Feed aggregator

Your gathering style may impact your decisions.   The way information is gathered can impact the decisions that need to be made.  It is not just the information that you end up with that matters.  It may also be the way it was brought together.

Some may allow quantity overshadows quality.  They think that more information on one perspective outweighs less information.   They search and find that the amount of ideas, options, agreements and people rallying around one particular perspective.  They think that this overwhelming avalanche of data makes it the obvious choice.  It might be, but it also might be that so many people may be wrong.

One reason more info may not mean stronger alignment is that there may be an imbalance of relevance.  The information is not germane to the question.   There is a lot of chatter, but not all of it might apply to your environment.  If it is CAD related, are the voices speaking about the version you have?  If not – does it really apply?

Bad use of information may include our tendency to process easier information first.   A bullet list is processed faster than a narrative.  A chart is more easily understood than a long description.  Harder data may not be used because it is harder to digest.  When this happens we may fail to look deep enough to get counterpoints and actually bias our perspectives.

Another is who said what.  Where does the information originate?  What is the level of expertise of the provider of this data?  You need to know if the posting is unbiased, has no hidden agenda or influence on what they might provide.  You need to know if the person or organization is respected in the industry.  You need to know what might be effecting the presentation of the data.  Someone speaking outside of his or her area of experience may not carry as much weight as an industry insider.

So think about how you go about finding input and make sure it is balanced.

 

Bear with me as I develop my hypothesis…

Over the course of human history we gradually moved from nomadic tribes of people who moved around because their food sources changed into stayed put and nurtured food at stationary location.  We moved from hunters who followed the migrational movement of animals or the seasonal changes in fruits and vegetables, to the farmers who domesticated livestock and planted crops for food.

Jump ahead a bazillion internet years to now and we may have reversed that direction as we no longer develop our own information but gather it from all over the planet.  First hand research has been replaced by third person knowledge of Wikipedia (I use it a lot).

This move has sped up the process of gathering information (Hunting) and reduced the general process of processing through it all on our own (Farming).  Gone are the days of needing to know how to do first person research because you can just find something on the internet that appears to be authoritative.  I no longer need to think and ponder the data I have because someone out there in the ether has already done it and posted it.  A quick Google search and voilà – I have it.

Far be it from me the think through how this really applies to my individual situation – I have data.  No need to wonder how this can effect my personal outcome – I have “facts”.  No need to selectively see what impact this might have on my decision – someone has already made a conclusion.  All I need to do is act on it.

Farmers have to plant, nurture, protect, ward off pests, mature and harvest their crops prior to eating them.  Hunters just kill and eat.

In the information age – Hunters are raiding the Farmers property.  They swoop in and take what the farmers have created.  They reap where they have not sown.

Understand that I am not against this – it us just an observation.  I hunt and I farm.  I develop and I borrow.  I create and I use what others have created.

Hunting is good and Farming is good.

The reason I go through all of this is that any decision involves both.  You have to hunt up the information, data, perspectives and conclusions that others have provided and then you have to domesticate it (a farming process) so that it fits your needs.

The way this would look is that you would gather your information which is the hunting part, then move to the farming part where you categorize it, sift it, organize it, put it into groupings, define levels of importance to it, come to preliminary conclusions, prioritize the conclusions and then decide.

Hunters who kill and eat are those that find some drop of information that justifies their predetermined perspective and then jump to a decision without taking a little time to “farm” what they have found.  Farmers who limit their input to only what they have thought of and look with disdain at the information, perspectives and conclusions that can be hunted or gathered up are limiting their decision making scope.

You need to be a little of both.

Cognition is our ability to think.  It is the actual process of thinking.  It includes gathering data, mentally weighing and measuring options, thinking through possible outcomes and coming to conclusions.  Cognitive closure is the end of that process.

My wife is a teacher and I remember discussion we had when she was in school about Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development.  It is how the mind develops in stages of thinking from infancy to adulthood.  He postulated that we acquire knowledge and organize that knowledge into usefulness at certain ages (in general).  Some of his ideas have fallen into disfavor, but in general they tend to be correct.  Most of your kids are taught specific subjects in specific grades based on his findings.

Cognitive Closure is the end of thinking.  The desire for drawing conclusions and to have closure is higher in some people than others.  Some people just need to have everything in its place.  They need to know that there is no ambiguity and no unsolved mysteries or outstanding questions.  There is even a test that you can take to define your need for closure.

This test surfaces the person’s need on a scale that addresses such things as:

• Their preference for order and structure
• The persons emotional discomfort associated with ambiguity
• Their impatience with regard to delayed decision-making
• The desire they may have for security and predictability
• Their close-mindedness.

