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Explore every episode of the podcast As Built

Dive into the complete episode list for As Built. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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TitlePub. DateDuration
Interview with WHY Architecture13 Mar 202500:21:21

In this episode of our series about the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition, As Built co-hosts Patience Jones and Brian Jones speak with competition finalist Brian Butterfield of the firm WHY Architecture. 

 

Photo of Brian Butterfield courtesy of WHY Architecture

Interview with Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism13 Mar 202500:17:24

In this episode of our series about the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition, As Built co-hosts Patience Jones and Brian Jones speak with competition finalists Marion Weiss, FAIA and Michael Manfredi, FAIA, of the firm Weiss/Manfredi.

 

Photo of Marion Weiss, Michael Manfredi courtesy of Shuli Sadé and Weiss/Manfredi

Tech Stack: Google Chrome Sell-Off - Episode 9318 Dec 202400:09:54

Google has been found in violation of U.S. anti-trust laws, and now it’s time for ... “the punishment.” We walk through what the case means, what the Department of Justice is proposing for a penalty, and whether firms need to start changing their digital strategies in anticipation of the outcome.

Highlights

  • The four prongs of the DOJ’s proposed punishment
  • The timeline for the court’s decision and implementation
  • Why the ultimate outcome shouldn’t drastically impact marketing
  • The importance of creating a good user experience and search optimization regardless of platform
  • Why a “marketing mix” is vital for business growth

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Succession - Episode 318 Jan 202300:09:54

Change can be scary. When an architecture firm is thinking about - or in the middle of - a leadership change, what are the most important marketing considerations?

In this episode of the As Built podcast, hosts Brian and Patience Jones discuss the importance of communicating changes in architecture and building material firms to clients and other stakeholders in order to avoid confusion and rumors. They also talk about how these changes can be an opportunity to get people excited about what the firm can offer and the importance of putting yourself in the shoes of others when communicating these changes.


Highlights

  • Reasons leadership change occurs
  • Who needs to know your leadership is changing and why
  • How and when you should communicate leadership changes
  • Using change as an opportunity to get people excited about what the firm can offer
  • The importance of putting yourself in the shoes of others when communicating changes



Episode Resources

Techstack: CRMs (Client Relationship Management Systems) - Episode 211 Jan 202300:10:44

Clinets are the lifeblood of every firm. Your relationship with your clients can determine your future success — and that can be achieved using a CRM.

For this As Built Podcast episode, hosts Brian and Patience Jones talk about the Client Relationship Manager, more popularly known as CRM, and how it helps businesses keep track of their clients and customers. They also explain what to look for in a CRM and how it can help businesses grow and be more effective in their marketing.


Highlights

What Makes a Successful Architecture Firm Website - Episode 104 Jan 202300:16:40

For this very first episode of the As Built Podcast, Brian and Patience Jones talk about an integral part of any architecture firm marketing: Websites.

Together, they discuss the importance of websites in digital marketing and business. They argue that a new website is not always the right answer and that sometimes other factors may be more important.

Brian and Patience also discuss the importance of having a website for an architectural firm that accurately represents the firm's work. They note that potential clients and employees often use websites to learn about a firm and its work and that it is important for firms to be upfront about what kind of work they do. In order to be effective, an architecture firm's website needs to answer four to five key questions. These include what type of work the firm does and who they work with, as well as providing detailed descriptions of the work they have done in the past. By answering these questions, potential clients will be able to better understand what the firm has to offer and whether or not they are a good fit for their needs.


Highlights

Welcome to the As Built Podcast!02 Jan 202300:01:27

The professionals who build buildings also need to build their practices. The key to business development in the built environment is understanding the relationship between architects, building materials, contractors, and clients - and how each group makes decisions. In As Built, you’ll hear from industry leaders about how they built their practice. Hosts Brian Jones and Patience Jones will also provide insights from their experiences helping firms in the built environment industry grow and succeed.

What’s In a Name? - Episode 9211 Dec 202400:10:46

Considering a new firm name? Historically, whether to change – and what to change to – was impacted by a limited number of factors. Now that we live in a digital age, and as trends have shifted away from using principal names for the firm name, there are more things to consider: Is the name you want available as a domain name? How easy is it for people to spell and say the name? Does the proposed name make your firm more or less discoverable? In this episode, we outline modern criteria for architecture firm names and explain their importance.

