The topic of today's ArchitectCEO Daily Update is: is your bar crooked?

Yesterday I was exercising at my local Crossfit gym doing a barbell exercise. The barbell is the long horizontal steel bar with weights on each end. I was working with an adjustable rack that allows me to adjust the height of the bar.

Each column support on the rack has holes in it for attaching the "L" bracket that supports the barbell.

Because there's no visual reference for attaching the "L" brackets to the column supports, one bracket was a notch lower than the other. As a result, my bar was crooked.

It's not a good idea to lift weights when the bar is crooked to start :)

The key is noticing the bar is crooked and then correcting it (which is easy).

Just like a crooked bar will mess up your workout and potentially injure you, a 'crooked bar' in your firm causes chronic under-performance. To go from under-performance to hyper-performance, discover the 4 pillars of building your DREAM Practice by visiting http://architectresources.org/crooked-bar

ArchitectCEO Daily Update: Today's parable is 'everything is connected.' I haven't been sleeping well recently. Perhaps this also happens to you. I go to bed at a decent hour, and then I toss and turn all night long and wake up feeling groggy and sleepy. Because I'm tired, my energy is low throughout the day and I don't show up as my best self for my wife, kids, my team members and clients. As the saying goes, unhappy wife, unhappy life. In today's ArchitectCEO update, you'll discover the parable of 'everything is connected' - how parts of our life and business that we think are separate are actually interwoven into one connected tapestry. Throw one thing off balance and the entire game goes off-kilter.

To discover how to build your DREAM architecture practice so you can have balance in your work and your life, go to http://architectresources.org/everything-connected.

ArchitectCEO Daily Update: Recently, while walking with my wife, we were talking about an upcoming trip with the Boy Scouts (my son is part of the group). I and two other leaders took a group of boys ages 11 - 16 to Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California. We were talking about the meals we'd be eating and I made a joke about dining on a juicy hamburger while the boys would be eating Cup-o-Noodle soup. My wife took this opportunity to give me some unwanted feedback. Even though it was painful to hear, it was important. This made me think about the feedback we are getting all the time - in our business and our results. Are we listening to what our business is telling us? Watch today's ArchitectCEO update to discover the parable of the unwanted feedback.

To build your DREAM architecture practice and decipher what your firm is telling you, register for my next DREAM Practice Executive Briefing here: http://architectresources.org/unwanted-feedback

Today, we welcome Architect Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido to the Business of Architecture show.

Francisco was the former President of JAHN and founder international architecture firm, FGP Atelier.

In this episode, you'll hear about Francisco's journey from joining competitions, working for with a firm and running his own practice. He'll share the tools he acquired and the strategies he used to keep his name top-of-mind, build credibility and develop relationships that helped him grow his award-winning, successful international firm.

► Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for updates:

https://www.youtube.com/c/BusinessofArchitecture

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For more free tools and resources for running a profitable, impactful and fulfilling practice, connect with me on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessofarchitecture
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enoch.sears/
Website: https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BusinessofArch
Podcast: http://www.businessofarchitecture.com/podcast/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/business-architecture-podcast/id588987926
Android Podcast Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BusinessofArchitecture-podcast

*******

Access the FREE Architecture Firm Profit Map video here: http://freearchitectgift.com

Download the FREE Architecture Firm Marketing Process Flowchart video here: http://freearchitectgift.com

Come to my next live, in-person event: https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/live

Carpe Diem!

Are you an architecture firm owner? In today's ArchitectCEO update, you'll discover the parable of the pulled back muscle. Recently I sprained my back while lifting weights. In the past, I've thought the culprit was a weak lower back muscle, but now I know this isn't the case.

In today's video you'll discover the true cause of the pulled back muscle, and how the princple I share in today's ArchitectCEO update relates to your success as a small architecture firm owner.

If you're a small firm owner and you want to get clients more consistently, you want to free yourself up or transition by creating a self-managed firm, then you may be a good fit for my DREAM Practice Accelerator program. Click here to discover more: http://architectresources.org/jy8b

The topic of today's ArchitectCEO Update is: herding kids.

Every year my kids swim on the swim team.

This year, two of my kids qualified for the time trials.

The kids who get the best times at the time trials get to participate in the regional finals here in Central California.

Running one of these meets is a huge logistical challenge.

Not to mention … on this particular Saturday the temperature was 104 F degrees (40 degrees Celsius).

Imagine trying to herd a bunch of 6 year-olds and get them to go to the right place at the right time to keep the meet running smoothly.

Yes … a logistical nightmare.

I helped the organizers run the meet.

My job was simple: lead the kids from the staging area to the appropriate swim lanes at the appropriate times.

Simple right?

It is, if you're dealing with adults who know how to get to the right swim lanes.

I was dealing with a bunch of kids and teenagers more interested in Pokemon Go and talking to their friends than paying attention to when and where they were supposed to be swimming.

Plus my meager brain is wired to focus on one thing at one time; my mental capacity was overrun.

