Robin Guenther is so amazing, both interms of innovation, design and research. She owned her own firm in New York city and was so successful that Perkins + Will acquired it and made her a principal. She has authored several books and also pioneered new strategies to incorporate sustainability and different design/practice models into the way that architects approach healthcare projects. When I have heard her speak, I am blown away at how she manages to address things that I am just starting to think about and then takes them to the next level. And if you have been following this blog at all, you know that I care about how projects are structured and the process of design to near-obsession levels. I have participated in discussion groups with her and found her so receptive to the thoughts and ideas of others, which I also admire because the hallmark of a true leader is humility, not arrogance. This is what I aspire to as an architect, to teach and to lead in order to build spaces that enrich people's lives.
Oh, and I also have always admired Laurinda Spear for being a powerful designer, leader of one of an influential inernational firm, and being an amazing product designer all while raising six children.
Are You an Outlier?
What does it take to be truly innovative? The most succesful innovators actually redefine the staus quo and move the bar for the rest of the design world. These outliers and their seemingly fringe ideas catch on and displace established expectations and ways of doing things. They find a way to create new synergies between things that previously seemed unrelated. They define issues that others just worked around as actual problems and work to solve them. It's always a risk to be an early adapter http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_rogers_innovation_adoption_curve.html because you might ride that wave head first right into the sandbar but, really to make a difference as architects, we need to embrace our status as outliers.
Tricks in the Trade
For anyone out there who wants to hang out their own shingle and not have to answer to anyone else's ideas or lack thereof regarding design and management of projects, you'll want guard against becoming like the company you just left. Psychology Today had a great article recently http://www.psychologytoday.com/em/45382 that focussed on exactly how our visionary spirit can get us into trouble. Recognize anyone?
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