Highlights

  • How a firm name can promote – or impede – firm growth
  • The firm name as a tool for legitimizing the firm
  • Avoiding confusion with competitors
  • Helping your firm be more discoverable by ideal clients
  • How to think about a URL
  • What the increased use of vocal search means for firm names

 

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Tech Stack: Marketing Calendar Tools - Episode 9113 Nov 202400:12:32

Marketing calendar tools: not super exciting, but super necessary. In the newest Tech Stack episode, we explain how these tools work, why you need them, and how to choose the best one for your firm.


Highlights:

  • What marketing calendar tools do
  • Why your firm needs one
  • How to identify your firm’s calendaring needs
  • How to choose the best marketing calendar tool for your firm


Episode Resources:
Marketing calendar resources
(These are not endorsements, just a few options to kick-start your research and evaluation process)

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

The Eternal Feedback Loop - Episode 9006 Nov 202400:15:53

Are all of your marketing efforts stuck in an eternal feedback loop? If you’re constantly revising based on new opinions and can’t get anything out the door, the answer is, “Yes.” Iterative processes have their place, but there comes a time when your marketing can’t do anything for you because nothing can get final approval. When your marketing flow starts to look like an M.C. Escher drawing, it’s time to break out of the eternal feedback loop.

Highlights:

  • Why the pursuit of elusive perfection is your enemy
  • How knowing something can be changed can keep it from being finalized
  • The downside of creativity: nothing is ever “done”
  • How to get out of the feedback loop and marketing efforts reflect priorities
  • Remembering your marketing output is not your legacy

 

Episode Resources:

The RFP: Details are opportunities - Episode 8923 Oct 202400:12:31

Preparing RFP responses can feel like all you're doing is working off of someone else's checklist. In truth, RFP responses can be great opportunities for educating prospective clients about your firm's strengths. The key is to use details in every response to focus the readers on what's important. This turns RFPs into a marketing tool for the immediate project - as well as future projects from the same clients. Opportunities are in the details, and details create opportunities.

Highlights:

  • The importance of closing the loop for RFP reviewers
  • Focusing on what makes your firm uniquely qualified to do the project
  • How architecture firms are like Moleskine notebooks
  • Why you can't rely on people looking at your website
  • Making the RFP a self-contained document
  • How to ensure your RFP response is effective no matter the prescribed format


Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Single Static Image - Episode 8816 Oct 202400:10:46

Does your firm have that One Great Image that gets used everywhere? In this episode, we unpack the limitations of relying solely on static images in architectural marketing. Learn why embracing video, diverse visuals, and storytelling can set your firm apart. 

Highlights:

  • How the way people consume information has changed
  • The struggle for differentiation
  • Why "perfection" is truly your enemy
  • Where single images fall down
  • The importance of telling the whole project story
  • The need to prioritize image creation and collection


Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Curiosity - Episode 8709 Oct 202400:12:02

All of the marketing skills in the world won’t matter much if you don’t have the most important ingredient: curiosity. Being interested in how people think, behave, and make decisions is what helps you identify how, when, and where you need to present information. In this episode, we discuss what it looks like to be curious in your marketing and how to cultivate curiosity.

Highlights:

  • What curiosity does for your marketing
  • How to channel the curiosity already present in design work into marketing
  • Cultivating curiosity as a firm differentiator
  • How to go from not-at-all-curious to at least somewhat curious


Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Marketing Bias - Episode 8602 Oct 202400:12:13

Do you find yourself discounting ideas or data because you don't believe something works, it's not how you use the internet, or you've just never "liked" a particular thing? This is how bias works, and it can harm your marketing and your firm growth. In this episode, we discuss how to be aware of these biases and make more informed decisions.

Highlights:

  • Biases in data interpretation
  • Clarifying the value of data points
  • The importance of asking "so what"?
  • Why it's important to identify goals before you identify tools

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Interview with Don Semple, AIA, Partner at Krueck Sexton Partners - Episode 8525 Sep 202400:30:28

Don Semple, AIA, Partner at Chicago-based architecture firm Krueck Sexton Partners, talks with Brian Jones about the role of technology in design and in the architecture profession. Don also discusses the evolution of his career and the approach Krueck Sexton Partners takes to discovering a project’s hidden potential. With a project portfolio that includes the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning & Leadership, the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, and the Benjamin P. Grogan and Jerry L. Dove Federal Building, Don shares his design inspirations and the educational experiences that have shaped his career to date.

