What would it take to walk away from a 50 year old strategy of success?

Patrick Doyle, the new CEO for Dominos, shares how their company confronted the brutal facts about their pizza and began a campaign of change. It is interesting to hear the process.

1. Acknowledge reality – the pizza just isn’t very good
2. Change the pizza formula and process
3. Change the internal culture
4. Get the word out by going to the very channels that were criticizing them – social media

When the world forces change we all resist – at first.

Confronting the “brutal facts” is hard but also the 1st job of leadership.

In a recent ENR article a respected industry leader dismisses the rise of Integrated Project Delivery and calls it hype. Nowhere, however, is there any acknowledgment of the miserable track record of the 50+ year formula for design and construction. The formula once worked, and worked well. However, in an era of speed and complexity the old model becomes inefficient. That inefficiency leads to conflict and conflict erodes into systemic dysfunction. The by-product is tremendous waste and dissatisfaction.

I’ve been tracking IPD’s rise for five years along with the different emerging components driving change in the AEC industry.

First – it works. There are 18 case studies in The Commercial Real Estate Revolution showing the results of the various elements of IPD. The AIA recently published 6 case studies of “pure” IPD projects.

Second – any leader who challenges the reasons that owners are adopting IPD (because the pizza is lousy) needs to also demonstrate what they are doing to improve the poor coordination, conflict and waste in the current model.

I picked Dominos example because it parallels the kind of passion and willingness to confront the brutal facts that AEC leaders need – before a real dialogue can take place.

I also picked it because pizza makes the analogy simple. There are still skeptic – this is for them.

Click HERE for the video link.

Domino’s Pizza : Interview with Domino’s Pizza CEO, Patrick Doyle from Petrus Hansen on Vimeo.

I’ve also included a link to our chapter on IPD – Chapter 11: Integrating Project Delivery. This chapter is one of 9 keys for lowering costs, cutting waste, and driving change in a broken AEC industry.

You can check out Amazon or our website to order a copy of the book: The Commercial Real Estate Revolution: Nine Transforming Keys to Lowering Costs, Cutting Waste, and Driving Change in a Broken Industry – also available in Kindle.

1. Autodesk Inc. AEC Solutions Division Headquarters
2. Sutter Health Fairfield Medical Office Building
3. Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital Expansion
4. St. Clare Health Center
5. Encircle Health Ambulatory Care Center
6. Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Arizona State University

Phil Berstein, VP Industry Strategy + Relations, AEC at Autodesk Inc, offered an interesting side note during a presentation at the Construction Institutes Visionary Leaders forum in January of 2010.  When he researched the use of IPD agreements for their Waltham, MA Headquarters project he found that there were fewer than 20 known projects that have actually taken the process through to shared risk/shared reward contracting.

The following LINK will let you read a summary of the report and download the PDF.

These case studies present a challenge. They worked!  However, they do not follow any of the conventional thinking related to project development, supplier selection or project delivery.

The biggest challenge I have when presenting the lessons from our book is that most try to take a piece or two from the puzzle. That won’t work. At least not to the degree that the projects in these case studies experienced.

We need stronger metaphors and tools to challenge our current conventions when it comes to the built environment. I’ve included this TED video for that reason. This is an unconventional firm doing unconventional work. It will take this kind of thinking to spur a revolution.

Some will unfortunately feel pressed, alone and or will have shifted their worries to 2010.

If your world hasn’t been shaken in the last 18 months you certainly know people who have had their world turned upside down.

Our family wishes you a kind of peace and joy that transcends your challenges and worries about tomorrow.  We truly feel for those who have been hit hard by life over the past few years. All of us know friends and colleagues in architecture, real estate, construction and manufacturing who have lost their jobs and companies that have closed their doors. There is good reason to wonder what 2010 will bring.

Our family hasn’t been immune to the turmoil from the outside and the inside. These times have, however, have deepened our faith, strengthened friendships and provided hope because of the first two.

