Context & Clarity for Small Firm Architects
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
078: Working
19 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to working in the profession of architecture, what can leaders do to adjust to the changing times in our profession and the changing fac...
077: Hiring
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to JEDI and hiring, I think the natural reaction is to think about race, maybe gender, or orientation, but I also want us to consider ge...
Mia Scharphie - Designing Your Career
17 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are you designing your career?That's the question we'll start with Thursday on Context & Clarity LIVE.Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail wil...
076: JEDI
17 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As a middle-aged white guy, I’m as uncomfortable with these topics and conversations as anyone else, and that’s the point. We’ll never grow, we’...
075: Member Spotlight
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A couple of weeks ago, we tested out a new feature for Context & Clarity and it was so well received that we’ve decided to work it in as a regul...
074: Designing your career
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever thought about designing your career? You probably spend a lot of time designing other people's futures... at least how they're built. If...
073: How will you get there?
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over the course of the past few weeks, we've talked about where you came from and where you want to go, but we haven't talked about how you're going t...
072: Alternative practice models
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I wonder if there are things that you can do, ways that you can apply you knowledge and skill in the realm of your client’s business, even if you wo...
Christine Williamson - Building Science Fight Club
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's the first rule of the Building Science Fight Club?That's the question we'll start with today on Context & Clarity LIVE.Many of you have req...
071: Alternative career paths
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Were you a non-traditional student in college? Did you start out on a different path? Did you follow an alternative path after college and go in a dif...
070: Niche Specialties
07 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What’s your niche? Do you have one or do you call yourself a generalist? I’m really interested in finding out if you have a niched specialty. If y...
069: Christine Wiliamson - Building Science Fight Club
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Like all sciences, we're continually learning about building science. It is, by definition very technical, and with the cost of building materials sky...
068: Rising Construction Costs
05 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The cost of some building materials has risen more than 170% over the past year. Changes like that obviously impact construction costs. Some firms are...
067: Competing for Work
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I don't really think 'would you respond' is the right question. When it comes to competing for work, you need to have a strategy and system in place t...
The Community - Introduce Yourself - LIVE
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tell me about yourself...That's the question we'll start with Today on Context & Clarity LIVE.Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail will Michel...
066: National Licensure
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For an architect, licensure is the heart of the profession, different licensing requirements from state to state or country to country can be confusin...
065: Podcasting for architects
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We're back to our mini-series on the digital and social media platforms that architects could use and this week we'll take a little different angle. P...
064: Your Ideal Future
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I've got Jury Duty this week, so that's a good excuse for us to accelerate our planning for what we hope will become a regular Context & Clarity f...
063: Passive income
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can you make money while you sleep? I know if you've built your business around charging an hourly fee, that question may really push the limits for y...
062: Your Work
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you choose your work or does your work choose you? I think that's an interesting question because it could take the conversation in a couple of dif...
Patrick MacLeamy - Value Proposition
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What story do architects need to tell in order to reinforce their value in the business of the built environment?That's the question we'll start with ...
061: Your Future
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Where are you going? Maybe the question I should have asked is, "Are you going in the same direction today that you thought you would have when you go...
060: Clubhouse for architects
23 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Let's talk about the latest social craze... Clubhouse. There’s less than a 50/50 chance that you’re on the Clubhouse App because at the time of th...
059: Value Proposition
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What do architects need to do in order to re-establish themselves as leaders in the business of the built environment? The first step may be to lead w...
058: Other Professions
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes we get jealous of the success we see around us. Have you ever asked something like, 'why does that person get paid that much when we have to...
057: National Associations
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Let's talk about membership in professional organizations and associations. We could frame the conversation in terms of the value of your membership, ...
Randy Wilburn - Managing Expectations
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do we understand and manage expectations in the pursuit of 'the best'?That's the question we'll start with today on Context & Clarity LIVE.Kat...
056: Architecture Origin Story
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What’s your architecture origin story? What drove you to get into the profession? Mine starts with baseball stadiums, barns, Frank Lloyd Wright, and...
055: Thumbtack, Nextdoor, HomeAdvisor for Architects
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, I wanted to group several services together that I’m calling similar, so let’s talk about Thumbtack, NextDoor, and HomeAdvisor for arch...
054: You, the Architect
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How can you be a better you, in all forms? All week we've talked about being better leaders, employee, and colleagues. Many times we think about those...
053: Architect Colleague
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As I look back over the week, it strikes me that, at least according to my definitions, one characteristics that the best leader, the best employee, t...
052: Architect Employee
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You may not be an employee. You may be the boss! Or, you may be a solo architect that’s neither employee nor employer. If that’s your context toda...
