Architect''s Guide to Small Firm Management - Making Chaos Work for Your Small Firm

Informationen zum Autor RENA M. KLEIN, FAIA, is principal of RM Klein Consulting, a Seattle-based firm offering business planning services, meeting facilitation, and management education to leaders of small design firms. Building on her graduate degree in management and her twenty years of experience as the owner of a small architectural firm, Rena regularly presents seminars on small firm practice. Her innovative work in this area has appeared in print and Web publications, including AIA's online Architects' Knowledge Resource. Klappentext The definitive guide to management success for sole practitioners and leaders of small design firmsOwning and operating a small architectural design firm can be challenging, with tight project deadlines, on-the-fly meetings, rush proposals, and fluctuating workloads as part of the firm's day-to-day activities. To help small firm owners cope with the chaos and prepare for the unexpected, here is The Architect's Guide to Small Firm Management, a no-nonsense guide to repurposing daily demands into workable, goal-directed solutions.Crucial topics such as self-aware leadership, people management, technology, financial health, scenario planning, sustainable practice, and future trends are examined using real-life case studies and business model paradigms. This definitive text explores the whole system experience of a small firm practice to deliver organizational strategies proven to keep a firm's creative mission on a steady, productive path.The Architect's Guide to Small Firm Management addresses how small firm owners can:* Deal effectively with unexpected circumstances and shifting work requirements* Meet the demands of the marketplace while creating a satisfying workplace* Set and achieve goals in an environment of constant changeThis book is a must-have for those facing the often harsh reality of managing small design firms in a difficult and changing economy. Entrepreneurial architects and designers will discover how to define their own personal and professional meanings of success, as well as how to refocus their business approach to replace long, unrewarding hours with manageable, satisfying ones. Zusammenfassung Based on AIA surveys, most design firms are small organizations of less than twenty people. The leaders of these small firms are likely to be very entrepreneurial, but unlikely to have any training in business or management. This is a guide addressing this important issue. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Part I: Managing In An Unpredictable Environment 1 Chapter 1: Bringing Order Out of Chaos 3 Profit and Satisfaction 4 Design Firm Business Models 6 Efficiency-Based Firms 6 Experience-Based Firms 8 Expertise-Based Firms 10 Any Project That Comes Through The Door 13 Small Firm Archetypes 14 Archetype One: Everyone is Dissatisfied 14 Archetype Two: Administrative Breakdown 16 Archetype Three: Unintentional Enmity 18 Chapter 2: Whole Firm System 21 Linear Thinking and Systems Thinking 22 Recognizing Patterns 24 Tracking Trends 25 Symptomatic and Fundamental Solutions 26 Summary 28 Core Incompetence 28 Whole Firm System Diagram 29 Time Management 31 Communication Effectiveness 32 Job Satisfaction 33 Chapter 3: Routinize The Routine 35 Operational Effectiveness 35 The Typology of Work 37 Analyzability and Variety 38 Situational Leadership 39 Match Management Style, Staffing, and Work Types 40 How To Routinize 41 Project Management/Accounting Software 42 Project Startup Process 47 Capacity Utilization 50 Chapter 4: Leadership Matters 53 Firm Culture 53 Field Theory 55 Self-Aware Leadership 55 C...

Table des matières

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
 
INTRODUCTION.
 
PART I:MANAGING IN AN UNPREDICTABLE ENVIRONMENT.
 
CHAPTER 1: BRINGING ORDER OUT OF CHAOS.
 
PROFIT AND SATISFACTION.
 
DESIGN FIRM BUSINESS MODELS.
 
EFFICIENCY-BASED FIRMS.
 
EXPERIENCE-BASED FIRMS.
 
EXPERTISE-BASED FIRMS.
 
ANY PROJECT THAT COMES THROUGH THE DOOR.
 
SMALL FIRM ARCHETYPES.
 
ARCHETYPE ONE: EVERYONE IS DISSATISFIED.
 
ARCHETYPE TWO: ADMINISTRATIVE BREAKDOWN.
 
ARCHETYPE THREE: UNINTENTIONAL ENMITY.
 
CHAPTER 2: WHOLE FIRM SYSTEM.
 
LINEAR THINKING AND SYSTEMS THINKING.
 
RECOGNIZING PATTERNS.
 
TRACKING TRENDS.
 
SYMPTOMATIC AND FUNDAMENTAL SOLUTIONS.
 
SUMMARY.
 
CORE INCOMPETENCE.
 