The world has celebrated with incredible variety a miracle birth that changed the world, a miracle of lights lasting beyond its source of oil and a celebration of heritage. When we layer back all of the preparation, activity and expense each of these holidays finds its power in an original truth:

1. There is new beginning available to each of us everyday
2. There is a source beyond our expectations but getting there is guarded by obstacles
3. Our heritage is sacred and full of meaning

Take a moment to consider this timely quote by Margaret Wheatley:

We cannot know the future… but we can prepare for it by knowing each other.

I have run across many this year who have become so focused on the scale of their challenges they lost sight of the importance of the relationships within their organization and even more importantly those outside. In The Commercial Real Estate Revolution I share that the quality of our solutions is directly related to the quality of our interactions. The quality of our interactions is a product of the quality of our relationships. More and better relationships = more and better solutions. The habit of many leaders, however, is to pull back and to try to figure IT out. Even more so in tough and even confounding times.

For those who recognize that they may fall into a “pull-back” and figure it out category I recommend reading my new favorite book of the month: The Age of the Unthinkable.

A wide and diverse circle of relationships brings new perspectives, will challenge your assumptions, open doors, connects the dots and provides a needed and continual source of encouragement, as well as a kick in the pants if necessary.

One of my goals for 2010 is to continue to build my circle of relationships  – even deeper.

I hope you have time to reach out to some friends who are struggling. The challenges of the world and the extraordinary circumstances of our times have uprooted many and they do appreciate knowing that others care.

If you or someone you know is looking for work, I’ve created a web page to post their resumes. If you send a resume, I’ll post it. Please remember to send the link below to anyone you know who is hiring – there are many firms doing well and growing. We can be the eyes and ears for many and a source of encouragement.

Here is the link: CLICK HERE

I hope you have time to listen to or watch something truly inspirational. Emotions are stirred this time of year. They are not far beneath the surface of our expressions. Those core emotions simply need a nudge and they’ll come forth and offer a new window into ones soul.

I hope you’ll have time to gather with some old friends and some new friends. One for remembrance and the other for discovery.

I hope you’ll have time to write down a few lessons learned for 2009 and some aspirations for 2010. Without a rudder its impossible to steer and without a vision its impossible to navigate and stay the course.

What do you like to read or who do you like to listen to that challenges your assumptions, provides a compass for your life or shows you the possibilities ahead?

If you haven’t found something inspirational to watch and listen I’ve attached this Youtube introduction to Susan Boyle. She is the British singer who surprised and shocked an audience on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent. It has some personal meaning for me. A little over two years ago I was given an opportunity to tackle a project that many felt was valuable but few thought would accomplish much. That all changed on Monday, October 12th.

Peace on earth to men of goodwill!

I attended an AGC BIM Forum this summer and heard that very sentiment. These contractors and subs said, “If architects don’t begin to behave more collaboratively then all we really need them for are schematic design models, we’ll be to do the rest ourselves.”

Those sentiments were precipitated by a frustrating presentation by three architectural firms to a forum of contractors and subs. During this presentation the architects presented a traditional role of controlling the design process, owning the documents and keeping clear separation between providing design intent and the contractor providing means and methods. In addition, when an architect in the audience shared their expanded role with BIM, the blurring of roles and the positive benefits it provided their client – this panel challenged both the validity of their claims and questioned why they ventured into collaborating deeply on the means and methods of construction.

This exchange represents a crossroads for architectural firms that could determine the industry’s future.

Architectural firms can view BIM as an opportunity to expand their domain, provide better solutions for projects and improve their margins by delivering higher value to clients. Or, they can hide behind the traditional separation of roles and try to ward off other stakeholders using BIM and encroaching on design and the design process. They can point to liability issues, problems with insurance, the challenge of charging more and added risk as reasons not to change. By doing so, however, architects will narrow their boundaries and influence.

The architects who have fully embraced BIM and make it part of their standard practice have somehow found answers to liability, insurance and risk questions. They do not see BIM as an added cost that they must find a way to convince owners to pay more. They earn more because these architects shorten the schedule, reduce the cost and nearly eliminate change orders.

The traditional firms who feel a sense of encroachment and loss of influence due to BIM are at a disadvantage to contractors when adopting BIM. I’ve heard from many that it is hard to make the investment in BIM when clients are resistant to pay a premium for the added cost. This logic makes perfect sense when the mindset focuses on the added time and cost, not the added value.

