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ED FRIEDRICHS, from page 9

TZL: How do you recruit and retain the best people for your company? MR: We’re turning people away. A lot of people come through the academy and want to stay. We pick the best ones – law, graphics, internet, tech – there’s no shortage of talented people. TZL: You wrote the rulebook on Earthships. How impor- tant is it to be an expert? MR: I’m always thinking of biology, physics, structure, eco- nomics, and psychology. People ask me if I think [my knowl- edge] can be stolen from me. It’s too involved. You can steal my horse, but you can’t ride it. TZL: How have you managed growth over the years? MR: It’s not easy. A lot of people help. I’ve been absorbed by this, but it’s not a sacrifice. It’s fun. It’s hard work and there’s battles and stress, but I got lucky on this. TZL: How important has marketing been in your journey from misunderstood architect to renowned designer? MR: We’ve never done formal advertising. It’s out there, and if it’s appropriate for people, they’ll take it. A virus spreads on its own, and this is a good virus. quality control ensures the work is a consistent and creative solution to what the client is trying to accomplish. Think about it: The building has been completed on time/ on budget, with no errors or omissions, no disputes, and a happy relationship between owner, architect, and contractor – but it’s the wrong building! It doesn’t accomplish its purpose very well. It’s a church where the parishioners don’t feel spiritual and don’t put much in the offering plate. It’s a hospital where rates of infection go up and post-operative patient stays increase. We always started every project by asking key questions about the metrics our clients wanted to track to be sure the building was affecting business performance indicators in a positive manner. We asked the client why they had hired us, what they saw in us that they felt would make their business perform successfully. We needed to know what was important to them. We displayed these client notes, often in the form of a large storyboard, at each design meeting, so we could check in with the client to see if these were still the priorities, or if something needed to be added. We presented each design element, describing how it would affect behavior in such a way that it enhanced business performance. Post completion, we gathered statistical evidence from the client to be certain our design had accomplished what we and the client set out to do. This process kept us focused on the project goals, and gave us a body of data about our work. It also helped set a cultural attitude about what we were doing on each succeeding project. Give these ideas a try. Let me know if your work improves, your insurance rates go down, your staff has a better time, or your clients tell potential clients how terrific you are. EDWARD FRIEDRICHS is a consultant with Zweig Group and the former CEO and president of Gensler. Contact him at efriedrichs@zweiggroup. com.

John Perkins had an eagle eye for errors, inconsistencies, missing information, and inappropriate or impossible-to- build details. He was also a great coach and a wonderful specification writer. He had the ability to teach a group of young practitioners how to put together a complete and consistent set of drawings, but also how to completely connect the drawings with the specifications. The latter is one of the greatest flaws that lead to claims in the field or, worse, in the courtroom. We made it a practice never to let a set of drawings out of the office without John’s scrutiny and feedback. No one ever resented it, and all of us became stronger practitioners. We kept metrics on how we were doing: ❚ ❚ Number of plan-check corrections ❚ ❚ Number of Requests for Information from the contractor ❚ ❚ Number of Change Orders & Claims When John finally retired for good, and we grew, it was too much for one person. We had several senior production people who took on John’s role. At various milestones in a project (schematic design, design development, then at 50 percent completion of construction documents, and finally at 100 percent), someone reviewed each project, looking for buildability, completeness and accuracy. The overseer shared the responsibility to guide and instruct the person or team that had done the job. Not just anyone is well suited for this quality assurance role. It’s essential to assign someone who has a keen eye, a clear understanding of how drawings and specifications support one another, and a personal coaching style that is supportive of learning. Beyond making sure drawings are completed and accurate,

EARTHSHIPS, from page 11

mentions in traditional media.) TZL: At some point your enterprise had to start making a profit for it to survive. How does Earthship deal with real revenue? MR: The money goes back into building. We’re solid in terms of revenue so that we have jobs. But we’re not weighed down by the need for profit. If we’re not trying to make a billion dollars then the profit goes back into the technolo- gy. The entity is growing, becoming more powerful, and has more equity. (Earthship has an assortment of products for sale on its website – books, DVDs, construction drawings, and clothing. The company administers a popular building academy, and even sells its own app for the Simple Survival Earthship, in addition to other product lines.) TZL: You have a powerful brand. How has branding ben- efited your business? MR: We came up with the word Earthship because it’s not a house, it’s a vessel. People were using our brand to teach and they didn’t know what they were doing. [If they are working without our direct input] we demand that they say, “earth- ship-inspired.” If you are going to do a [real] Earthship, then we have to be involved. It’s working pretty good.

THE ZWEIG LETTER April 25, 2016, ISSUE 1149

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