Category: Working Life

On helpfulness as a business development tactic

While I don’t do much business development, there’s one tenet that I know works, because I’ve seen it pay dividends again and again: Be helpful. Sounds easy enough, but this directive is harder to follow than it first seems, because knowing how to help someone is more an art than a science. So, let’s amend … Continue reading On helpfulness as a business development tactic →

On blogging (almost) every day so far this year

On January 3, I published a post on being a "sucker" for resolutions that included a fateful and rhetorical question: What if I wrote a blog post every day? Oh boy. Here we are, just over halfway through the year, and I've found myself plugging away at this strange resolution. Technically, there are plenty of … Continue reading On blogging (almost) every day so far this year →

On defining professions

I'm partway through Donald Schön's The Reflective Practitioner—a study of how professionals (doctors, lawyers, architects, social workers) "think in action" as they conduct their work. While certainly dated (it was written in the early 1980s), the book still has plenty of observational nuggets to offer, including a thoughtful discussion of what, exactly, a "profession" is. … Continue reading On defining professions →

On the pros and cons of a job where you “wear a lot of hats”

When asked, it's a phrase I'll use to describe my job: "I wear a lot of hats." It's a silly metaphor, of course, but the silliness is important: you can't possibly look good or credible wearing every hat. My first job in A/E/C marketing was as a "proposal jockey," as we jokingly called it. Ninety … Continue reading On the pros and cons of a job where you “wear a lot of hats” →

On the pseudo-event in the A/E/C industry

It's hard not to roll your eyes looking at photos of some groundbreaking ceremonies. Shoveling a pile of dirt on an empty parking lot? While construction vehicles actively trundle around in the background? Doesn't look like "groundbreaking" to me. The same can be said of many ribbon-cutting ceremonies, too, with their oversize scissors and grinning … Continue reading On the pseudo-event in the A/E/C industry →

On the resistance in the A/E/C industry to new brand names

It’s not just the A/E/C industry—it’s most professional services companies. Designers, engineers, accountants, advertising professionals, creatives, lawyers—they all love to name their companies after themselves. There’s ego in this, of course. What better than naming a company after yourself? But there’s also an obvious business development case. As a small firm, it makes sense to … Continue reading On the resistance in the A/E/C industry to new brand names →

On one way to make a proposal stand out in the coming surge of responses

Now that I’ve started pondering how AI may lead to a surge in RFP responses, I’m having a hard time moving my mind away from its implications. Once A/E/C marketers are leveraging AI to deliver oodles and oodles of responses…what comes next? I’m tempted to suggest that the most strategic and thoughtful responses will still … Continue reading On one way to make a proposal stand out in the coming surge of responses →