Diane Hoskins, FAIA, NCARB is Global Co-Chair of Gensler, the largest architecture firm in the world by both revenue and number of architects. She also serves as the Global Chair of the Board of Directors for the Urban Land Institute and as Trustee for The MIT Corporation. Most recently, she co-authored the book Design for a Radically Changing World, which explores the role that design in shaping the human experience amidst changing global conditions. In this episode, Diane discusses how her multi-disciplinary background has influenced her career, the discoveries that came out of the book’s creation, and why now is the best time to be a practicing architect.

Highlights

• What the crisis multiplier is, and how design is an ideal tool for addressing crises
• How the ways in which we think about workspaces continue to evolve
• The role COVID played – and didn’t – in changing workplace expectations
• The concept of the worker as consumer
• How Gensler’s “one firm” firm culture positions the firm to work from a place of expertise and empathy

Episode Resources

• Connect with Brian Jones and Patience Jones
• https://graphicmachine.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/graphicmachine/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/graphicmachine/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/patiencejones/
• Connect with Diane Hoskins, FAIA, NCARB:
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianehoskins/
• Read Design for a Radically Changing World:
• https://www.amazon.com/Design-Radically-Changing-World-Gensler/dp/1957183845/

Reporting: You know you’re supposed to do it, but you’re not sure why or what to do with what you collect. As your firm grows, it will become more important for you to understand what marketing metrics you’re measuring and how to make use of that data. In this episode of our Growth Challenges series, we explore setting up reporting that actually matters.

Highlights

• Why reporting on everything is as bad as reporting on nothing
• How to ensure you're reporting on the right things
• The one question that will tell you if you should be reporting on a particular item
• The lure of pretty data
• Why you also need to track sales data

Episode Resources

• https://www.linkedin.com/company/graphicmachine/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/graphicmachine/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/patiencejones/

Are you doing something that is preventing you from achieving the thing you say you want? If so, you’re getting in your own way. In this episode, we explore the ways firm leaders can hinder progress toward goals, whether that’s simply not taking action or actively creating obstacles. We talk about the roles that cognitive rigidity and anxiety play in getting in the way, and how to overcome or at least manage those.

Highlight

• The telltale signs you’re getting in your own way
• How the desires for comfort, confidence, and certainty can lead to self-sabotage
• Understanding the fear of getting to the finish line
• Letting go of “goals” that no longer serve you or the firm

Episode Resources

• https://graphicmachine.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/graphicmachine/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/graphicmachine/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/patiencejones/