Useful piece on Fast Company… Everyone wants a good mentor. They can help you get ahead at work, and provide an important sounding board when you’re trying to make a tough decision or deal with a tricky coworker. But finding the right person can be easier said than done. A 2019 study found that while 76% of people believe that mentoring is important, only 37% say they have such a relationship…..
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Loving this award-winning preservation and conversion of a listed 300-year-old ruined cottage in Leominster, Herefordshire – complete with dead ivy and old birds’ nests! The jury described the 115m² scheme as ‘beautifully executed’, ‘unpretentious’, and praised the design for not ‘romanticising the ruin’. Kate Darby, founder of Kate Darby Architects said: ‘What is special about the project is the extreme length we went to preserve everything. Initially there was the prejudice to clear it up, but we realised the value of the project was in that extreme approach.’ …
...As a new financial year begins for many charities, thoughts turn to the impact this recession is having on charitable giving, and the subsequent effect on strategic management, planning and marketing budgets in the run up to 2009/10 annual reporting. The annual report can be a valuable marketing tool, and more than ever in these recessionary times, clever and careful planning can maximise the impact and value of this mandatory publication. Rather than opting for the convenience of simply commissioning a rework of last year’s structure and design format with last year’s design partner take a moment to consider the...
Design Week | Opinion | 19 April 2007 As a business development consultant working with creative groups, I attended a recent ‘win without pitching’ lecture by Blair Enns with an open mind. Enns’ talk was engaging, his theories prompted some challenging questions from reputable groups in the audience, and I left wondering how I can take something from this lecture for the benefit of groups I work with. So, was I actually convinced by all this theory, or left still searching for answers to the free-pitch conundrum? Having subsequently read Enns’ ‘Ditch addiction to the pitch’ article, I must ask,...
new design | January-February 2003 What are the new business development conundrums for the small-to-medium-sized design consultancy? Simon Teer explains why those consultancies that embrace change and achieve real differentiation in their service proposition and new business strategy can succeed in a tough climate – and why those that don’t must face the consequences. When it comes to new business development, one thing that cannot be ignored is the significant rise in the number of consultancies that make up today’s UK design industry. More breakaways, more start-ups… and so the potential slice of new business cake begins to resemble a...
Design Week | Opinion | 16 January 2003 How do design consultancy owners address the conundrum of new business development in such an expansive industry? There were 3000 design consultancies in 1998 and five years on, this figure is fast approaching 5000. The more competitive the market is, the more compelling and distinctive the new business proposition must become. Unknowingly perhaps, many design consultancies are just paying lip service to defining their competitive advantages and invariably fail to differentiate themselves from rival consultancies in any meaningful way. The irony here is a painfully familiar one – design consultancy creatives spend...