Contractors, on the other hand, are no more progressive or smarter when it comes to BIM. But the traditional contractor can find immediate financial value using BIM simply by removing trade collisions, more accurate quantity take-offs, more detailed means and methods and tighter coordination.

This is why McGraw Hill sees contractors adopting BIM at a faster rate, using it at a deeper level.

I’m rooting for the architect because they offer something that no one else can. They see the whole and are able to translate concepts and vision into something tangible and meaningful. However, here is the choice I see:

1. Adopt BIM to the greatest level possible because of enlightenment self-interest.
2. Adopt BIM to the greatest level possible because if not, you’ll become marginalized as providers of concept and style.

The slide show below is embedded from a website called Slideshare. Marc Goldman created the presentation. He provided an excellent overview defining BIM and illustrating many of its applications and value. I’m providing this because for every 2 architects I hear fully embracing BIM technology I still hear 8 that are debating the many challenges I referenced above.

We didn’t expect to win the GIA award for several reasons:

1. We were new to the process and not members of CoreNet.
2. Past awards seemed to be given to specific projects.
3. Some past winners hired PR firms to help with messaging. We were approached by a few but declined their services.
4. Our “trust-based” turnkey team proposition resonates with early adopters and those fed up but we did not think it would play to main street – at least this soon.
5. We had 10 minutes to make our case to the nine judges and then 10 minutes of Q&A. That works well for a specific tangible project. Its a bit challenging to convey an industry changing message in 20 minutes.

I asked four of the judges, “Why Mindshift?” My thinking went something like this:

• We either dazzled them with our brilliance or there is a shift in the zeitgeist (spirit of the times) of the industry that Mindshift connected with. Rule out brilliance.
• If the judges were attracted to our message then this is also a reflection of how other owners might respond.
• The judges were exposed to over 100 innovative initiatives. It will be instructive to find out what made ours stand out.

Here is the criteria they shared:

1. Many of the case studies involved millions of dollars in investment, technology and specialized skills. Some of the cases were brilliant and dazzling. But the judges had to ask, “How easy would it be for other members to implement?”
2. Some felt that the ideas laid out in The Commercial Real Estate Revolution were open to anyone.
3. Mindshift is scalable to the owner’s interest and resources; they could go all-in or benefit from the different components.
4. There was debate among the judges about just how revolutionary were our ideas? Our proposition is not rocket science. In fact its very simple, but not easy. This part of the discussion may have been the turning point. Different judges began to compare the principles we presented with their past experience. Each said that they had been on jobs with good teams displaying trust, respect and transparency. Communication was good, the results were great – AND – they had fun. One of the judges said, “So, why are we keeping this a secret? Where has anyone actually captured these qualities, framed it in an understandable system and backed it up with solid case studies?”
5. One of the judges shared that he agreed the industry needs to fundamentally change and the story we shared reflects the best attributes of our industry when it does work.

The back story is really the front story for where Mindshift began. Owners want reliable promises, good design without compromises along the way and collaboration instead of conflict. Suppliers are not out to thwart these goals. They want same thing. However, everyone has to work within a system that has evolved to a point where it does thwart all of our best intentions.

If you took a blank sheet of paper and wrote down all of the attributes of a successful team effort you might record:

• Respect
• Good communication
• Common goals and incentives
• An ability to deal with conflict
• Transparency
• Practice

You could say these attributes are nothing but common sense. So what can we do if we all know what makes a good team effort but must work within a system that destroys these qualities?

I think we won because we explained how to recapture common sense using some of the emerging ideas, contracts and technologies that are forcing the industry to change.

Now its your turn. How would you like to see your projects change? If you are curious about The Commercial Real Estate Revolution I’ll send you a free chapter. All you have to do is send an email to rexmiller.net and insert “Send my free chapter” in the subject line.

Dean Strombom - Gensler, Mark Iammarino - Turner, Rex Miller - Mindshift and Bill Black - Haworth

Last week CoreNet Global held their Global Summit in Las Vegas. More than 1700 corporate real estate executives and firms serving the industry came to learn a few new tricks for surviving the economic meltdown, listen intently to experts projecting the future, commiserate with colleagues who still have jobs and build relationships Las Vegas style.