WHOLE FIRM SYSTEM DIAGRAM.
 
TIME MANAGEMENT.
 
COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS.
 
JOB SATISFACTION.
 
CHAPTER 3: ROUTINIZE THE ROUTINE.
 
OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS.
 
THE TYPOLOGY OF WORK.
 
ANALYZABILITY AND VARIETY.
 
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP.
 
MATCH MANAGEMENT STYLE, STAFFING, AND WORK TYPES.
 
HOW TO ROUTINIZE.
 
PROJECT MANAGEMENT/ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE.
 
PROJECT STARTUP PROCESS.
 
CAPACITY UTILIZATION.
 
CHAPTER 4: LEADERSHIP MATTERS.
 
FIRM CULTURE.
 
FIELD THEORY.
 
SELF-AWARE LEADERSHIP.
 
CONTROL VERSUS TRUST.
 
CAREER CONTENTMENT.
 
WORKING WITH CREATIVE PEOPLE.
 
EFFECTIVE FIRM RETREATS.
 
PLAN NONBILLABLE HOURS.
 
PARTNERSHIPS.
 
WHY PARTNER?
 
WHAT MAKES PARTNERSHIPS WORK.
 
RULES OF THE ROAD.
 
WHAT MAKES PARTNERSHIPS FAIL.
 
"UNINTENTIONAL ENMITY" REVISITED.
 
SUCCESS IN GROUP WORK.
 
PART II: BEST LAID PLANS.
 
CHAPTER 5: LIFECYCLE OF A SMALL FIRM.
 
WEALTH OR CONTROL.
 
THE PRINCIPALS' DILEMMA.
 
GETTING TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
 
BE WHAT YOU WANT TO BECOME.
 
THE PYRAMID PROBLEM.
 
THE MATRIX SOLUTION.
 
TRANSFORMING MENTAL MODELS.
 
EVERYONE IS DISSATISFIED REVISITED.
 
CHAPTER 6: TRANSITION TIMES.
 
THE 10-YEAR ITCH.
 
WHEN PARTNERS GROW APART: J/H ARCHITECTS.
 
A CAUTIONARY TALE.
 
APPROACHING RETIREMENT.
 
10-YEAR RULE.
 
EXPANDED CHOICES.
 
NARROW CHOICES.
 
OWNERSHIP TRANSITION OPTIONS.
 
INTERNAL SALE AT RETIREMENT.
 
TAKING ON A MINORITY PARTNER.
 
CHAPTER 7: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: BEYOND INTUITION.
 
MACROECONOMIC INFLUENCES.
 
ECONOMIC INDICATORS.
 
THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS CYCLE.
 
HOW SMALL FIRMS SURVIVE AN ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN.
 
FINANCIAL TERMINOLOGY.
 
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND BENCHMARKS.
 
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TASKS.
 
TRACK FIRM PROFITABILITY.
 
TRACK CHARGEABLE RATIO AND DIRECT LABOR EXPENSE.
 
TRACK BREAK-EVEN MULTIPLIER AND MULTIPLIER ACHIEVED.
 
TRACK OVERHEAD EXPENSE AND BUDGET VARIANCE.
 
TRACK BACKLOG AND OUTSTANDING PROPOSALS.
 
YEAR-END FINANCIAL CHECKUP.
 
ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL CHECKS.
 
CHAPTER 8: SCENARIO PLANNING.
 
INFLUENCES ON PROFITABILITY.
 
CLIENT EXPECTATIONS.
 
OVERHEAD EXPENSE.
 
STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING PROFITABILITY.
 
REALIZABLE REVENUE.
 
INCREASE HOURS?
 
INCREASE BILLING RATES (FEES)?
 
INCREASE BILLABLE HOURS?
 
ADD INTERN TO STAFF?
 
ADD SKILLED STAFF?
 
SCENARIO PLANNING ST

Détails du produit

• Auteurs: R Klein, Rena Klein, Rena M Klein, Rena M. Klein, KLEIN RENA M, Klein Rena M.
• Edition: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Langues: Anglais
• Format d'édition: Livre Relié
• Sortie: 11.06.2010
• EAN: 9780470466483
• ISBN: 978-0-470-46648-3
• Pages: 240
• Catégories: Sciences humaines, art, musique > Art > Architecture; Sciences sociales, droit, économie > Economie > Gestion; Architektur, Architecture, Small businesses and self-employment, Professional Practice, Berufspraxis i. d. Architektur, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Freelance & Self-Employment