Intersecting Circles - Hedgehog v. Fox

There is an old fable about the hedgehog and the fox. It is a discussion about whether you are a person who needs one defining idea or can chase many ideas at once. It is from an essay by a Greek poet and then further expressed in an essay by Isaiah Berlin - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hedgehog_and_the_Fox). "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."

Which one are you - a hedgehog or a fox?

Is it better to be a Hedgehog or a Fox?

In today's fast-paced business environment, there are many ideas to chase.  In fact, those new technologies and opportunities just keep coming - should they all be considered?

Should you put all your chips on one big idea - risking a better idea you did not explore, or put one chip on them all in hopes that one of them 'pay off'. 

I am not suggesting I know the answer, just some strategies:

• You don't have enough time to chase them all - so prioritize.
• Constantly evaluate new technologies and see where they might fit.
• In today's technology landscape  - you better be a bit 'foxy'.

HEDGEHOG CONCEPT

The hedgehog concept is interesting as it describes the intersection between passion (being 'all in'), economic growth (value proposition), and what you are best at (another aspect of being all in). 

The sweet spot is in being a fox about technology and then a real hedgehog about focusing in on your passion.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

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This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

Technology and Corporate Culture

Virtualization is a very hot topic right now - it is the current disruptive technology. It changes business processes and existing workflows. With all disruptive technology (laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.) there are two parts to any 'change' - the technology itself and the corporate culture that must adapt to the new technology.

It is my premise that changing  corporate culture is far more difficult than the technology change itself.

Let me relay a story from long ago (technology-wise): Please note this technology is almost obsolete now, so if you want, replace fax with any other technology - it all plays the same:

Prior to fax machines, construction bids were either phoned in or mailed. You could imagine as bid time approached, the phone started to ring, and scribbling on 'bid sheets' was rampant, and communication mistakes were made. Then the moment of panic happened - "we didn't get a phone call from ABC Company about XYZ material and/or labor". Bids were 'guessed' at, with the hope that all would work out in the end.

Then magically, fax technology became price competitive and construction companies started acquiring fax machines. The speed of getting bids out and bids back increased dramatically. Also contractors could send out a portion of the plan and get a very quick turn-around, in writing. This led to less errors and more accurate bidding.

I am sure you believe the technology improvement happened without a hiccup.  Nope. The hand wringing by firms, the 'we will never use a fax', and the 'legal risk adverse' all came out in force hyping that the world will end, lawsuits will sky-rocket, etc. etc. In the end, none of the 'world will end' came true.

My point is that all new technology is evolutionary and not really revolutionary. The new technology's value proposition is/was simply faster or better.  

This is the same about virtualization. The nay-sayers all claim that they "will never use cloud computing", claim proprietary information, and the risk is too great (see the similarity to my story above).

Here is my take on evaluating new technology:

• Will the new technology increase your company's value proposition (faster, better, stronger).  If yes - then you must move forward.
• Should you test out technology before jumping into the deep end of that technology.  Absolutely, there are always companies that will assist in paving the way for you. Get training in the new technology increase adoption and usage.
• Will all of your company/team/staff survive the technology.  Probably not, but that is not a bad thing.  Your goal should always be faster, better, stronger.  Remove roadblocks, and give the team a path to success.  If that does not work, it is probably time to have that team member move on to another job.
• Lastly, remember, the first usage of the technology usually does not return the best return on investment (ROI).  Look past the bumps in the road and look at the longer horizon.  

Business leaders must shut out the negative noise to embrace all technologies that increase their value proposition.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech


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Value Proposition - Why You Need ONE!

 

We all belong to a sales organization

 Often when this statement is made, there is a chorus of "No we are a service organization", or "We are doctors, lawyers, architects, etc."  This is simply not the complete story.  Something has to be sold, whether you are a charitable organization, provide services,  or Apple, Inc., there is a buyer and a seller.  The fact is:  If you work for yourself or work for Google, you are part of a selling organization.

