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Scarlett Letter #81: Best practices for design and construction—exchange!

When was the last time you traded best practices with a respected colleague in our AEC industry? While most certainly you could trade best practices (but not proprietary firm information) with direct competitors, you might feel more comfortable to share with a professional that: 1. Represents different disciplines but focuses on similar markets; 2. Represents the same disciplines but focuses on different markets; 3. Operates in a separate geographic region; 4. etc.

How might you locate the ‘goldmine’ professionals with whom you can exchange design and construction industry best practices? Check into: Linkedin groups; Twitter/social media communities; authors from RainToday or other relevant publications; members of AEC professional organizations such as AIA, ACEC, SMPS, IFMA, BOMA, SDA, NSPE, ASCE, ALA, IIDA, SAME, AGC, SWE, ULI, CMAA, ICMPA, RIBA , NAIOP, DBIA, USGBC, CREW ….the list goes on and ON.

If I was to host an ‘AEC best practices information exchange’ conference call with a group or with just one other individual, I would select a single theme or topic for each. Recent topics that have crossed my mind and/or have been posed of me include:

1. -Managing business development/marketing activities of staff and leadership
2. -Managing up
3. -Managing tough partners
4. -Approaching prospects that have long-term opportunities, but no short-term cash
5. -Keeping up spirits among your firm and your external prospects/clients
6. -Strategies for a balanced BD/marketing composition in this economy
7. -Criteria for selecting market sectors to dedicate the most resources
8. -The list goes on….

Potential format:

First segment of call: I would facilitate and monitor the discussion, much like an in-person roundtable session. Each participant would have the opportunity to share an example relevant to the topic. The example would be something they have 1. executed successfully; 2.executed unsuccessfully but learned lessons; 3. plan to do in the near future. They would not be allowed to go off-topic, and stories would be shared in the succinct STAR format (see Scarlett Letter #43: Behavioral interviewing technique—great application for sales/marketing, Part I).

Second segment of call: This would be the opportunity to dig deeper into—and ask questions of—those that shared stories. Why do I advise holding off on questions until the second half? My answer is threefold: 1. this gives everyone the opportunity to hear what the others are doing in case time runs short; 2. Q&A can also be handled offline by email or in personal phone calls; 3. some of the Q&A may be ‘answered’ indirectly by comparing and contrasting the stories of others.

There is a reason that “an exchange of best practices” is on my mind today.

In short, I recently heard some positive feedback about a Sharon, a fellow professor of Communications at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Today, we held a phone meeting to discuss our formats, techniques, and teaching styles within our respective classrooms. Since I fancy both of us as qualified, highly effective instructors, it was no surprise that she and I create similar learning environments for our students. Even still, through our discussion, I was able to get my creative juices flowing, and something that she shared actually sparked related ideas in my own head for the future.

The poetry of it all: It was not the specifics of the exchange with Sharon that made the difference. Rather, it was a combination of the discussion and my own imagination that helped me evolve ideas into new, unique conclusions. And without the conversation, who knows when (or if!) I would have come up with this outcome!

If a Best Practices Exchange Conference Call Series is something that you’d be interested in, please direct message to let me know. I may host something of this nature in Q2 2010.

           

Tags: Add new tag, AEC best practices, AEC knowledge transfer, Anne Scarlett A/E Marketing, design and construction best practices, linkedin, professional services marketing, professional services sales, Scarlett Consulting AEC business development, team building

One Response to “Scarlett Letter #81: Best practices for design and construction—exchange!”

1. Engineering Management Project Social Media Best Practices « Project Management Underground

   February 3rd, 2010

   [...] posts in particular dealt with the topic today: here and here.  But the one that really caught my attention was this one from a month [...]

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