09: Triple Crises

After taking on a firmwide role, Patrick begins to shoulder more and more of the leadership load. In this episode, earlier seeds of trouble have blossomed into a full crisis, in fact, triple crises for HOK…Bill Valentine, former President of HOK, and Bob Pratzel, former CFO of HOK, share their perspectives on this period of crisis.Patrick shares his lessons for listeners to take away from this episode:Approach to manage crises:Ask for more time to solve the problemSolve one crisis at a timeConveying a strategic plan to your firm:Don't count on formal strategic plans - no one reads themUse simple graphics like a pyramidUse few words so people will remember your strategyConvey successive goals toward a BIG prize like dreamsTo read along and see illustrations and personal photos that accompany this series, get Patrick’s book, Designing a World-Class Architecture Firm. You can buy the book at gablmedia.com/buildsmartbook/ and find out more information at macleamy.com Mentioned in this episode:SpacesCoDesign

Om Podcasten

BUILD SMART is a narrative podcast that features Patrick MacLeamy, FAIA, architect, and former CEO of global firm HOK. With host Mark R. LePage, AIA, NCARB, MacLeamy shares stories and lessons from his 50-year career, rising from an HOK junior designer to the company CEO, a tenure that parallels HOK’s growth from 150 employees in St. Louis to a staff of more than 1,900 in 27 offices on three continents. MacLeamy highlights innovative solutions and tough decisions that sustained HOK through multiple economic swings, culminating in it becoming one of the world’s Top 10 architecture and engineering firms. HOK was structured for long-term success — BUILD SMART will share these lessons to help architects and creative-services firms build for long-term success as they design a world-class firm.