Your level of desire for closure effects your decision making in that those who have a high need for closure seem to be more decisive when they reach a decisions.  That may sound like a good thing, but they tend to use less information in their thinking.  They tend to use obvious information and not do their homework.

The desire to reach a quick decision may work out well for most issues that come up and no one like people who over-think things.  Taking two hours to decide what to eat for lunch would drive people crazy.

But not thinking it through on the larger decisions can cause you troubles.  If you tend to move quickly on every decision at every level in the sale manner, then you may need to slow down, gather more information and think a bit longer on the big ones.  Reaching a decision is imperative, but reaching it too quickly can sour your situation.

Bad Call!

It may be in your favorite sporting event that this accusation is made.  You yell it at the Umpire in baseball, the Referee in US football, or maybe the local official of your child’s chosen sporting event.  We are all subject to bad calls, not just sports officials.  Thinking about the fast calls they need to make and how we over analyze them with slow motion and freeze frame cameras, I am amazed at how they get most of them right.  Sure there are some that are wrong and some that change the outcome of an event, but most day in and day out calls are solid.  Let’s give them some breathing room.

What if someone was looking over your shoulder at work and ready to scream “Bad Call” after you make a decision on some project or initiative.  It would be stressful to think of working under that kind of environment.  Some of us may actually be working in those conditions.  Each day you may go to work thinking that someone will overrule your decision as if they had freeze frame views of what you are doing.  Your boss may change your choices and take over your projects.  That would be a tough environment.

We do make bad calls from time to time in our work and most firms and bosses are willing to forgive them as you learn from them.  Employees who consistently make bad decisions soon find themselves without a position.  Getting the right decision is key to making progress at your firm and in your career.

Sometimes we just blow it.  We get it wrong and we may not even know why.  What are some of the reasons we make bad calls?  Can we avoid them if we know the traps we might fall into?  Maybe…  In the next few posts we will explore some of the influences and situations that may tend to produce bad calls.  Stay tuned…

To all LA area Architects & AEC Professionals, -Or those who will be in LA later this month...
I am pleased to announce a speaking engagement at this year’s LA CSI Nite event. So if you can make it please register and join us for a great afternoon and evening of learning & networking. Remember that all professional attendees are free!!! All the presenters are awesome so be sure to arrive early to get a good seat... LA CSI Nite 2012 Product Show & Seminars Thursday, February 23rd 2012, 3-9pm HSW/CEUs free!!!Marriott - Downtown Los Angeles, 333 South Figueroa Street,Los Angeles, CA 90071CSI Nite Official Page –Registration Direct Link is further below, in this posting…
What's Going On?  Seminar #A1 3:00-4:00 (Not to miss!!! ;D )QA/QC of Project DeliveryCredits: 1 LU/HSWPresenters:  Bill Schmalz AIA, CCCA, LEED AP, Principal at Perkins+WillJay B Zallan Director of BIM at Perkowitz+Ruth Architects & Studio-111
Seminar #A2- time 3:00-4:00Industry interest - Evolving CA Practices: Shop drawings and other submittalsCredits: 1 LU/HSWPresenter: Debra Gerod Gruen Associates
Seminar #B 4:00-5:00Integrated Project Collaboration Software - The Missing Link for IPDCredits: 1 LU/HSWPresenters: Steve Will Sales Manager for Submittal Exchange
Product Show 5:00-7:00
Seminar #C 7:00-9:00Integrating BIM and Specs is Real!Credits: 2 LU/HSWPresenters:  Mark Kalin, FCSI, FAIA, CCS of Kalin Associates Specifications
REGISTER HERE There's a bit of confusion on the registration page so be aware that the only truly required information you will need to use to register is as follows:
     1)      First Name     2)      Last Name     3)      Email Address      4)      CTRL+Select sessions            All other fields are not needed for individual registration!!!




Then scroll to the bottom of the page…

     5)      Hit Registration Confirmation, then simply show up, Learn & Enjoy!!!
We hope to see you there,

Making the Call (Selecting the best option)

You have gathered information and sifted through the piles of reports, documents, input from people and management perspectives.  Now you are ready to make the decision.

Don’t hesitate

Making decisive choices is critical to getting things done in a timely manner.  While it is hard to know exactly when you have enough information to act on , it is also hard to know when your decision is being slowed down as you wait for more data.

Make it Actionable and Extended

You need to move forward when you reach the point where you have actionable information and you have enough to think three to four steps down the road.  You should have enough information to develop an Action Plan.  This is a plan that is broken down in steps that can be completed by one or more people in stages.  You breakdown the overall process of reaching the goal so that you can parse out the efforts knowing what the next 3-4 steps are in each area of the action plan.