On the first night of the event CoreNet held their awards banquet. We were entertained by a Las Vegas hypnotist. Three Mindshift members went forward on stage, two were rejected and sent back while one stayed and danced like Elvis. Two Mindshift members were happy with the outcome.

Mindshift was one of seven finalists for the H. Bruce Russell Global Innovator’s Award. We presented our story to nine judges at Emory College in August. The judges included:

• Frank Robinson, McKesson Corp.

• Roy Black, Emory University, Goizueta Business School

• Sam Hunter, General Services Administration

• Ed Nolan, Hewlett Packard

• Trex Morris, Ernst & Young

• Sam Unger, Ernst & Young

• Roger Gaudette, Ford Land

• Charemon Tovar, Sprint/CBRE

Haworth, Turner and Gensler represented the Mindshift team. We also saw the case studies for the other contestants and met them at a dinner in Atlanta. Our conclusion was that you had to have a pretty darn good business case to make it to the finals.

During the banquet in Vegas all of the finalists were called to the stage to receive their trophies. As they handed out the trophies the presenter whispered: “Just take whatever one we give you and we’ll sort out the right ones later.”

The finalists stood in a long row, looked into the stage lights and received applause from an audience no one could see. Then Sam Hunter, with GSA and one of the judges, walked to the podium to announce the Global Innovator award. I had a clue when I saw him stick a copy of our book on the podium shelf. Sure enough Mindshift won the grand prize.  Sam called me up and said to the audience I could say 25 words. After three years and the kind of work everyone put into the effort 25 words isn’t enough. At the same time it was past 10:30 at night, the lighting was such that it was hard to tell if anyone was out in the audience.

I was able to thank the team and especially Haworth for underwriting the effort and believing that it was possible to make a positive difference in our industry.  That alone was 22 words.  “Thank you very much!” put me over my limit. I might have or at least thought about thanking the many people we met with at CoreNet. They did a very professional job, treated us wonderfully and held the secret until the last announcement.

Here are the firms who deserve recognition for the award:

• Haworth
• Turner
• Gensler
• AIA
• GSA
• Metropolis Magazine
• Aardex
• Solidus
• Acoustic and Strategic Dimensions
• Lucchesi Galati
• Transwestern
• Kyle V. Davy Associates
• Lean Practices, Inc.
• KPMG
• Walter P Moore

Haworth deserves special recognition. They provided the engine and the fuel to start and keep Mindshift going for three years. Their leaders set a tone of collaboration and lived it out.

In the next blog I’ll share some of the feedback the judges provided and insights from some very good presentations.

You can still view and listen to the webcast and review answers to questions by going to WEBCAST. I’m offering a free copy of our the BIM chapter from our book. You can submit your request at the end of this blog.

One of the statistics shared during the Webcast is that BIM use has reached 50%. It is an accurate number if counting the number of architectural firms who have bought BIM software. However, this is where the mirage comes in.

My take is by no means scientific but I have probably visited close to 100 firms in the last two plus years and I always probe how firms are using BIM. Here is what I hear.

Most use BIM for visualization and some for clash detection. The clash detection is again a derivative of the visualization. Both of these applications only require “dumb objects.” A dumb object is a door, a run of ductwork or any part of a building that includes the geometric information but none of the objects properties or rules for how it behaves in relation to other objects. In other words these have the “M” or modeling part of BIM but none of the “I” part that provides analytics.

What are analytics? They can be anything. For example, analytics can contain the data and rules to provide the weight and compression for a section of concrete showing the required tension for reinforcement. One can then model the required balance between rebar and concrete. This not only allows one to make sure there is adequate reinforcement (safety issue) but also not too much (cost issue). A Dallas architect who is the real deal when it comes to BIM use was able to reduce the original concrete spec for a project by $300,000 through BIM modeling and analytics.

The most common use of analytics is clash detection. When objects have data that tell the object where it is in space and what is next to it can tell if someone is trying to design another object that will interfere; like plumbing through ductwork. But I seldom hear that use. Most of the clash detection I hear about from firms is the old fashion visual scan of a plan. I’d rather have the model tell me that I messed up than counting on catching it 100% of the time solely by human review.

