A Source of Optimism in These Crazy Times

In a recent issue of Inc. Magazine, best-selling author and management guru Jim Collins was interviewed about thriving in light of the current economic “crazy times.” As someone who has made it his life’s work to study organizations, Collins exhibits a remarkable - and reassuring - energy about the future. When asked about the source of this optimism, he said,

“A lot of it has to do with the young generation. A general at West Point told me, ‘This is the most inspired and inspiring generation to come through West Point since 1945.’ I see the same thing with the young people who come to work for me. They have a sense of responsibility and service and a lack of cynicism that is remarkable and wonderful. It’s an ethos, and it’s collective. That’s what’s really powerful. It’s connected technologically. It’s not grandiose, but there is a fundamental assumption of being part of a much larger world and a much larger set of aspirations. The world can be a really awful, brutal, turbulent place. And yet I’m hopeful precisely because of this generation of kids. I really think we ought to just give them the keys as soon as we can. Let them run it.”

I think if we were to examine those architectural practices weathering the downturn most successfully, we would see the same optimism for the future - and for much the same reason. Leaders who remain connected to their staff and take time to mentor - and be mentored - are positioning their firms to retain the most talented staff and recruit even more as they continue to grow and succeed.

Firms are only beginning to develop strategies for engaging the collective ethos of the young generation. I am hopeful that as they begin to do so, we can overcome some of the cynicism that at times overshadows our profession and instead put the energy we all share toward improving the future.

Coming from a leading thinker like Jim Collins, this is reaffirming to my work both as a graduate student and with clients across the country. As a member of this young generation, I spend a growing amount of time studying our ethos and talking with fellow designers and architects who see the world in the way Collins describes. The many talented young professionals across the country are constantly energizing me, as are the leaders of firms that allow them to thrive. As with Collins, they too are the source of my optimism and excitement about the future.

I’m interested in any initiatives or cultural qualities of firms that have been successful in beginning to focus on this issue or ideas about how they may do so if they haven’t already. Strategic optimism in the face of the turbulence of daily news is contagious and elevates the profession and all those within it and affected by it.

Does our future depend on our response? Or is the future our response?

The last few posts I have written have begun talking at a very limited level about some challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the design profession. In my research and coursework at the University of Washington, my work with the Greenway Group, and my time serving in various capacities within the AIAS and AIA, I have developed an interest in not only the future of architecture and the momentous, dynamic change in the coming years, but in particular the role that young professionals play in this change. In the words of American inventor and electrical engineer Charles Kettering, “My interest is in the future because I’m going to spend the rest of my life there.”

The list of challenges that face us seems daunting — the dire need to address global climate change and the impacts it will have on our society; an increasing disparity between the wealthiest and poorest societies and individuals; water shortages both here in the United States and abroad; and most immediately, the need to begin fixing a broken global economic model. These are all issues that we as architects and design professionals can begin to address in partnership with communities and governments across the globe. We are creative problem solvers! Now more than ever, it is time to use the spatial thinking that is integral to our disciplines to develop creative solutions to address global issues.

At the same time, we are facing — and will continue to face — challenges in the profession. How will we respond to meet the 2030 Challenge of carbon neutrality? How will we put aside differences of the past and form integrated, interdisciplinary teams which redistribute risk and reward in new ways in better service to our clients — and creating better design in the process? How will we adapt to technologies that allow this to happen? How might we explore new means and methods of construction to create innovation? I believe that these are all issues we must come together as professions to face.

Not only are firms attempting to respond to these larger issues, but they are facing unique challenges. The global economic contraction certainly has had a short-term impact on firms — and will have either a positive or a negative long-term impact depending on how they utilize this opportunity. This is an opportunity to create a new reality, rather than simply hunkering down and thinking the last few years will return.

Most important to me is the issue of leadership. Firms (and the entire country for that matter) are reaching a generational precipice. Many partners, leaders, and most experience practitioners (baby boomers) are hoping to retire within the next 10 years. The next generation (Gen X) is a much smaller generation demographically, both in the United States as a whole and within the profession. However, the Millennial generation (those roughly 30 and under) is almost as large as the boomers. The characteristics and passions of this generation present the opportunity to truly change the state of our planet, our profession, and our firms. In the coming weeks and months, I hope to begin sharing some of these characteristics as I continue to search for and develop ways that firms are or can in the future capture this passion to create a new, dynamic profession. I welcome thoughts, ideas, passions, questions, and concerns as I explore how we can begin to tackle the challenges ahead.