and Gen Z, that there's a lot of opportunities for you to connect with amazing young people that can be like sponges and can gain insight and knowledge and understanding about this industry and what it represents. On the bigger picture in the grand scheme of things. And so I think it's important. I think every firm needs to have a fully blown mentoring program. It needs to be intentional. It can't be a matter of fact. And as I always tell people who are mentors, you actually should. If you mentor properly, you take away as much as you give. Cherise Lakeside: I said the same thing. I ran a Young Professionals Day for our national convention for about five years. And one of the pieces of that day was a speed mentoring meeting. They had 15 minutes, but it was divided in half. So for seven and a half or eight minutes, the young professional had to ask the mentor anything they wanted. And then for the other eight minutes, that, mentor had to ask the young professional anything they wanted. I handpicked the mentors. It was equal seats at the table. Don't ask anybody how to program your phone. They got a whole lecture from me beforehand. And it was such a dynamic. I miss that, we don't do it anymore. But it was such a dynamic event. And sometimes you just need to reach out a hint. They would go around. This was a few hours of this to each. They'd switch after 15 minutes to the next mentor. Some of these people are still in touch with each other all this time. As a result of that. It opens doors sometimes if you just help somebody put out a hand. Randy Wilburn: Yeah. I, want to say that design professionals are, are a very thoughtful group of people. They have to be based on the work, the line of work that you guys do. And I think a lot of that thoughtfulness comes out in a lot of different ways. But I also think that it's one of those things where you always need to be thinking about how can you get this next generation of young people to get involved. And anytime I can talk to a young person and they ask me about a career or different options that might be available to them, I talk to them about the design industry all the time. And I remind design professionals every time. And I sound like a broken record every time I go to, an event that I speak to them. It's like, you guys are responsible for the built environment and your role is hugely important in our society. You need to just recognize that the work that you do really does matter above and beyond that one project that you're currently working on. It's a much bigger picture that you're dealing with when it comes to design professionals and what they do. So I say that all the time because I often run into so many design professionals that struggle with, like, Imposter syndrome. And it's like, man, don't get me started. I mean, what you guys do really does matter. And I know you don't hear it enough, but. And so I say it a lot on, this podcast, and I'm sure the regular listeners will hear me say that quite a bit. But it is meant to edify and encourage more so than anything else, and to let design professionals know that keep doing what you're doing because, it does make a difference. And we have to be really intentional about
Made with FlippingBook Annual report