I was sweating bullets, not only from the heat, but also with the worry that some kid would be in the wrong lane and his or her time wouldn't be counted.

It would be my fault.

Fortunately, the organizers had a good system in place to make sure that this didn't happen.

Here's how it worked:

The kids would line up in the staging area and wait for their names to be called.

When their names were called, they would sit down in a chair that had a number on it, one through eight. These numbers corresponded to the swim lanes one through eight.

Once the kids were lined up in order in their seats, my job was to lead them to the pool and make sure they didn't get out of order.

Without a system in place, mass confusion and chaos would have ensued.

Twenty minutes into the swim meet we discovered our system needed to be tweaked to be more effective and reduce the likelihood of a kid missing a heat.

And this is our parable for today.

Where in your architecture firm are you dealing with chaos because you either don't have a system in place, or people don't follow the system?

Systems ensure consistent results, but sometimes the results don't appear for months or years later.

A business system consists of three parts: a trigger, a process, and a result.

For example, let's say that you have a system in your firm of making one business development or networking call every day.

The system is simple.

The trigger is the arrival of a new day.

The action is to pick up the telephone and dial a networking contact.

The result is that a voicemail was left or a conversation was had.

The results of this effort won't bring instant results, but over the course of months and years this small system means the difference between a steady flow of high-quality, profitable projects, and a firm that struggles with an anemic pipeline.

The “D” in DREAM Practice Accelerator stands for “Dependable.”

Having dependability in your practice means that your firm gives you consistent results day in and day out.

Instead of worrying about where the next project will come from, your ideal projects show up on your doorstep.

Instead of worrying about payroll, your firm is highly profitable, allowing you to reward staff members and reinvest in the business.

If you'd like to have a practice that is dependable and consistent, I invite you to attend my next free DREAM Practice online training.

There is no charge to attend this 60 minute presentation, all you need to do is click here and register with your best email address.

Carpe diem.

Enoch Bartlett Sears

Today we welcome Scott Valentine to the Business of Architecture show. Scott is the founder of Valé Architects, based in Brisbane, Australia.

I brought Scott on the show because of the way that he's doing content marketing in his practice. His practice is a blend of traditional architectural services and online content and courses focused on the Hospitality niche.

In this episode, you'll discover how Scott has modeled the strategies of the marketing and branding world in his architecture firm to create a new innovative model of the architectural practice.

► Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for updates:

https://www.youtube.com/c/BusinessofArchitecture

*******

For more free tools and resources for running a profitable, impactful and fulfilling practice, connect with me on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessofarchitecture
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enoch.sears/
Website: https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BusinessofArch
Podcast: http://www.businessofarchitecture.com/podcast/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/business-architecture-podcast/id588987926
Android Podcast Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BusinessofArchitecture-podcast

*******

Access the FREE Architecture Firm Profit Map video here: http://freearchitectgift.com

Download the FREE Architecture Firm Marketing Process Flowchart video here: http://freearchitectgift.com

Come to my next live, in-person event: https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/live

Carpe Diem!

How to get your architecture firm to run independent of you: the ArchitectCEO Daily Update.

As a small architecture firm owner, you're a bottleneck in your firm.

How do you unchain yourself from the day-to-day operations of the firm so you can focus on the things that are the best use of your time and focus, instead of the administrative minutiae that sap your energy and leave you drained at the end of the day?

Watch today's ArchitectCEO Daily update to discover one key for getting your firm to run independent of you.

To discover how to structure your firm so you aren't the bottleneck, click here to register for my next free online training on building your Dream Practice: http://architectresources.org/n8hw

Carpe diem.

Enoch

Today I welcome Kevin Collins back to the show.

Kevin Collins is the Underwriting Manager for the Professional Liability program at Victor O. Schinnerer & Company, one of the largest providers of professional liability insurance for architects and engineers.

We discuss 3 things to consider from an insurance perspective when a firm is going through an ownership transition.

► Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for updates:

https://www.youtube.com/c/BusinessofArchitecture

*******

For more free tools and resources for running a profitable, impactful and fulfilling practice, connect with me on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessofarchitecture
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enoch.sears/
Website: https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BusinessofArch
Podcast: http://www.businessofarchitecture.com/podcast/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/business-architecture-podcast/id588987926
Android Podcast Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BusinessofArchitecture-podcast

*******

Access the FREE Architecture Firm Profit Map video here: http://freearchitectgift.com

Download the FREE Architecture Firm Marketing Process Flowchart video here: http://freearchitectgift.com

Come to my next live, in-person event: https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/live

Carpe Diem!

Sprayed by the pool vacuum - the ArchitectCEO Daily update.

Hey architect nation! Today's parable is: sprayed by the pool vacuum.

So the other day I was walking out by the pool in my backyard.

The pool has an automatic vacuum that cleans up debris that falls into the pool.

On the end of this vacuum is a hose that sweeps back and forth across the bottom of the pool to stir up debris so the vacuum and pool filer can clean the water and keep the pool sparkling blue.