Highlights:

  • What it’s really like to make the transition from architect to partner
  • Technology’s role in evolving building and drawing methods
  • Mentorship and fostering growth in multi-generational firms
  • Design’s role in climate change mitigation
  • The future promise of AI in architecture

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Connect with Don Semple, AIA

Tech Stack: Website Images: How Big Is Too Big? - Episode 8418 Sep 202400:11:50

Images showcase the amazing work your firm does, but using the wrong format or size can cause issues for your website – and the people visiting it. So how do you fix that? In this episode, we talk tips on balancing aesthetics and practicality to make your firm’s projects stand out.


Highlights:

  • Oversized project images on architecture firm websites.
  • User frustration with giant images.
  • The need for dynamic imagery, including video.
  • Importance of optimized image sizes for load time.
  • Challenging the default “above the fold” design strategy.

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Interview with Studio Gang13 Mar 202500:18:20

In this episode of our series about the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition, As Built co-hosts Patience Jones and Brian Jones speak with competition finalist Jeanne Gang, FAIA of the firm Studio Gang. 

 

Photo of Jeanne Gang © John David Pittman

Growth Challenge: Keeping Current On Your Contacts - Episode 8311 Sep 202400:09:06

You might hear from close friends when they get a promotion or leave a company, but what about the people you don’t keep in touch with as much? You might reach out to someone to find a bounce-back email, or someone you don’t know answering the phone. That’s why it’s important to keep up to date with the people around you and be aware of when they change job titles or leave a company. In this episode, we go over the best practices to keep in contact with everyone through social media, and best practices to reach out to someone after a career move.


Highlights:

  • Consequences of Outdated Information.
  • Using LinkedIn for Contact Updates.
  • Opportunities Arising from Congratulatory Outreach.
  • Value of Helping and Connecting Others.
  • Observing Market Trends from Job Movements.
  • Step-by-Step on Keeping Contacts Updated.
  • Reaching Out for Belated Congratulations.
  • Expanding Network During Reviews.

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Building Consensus - Episode 8204 Sep 202400:13:22

It’s decision time. It may not be do or die, but how you make your decision can decide whether your team is on board or not. No matter the decision, big or small, it’s important to build a consensus among your team to foster trust and growth. In this episode we talk about the importance of getting everyone’s opinion before moving forward with decisions that impact your firm.

Highlights:

  • The importance of consensus brings diverse ideas and comfort.
  • Small decisions are a building block to building consensus
  • How different backgrounds can offer different viewpoints
  • Agreeing on direction and strategies.
  • Addressing obstructionists: Clear goals and paths.
  • The importance of articulating goals to your team

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Interview with Jakeb Novak, AIA - Episode 8121 Aug 202400:12:12
Jakeb Novak, AIA, Partner at Specht Novak, talks with Brian Jones about his journey in the built environment. Based in Austin, Texas, Specht Novak believes in creating comfortable and timeless buildings, foregoing the use of trendy materials to avoid aging projects. Its approach has earned it a spot on Architizer's 100 Best Architecture and Design Firms in the United States list. Jakeb shares the details of his career evolution from working on residential builds in Chicago to becoming a firm partner in Texas.  

Highlights:

  • How unaging designs can set your firm apart
  • Analyzing site conditions: from challenges to design features
  • The importance of having clear communication and expectations with clients
  • How the advancement of technology has changed the game for architects
  • Taking suggestions from everyone in the firm, no matter their experience level

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Tech Stack: Cookie Update - Episode 8014 Aug 202400:08:41

Have you always wanted a personal entourage that follows you around? Well there’s some good news if so, because you already have one of sorts, and it’s sticking around for a while longer. Google’s third-party cookies is here to stay, but that doesn’t mean first-party data isn’t worth the investment.

Highlights:

  • Value in first-party data for consumers.
  • The benefit of owning customer relationships.
  • Predicting user demographics based on cookie acceptance.
  • Digital buyers’ growing savviness with cookies.

