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?

Can You Transcend Your Genes?

We've all heard the nature/nurture debate (nature seems to be winning by the way). But genes are not destiny.  I have always believed that you can make what you want for yourself, out of yourself.  To segue back to design, this poses the question of what, really, is talent?  Is it the ability to be a trend-master who can constantly be provocative, or the expert who becomes so well-versed in a specialized arena that they are sought after?  Can anyone get there?  Is is more about networking and marketing than what you have to offer (provided of course that what you have to offer is reasonably competent and interesting)?


Design is at its best when it reflects clarity of purpose.  Mirror that clarity of purpose in who you are as an architect and you realize that you have a distinct voice.  Now go yell unabashedly from the nearest mountaintop!