course with one that would satisfy a credit requirement for his imminent graduation}. The scoop: Many of you AEC readers also serve as adjunct professors in your respective area universities, and so you know the responsibility (and pressure?!) that you hold as an instructor—actually a facilitator—within the classroom. This is not unlike ... September 17, 2010 Scarlett Letter #135: Avoid the self-destructive “I know more than my boss knows” attitudeDo you ever get frustrated when you realize that your ideas are being squelched by your boss, against your better judgment? Do you sometimes feel as though you could perform far better than your boss if you were to step into his/her shoes? Do you have only a small modicum of respect–at best–for your boss? Sure, somewhere along our career paths, we likely encountered a sub-optimal boss. He or she may have ‘lacked’ for any number of reasons. Especially irksome are the times when we feel that we are actually better, smarter, faster, savvier….etc. than the person we work for. The ... September 02, 2010 Scarlett Letter #134: Reverse Mentoring for Design and Construction IndustryI don’t teach during the summer. As a result, I lose my direct feed of ‘what’s-what’ on a variety of topics for three months. I’m grateful to my Columbia College students that I’m able to keep {somewhat} current during the balance of the year. So when school starts this September, there they’ll be again….inadvertently teaching me as much as I teach them. Different topics, of course, but still an {oddly} equitable exchange. In the most basic of descriptions, reverse mentoring involves having a less experienced (often, but not always, younger) person serve as the mentor to a more experienced (often older) ... August 29, 2010 Scarlett Letter # 133: Know your “audience” in all contexts, not just during formal presentations.Why do people forget that our ‘audience’ (in it’s loosest definition) surrounds us all the time? I know people that are considered accomplished public speakers in all ‘presentation’ contexts—in other words, when they have the ‘floor’. However, when it comes to one-on-one (or, even one-on-many, like a meeting), their communication skills wane.
Perhaps you know this guy: Mr. FAIA. He’s the one that clients and prospects find so yummy that they eat up his every word. Or this woman: Ms. ACEC. She’s the one that is charming and unique in presentation scenarios, but a bear to deal ... August 26, 2010 Scarlett Letter #132: The art of writing is often in RE-writingThe art of writing is often in RE-writing. Please do not confuse this statement by replacing re-writing with re-inventing the wheel. In business, time is of the essence. Those of us within AEC business development, marketing, or other administrative functions recognize that our technical colleagues (architects, interior designers, engineers, specialty consultants) sometimes have a tendency to design and re-design, to work and re-work. This can be frustrating when it is not managed. However, when it comes to other aspects of the business, such as writing, often the richest results come from re-writes. I ... August 23, 2010 Scarlett Letter #131: Advice for facilitators/trainers to ensure full audience satisfactionDesign and construction professionals are highly particular when it comes to signing up for conferences, training seminars, even webinars. Our time is short, and our wallets are not full enough. So we carefully scrutinize the agenda and the content prior to signing away hours of time and tens of dollars. Sometimes, we discover that sessions were over-promised/sold. Other times, we are pleasantly surprised because we learned what we expected to learn, or even more! Last week, I attended a five-day Bootcamp related to my professorial teaching at Columbia College. Five days! In this case, it was ‘free’ to adjunct professors. {But ... August 19, 2010 Scarlett Letter #130: Are you reading those Linkedin group discussion posts?I’m in the process of finishing an article entitled: Expand Your Business Development Team; Leverage your firm’s multi-generational talents! Just like any reliable consultant/writer, my final piece will integrate insights from two sources, where I’ve: 1. Witnessed first-hand from real-life design and construction clients; 2. Researched/read about the particular area (in this case, multi-generational workforce). Yet, today’s post is not about that upcoming article. Instead, I’m writing to express my appreciation towards one of my LinkedIn Discussion Groups—Managing a Multi-Generational Workforce. You see, like many of you, I belong to a number of discussion groups and other social media ... August 05, 2010 Scarlett Letter #129: AEC internal relationships—Respecting privacy yet wanting to helpBusiness is business. Personal life is personal life. Yet, the two will always overlap, intertwine, and impact one another. As a result, when something personal goes awry, staff members in AEC firms typically seek internal confidants for guidance or comfort. Officially, human resource professionals are the ‘go-to people’. Yet, I’ve noticed in client environments—as well as in my past experience working within AEC firms—that staff members tend to turn towards business development and marketing professionals as their ‘go-to’ confidants. Why? My guess is that BD/marketing folks are open, communicative…and appear the most inviting when it comes to ... August 02, 2010 Scarlett Letter #128: Client service lessons from the bike shop repair guysIf you are a biker (the non-motorized kind), you know that every bike shop has a team of bike repair guys (yup, often guys). Over the years, I’ve been impressed by their generosity. I could tell you story after story about how they would bend over backwards to repair my bike and get me back out on the road. Yesterday, I had yet another experience of similar nature. I was recently the proud recipient of a specialty bike from Europe—a Gazelle. Very fancy commuter bike with all the bells and whistles. My generator headlight was broken, and the bike store by ... July 29, 2010 |
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