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Expanding the Map - Episode 7907 Aug 202400:11:13

So you’ve decided to expand your geographical territories? It’s a great opportunity for new business, but there’s a lot more that goes into it than posting an announcement to your website. With businesses who already have the community’s trust, and different cultures to think about, new regions aren’t going to welcome your business with open arms. But with some work, and commitment an unexplored region could eventually become a second home for your firm.

Highlights:

  • How to leverage existing work to enter new markets
  • The importance of in-depth market and cultural research.
  • The value of long-term investment in new communities.
  • Challenges with superficial market entry announcements.

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Weighing Publishing Platform Options - Episode 7824 Jul 202400:11:36

There are a lot of options to chose from when it comes to publishing platforms for your firms project. In this episode hosts Patience and Brian Jones explain the pros and cons of print vs. digital publishing, and why reevaluating strategies is crucial to effectively showcase your firm's work.

Highlights:

  • Case study: Client project embargoed from publication.
  • Importance of re-evaluating publishing strategies.
  • Balance between print publication prestige and social media immediacy.
  • Negotiating with print publications for alternative content.
  • Tracking impact: Social media vs. print publications.
  • Introducing new technologies like VR in future publishing.

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Growth Challenge: The Washing Problem - Episode 7717 Jul 202400:11:37

Deceptive practices in architecture like greenwashing or care-washing where firms say one thing but do another can cause problems for a firms growth. Hosts Patience and Brian Jones explore its impact on growth, employee trust, and client relationships. In this episode, we discuss how to stay authentic and back up your statements with real actions. Plus, we explore how you can create genuine marketing messages that truly reflect your firm’s values.

Highlights:

  • Explanation of green washing and care washing
  • Importance of consistency between words and actions
  • The danger of employees discovering inconsistencies
  • Project owners’ expectations aligned with firm professed values
  • Reflecting firm values accurately
  • The importance of authenticity in firm statements
  • Boilerplate language vs. uniqueness
  • The risk of universal statements carrying unfulfilled promises
  • Encouragement to differentiate with genuine, relatable examples

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Malcolm Reading, RIBA - Episode 7610 Jul 202400:19:52

Malcolm Reading, RIBA, Chairman of Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC), talks with Brian Jones about architectural competitions. Based in London, MRC runs both open and invited international design competitions. The firm has worked with clients across the globe, including the V&A, Gallaudet University, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Houston Endowment, and the Royal Opera House. Malcolm shares the details of his career evolution from architect to architecture consultant to firm owner, and gives listeners an insider’s view of the ins and outs of competitions. 

Highlights:

  • How identifying a gap between client needs and architecture firms sparked a career
  • The design perspective that comes from working on the client side
  • The importance of channeling learning back into the design process
  • Why being an enabler is a good thing
  • What architects need to be successful in a design competition
  • Why firms shouldn’t submit to every competition
  • The two stages of a successful competition model

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Connect with Malcolm Reading, RIBA

Tech Stack: LinkedIn Platform Updates - Episode 7503 Jul 202400:07:48

In the latest installment of our Tech Stack series, we break down the latest LinkedIn updates and how they affect your post visuals. Learn practical workarounds to maintain impactful posts despite LinkedIn’s shift in prioritizing internal content. Whether you’re an avid LinkedIn user or just starting on the platform, this episode is packed with tips to keep your content engaging and effective. 

Highlights:

  • What LinkedIn’s updates are
  • Explanation of LinkedIn’s prioritization of native content
  • Several workarounds (for now)

Episode Resources:

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Trade Show Best Practices - Episode 7426 Jun 202400:16:53

If you’re thinking about attending or exhibiting a trade show, this is the episode for you. Inspired by Patience’s recent visit to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, we build on what we’ve experienced - and done- at trade shows over the past decade. We discuss ways to ensure your firm stands out (in a good way) and makes meaningful connections.

Highlights:

  • Thinking about trade shows as three distinct parts: before, during, and after
  • The importance of every piece of information provided to the show organizers
  • How to promote your attendance before the show
  • Do’s and don’t’s of booth design and swag
  • How to not inadvertently repel prospects
  • Making the most of post-show follow-ups

 

Episode Resources:

Interview with Renzo Piano Building Workshop13 Mar 202500:12:19

In this episode of our series about the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition, As Built co-hosts Brian Jones and Patience Jones speak with competition finalists Elisabetta Trezzani and Kerry Joyce of the firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop. 

