Principal's Report

The professional services marketplace is rapidly changing, but many professional service firms (PSFs) have yet to keep pace by evolving the functional scope of their nonrevenue generating marketers and business developers. Many marketers feel they’re treated like cruise directors, stuck continuously putting out nonstrategic fires. Their business development counterparts feel stuck, too, in an incessant "shut-up-and-get-me-a-meeting" mode.

Architects led design-build teams as long ago as the pyramids. Yet today, few firms have chosen to be leaders in a project delivery method that offers huge rewards. Why? They may have been taught to be risk-averse. They might be introverted and prefer to work alone rather than in teams. Or perhaps they place a priority on aesthetics and problem solving rather than cost and schedule.

If done well, A/E/C firms’ Web sites are invaluable tools for establishing a brand identity, communicating with staff and clients, attracting new clients, and recruiting new employees. When not done well, a Web site is basically worthless.

Four lessons to cultivate breakthrough innovation for explosive growth In today’s hyperconnected, ludicrously fast-moving global marketplace, businesses are racing to grow big—and fast. Many business owners and executives fail to realize growth results because they haven’t set the right conditions. Ironically, a focus on obsessive growth can often hinder innovation, the lifeblood of growth and expansion. Eliminate the barriers and unleash creativity and innovation in the workplace with these four lessons:

Despite having its highest score since January, the July Architecture Billings Index continues to point to difficult conditions for the nonresidential construction market. There have been six consecutive months with negative scores, indicating that business levels at U.S architecture firms continue to worsen. As an economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI shows an approximate nine- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects reported the July ABI rating was 46.8, up slightly from the 46.1 mark in June (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).

Forecasts in the 2008 Construction Outlook Midyear Update, published by McGraw-Hill Construction in June, paint a much gloomier picture than its October 2007 Outlook.

The Construction Industry Ethics and Compliance Initiative, founded in April 2008 by the chief executive officers of 13 leading U.S. construction companies, intends to promote transparent business practices, accountability, and absence of conflicts of interest. Membership is open to all companies in the construction industry, including architects, engineers, general and sub- contractors, and suppliers.

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 2008 first-quarter revenue of U.S. professional, scientific, and technical services—including architectural and engineering services (but not landscape architectural services) saw a decrease of 3.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council will no longer oversee the actual certification of buildings applying for LEED status. That process will be taken over by the Green Building Certification Institute, an autonomous, nonprofit organization established in 2007 with the support of USGBC that already manages the certification of the LEED Accredited Professional program.

In an effort to clarify certain regulations, technical specifications, and definitions in the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the 2004 ADA Accessibility Guidelines, the U.S. Department of Justice is proposing revisions to ADA Titles II and III. According to the DOJ, the "revised format is designed to eliminate unintended conflicts between the two federal accessibility standards and to minimize conflicts between the federal regulations and the model codes that form the basis of many state and local building codes."

To answer concerns from the design community over the inconsistencies in state and local engineering regulations regarding the qualifications for those who design fire protection systems, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers has joined the National Society of Professional Engineers and the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies to develop a unified position statement entitled The Engineer and the Technician—Designing Fire Protection Systems.

Citing impractical construction methods and a lack of safety guidelines, the National Association of Home Builders and other construction industry representatives have expressed strenuous objections to a recently published standard on workplace safety for the construction industry.

In June, the National Endowment for the Arts released Artists in the Workforce: 1990-2005. The 150-page report includes architects among 11 categories of artists and crunches the numbers in detail by geography, demography, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and income. The statistics are based on NEA research, as well as the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-2007 Edition, and the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Surveys, 2003-2005.