Making Chaos work for you

I am a passionate reader – I love to read fiction and non-fiction alike and I enjoy sharing books with friends. Recently, three pals have each written books related to architectural practice (don’t I hang around with an elite crowd!) and I thought I’d introduce each book to my blog readers. Each book allows the inherent knowledge of each author that I value so much to the larger community of architects and designers.

Today, I want to introduce Rena Klein’s book:

The Architect’s Guide to Small Firm Management: Making Chaos work for you

From the Wiley website –

“The definitive guide to management success for sole practitioners and leaders of small design firms

Owning and operating a small architectural design firm can be challenging, with tight project deadlines, on-the-fly meetings, rush proposals, and fluctuating workloads as part of the firm’s day-to-day activities. To help small firm owners cope with the chaos and prepare for the unexpected, here is The Architect’s Guide to Small Firm Management, a no-nonsense guide to repurposing daily demands into workable, goal-directed solutions.

Crucial topics such as self-aware leadership, people management, technology, financial health, scenario planning, sustainable practice, and future trends are examined using real-life case studies and business model paradigms. This definitive text explores the whole system experience of a small firm practice to deliver organizational strategies proven to keep a firm’s creative mission on a steady, productive path.

The Architect’s Guide to Small Firm Management addresses how small firm owners can:

• Deal effectively with unexpected circumstances and shifting work requirements
• Meet the demands of the marketplace while creating a satisfying workplace
• Set and achieve goals in an environment of constant change

This book is a must-have for those facing the often harsh reality of managing small design firms in a difficult and changing economy. Entrepreneurial architects and designers will discover how to define their own personal and professional meanings of success, as well as how to refocus their business approach to replace long, unrewarding hours with manageable, satisfying ones.”

If you are small design firm owner, this book brings management insight to what seems like a uncontrollable set of factors – how do you handle the dramatic ups’n’downs of your workload, the erratic schedule, the changing whims of your clients? I’ve attended many of Rena’s seminars in the past and found nuggets of revelation in each one. I just got my copy of the book last night so I am anxious to read this. I encourage my readers to check it out (and, in disclosure, I am profiled in the book, so be warned!).