This leads to the question - How do customers/clients make a buying decision?  Many firms will talk about their people, or that they went to school with the client, or other such things.  I agree these may be factors, as well as price can be a determining factor.  However, customers want to receive 'value'.  Value is defined as the relative worth of goods or services.
How do you position or define the 'value' of your goods or services?  A value proposition is the method of conveying your company's value.  What is a value proposition?  In essence, it is about turning a customer from 'saying so what' to 'gladly willing to spend money'.  Also a strong value proposition reduces 'price' as being the only determining factor.  When all things are perceived as equal, price will become the final determining factor.

 

Let us start with what value propositions are not:

• It is not featured based.  Our cellphone has a 4 mega-pixel lens.
• It is not only about price, I contend, value propositions have little to do with price.  Our hamburger is 49 cents.
• It is not about goals, philosophies, theories or concepts.  'We love our job' usually does not make a buyer decide.

In reality, it is all about faster, better, stronger.  This may seem obvious until you start listening to your company's marketing speech.  Does your company website, or company management, say:

• We are local, we have been in the area for over 50 years.
• We are known for our people.
• The new software lets you do the following feature.
• It is all about our philosophy.
• We are agents of change.

This all may well be true, but leads buyers to say "so what?"

 

How do you put together a value proposition and how should it be stated?

• Approach from the client's perspective - how can you make them faster, better, stronger.
• We provide process improvement that will save you time. 
• We provide multiple necessary steps of a process saving you the headache of coordination. 
• We deliver pizza in 30 minutes, guaranteed to be hot.
• State the information directly, don't be shy.  The client has a need and wants the answer.
• Our help desk will answer your question in under an hour.
• We can get your taxes done in 2 days, and we deal with the IRS with questions.
• Our trash bags are 15% stronger than the competition.
• Where should the value proposition be stated?
• On the front page of your website.
• Into the everyday 'speak' of your team.
• In every discussion with the customer.

Why do you need it?

• Your competition is talking about how they are better.  Your competition may even be using fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) to confuse the customer.
• It creates a differentiator for your company.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY -  The customer is trying  to solve problems and wants them solved FASTER, BETTER, and STRONGER.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech

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Cloud Computing - An Inevitable Force

As part of my work, helping AEC firms adapt to technology change, I am often asked about “The Cloud.” First, let us start with a definition:

“Cloud computing is the use computing resources (hardware and software) that are delivered as a service over a network (typically the Internet).” (Wikipedia).

Often professionals say “I will never have my work ‘in the cloud.’” First, never is a long time, and technology is ever-changing. The AEC industry moved from hand drawn drawings in the 1990s and many firms moved to Building Information Modeling in the past decade. Technology marches on.

What are the business benefits of a move to the cloud for designs/documentation, etc.?

• Information can be obtained while at client offices, jobsites, work from home.
• Computer intensive activities (rendering, computation, simulations) can be done ‘in the cloud’ while design/documentation work can continue to be done (freeing up computer resources and productive time).
• Maintain a 99+% uptime of information accessibility.

Here are the perceived cons of cloud computing:

• My client will not allow it.
• This is the reason I hear the most. If this is correct, a conversation with the client is necessary to explain the limitation the restriction plays. 
• I fear my work being stolen by the cloud host (usually Microsoft, Amazon, or Google).
• This seems unlikely. The amount of data passing through the cloud service providers is so huge, it is unlikely that any one file is reviewed.
• Data being collected by the cloud host.
• This is the most logical. Google has always gathered information about your web-search activities. So, is it possible that data collection might be done to determine if your project has the word “masonry” in it – yes – but should you be concerned?

Projects require the ability to be nimble and agile – fast moving and democratized in the access to project information + data. That is the hallmark of ‘cloud’ services.

Cloud services are here to stay, and will grow in usage and functionality.  “Staying on the sidelines” is not a viable option for long.

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David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech

Get it. Know it. Use it.