There are several deeper levels of BIM use that distinguish the novices and wannabees from what I call the BIM Savants. If you think you are a BIM Savant let me know who you are and why you think you’re the real deal. When I go out to speak I try to recognize those I consider the real deal.

I’m asked less frequently if I think BIM will catch on – its been caught and rapidly growing. However, with the rapid adoption of BIM comes a side effect. Similar to what has been happening to the Green bandwagon. We now have a lot of BIMwashing. Half of the architectural firms are now out telling their clients that they “do BIM” when less than 10% are fully using analytics. Owner’s can’t tell the difference.

So if you are the real deal here is a checklist to see just how proficient you are. If you can check off most of these then pass this list along to your clients so they can test the next firm who promotes their BIM capabilities.

1. Programming and feasibility – converting programming data into massing models
2. Visualization of complex shapes – nonlinear fabrication (i.e. Disney’s Opera House in LA)
3. Visualization of finished products, the reference model – photo-realistic renderings and virtual tours
4. Design iterations and variations – showing the evolution of the design and different solutions
5. Construction Documentation and layout
6. Quantity take offs and cost analysis
7. Automated integrated specification; material properties and attributes (objects know what they are)
8. System clash or conflict resolution (objects know where they are)
9. Construction Administration (scheduling and work optimization)
10. Communication tool in all phases of a project
11. CAD CAM manufacturing and offsite fabrication
12. Shop drawings and installation data
13. As-built corroboration and systems commissioning
14. Facilities management interface
15. Maintenance and operations
16. Inventory Control
17. Database for renovations and additions
18. Equipment performance simulation
19. Building energy use simulation
20. Virtual collaboration (i.e. BIMStorm)

I also recommend you look on pages 182-183 in our book to see the evolution path for a firm developing its BIM capabilities.

Here is a short video of Kimon Onuma, a BIM Savant, sharing BIMStorm. Every firm serious about BIM may want to consider playing in a BIMStorm.

For a free copy of the BIM Chapter send me an email at rex@rexmiller.net. Once you read this chapter you’ll probably want to read the rest of the book.

I recently heard an interview where the head of innovation for a large company gave his definition of design. He said that the root for design is designate. The act of design is then to create new meaning and bring that new meaning to life.

555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

If we subscribe to Marshall McLuhan’s “the medium is the message,” even a little,  then the medium of the building should force us to step back a bit and consider – “What message lays beneath the curtain wall of each building?”

I know this is treading on the philosophical for a first of the week blog. However, it is important. There is certainly one layer of meaning described by a building’s size, location, price and attributes. If the proforma and specs define the building, however, then what does that imply about the stronger message that will permeate the experience of everyone who resides in that building?

If we are beginning to buy into this notion of sustainability then we’ll need to consider the built environment as a four dimensional entity, an interactive agent that is far more than its rental and cap rates.

Those who have traveled down the Lean Construction and Integrated Project Delivery route for a while have experienced this kind of mindshift. As Dean Reed, with DPR,  expressed in our book; projects are no longer a series of critical paths and spread sheets but a network of relationships. The quality of those relationship determines the quality of the project.

Reed Construction Data Webcast

Mark 2PM EST September 23rd on you calendar. With two weeks to go 1800 people have signed up for the free Webcast sponsored by Reed Construction Data.

BIM is a game changing technology for the AEC industry. If your firm has not made a full plunge in using it – then I recommend signing up.

If you are using BIM but still think about design and construction as a linear, sequential and phased system – then I recommend signing up.

If you would like a great introduction prior to the Webcast read Chapter 10 in The Commercial Real Estate Revolution.

Here is what you can expect to hear:

“Learn about specific details and developments in adopting Building Information Modeling from those companies that have been through the process. Allow experts and analysts to give you insight on some do’s and don’ts of BIM. You’ll hear directly from an architect, engineer and building product manufacturer.”

“Here are some of the topics that will be discussed:

• Why BIM Adoption was important to their company
• The initial approach to BIM
• Overall results to adopting BIM
• Recommendations for the industry”

If you haven’t bought a copy of The Commercial Real Estate Revolution you can still get the introductory offer by clicking HERE.