Offers architects and creative services professionals exclusive insights and strategies for success from the former CEO of HOK.
Designing a World Class Architecture Firm: The People, Stories and Strategies Behind HOK tells the history of one of the largest design firms in the world and draws lessons from it that can help other architects, interior designers, urban planners and creative services professionals grow bigger or better. Former HOK CEO Patrick MacLeamy shares the revolutionary strategies HOKtsquo;s founders deployed to create a brand-new type of architecture firm. He pulls no punches, revealing the triple crisis that almost bankrupted HOK and describes how any firm can survive and thrive.
Designing a World Class Architecture Firm tells the inside story of many of HOKcsquo;s most iconic buildings, including the National Air and Space Museum, Moscone Convention Center, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Houston Galleria and the reimagined LaGuardia Airport. Each chapter conveys lessons learned from HOKisquo;s successes tdash;and failureshdash; including:
The importance of diversifying to depression-and-recession-proof your firm
The benefit of organizing your firm around specialized leaders and project types
The difference between leading and managing your people
The value of simple financial metrics to ensure your firmssquo;s health and profitability
The hdquo;run toward troublendquo; strategy which prevents problems from ballooning
MacLeamy delivers his advice via inspirational stories such as how HOK survived when its home office in St. Louis went up in flames and humorous stories, like the time an HOK executive was mistaken for royalty on a trip to Saudi Arabia. In this tell-all guide, the driven architecture or design professional will find the tools needed to evolve or grow any firm.