 

Photos of Elisabetta Trezzani and Kerry Joyce courtesy of Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Panic is not a Marketing Strategy - Episode 7319 Jun 202400:13:21

You know that scene in almost every movie set in a creative firm, where someone just realized something is due and everyone runs around in a state of total panic while frenetic background music plays?

That shouldn’t be how your marketing works. We’ve been duped into believing that doing things frantically at the last minute is somehow a sign of success. It isn’t. It’s a symptom of a problem, and left to worsen it can lead to loss of clients, drying up of potential work, and employee unhappiness and illness. In this episode, we discuss panic and how to develop a marketing strategy that isn’t based on anyone’s hair being on fire.

Highlights:

  • What can cause panic to take over
  • How movies and cocktail banter convinced us panic was a good thing
  • Being able to adapt and change is not the same thing as courting panic
  • The importance of putting systems in place for yourself
  • Your future self does not have as much time as you think they will
  • The effects of panic on yourself, your health, and your firm


Episode Resources:

AI Updates to Discoverability - Episode 7212 Jun 202400:17:57

One of the most important things your firm can be is discoverable: by prospects, employee candidates, search engines, and now, AI. With recent updates from Google, Apple, and others in the digital space, how artificial intelligence sees and understands who you are and what you do is becoming increasingly more important. In this episode, we discuss what the new “fourth audience” of AI means for how discoverable your firm is – and how to turn this new development into an opportunity.

Highlights:

  • How recent integrations of AI are simply extensions of the organic search engine model
  • The mistake of outsourcing your firm identify to AI
  • Even when companies like Google do short-term walkbacks of AI, the approach is not going away
  • Ways firms can be successful in this new model

 

Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Fighting Social Sameness - Episode 7105 Jun 202400:14:08

When you look around your social media feeds, do you see a lot of the same thing? How does this happen, why is it unhelpful for your firm, and how can you break out of the “also” rut? In this episode, we talk about social sameness: the phenomenon that results in one or two social personas being adopted as the way everyone shows up. While being the same as everyone else on social media can feel like the right thing to do, it can hamper your growth and make you less inclined to use social media. Here’s how to fight against the same-as approach.

Highlights

  • Why it matters if people outside your industry understand how you’re different
  • How emphasis on project imagery got us to this place
  • Turning your social media into a viewport
  • The value of doing “the bad thing”
  • How only showing the final outcome can undervalue your work


Episode Resources


Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Unlocking Your Firm’s IP - Episode 7029 May 202400:15:18

Your firm has an asset that’s often overlooked: its intellectual property. Broadly, this means the things you know individually and collectively as a firm. This knowledge can be used to differentiate your firm from competitors, earn client trust, and even create new service lines. In this episode, we explain how to identify your firm’s IP and put it to use.

Highlights

  • How to identify your firm’s IP
  • The mistake firms make when thinking about their IP
  • How to use your IP to grow your firm
  • What your firm’s IP and Pilates have in common
  • The danger of treating your IP like a secret
  • How to think about making your IP work for you while also battling fears of making it public

 

Episode Resources

As Built Interview with Diane Hoskins, FAIA, NCARB - Episode 6915 May 202400:30:38

Diane Hoskins, FAIA, NCARB is Global Co-Chair of Gensler, the largest architecture firm in the world by both revenue and number of architects. She also serves as the Global Chair of the Board of Directors for the Urban Land Institute and as Trustee for The MIT Corporation. Most recently, she co-authored the book Design for a Radically Changing World, which explores the role that design in shaping the human experience amidst changing global conditions. In this episode, Diane discusses how her multi-disciplinary background has influenced her career, the discoveries that came out of the book’s creation, and why now is the best time to be a practicing architect. 


Highlights

  • What the crisis multiplier is, and how design is an ideal tool for addressing crises
  • How the ways in which we think about workspaces continue to evolve
  • The role COVID played – and didn’t – in changing workplace expectations
  • The concept of the worker as consumer
  • How Gensler’s “one firm” firm culture positions the firm to work from a place of expertise and empathy

 

Episode Resources

Growth Challenges: Reporting - Episode 6808 May 202400:13:09

Reporting: You know you’re supposed to do it, but you’re not sure why or what to do with what you collect. As your firm grows, it will become more important for you to understand what marketing metrics you’re measuring and how to make use of that data. In this episode of our Growth Challenges series, we explore setting up reporting that actually matters.

