Every day, we hear that a recession is coming. What can we do to survive the rolling wave of economic change that may reach us very soon?

Back in December 2013, as the A/E/C industry was moving out of The Great Recession, Nancy Egan and I wrote an article for Marketer, the journal of the Society for Marketing Professional Services — The Hinge: Talent and Leadership in the Business Cycle. At the end, we said, “Luckily, the A/E/C world specializes in solving challenges in unique, creative ways.”

At that time, we added, “Over the past decade, we have seen an explosion of change — not only in the design and delivery of our services but also in what matters most to our clients in their own markets and segments. Disruption has become the norm, creative confidence is the new competitive advantage, and agility is our platform.”

We challenged our readers to ask whether we were really changing the way we work.

Learning from the Past

This morning, I was thinking about George W. Hellmuth, Sr., one of the three founders of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK). I remember Bill Hellmuth, the current Chairman and CEO of HOK, mentioning an article that his uncle had written on “The Depression-Proof Firm.” I wasn’t able to find the original paper, but in 2020, Patrick MacLeamy, who preceded Bill as Chairman and CEO of HOK, chronicled it in his book on HOK, as well as in an article on LinkedIn — 5 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Architecture or Creative Services Firm, It’s definitely worth reading again.

How are you preparing for a possible recession? What are you strengthening, and what are you attempting to change?

Recession Strategies

More than a decade ago, Nancy Egan and I wrote an article on recession strategies, also published in Marketer. It included information about the OECD Business Cycle Clock and business cycles through the years, as well as the seismic shift that hit A/E/C practices in The Great Recession. We included advice from Alan Murray — Deputy Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal and now CEO of Fortune. He called for “a new business model where managers think more like venture capitalists.” Applying that to the A/E/C industry, we said, “It’s time for firms to rediscover their startup mindsets and leverage evolutionary force to find new resources, processes, and markets in order to emerge from the recession stronger and more nimble than ever before.”

Then in December 2011, Guy Horton interviewed Nancy, Paul Nakazawa, and me for an article in Architect — The “R” Word – Looks like you might survive the recession. Now what? Guy wrote that Nancy, Paul, and I were “focused on new ways of thinking about what we called the ‘ecology of practice,’ including evolutionary growth and long-term strategies for practice management.”

Moving Forward

In The Hinge (2013), Nancy and I wrote that “the correlation between business cycles and the demand for talent and leadership in professional services firms seems obvious.” We commented on strategies that firms had used to reframe their marketing strategies to not only survive the recession, but to accelerate recovery and expansion. We also identified the challenges of tomorrow, which we have experienced in the decade since.

“We are once more at a hinge — a point or circumstance on which subsequent events depend.” And once more, we should ask ourselves whether we are prepared for the next seismic shift.

• How has disruption affected your firm and your clients?
• What performance outcomes are you rewarding?
• What are your strategies for creating the future for your firm and yourself?
• Who will lead change in your firm?
• Do you have the talent and leadership that you need now and into the future?

Learn More »

• 5 Ways to Recession-Proof Your Architecture or Creative Services Firm — Patrick MacLeamy for LinkedIn
• Recession Strategies in a Disruptive Economy — Marjanne Pearson and Nancy Egan
• The End of Management — Alan Murray for The Wall Street Journal
• The Hinge: Talent and Leadership in the Business Cycle – Marjanne Pearson and Nancy Egan
• The “R” Word: Looks like you might survive the recession. Now what? — Guy Horton for AIA Architect

Please visit the Anthology section of this website for more articles on Markets, Strategy, People, and Practice.

To reprise: On 9 April, Tom Jacobs and I were once again guests for Michelle Wempe‘s Contemporary Design Seminar at Kansas State University.  Our topic was once again, “What Will the Design Professions look like in 2030 and Beyond?” Here’s the final set of questions raised by the wonderful cohort of students (pictured above) —

The Value of Good Design

“Why does good design matter, today and into the future?”

“What are some of the alternate careers that might develop, within the design field?”

This is one of my favorite topics. Years ago, after reading The Business of Design by Keith Granet, I began talking about the duality of the profession — the impact of design, as well as the practice.

Last week, I attended a virtual tour of RMW, hosted by the AIA/SF BAYA (Bay Area Young Architects). Towards the end of the program, someone asked whether RMW did many LEED projects. They said that LEED certification is up to the client, but it’s a goal for all of their projects; the criteria for LEED, net-zero, wellness, and more are embedded in their design process. That’s part of the impact of design.