Nakita Reed - Critical Connectedness
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How are architecture, historic preservation, sustainability, race, and gender connected?That's the question we'll start with Thursday on Context &...
051: Architect Leader
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I believe there’s a leadership vacuum today. It doesn’t matter where you look, politics, corporate, family, the church… I think the world is sta...
050: Taking Action
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All week, we’ve been talking about thinking bigger; bigger than your own work, bigger than the profession, bigger than you, the individual. We've co...
049: Critical Connectedness
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How can it be that there empty, abandoned buildings, and there are homeless people? There are buildings that need people and people that need building...
048: Breaking Down Silos
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you work in a silo? Are you in a bubble? Silos aren’t just in big firms and they're a big threat. How can we do our best work, be our best selves...
047: Our Human Condition
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s easy to get caught up in your profession. The good, the bad, the ugly. The ability of design to change lives. Why don’t people understand wha...
Roxanne Gay - Courage Over Confidence
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's more important, courage or confidence?That's the question we'll start with Thursday on Context & Clarity LIVE.What do you think? Is one mor...
046: Supporting Solos
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A few weeks ago, someone brought up a very real risk for small and especially solo firms. What happens when one of us gets sick, or worse, maybe incap...
045: Email marketing for Architects
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you use email marketing? Do you have an email newsletter? Just like any digital or social effort, email marketing takes creativity, and persistence...
044: Courage Over Confidence
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are you confident? Are you authentically confident? You might say, of course I'm confident. Don’t all professionals need confidence? The answer is p...
043: Perfectionism
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you suffer from perfectionism? I know it’s hard, especially in a profession so vulnerable to disputes. Of course you want things to be perfect. W...
042: Imposter Syndrome
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you have impostor syndrome? Have you ever felt you’re not good enough, not qualified enough? I think there are plenty of times in an archite...
Bryan Kramer - Speaking Human in a Technology World
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do you speak human in a technology world?That's the question we'll start with Thursday on Context & Clarity LIVE.Jeff Echols and Katharine Whi...
041: Fear
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What are you afraid of? As I think back across my career, I realize that many of the worst stories I have to tell, start with fear. Maybe you’ve exp...
040: Posting on Social Media
26 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You're probably posting something online right now, but is it what you should be posting? If you want to connect with clients online, what should you ...
039: Speaking Human in a Technology World
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The more technology creeps into our lives and our worlds, the easier it is to connect and work, but what are we losing? Are we making better, more mea...
038: Presentation Technology
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There’s so much incredible technology at your disposal right now. At a minimum, you may be using some BIM software right now. Maybe the least you’...
037: The Right Fit
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you're busy and overwhelmed by inquiries, how do you respond? You may use automation or other technology in to help you weed through and qualify le...
Enoch Sears - Searching for Emotional Intelligence
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How can emotional intelligence change your life?Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail welcome Enoch Sears, founder, architect, and host of the pod...
036: Human Hybrid Practice
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Practices have changed over the past 12 months. They'll continue to change. The biggest challenge going forward may be bringing 2019 humanity into a 2...
035: Instagram for Architects
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This isn’t the first time we’ve covered Instagram on Context & Clarity, but it’s been one of our most popular social media topics. It makes ...
034: Searching for Emotional Intelligence
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Since we talk about business of architecture type topics every day on Context & Clarity, talking all week about empathy and emotional intelligence...
033: Understanding Ourselves
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do we understand ourselves better? I’m talking about emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence is our capability to recognize our own emoti...
032: How are you?
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We all move through phases as we experience crisis. It starts with denial, then we start to rationalize somehow, you may dip into depression, before y...
Max Yoder - A Culture of Better Work
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do we build a culture of better work?Jeff Echols and Katharine White MacPhail welcome Max Yoder, Co-Founder and CEO of Lessonly, and author of "Do...
031: Understanding Clients
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What we’re really talking about is Empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person, your client, maybe, what they’re ex...
030: TikTok for Architects
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There’s A LOT more going on on TikTok than teenage girls dancing. It’s a social media platform that’s come a long way since it’s beginnings as...
029: A Culture of Better Work
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How can leaders foster workplace culture that produces better work? There's something at the intersection of understanding, communication, and account...
028: Communication Culture
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We all communicate, but when do we communicate, why do we communicate, and how do we communicate? This conversation about a culture of communication i...
027: Workplace Culture
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For many firms and many people the Global Pandemic brought about radical change to the workplace. Some of that change will be permanent. Some firms ar...
Al Gore and Lance Cayko - The Master Builder
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do we take back the Master Builder?That's the question we'll start with today on Context & Clarity LIVE.Jeff Echols and Katharine White M...