Well, it was a beautiful, cool morning here in central California, and as I walked by the edge of the pool, the hose on the end of the vacuum comes out of the water and sprays me from head to toe!

My first reaction was to get pissed and throw a couple of mental expletives.

Then I realized the truth of the situation.

Here I was in a free, democratic country with a full belly and clothes on my back.

I have a pool and live in California.

I remembered that I can control some things, I can influence some things, and I have absolutely no control over most things.

The only things I can control are the things inside of me - my thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions.

As I stood there on the side of the pool, I felt gratitude for this lesson that the pool vacuum had given me.

This is similar to life.

Often it feels like we are just going along enjoying a beautiful day when, whamo! Something comes out of left field and knocks us down.

At that point, the only thing we can do is choose how we react to that situation.

It's the same in the game of running an architecture firm.

All you can control is the actions you take in your firm, not the result.

If you want to learn what actions you need to take to build your DREAM Practice, register for my next free online presentation on 3 Keys to Design Your Perfect Job, Your Perfect Clients and Your Perfect Firm: http://architectresources.org/8in2

Carpe diem.

Enoch Bartlett Sears

One of the top challenges of small firm architects is the feast and famine cycle of the building industry. The #1 question I get from architecture firm owners is, "how do I get consistent clients?"

This is the topic of today's ArchitectCEO Update.

Watch it and let me know what you think. If you're looking for a roadmap to consistent clients in your firm, I invite you to register for my next free online presentation on building your Dream Practice:http://architectresources.org/9negs6

Today we celebrate Independence Day here in the United States of America.

Let's talk about architectural freedom ...

Today I answer a viewer question.

“Enoch, what is the roadmap for marketing a small architecture firm?” – Tom

Great question Tom.

I get asked this frequently, because if work isn't coming into a firm, the firm doesn't eat.

And a lot of firms out there are struggling to get the food they want to eat.

There are three systems that make up the roadmap to marketing a small architecture firm.

1. A system to create attention, interest and desire around the services that your firm provides from your ideal clients
2. A system to convert those relationships into work
3. A system to follow up and nurture relationships that may turn into work later

If you want a shortcut to developing these marketing systems for your firm, consider applying to the DREAM Practice Accelerator. The DREAM Practice accelerator helps architecture firm owners build their dream practice, a practice that is dependable, rewarding, provides an exceptional experience for themselves and their team, is autonomous (can function without them there) and mission driven (a clear purpose).

Click here to discover more about the DREAM Practice Accelerator.

How to win more of the RIGHT architecture projects: the ArchitectCEO Daily Update.

I live in California's Great Central Valley – a huge agricultural region that runs the entire length of California.

The farmers around here produce billions of dollars of produce every year.

As I was driving around recently, I looked over the endless orchards and thought about the difference between farming and hunting as it relates to business development for architects.

A farmer prepares the ground, plants the seed and gives that seed what it needs to grow and produce fruit.

After a time, the farmer harvests the produce of that effort.

The hunter on the other hand has a tougher job.

The hunter travels to a location where the target game is found and must find the prey.

Waiting for word-of-mouth is like farming.

After doing good work over time, past clients refer you.

This process is slow but steady, and these referrals usually turn out to be good clients.

However, there are scenarios where simply waiting for word-of-mouth (farming) doesn't work.

Farming takes time.

If you're getting hungry right now, it's time to hunt.

To discover how to do hunting that actually works, attend my next free online architect Masterclass: http://architectresources.org/bshd7ya

Carpe diem

Enoch Bartlett Sears

Hello Architect Nation!

This morning, as usual, I went to the Crossfit gym where I work out with my wife and 6 - 7 other people.

Our coach was explaining today's workout, when suddenly he was interrupted by the deafening noise of the gas-powered blower the yard maintenance guy was using outside.

The Crossfit gym where I exercise is housed in a metal building.

Both of the rolling doors were up to let in the cool morning air.

Coach Devin crossed his arms with a smile, "Guess I'll have to wait until yard guy is done."

Eventually the noise from the blower died down as the yard guy walked away.

Coach Devin continued to explain the workout and I had a successful session sweating, grunting and in general torturing myself.

This experience with the noisy yard blower got me thinking - how often are we interrupted by figurative yard blowers throughout our day?

An unexpected phone call or an email sends me on a wild goose chase of being reactionary instead of pro-active.

What I'd have you consider today is this - where in your firm are you being distracted by the noisy blowers instead of focusing on the strategic moves that will put your firm on a solid and successful foundation for the future?

Where do you need to shut down the outside noise and focus on what matters?

Have you identified what matters?

The number one thing you can do to help your architecture firm in the future is to build a solid foundation now.

The DREAM Practice Accelerator is a program for architecture firm owners who want to build their dream firm - a firm that is in-demand and highly sought after because of the great work that you do.

To discover how to create your bullet-proof firm, click here and register for my next 60-minute DREAM Practice training.

Carpe diem.

Enoch Bartlett Sears