Before our class session, I had attended one of Rita McGrath‘s Friday Fireside Chats with Michael Schrage of MIT, in which they talked about measuring the value of innovation. In our class, I posed two key questions:

• How can we measure the impact of design?
• What is the economic value proposition of the work that we do?

We talked about the concept of value propositions, and the importance of fluency in being able to measure the value of our work and to discuss it among ourselves and with clients.

By the end of the 20th Century, William McDonough had introduced a new set of metrics for sustainable design, and he was recognized by Time Magazine as “Hero for the Planet.” Al Gore significantly increased international public awareness of global warming with An Inconvenient Truth. Gensler conducts global surveys and publishes their annual Design Forecast on the impact of design across a spectrum of market sectors. Stok has built a business on measuring (and influencing) the performance of buildings, with a commitment to “a radically better world for all.”

Most firms are talking to their clients about the ROI (return on investment) for their projects. And we will get better at doing it, talking not only about construction cost and value, but also about the human, environmental, and cultural costs.

What’s Next?

About 10 years ago, John Seely Brown spoke at the AIA California Desert Practice Conference. He presented a day in the life of a typical 15-year-old boy and how he engaged with his friends, family, and the world — mostly electronically. Later, I was able to chat with Mr. Brown. I mentioned that many of the people in the room may not have realized that the 15yo would be their employee in another six to eight years. (He used that line in the closing roundtable discussion.) And indeed, today, those 15yo’s are not only working with us, but they are also going to change what we do, how we do it, and why.

There’s much more, but the stories will be told by our emerging professionals — our students and employees, today and beyond.

* * *

PS —
Today, Gensler posted a video on Climate Action Through Design. It’s well-worth the 3 minutes to watch.

Thank you for reading!

Fog City Gothic is a project of Fog City Type Foundry, a.k.a. Ben Zotto, a research historian on design, technology, and San Francisco. The font is modeled after the embossed street sign lettering used locally in San Francisco from 1946 into the early 1950s. It’s a friendly and bold mid-century display font that balances a rational stamper shape and the softness of the stamped result. Ben built-out the font as a side research project for a Field Guide to San Francisco street signs.

Until we can see Talentstar in lights, we love seeing it as Fog City Gothic!

We borrowed the title of this post from Michael Bierut, Pentagram. We do not know the quote’s reference, but it works perfectly here.

I hope that you’ll enjoy a post from 10 years ago, when Nancy Egan and I were teaching at the Harvard GSD.

THE LEARNING LAB »

My colleagues and I have always believed that it’s important to write, teach, and testify. When I was in kindergarten, my teacher said that I should become a teacher, and that became my career path. Until reality set in, shortly after graduating from college with a degree preparatory for teaching elementary school.

My father was an inventor and entrepreneur who had gone into the construction industry and then invented automated specifications for architects and engineers. The system he developed was adopted by the Construction Specifications Institute, and he was elevated to Fellowship in CSI.

I always loved architecture and had studied architectural history in high school. Then my father was in the AEC industry, so I began to meet some of his friends. I also had a close friend who was an interior designer. I realized that I really wanted to work in the AEC industry, too. The next thing I knew, I was working with architects and designers.

Over the years, I began teaching — as a guest lecturer in colleges and universities, and also in executive education. With my colleagues Nancy Egan and Paul Nakazawa, we taught in the Executive Education Program of the Harvard Graduate School of Design from 1995 to 2004, and then again from 2010 to 2012.  I’ve also spoken at professional association events, including AIA (American Institute of Architects) at the chapter, state and national level; PSMA (Professional Services Management Association); SMPS (Society for Marketing Professional Services); and KA Connect. In a full circle, in 2011, I was the keynote speaker for the CSI Western Regional Conference, with a wonderful opportunity to spend time with several of my father’s friends.

I have always enjoyed teaching at the undergrad and graduate level. Three years ago, one of my dear friends and colleagues, Michelle Wempe, accepted a teaching position with Kansas State University (KSU), where she is a Professor of Practice in the College of Architecture, Planning & Design. That has led to a series of guest-teaching opportunities, on everything from Professional Practice topics (Marketing, Communications) to the History of Women in Design.

Next week, I’ll report on our most recent teaching experience….

