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TZL: What role does your family play in your career? Are work and family separate, or is there overlap? BP: Family is integral to my career as they are one of the driving forces in striving for excellence. The better I can do in the professional portion of my life, the more stability I can give to my family. Given that my partners and I started our own firm, we have been able to closely tie our families to the business. There is overlap and much of our outside of office gatherings include our significant others and children. It’s also the driving force for allowing our staff and ourselves a healthy and flexible work-life balance. “We feel that we win the talent war when we act quickly and mindfully. Honesty is a hallmark of our culture and we believe that is a differentiator.” TZL: How are you balancing investment in the next generation – which is at an all-time high – with rewards for tenured staff? This has always been a challenge, but seems heightened as investments in
TZL: When you identify a part of your business that is not pulling its weight in terms of profitability or alignment with the firm’s mission, what steps do you take, and what’s the timeline, to address the issue while minimizing impacts to the rest of the company? BP: We recognize it, track it, and come up with a plan to replace the detrimental revenue stream. Every instance is unique and that accounts for specific steps and timelines. Every effort is made to minimize the impact on the company but awareness is the best way to counteract. TZL: Is change management a topic regularly addressed by the leadership at your firm? If so, elaborate. BP: The impacts on projects and contracts is a hot topic for us in regards to change management. The key is the management of additional services that correspond with managing changes and therefore the communication of implications with the client. TZL: How often do you valuate your firm and what key metrics do you use in the process? Do you valuate using in-house staff or is it outsourced? BP: We valuate the firm annually, using in-house staff to monitor revenue, P and L, and balance sheet. “We reward all growth and improvement and try to be out in front of employee needs. Tenured or new, we make an effort to value everyone equally.” TZL: Are you seeking some kind of financial assistance during the COVID-19 crisis? If so, what type? BP: We will file for the SBA loan to cover payroll with the uncertainty of the market and future of the industry. TZL: What financial metrics do you monitor to gauge the health of your firm? BP: Aside from the yearly valuation we used almost daily the P&L, balance sheet, and monthly billings versus monthly budgets. We track the accuracy of our
HEADQUARTERS: Portland Oregon NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 13
YEAR FOUNDED: 2015 OFFICE LOCATIONS: 1 SERVICES: ❚ ❚ Branding
❚ ❚ Planning
❚ ❚ Architecture
❚ ❚ Interiors MARKETS: ❚ ❚ Grocery
❚ ❚ Retail
development have increased. BP: We reward all growth and
❚ ❚ Commercial
improvement and try to be out in front of employee needs. Tenured or new, we make an effort to value everyone equally. Honest communication and transparency probably help the most. We are all humans and make mistakes but by owning them, as well as actively listening to staff concerns can take the place of solely relying on monetary benefits. TZL: What novel approaches are you bringing to recruitment, and how are your brand and differentiators performing in the talent wars? BP: We strive to highlight a great public persona with our digital presence and branded swag. We feel that we win the talent war when we act quickly and mindfully. Honesty is a hallmark of our culture and we believe that is a differentiator. TZL: How has COVID-19 impacted your firm’s policy on telecommuting/working remotely? BP: We went from “not allowed” to the entire company doing it over the course of one day.
❚ ❚ Multifamily
❚ ❚ Hospitality
❚ ❚ Residential
❚ ❚ Food service WHAT’S ON TAP? Woodblock staff believes that each new project is more than a building, it’s an opportunity to create something awesome, build new relationships and come together for a local brew. WHO IS WOODBLOCK? They’re self- described as an architecture firm with a passion for design, meeting good people and eating everything in sight.
See STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE, page 8
© Copyright 2020. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.
RIL 20, 2020, ISSUE 1341
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