Make it Adjustable

Things change and you need to be able to change also.  You are ready to go when you have defined the actions needed and specific milestones where you can revisit the tasks and make changes as needed.  Do not expect to pound through your action plan from start to finish without taking time at certain stages to see how you are doing.  If you see changes needed, then make them.  This is not to say that you can adjust “on the fly” as you see a better way of getting things done.  It is saying that at specific points in your action plan you should step back to see how it is going.

Andy Partridge is an awesome writer and really encapsulates brilliance in his works... Do get into him & XTC if you like thinking!!! Now (below the video) onto the letter...



Dear AEC, 
Recently I tweeted you to get #BIM or a new career and I would like to follow up with more. 

Can you see the fucking elephant in your room???


First let me say I love you.
Building realities from imagination is so natural a human pursuit.
Artists would agree.
Many of us really want to help you leave the inefficient past behind and innovate the industry to become the shining societal leaders we believe ourselves to be...

Unfortunately too many in AEC act like fat bloated politicians interested in personal standing and appearances and not the greater good.
AEC: Not enough of you see the dire straits you are in even though it's all around you.

You are acting with the ignorance similar to the commentator who said of Banksy's (hiding in plain sight) elephant:


I'm not sure what the point of having an elephant in a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles is Jason Bentley US radio commentator 
Perhaps you are just able to ignore the elephant in the room but some of us will not be so deluded and self absorbed. 

Those of us who see the need to evolve and act on it will be more than happy to swoop in and take your projects more and more (as we have already started to do), so either get on the train or watch as your industry shrinks... We do not need more Architects for instance, we just need better ones... those that hold back technological evolution and betterment will find themselves in different careers... And some already are!!!

As a group your buried head is in the sand
You seem to stick with the status quo and fail to appreciate that obsolete technologies are helping kill you
Those that do see the future and to those for whom evolution is the present, we know it takes courage... courage to step outside of comfort zones and learn better processes and allow oneself to grow.  

Without courage all one has is fear. If AEC doesn't act in the face of BIM fear they are doomed to ambivalent, neurotic impotence.

AEC, you must see that "continuing CAD (drafting) and not completely embracing BIM" is the elephant in your room. The elephant that you ignore (to a large degree)... and you must see how it will impact the world for generations to come... Negatively!!!
Builders of new things must see things anew and use the best tools for the overall good and CAD drafting tools are surely no longer that!!!


Your backwards, destructive ways will catch up to you... shit just look at your own fucking slideshows...



Your archaic ways of thought will splinter you into irrelevancy
Like too many of your ideas
Vision too stale to see through your egos
Driving yourself, powered by fear


I am writing to let you know that BIM can help
BIM can help you win projects
Shit BIM can help you keep projects
BIM helps production
BIM helps lessen litigation
if only you'd hear our cries: Kill CAD (drafting), fully mandate BIM.

We do not mean to kill true CAD: "Computer Aided Design" 
but the CAD that most people hear when they use that term: "Computer Aided Drafting"
That's what is leading the charge in killing you, allowing the lowest common denominators to run the show... How laughable a business model that is!!!


Not able to evolve due to the fear of change and the initial investment needed to learn and grow... You have to recall that without great struggle and risk there can be no great success... you used to know that but now it appears that many in AEC are lost in an ego-drunken, fearful stupor.


Solutions do exist but are being ignored by too many in A, E & C (O too)
I don't feel you can wait 
Please listen to what we say: Kill CAD (drafting)
When you're asked Why BIM?
There's an answer that sums it up nicely:
Because AEC does not want to become insurance salespeople.
Just before I go a few more morsels to think about when you contemplate your business model... (not BIM Model) -There you go #BimModelingFluffyKittenKillas strike again :-)

There are too many people who call themselves designers who are nothing more than glorified graphic illustrators. -If a design is over budget or the budget and program is not followed to inform the design, then the "designer" is nothing more than an illustrator, without any insight to client needs or reality. 

I know that "reality" is a debatable topic but I simply mean "the agreed upon business reality" Where the client is given what they want for the money that they want to spend.
Integrated firms are much more able to handle all projects efficiently, which will help save the building industry from itself: the more that teams can work efficiently, even if not integrated the better AEC will be.
Architecture positions in too many cases don't pay enough (like other Professionals get) because so many firms undercut each other in hopes of slamming extra services and printing costs onto the clients, then adding a shitload of fluff, like tons of wasted paper just to recover losses.
Bottom line:
Those firms and people who don't adopt BIM & further IPD will continue to lose work and find themselves needing new careers, so if you want to stay in AEC we will see you on the BIM train immediately.
Sincerely, 
Present Reality

If you haven’t already heard of Tekla BIMsight, you should take a look. I first saw it at one of the AGC BIMForum conferences last year. It is a free – yes, free – tool for 3D coordination using aggregated design or fabrication models (notice, no kittens harmed here). BIMsight now offers support for tablets including multi-touch hand gestures as well as stylus use. And yet again, another tool that uses – guess what? – IFC format for input.

