Architects by nature are more left-brained, creative and imaginative in their thinking. But what happens when an architect becomes a CEO or Principal and has to use more right-brain thinking like numbers and reason.

You can see how this can become a problem for architects who take on ownership roles at a firm. 

Architects need financial education that isn't taught in school.

Patrick MacLeamy has leadership experience in the Design Industry to help teach architects and engineers the business side of running a firm.

Patrick spent 50 years at HOK - starting as a Junior Designer at HOK St. Louis in 1967, later becoming Principal at the San Francisco office, COO in 1997, and finally CEO in 2003. He ran the firm for 13 years, helping it grow into one of the top architecture and engineering firms in the world!

He is also currently a Chairman at buildingSMART and the host of the Build Smart Podcast.

In this episode...

Patrick first discusses how firm leaders can cope with COVID-19 and other uncertain economic times... How to make budget cuts? How to approach financial decisions as a team?

Patrick then teaches us about the 3 rules for financial health at a Design Firm. These rules can be found in his new book Designing a World-Class Architecture Firm: The People, Stories, and Strategies Behind HOK:

• 50% Rule: How many people can you afford?
• 10 Month Rule: How much backlog do I need?
• 90 Day Rule: How can long can I afford to wait before being paid?

If you're running a Design Firm and need clear guidelines on how to handle the finances, then this podcast is a must listen!