026: Retaining Talent
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In a competitive job market, talent and recruitment can be a challenge. In fact, prior to the Pandemic, multiple studies and surveys showed demonstrat...
025: Facebook for Architects
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are you using Facebook for your business? Do you have a personal profile? A business page? Have you built a group where you can build a community for ...
024: The Master Builder
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many in the profession rue the day that architects gave up the role of master builder. What if you could (if you wanted to) re-establish your place as...
023: A Clear Proposal
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How many times have you met with a prospective client, delivered a proposal to them within 24 hours that detailed everything you talked about... and t...
022: A Fair Price
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How much should you charge? I’m not asking what your hourly rate should be and I’m not talking about a standard fee schedule for the profession. I...
Seth Godin - Well, how did I get here?
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Context & Clarity LIVE - feat. Seth Godin - How did we get here and where do we go from here?Today we welcome Seth Godin, host of the Akimbo podca...
021: Value Provided
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It can be hard to assign a dollar value to the work that you, as an architect do for your clients. studies have shown that people rarely assign value ...
020: The Juggler
26 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Expectations are a two-way street. Your client expect you to meet a certain schedule and you probably have to manage the workload to meet their schedu...
019: Well, how did I get here?
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Architecture is not a perfect profession. There's plenty to love, but from starchitects, to McMansions, to developers, to the HGTV effect, there are p...
018: Twitter for Architects
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is Twitter a useful tool for architects? Are you on Twitter? If you're there are you actually tweeting anything out? Is posting there even the best us...
017: Boundaries
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We all need to have boundaries, if for no other reason than to protect your relationship with your client. Are your clients calling, or emailing, or e...
Mike Michalowicz - Change Your Business
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Context & Clarity LIVE - Change your business, feat. Mike MichalowiczWhat's the most important change you need to make right now?That's the questi...
016: Getting Approval
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever ended up in a bind because you didn't get explicit approval from your client to move forward to the next phase of work? On one hand, tha...
015: LinkedIn for Architects
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever said, “My clients aren’t on LinkedIn”? Is that really true? Are they really not on LinkedIn or do you just think they’re not on ...
014: Change Your Business
18 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lack of repeatable systems is a real threat to any architecture firm, but if you don’t know you have a problem, or what the problem is, you can’t ...
013: Nice Game
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I believe that you’ll be most successful if you develop a niche and keep digging deeper. I realize that there are times, like the time that we’re ...
012: Project Types
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I’ve run across a number of projects over the years that I didn’t want to take for one reason or another. Maybe they were too small or outside of ...
Rion Willard - Your First Year
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Context & Clarity LIVE - Your first year owning your own firmWhat are the things you need to know in your first year of business on your own?That'...
011: What kind of architect?
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do you know what kind of architect you want to be? It’s an interesting question. From my own experience I know that despite what we hope or drea...
010: Google Business Pages for Architects
12 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Have you set up your business page? Whether you have or not, there’s most likely an entry on Google for your business. Fleshing out your business pr...
009: Your First Year
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Your first year in business may be your most critical year? It's a time when the old adage that the entrepreneur wears 17 hats was never more true. Ho...
008: Passing the ARE
10 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What are your best tips for passing the ARE? The architect’s registration exam. Depending on which of the ever-evolving versions you take, there’s...
007: Licensed or not
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Should you get licensed? Do you need to be licensed? That can be a contentious topic, but what are the pros and cons to licensure? There are roles you...
Evan Troxel - Technology Driving Architecture
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we welcome Evan Troxel, Host of the TRXL podcast, and Co-Host of Archispeak podcast, to talk about how technology is changing the profession an...
006: First Steps for Startup Architects
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If now is the time for you to start your own firm, what are the first steps that you need to take in order to set yourself and your firm up for succes...
005: Hiring Talent
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A few years ago, studies started to spring up warning that lack of available talent was the biggest, most immediate threat to the A/E/C industry. As w...
004: Technology Driving Architecture
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Technology is evolving at an ever-increasing pace and it's changing the way architects practice architecture, but how much of that is technology evolv...
003: Architects and YouTube
03 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you have a YouTube channel? It's important to understand that YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet and it's owned by Google....
002: Contract Review
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You shouldn't do any work for your clients without an agreement in place, but how do you make sure your contracts cover all your liability and risk, h...
001: Ethics as an Employee
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do when you’re the employee of a firm and you go to meet with someone, let’s say a client or a contractor, and that person tells you t...
Context & Clarity
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Context & Clarity is launching February 1, 2021.