Lessons from Architects

When I rehabbed my condo, I learned that contractors are not good project managers. At least my contractor was not a good project manager. On the other hand, my architect Michael Gelick and designer Eileen Gelick, of Gelick Associates in Chicago, are people of vision and constant focus on what can be; improving everything along the way.

Following my experience, my interest in architecture and design increased. I discovered that there is much to be learned. Many of these lessons are transferable to everyday life and, oddly, back to project management.

Recently, I saw an episode of Charlie Rose in which he interviewed Renzo Piano. Mr. Piano is now a household name in Chicago due to the opening of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing. Renzo Piano, director of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop is the architect of the building expansion.

What caught my attention was something Piano said: “If you make something wrong, it’s wrong for a long time.”

Shortly after that show, I was reading an article about Frank Lloyd Wright and came upon the following paragraph:

“Toward the end of his life, he constructed his second and last skyscraper, the 19-story H.C. Price Company Office Tower (1952-56) in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. After it was completed, Wright appeared with his client at convocation in town. “A person in the audience asked the question, ‘What’s your first prerequisite?’” archivist Pfeiffer recalled. “Mr. Wright said, ‘Well, to fulfill a client’s wishes.’ To which Price said. ‘I wanted a
three-story building.’ Mr. Wright said, ‘You didn’t know what you wanted.’” (From: Smithsonian Magazine, June 2009, The Triumph of Frank Lloyd Wright, pp 52-61.)

These two quotes resonate with anyone that has ever built and deployed technology. It reminds me of a John Wooden quote, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” Lessons upholding the process improvement mantra: Do It Right The First Time.