Practice Management Member Conversations

I was told something profound yesterday, and I think it is truth:  A person who works for me told me he had a heated exchange with a previous employer's 'production manager'.  That guy took him into his office and told him he was thinking like an architect; and that is NOT what they wanted.  He was told that firm "provides architectural services and NOT architecture" because it is not in their business model, and furthermore, he should not be trying to teach junior staff, or to figure things out - that is someone else's job and problem.  He left that company.  But they were just ahead of their time, because this is now becoming the norm everywhere, especially at larger firms.

I've been thinking about this all night and today and it is eating at me, because I can see it.  This is the future of the field.  Nobody really cares if things are 'right', just that it is fast, looks pretty and makes money.  Everything else is someone else's problem.  Knowledge is not needed because anything you need can be found online.   That's why they are making the ARE so much easier - it doesn't really matter. In many cases, stamps and signatures are electronic anyway.  If there is a problem, well, that is what insurance is for, along with shifting blame to anyone else.  As far as I can see there are no professional ethics of any kind anymore, so firms do community assistance and run marathons and give money to the needy and talk about sustainability and not hurting anyone's feelings to [more than?] satisfy any guilt that might have been realized from poor execution or from actually doing any "architecture".  There is still a lot of personal ethics and good caring people out there - perhaps more than ever.  And many people are willing to help others, but not at the risk of doing architecture at least in the traditional sense.  And this is just how it is.

I was told in a 'standards task force' meeting recently that the plan was for the senior [old guys with 30+ years' experience] in the room are supposed to write down everything we know so others will know how to do projects start-to-finish without asking anyone anything [a paraphrase of the discussion, of course].  "You know, before you die."  That last is a direct quote.  
 
I guess the idea of a Master Builder died a long time ago, and that individual isn't missed.

I was told something profound yesterday, and I think it is truth:  A person who works for me told me he had a heated exchange with a previous employer's 'production manager'.  That guy took him into his office and told him he was thinking like an architect; and that is NOT what they wanted.  He was told that firm "provides architectural services and NOT architecture" because it is not in their business model, and furthermore, he should not be trying to teach junior staff, or to figure things out - that is someone else's job and problem.  He left that company.  But they were just ahead of their time, because this is now becoming the norm everywhere, especially at larger firms.

I've been thinking about this all night and today and it is eating at me, because I can see it.  This is the future of the field.  Nobody really cares if things are 'right', just that it is fast, looks pretty and makes money.  Everything else is someone else's problem.  Knowledge is not needed because anything you need can be found online.   That's why they are making the ARE so much easier - it doesn't really matter. In many cases, stamps and signatures are electronic anyway.  If there is a problem, well, that is what insurance is for, along with shifting blame to anyone else.  As far as I can see there are no professional ethics of any kind anymore, so firms do community assistance and run marathons and give money to the needy and talk about sustainability and not hurting anyone's feelings to [more than?] satisfy any guilt that might have been realized from poor execution or from actually doing any "architecture".  There is still a lot of personal ethics and good caring people out there - perhaps more than ever.  And many people are willing to help others, but not at the risk of doing architecture at least in the traditional sense.  And this is just how it is.

I was told in a 'standards task force' meeting recently that the plan was for the senior [old guys with 30+ years' experience] in the room are supposed to write down everything we know so others will know how to do projects start-to-finish without asking anyone anything [a paraphrase of the discussion, of course].  "You know, before you die."  That last is a direct quote.  
 
I guess the idea of a Master Builder died a long time ago, and that individual isn't missed.

I was told something profound yesterday, and I think it is truth:  A person who works for me told me he had a heated exchange with a previous employer's 'production manager'.  That guy took him into his office and told him he was thinking like an architect; and that is NOT what they wanted.  He was told that firm "provides architectural services and NOT architecture" because it is not in their business model, and furthermore, he should not be trying to teach junior staff, or to figure things out - that is someone else's job and problem.  He left that company.  But they were just ahead of their time, because this is now becoming the norm everywhere, especially at larger firms.

I've been thinking about this all night and today and it is eating at me, because I can see it.  This is the future of the field.  Nobody really cares if things are 'right', just that it is fast, looks pretty and makes money.  Everything else is someone else's problem.  Knowledge is not needed because anything you need can be found online.   That's why they are making the ARE so much easier - it doesn't really matter. In many cases, stamps and signatures are electronic anyway.  If there is a problem, well, that is what insurance is for, along with shifting blame to anyone else.  As far as I can see there are no professional ethics of any kind anymore, so firms do community assistance and run marathons and give money to the needy and talk about sustainability and not hurting anyone's feelings to [more than?] satisfy any guilt that might have been realized from poor execution or from actually doing any "architecture".  There is still a lot of personal ethics and good caring people out there - perhaps more than ever.  And many people are willing to help others, but not at the risk of doing architecture at least in the traditional sense.  And this is just how it is.

I was told in a 'standards task force' meeting recently that the plan was for the senior [old guys with 30+ years' experience] in the room are supposed to write down everything we know so others will know how to do projects start-to-finish without asking anyone anything [a paraphrase of the discussion, of course].  "You know, before you die."  That last is a direct quote.  
 
I guess the idea of a Master Builder died a long time ago, and that individual isn't missed.

I was told something profound yesterday, and I think it is truth:  A person who works for me told me he had a heated exchange with a previous employer's 'production manager'.  That guy took him into his office and told him he was thinking like an architect; and that is NOT what they wanted.  He was told that firm "provides architectural services and NOT architecture" because it is not in their business model, and furthermore, he should not be trying to teach junior staff, or to figure things out - that is someone else's job and problem.  He left that company.  But they were just ahead of their time, because this is now becoming the norm everywhere, especially at larger firms.

I've been thinking about this all night and today and it is eating at me, because I can see it.  This is the future of the field.  Nobody really cares if things are 'right', just that it is fast, looks pretty and makes money.  Everything else is someone else's problem.  Knowledge is not needed because anything you need can be found online.   That's why they are making the ARE so much easier - it doesn't really matter. In many cases, stamps and signatures are electronic anyway.  If there is a problem, well, that is what insurance is for, along with shifting blame to anyone else.  As far as I can see there are no professional ethics of any kind anymore, so firms do community assistance and run marathons and give money to the needy and talk about sustainability and not hurting anyone's feelings to [more than?] satisfy any guilt that might have been realized from poor execution or from actually doing any "architecture".  There is still a lot of personal ethics and good caring people out there - perhaps more than ever.  And many people are willing to help others, but not at the risk of doing architecture at least in the traditional sense.  And this is just how it is.

I was told in a 'standards task force' meeting recently that the plan was for the senior [old guys with 30+ years' experience] in the room are supposed to write down everything we know so others will know how to do projects start-to-finish without asking anyone anything [a paraphrase of the discussion, of course].  "You know, before you die."  That last is a direct quote.  
 
I guess the idea of a Master Builder died a long time ago, and that individual isn't missed.