Highlights

  • Why reporting on everything is as bad as reporting on nothing
  • How to ensure you're reporting on the right things
  • The one question that will tell you if you should be reporting on a particular item
  • The lure of pretty data
  • Why you also need to track sales data

Episode Resources

Are You Getting In Your Own Way? - Episode 6701 May 202400:10:53

Are you doing something that is preventing you from achieving the thing you say you want? If so, you’re getting in your own way. In this episode, we explore the ways firm leaders can hinder progress toward goals, whether that’s simply not taking action or actively creating obstacles. We talk about the roles that cognitive rigidity and anxiety play in getting in the way, and how to overcome or at least manage those.


Highlight

  •            The telltale signs you’re getting in your own way
  •       How the desires for comfort, confidence, and certainty can lead to self-sabotage
  •            Understanding the fear of getting to the finish line
  •            Letting go of “goals” that no longer serve you or the firm

Episode Resources

Project Fatigue - Episode 6624 Apr 202400:11:00

No, not the fatigue that comes with working on a seemingly unending project. In this episode, we’re talking about the fatigue that your audiences feel when your firm talks about the same one or two projects to the exclusion of others. This can happen because a project has won awards, received press, or is a personal favorite. When a few projects consistently carry all of the marketing weight for the firm, people get tired of seeing them – no matter how great those projects are. Here’s how to keep people engaged without diminishing the firm’s accomplishments.

 

Highlights

  •        The importance of showcasing all aspects of your firm – not just the completed work
  •         Avoiding the “slideshow from my vacation” problem
  •         How singular project focus can create employee anxiety
  •         The value of thinking like an outsider
  •         Using the coffee shop approach

 

Episode Resources

Consistency Is Not The Enemy - Episode 6517 Apr 202400:12:28

The word "consistency” can bring to mind drudgery and the removal of any creativity. This thinking, however, will limit your business growth. In this episode we explore why consistency in external communications is so important and what to do when being consistent seems impossible. We also refute the idea that consistency has to mean doing the same exact thing all the time – or more often than you really should be.

 

Highlights:

  • Being creatively consistent
  • How to remain consistent when you don’t feel like it, are overworked, or dealing with personal issues
  • The importance of having a generous mindset
  • “More consistent” does not mean “more often”
  •   How being consistent is similar to routinely visiting your favorite coffee shop

 

Episode Resources

Building Up Your Network - Episode 6410 Apr 202400:10:43

Building your business is easier if you also build your personal network. Whether you're just starting out in your career or leading a firm, it's vital to make connections with new people. People in your network may end up being a source of new business, but the focus shouldn't be on selling - it should be on meeting people whose work you admire, who you find interesting, or with whom you share interests. Don't look at growing your network like another "must do" on your list. Instead, try to see if for what it is: an opportunity for a positive interaction with another human being.

Highlights

  • The importance of having an updated LinkedIn profile.
  • Where to find people you'd like to meet.
  • Being approachable, respectful, and oriented towards creating genuine relationships rather than solely focusing on sales and leads.
  • Why it's never as scary or onerous as it seems.
  • What 'open to connect' means on LinkedIn and why it matters.

Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Interview with Selldorf Architects13 Mar 202500:22:37

In this episode of our series about the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition, As Built co-hosts Patience Jones and Brian Jones speak with competition finalist Annabelle Selldorf, FAIA of the firm Selldorf Architects. 

 

Photo of Annabelle Selldorf © Stephen Kent Johnson courtesy of Selldorf Architects

Tech Stack: Image Assets - Episode 6303 Apr 202400:10:04

In the latest edition of our “Tech Stack” series, we cover the technical aspects of image assets. Photos and video are arguably the most important assets your firm can have. What needs to be considered to make sure you end up with results that are usable for what you're trying to accomplish? Do you have what you need to effectively communicate about your project? 