As writer Erin Spencer shares in The New York Times (In Her Words, March 29, 2021.), “The pandemic, racial reckonings, economic hardship and a next-to-impossible year have made this March particularly fraught.” Her words resonate with us that in spite of such an unprecedented year, we are still facing so many challenges that affect us both personally and as a Nation.

Patrisse Cullors, a founder of the Black Lives Matter movement commented about Women’s History Month, saying “We celebrate despite the obstacles we face.” And, we couldn’t agree more.

We will continue shining our Talentstar Spotlight on remarkable women (and men).

Today, we’re featuring my great-grandmother Laura Elizabeth Coons Cutler, who was born in San Leandro CA, on the east side of the San Francisco Bay. Her family was in the first large group of American immigrants to Northern California, coming by ship to San Francisco in 1846.

Her mother’s family (Goodwin) were pioneers, traveling from New York City to San Francisco on the Ship Brooklyn, led by Samuel Brannan. At that time, my great-grandmother’s mother (Emerette Goodwin) was a young girl. When the passengers boarded the ship in February 1846, they didn’t know whether San Francisco would still be in Mexican hands or under American jurisdiction. In May 1846, as they were en route, the U.S. declared war on Mexico. My great-grandmother’s grandmother (Laura Hotchkiss Goodwin) died on the journey and was buried on Más a Tierra Island*, outside of Santiago, Chile, where the ship stopped to take on supplies.

*In 1966, the Chilean government renamed the island “Robinson Crusoe Island,” to reflect the literary connection to the novel by Daniel Defoe (1719), inspired by Alexander Selkirk, a marooned sailor who lived there in the early 1700s.

In June 1846, the American settlers in California staged the Bear Flag Revolt, declaring the California Republic. U.S. military forces took control. The ship arrived in San Francisco on July 31, 1846, which was under the American rule. With 238 passengers, the newcomers doubled the population of the sparsely settled  San Francisco peninsula and proceeded to build communities on both sides of the San Francisco Bay, as well as San Bernadino (as a stopping point along a route from California to Las Vegas and then to Utah). They established the first English-speaking school, the first bank, the first library, and San Francisco’s first newspaper, The California Star, printed by Sam Brannan. By 1847, California was under U.S. occupation, and it became a state in September 1850.

My great-grandmother’s grandfather (Isaac Goodwin) was among the men who discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill. Her father (William Coons) had come to California for the Gold Rush, after serving as a soldier in the Mexican War; he was an actual 49er who mined for gold. As a child, she lost both of her parents, and her grandfather took her overland to Salt Lake City, where she later married an English emigrant (Thomas Robinson Cutler) who became President of Utah-Idaho Sugar.

Image: Marjanne Pearson’s great-grandmother Laura Elizabeth Coons Cutler (front row, middle) and her daughters. Marjanne’s grandmother Laura Edith Cutler (back row, second from the right) is shown together with her mother and sisters in Salt Lake City, 1908.

“Decades before Seth Godin talked about finding your tribe, an intrepid group, united by their unlikely roles as marketers in professional services firms, came together in a series of meetings that led to the founding of SMPS….

“There were firms that had marketers or BD people….But these firms were the exception. Diane Creel, FSMPS, recalls that when she wrote her master’s thesis on marketing professional services in 1973, she surveyed more than 100 of Engineering News-Record‘s Top 200 firms, and only six companies reported having full-time marketers on staff.

“…Bolstered by research like Creel’s, and with Weld Coxe’s book, Marketing Architectural and Engineering Services in hand, they recognized the potential for a new, legitimate profession, and SMPS became their platform.”

As the coda to our recent stories about Weld Coxe and SMPS, let us all celebrate the tremendous evolution that has occurred within our profession over the past four decades.

Looking Back: SMPS at 40 | SMPS Marketer | August 2014

DOWNLOAD »

Enjoy this collection of articles about who, what, where, when, why, and how this happened —

• Looking Back: SMPS at 40 – Nancy Egan, FSMPS

• The Great Debate: What Marketing Really Costs – Liz Quebe, FSMPS

• “From Two-page Newsletter to Award-winning Journal: The Story of Marketer” – Randle Pollock, FSMPS

• The Cusp of Change – Marjanne Pearson and Robert W. Nilsson

• Retired Construction Executive/Marketer/Veteran [Bob Nilsson] Enlists Wounded Vets in New Careers– Pauline Harris