Franciscan monk and author, Richard Rohr, writes “you cannot start seeing or understanding anything if you start with ‘no.’ You have to start with a ‘yes’ of basic acceptance–which means not too quickly labeling, analyzing or categorizing things in or out, good or bad. You have to leave the field open. The ego seems to strengthen itself by constriction, by being against, or by re-action, and it feels loss or fear when it opens up.”

This continual war against fear is where leaders have to don armor and do battle. Status quo becomes status quo because it is safe.

But it is also stagnant.

And deadly.

Exclusive interview with Seth Godin from GiANT Impact on Vimeo.

Clarity of purpose is a desirable goal.

Garr Reynolds, in his book, The Naked Presenter, answers the question, “what does it mean to present naked?”  He says, “Being naked involves stripping away all that is unnecessary to get at the essence of your message.  The naked approach embraces the ideas of simplicity, integrity and passion.”

For those of us leading companies on a quest for transformation, “simplicity, integrity and passion” are worthy goals.

Take a few moments this week to define “all that is unnecessary” and take steps to strip it away.  In pursuing simplicity, you may find that integrity and passion follow.

Keeping promises requires more than good intentions. It requires rewiring five hundred years of Western rational breeding and a lifetime of habit. And this rewiring calls for transformational leadership. However, being an expert within a bad system seems to trump the discomfort of being clueless in a good system. The payoff to let go may be enough to cross over;  or the cost for not changing may one day force your hand.

Here are some numbers that may make it easier to decide to cross over:

• McGraw-Hill’s Steve Jones says that they typically estimate labor for a construction project at 50 percent—10 percent for overhead and 40 percent for materials.
• Glenn Ballard and Greg Howell, who run the Lean Construction Institute, have tracked numbers that indicate only 50 percent of promises made for the week ahead are delivered.
• Clive Thomas Cain, in Profitable Partnering for Lean Construction, reports that “Overall, the ineffective utilisation of labour and the wastage of materials put total unnecessary costs at around 42 percent.”

Cain goes on to explain the improvement that he found by employing techniques similar to the ones that Toyota developed: “[The] Improving M&E Site productivity study and other similar studies . . . puts labour efficiency at the industry average of 40 percent . . . and materials wastage at 30 percent . . .” In another report, the effective utilization of labor ran between 30 to 40 percent. On top of all this, there is a large disconnect among the “knowers” who plan and manage these projects, who overoptimistically estimated labor efficiency at 85 percent.

To go back to an earlier point — Cain argues that instead of looking for project cost reductions by decreasing profit margins through competitive bidding, there is more to gain by changing to a system that uses collective intelligence to reduce waste and inefficiency.

Projects that adopted the Lean mindset and techniques were able to raise their “labour efficiency levels to around 70 percent and reduce material waste to around 4 percent. This gives a saving of around 30 percent which is then available for increasing profits and wages, reducing prices, improving research and development and developing training.” On a $10 million project, that savings equals $3 million. What could you save on your next project?

Keeping promises assumes keeping track of the things that routinely interfere with delivering on those promises. However, Cain found that “virtually no firms within the industry have an improvement program based on measurement and elimination of unnecessary cost.”

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.

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.

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.

Construction, architecture, FF&E and all related stakeholders have seen their businesses drop 20%, 30%, 40% and some even more.

Some hope that this recession will be like others; hunker down, wait a while and then a new resurgence will emerge. But is this like recent recessions?

Here are some factors to consider:

1. There a large excess of inventory (buildings).
2. $3 trillion in financing is up for renewal this fall. It is estimated that 1/3 of these loans will default.
3. The credit rules have changed requiring more equity from developers by a factor of 5 and more. That means fewer more selective buildings.
4. The green steam roller is in full gear. Old buildings will be devalued and fewer, smaller buildings will be the new strategy.
5. Corporations are divesting of their fixed overhead and new mobile technologies will be the beneficiaries.
6. The warts of our industry are under full scrutiny and owners are demanding lower cost, higher quality green buildings.
7. There is a digital generation (70 million) who are stepping into the workplace and their agenda is not their mom and dad’s agenda.

There is a new normal coming. But I see little innovation (changed life style) in the wake of this industry wide near-death experience.

What will your business look like in 2010? What will your new markets be? Where will your new customers come from?

Here is a short clip from Dr. James Canton, author of Extreme Future.

Mindshift began as a simple dialogue about the current and future state of design and construction. It took a little time for our conversation to get beyond the thinking that the current state was a simple fact of life. When we looked outside our current system we arrived at the following conclusion:

Conventional design and construction is broken. It seems obvious. We all say it to ourselves and express our exasperation at our various networking gatherings. The odd dynamic is that when you get a room full of stakeholders together – for the first time – we talk as if we came from some alternative reality. Our projects all go smoothly, on-time and within budget.

I like to quote one of the executives from our first Mindshift gathering; “We all have good companies, good people and happy clients. We begin each projects with good intentions and high hopes. For some reason there is something about the system that gets in the way of all of our best efforts.”

The system clearly creates a lot of waste and conflict. That seems obvious. What was less obvious is that this waste and conflict is the result of a system that is fragmented, assumes distrust and is designed to defend against that distrust.

So here was our “aha!” We asked, “How do you create a system that assumes trust and is designed to foster it and lead toward integration?”

That is the story told in The Commercial Real Estate Revolution.

This video enhances the theme – innovation through developing a capacity for the obvious. This is Paul Bennet presenting at the TED conference.