Highlights: 

  • Composition isn’t the only consideration 

  • Why you need to know how a photo will be used before it’s taken 

  • The role of the relationship between the photographer and the viewer 

  • The importance of knowing the current requirements for relevant social media platforms 

  • Why cropping should only be a last resort 


Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

As Built Interview with Chris Fogarty, AIA, RIBA - Episode 6227 Mar 202400:30:17

Fogarty Finger Co-Founding Principal Chris Fogarty, AIA, RIBA, talks with host Patience Jones about starting his own firm as he looks forward to celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Chris and Patience discuss his career beginnings at SOM, the experience of growing Fogarty Finger by almost double the headcount, and the firm’s new project The Eliza, an innovative mixed-use development that combines affordable housing with a cutting-edge public library.
 
Highlights

  • How unsuccessfully trying to quit a job led Chris to more opportunities
  • The reasons Chris and his business partner Robert Finger work so well together
  • The role of storytelling in the firm’s work
  • How to measure “success” in an architecture firm
  • The difficulty of simplicity, and how Chris conveys the concept to the design team as well as clients
  • The importance of being able to start over
  • Why self-storage units are a problem for cities, and the larger problematic issues they represent

 

Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Connect with Chris Fogarty

Setting Up Advisors - Episode 6120 Mar 202400:13:43

At some point, your business will reach a point where you can’t figure out what to do by yourself. This could be the first day you open, at the one-year mark, or twenty years on. No matter when the realization hits you, the answer is to bring on advisors who can help you think through – and make better decisions about – various issues facing your firm. In this episode, we discuss what it takes to find trusted advisors and how to work with them successfully. 

 

Highlights

  • How to know when it’s time to start working with advisors 
  • The importance of working with someone you can trust 
  • Why advisors should never be sales prospects 
  • How advisors are different from employees, friends and family 
  • Recognizing that having advisors doesn’t mean you’ll never have to make tough decisions 


Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Growth Challenges: Getting Work in a New Market Sector - Episode 6013 Mar 202400:15:31

Brian and Patience discuss how architectural firms can venture into new sectors, geographies, or fields of operation where they lack experience but see business opportunities. They propose three ways to ensure successful expansion: Scale, Opportunity, and Relationships. 

'Scale' involves starting with smaller scale projects, showing expertise in problem-solving, and then leveraging this to secure larger scale ones. 'Opportunity' entails showcasing the firm's experience and skill set in a manner that convinces potential clients of their ability to handle different types of projects. 'Relationships' relates to using your connections in the industry to get an inside track into new business avenues and differentiate from competitors. 

 

Highlights

  • How scale matters in architecture projects
  • Ways to convey project capabilities to potential clients
  • Tips on how residential firms can transition into larger scale projects
  • The role of opportunity in expanding a firm and how related experiences can be presented as unique qualifications
  • The importance of firm-client relationships in pitching for new projects.
  • Making decisions on market sector expansion choice when firms are not sure of the direction they want to take
  • The importance of evaluating existing relationships when making market sector expansion choices.


Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Ep 59: As Built Interview with Eli Hoisington, AIA, LEED AP06 Mar 202400:16:53

HOK Co-CEO and Design Principal Eli Hoisington, AIA, LEED AP, talks with host Brian Jones about his journey to co-CEO of a global architecture firm and how that impacted his view of leadership. Eli speaks generously and candidly about the challenges of balancing leadership and design and what an “interdisciplinary approach” really means to the firm. He also discusses how the firm embraced a global mentorship approach that allows for cross-border mentor-mentee relationships. Noting that at the time of the recording, it's 70 degrees in February in Saint Louis, Eli provides insight on sustainability, explaining that the term needs to expand to include both wellness and equity. 

Highlights

  • How important it is for leaders to be able to view issues through different lenses 
  • The importance of involving multiple disciplines in a project from the very beginning (or getting everyone “in the mosh pit”)
  • Why “collaboration” is easy to say but hard to do, and how the firm prioritizes it 
  • How the firm nurtures and promotes design across its many offices in many time zones 
  • How the pandemic spawned a new global approach to mentorship 
  • Why it’s vital for architects to make sure their process drives their choice of technology tools, and not the other way around 


Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Connect with Eli Hoisington

Setting Expectations for Communications Tools - Episode 5828 Feb 202400:09:19

Internal communications channels have changed substantially over the past 20 years. We’ve gone from phone calls and intra-office memos to emails, texts, group messaging like Slack, internal e-newsletters, and video conferencing – not to mention tools like Google Docs and Workfront with ancillary messaging capabilities.

