Taming the Many-Headed Monster

Let's face it as designers, we often get no respect.  Organizations already have their own standards and teams in place to address more parts of the project than you probably knew needed that close of a look.  Instead of being demoralized by the many headed monster that most corporate machine clients have become, try introducing some innovative management strategies to engage an organization's many project stakeholders in an integrated and productive way, allowing disparate concerns to be addressed without compromising sustainable goals or good design.

Get comfortable with the fact that there are multiple masters to serve with healthcare organizations and other large insitutional clients, each with their own set of design priorities for a particular project. From construction departments trying to enforce the bottom line to physicians concerned about cutting edge technology, infection control directors, facilities managers, security offices, CEO's concerned about market drivers and patient satisfaction, and perhaps even a sustainability officer struggling to be heard over all of the other voices. While there may be a desire to have an innovative or sustainable project, simply setting an executive level directive won't lead to the desired outcome. Reaching design goals depends you taking a leadersip role with an approach to design that integrates all of the voices influencing design priorities into a framework of sustainable design and operation:

1. Discuss specific ways to organize a project, map out sustainable goals that factor in divergent needs and cut through the red tape of complex projects to realize your green goals.
2. Establish deep and integrated sustainable approaches across the entire project team that create the buy-in and ownership necessary for true innovation.
3. Identify everyone who will be a stakeholder and engage them early. Be a conduit to foster communication among competing interests on a construction project.
4. Define sustainable project strategies that the entire team will buy into and work to develop
5. Learn how to look at cost in a multi-dimensional manner to avoid value engineering away your most economical and innovative sustainable components
6. Assess the organization's mission and goals and learn how they can relate to specific sustainable strategies that resonate with the entire staff.