I’ll be running some informal tests of this tool in the near future. In the meantime, feel free to share your experiences in the comments below.

A good project is an organized project...

As we've been preparing for our impending atomization (130 days - 07 hours - 22 mins - 19, 18, 17, 16 sec to go), I've been paying close attention to how a few other firms are managing decentralized standards and incentivization.
I've been really intrigued by HOK's internal BIM Certification, and now their BIM Awards program. I might have to borrow some of these ideas...thanks James!

This is a cute video, but I don't know that it adds any clarity to the discussion. Plus, by my count, 7 fluffy kittens were killed in the making of this video.

Following up on Part 1 of my tips for organizing and maintaining effective user groups, this post will cover the physical and virtual spaces that support great interaction.

Meeting Locations

Where you host your meetings is probably the biggest variable in the equation for an effective user group. There’s no perfect answer because you must find the best balance of function, space, and cost that meets your needs. I’ll offer my own experiences for your evaluation.

Offices

Probably the most common place to start a user group is at the leader’s office. If you have a large enough conference room or even a lobby space with plenty of stacking/folding chairs, this might be all you need. Sometimes it’s fun to rotate locations of a user group meeting to various participating companies. The main drawback is the number of people you can pack into a space. Meetings can get disrupted when attendees are standing or sitting on the floor (yes, I’ve had that experience!)

Issues: Building security, space set up & clean up, limited number of attendees

Hotels

The DC Revit Users Group meets at a beautiful space atop the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington. I’ve done some research in the past into meeting spaces in New York City and the cost may be $1,000 – $2,000 per event.

Issues: Cost

Showrooms

These kinds of spaces are likely only available in major metropolitan centers, but they are an interesting option. Product manufacturers like Steelcase may have showrooms in your region that can be utilized for group functions. In NYC, I’ve attended events at Steelcase, The Gunlocke Company, Haefele, and the McGraw Hill Auditorium. I’ve never organized a meeting at a showroom, so I can’t speak to the costs involved.

Issues: Cost?

Restaurants

Why not mix learning and networking with some food? I’ve attended a few user group meetings held at restaurants over the years. One of the early NYC Revit User Group meetings was held at a bar which was actually an old bank. Our ‘private meeting room’ was actually the old vault and I recall giving a presentation where the ‘screen’ was actually a backdrop of safe deposit boxes! The Ontario RUG used to meet at a restaurant called Alice Fazooli’s. This was fun because they had a large dedicated space and the food was great.

Issues: Cost, A/V equipment

Academic Institutions

Our group was really fortunate to connect with Pratt Institute and use their lecture space on a monthly basis. For two years, we were able to utilize this space without cost because they enjoy the exposure for Pratt’s continuing & professional studies programs in the building. Recently we were asked to provide insurance coverage for our meetings and yet again, an interested company came to the rescue to provide this contribution as a group sponsor. More on this to come in Part 3…

Personally, I think an academic location is the best option because it seems that it is the most mutually beneficial solution. You can bring potential students in and they can provide a space well-suited to learning events. So reach out to your local university or technical college and see if they are willing to share some space.

Group Websites

Now that we’ve covered the physical space, let’s talk about virtual space. As I mentioned in Part 1, there are so many free social tools available on the web today that can support groups. When we got the NYC RUG started in 2006, Google Groups was a pretty good option. This free service is still around, but its functionality is somewhat limited. You can create custom pages, upload files and manage members – but that’s about it. I’d keep an eye on Google+ and see how it evolves.

In addition to an Internet home for your group, you should also think about how you want to handle events. In the past I used Evite.com to manage events while we were on Google Groups. It’s a free service and does a nice job handling RSVP’s and automated reminders; however, it wasn’t integrated with the group website, so I had to manage two member databases.

Facebook seems to have highly functional group tools where you can create and manage events, have discussions, post links, photos and videos. It’s all free, but you have to be a Facebook user to join a group. Some people like to keep their personal interactions on Facebook, so they may not want to mix business-related stuff there. Also, some offices may even block access to social sites like Facebook. LinkedIn has groups as well, but I haven’t found them as easy to use as FB.

The NYC Revit Users Group uses a site called Meetup.com. It’s a paid service ($45 every three months), but our members seem to really appreciate the functionality. It has discussion boards, file/photo uploads, topic suggestions, and it’s event management is great. Automated email reminders, dues collection (if applicable), name tags, sign-in sheet, and more.

I’ve only discussed a few web-based group platforms here, but there are so many more out there. Do some homework, look at other group sites and pick one that suits your taste such as Ning.