Without guidance from firm leadership on which channel should be used for what, you’re at risk for a lot of miscommunication. One person may think the best place to note a deadline change is in the group chat on Zoom, while another was expecting an email and now the project’s in jeopardy. In this episode, we break down best practices for using and managing internal communication channels.

Highlights

  • How to create internal communications channel guidelines 
  • Assigning levels of importance and/or urgency to each channel
  • The importance of consistency 
  • Making peace with people preferring a different channel than you would have picked 


Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Lies We Tell Ourselves: Set it and Forget it - Episode 5721 Feb 202400:10:14

In this very dramatically named episode, we examine the lie we all want to believe: that marketing is something that you can set and then forget about if you can just find the right tools/agency/message. We look back at how we came to be sold this lie and how it’s altered our views of what we have to do to have successful marketing. Most importantly, we identify the ways to get away from this dangerous mindset. 

 

Highlights

  • The ironic origins of our “set it and forget it” beliefs about marketing 
  • How advances in technology can fuel the belief that people don’t need to be involved 
  • What can happen when you “forget it” 
  • How to create a marketing approach that doesn’t require constant attention 

 


Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Too Many Meetings - Episode 5614 Feb 202400:12:13

Patience and Brian Jones discuss the issue of “too many meetings” in a firm or workplace setting. They emphasize the need to establish a balance in creating meetings that do not overburden the schedule or diminish work morale. They point out that excessive meetings can lead to a culture that inadvertently necessitates meetings for every scenario, including follow-up meetings and recapping meetings, which may consume employees' entire workday. They advise firm leaders to calculate the financial cost of each meeting. This includes both the lost revenue due to the meeting time and the potential opportunity costs of work not done due to the meeting.

 

Highlights

  • How to manage and reduce an overwhelming amount of scheduled meetings
  • The negative impacts of meeting culture, such as affecting productivity and causing burnouts
  • How to carefully select important meetings
  • Criticism on default meeting time-frames and the negative impacts of unnecessarily long meetings
  • The importance of an agenda in a meeting, and tips to keep meetings productive and short
  • Respecting agreed meeting time and avoiding running over the scheduled time
  • Advice on auditing the calendar for meetings and reflecting on their importance


Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Simply the Best (At What You Do) - Episode 5507 Feb 202400:09:03

With apologies to Tina Turner and Schitt’s Creek, in this episode we talk about the importance of focusing on what you do (simply the) best. This isn’t about indulging yourself or finding your bliss; it’s about identifying the thing that you could do in your sleep, the thing that causes people to search you out, and the thing that keeps them coming back. Once you’ve identified This Thing, marketing, sales, and delivery of your work become much easier. 

 

Highlights

  • Why what you do best matters
  • What you do best and what you enjoy the most are not always the same thing
  • How to identify what you do best
  • The benefits of doing what you do best


Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Tech Stack: Web Hosting - Episode 5431 Jan 202400:14:42

Patience and Brian Jones delve into the topic of website hosting, discussing its importance, features, and how it often gets overlooked due to its technical nature. They stress the vital role of a website as the first point of contact people have with a firm, and the importance of reliable web hosting in ensuring continued accessibility. They also advise listeners to analyze the backup process offered by the hosting plan, the ability to set up an offline backup, and the possibility of accessing a production and staging environment.

Highlights

  • Who should be responsible for understanding web hosting within a company
  • The distinction between URL, website hosting, and email
  • Backup process, staging environment and how that impacts the website functionality
  • The geographical location of web servers and how that could affect certain aspects of the website
  • How server location can impact site speed
  • How site loading speed can affect visitor experience and site ranking on search engines
  • The importance of investing in a good hosting plan

 

Episode Resources

Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones

Interview with Kengo Kuma & Associates13 Mar 202500:15:53

In this episode of our series about the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art International Design Competition, As Built co-hosts Brian Jones and Patience Jones speak with competition finalist Kengo Kuma of Kengo Kuma & Associates. 

 

Photo of Kengo Kuma courtesy of J.C. Carbonne and Kengo Kuma & Associates

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