Contract - September 2010 - (Page 12)

editor’s note reposition yourself Reinvention has never been so “in”—or so necessa —as it has been in the recent years of economic distress, and one shi for the A&D community has been the way design ﬁrms approach business development and marketing. During the economic recession of the 1990s and the economic slowdown following 9/11, when Contract was still publishing its annual Sala and Hiring Surveys, survey results and anecdotal evidence indicated that dedicated business development managers and marketing people were among the ﬁrst design ﬁrm employees to be let go during a downturn. What might seem like backwards logic—when business is slow, why lay oﬀ the people charged with ﬁnding new business?—actually made some sense when you consider the fact that principals were fully expected to assume business development and marketing responsibilities until work picked up again, and budgets could allow for rehiring dedicated rainmakers. This time around, things are diﬀerent, and the lines that traditionally have diﬀerentiated functions within a ﬁrm have become quite blurred. With massive layoﬀs across the board, eve one is required to take on additional responsibilities, and the new norm for A&D ﬁrms is that eve one— from principals down to junior designers—can be expected to contribute to new business development. Just as all employees once were required to get up to snuﬀ on new technology, now employees at all levels should be expected to add business development to their skill sets. Add it to the list of practical business skills that design schools are not teaching. In this month’s Practice column, Jane Felsen Gertler, a veteran marketing director who recently joined New York-based Helpern Architects, oﬀers practical advice on how design ﬁrms can create a business development culture from the top down, with eve staﬀ member engaged in some way in the function of cultivating new business. The message is clear that in this economic-driven age, the skill that may diﬀerentiate you from your colleagues when it comes time for promotion (or for downsizing) is not just your design talent or your leadership qualities, but your ability to bring in new work. Even small contributions can make a measurable diﬀerence. Think of it as a challenge to reposition yourself, before you lose your market value. Please give us your feedback at www.contractdesign.com/contact. Jennifer Thiele Busch Editor in Chief 12 contract september 2010 www.contractdesign.com http://www.contractdesign.com/contact http://www.contractdesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - September 2010

Contract - September 2010
Contents
Editor's Note
Industry
Resources
Focus: Eye of the Beholder
Practice: Making Rainmakers
Classic Bach
Created Equal
The New Days of Ore
Barefoot Chic
Keep the Faith
Sources
Designers Rate
Process:_Laser Dissection
Ad Index
Perspectives

Contract - September 2010