New Year's Resolutions

Most of us at Workshop don’t usually abide by the annual tradition of formulating New Year’s Resolutions. January for the firm, however, isn’t just about New Year’s. It’s also Workshop’s three year anniversary. Naturally, we spent some time evaluating how far we’ve come, what we do well, and what we can do better.

We excel at our craft, and our work continues to grow as a result. But there is always room for improvement, especially for a business in its adolescence. So here are a few of our resolutions that emerged from that discussion: 

Streamline Our Processes

Like many startups, we are a small team. Consequently, each of us has worn many hats and juggled tasks. At times this has made it a challenge for us focusing on and honing our craft. So in August, we added our first non-architect to the team to take over many of the administrative responsibilities. This year, the goal is for Wayne to step away from running the business and invest entirely in architectural and project oversight.  

Continue to Cultivate a Collaborative Practice 

Collaboration is a powerful tool. We do it often but not always within a framework. So we spent the last days of 2018 outlining an overarching timeline for projects. In defining specific phases when collaboration is necessary, we can implement it more regularly and at times when the entire team can participate. With a formal routine practice, we will all garner more from the process, and the quality of work will improve.

Celebrate One Another’s and the Firm’s Successes More Often 

Celebrating milestones internally is not a problem in this office. We go out to lunch regularly. Occasionally, we have mid-week office beers. And, without fail, every Friday, we go out to happy hour together. That said, we have not been in the habit of celebrating our achievements publicly. Our staff is incredibly talented, engaged in the community, and we work with a lot of outstanding people in this industry. So this blog post is step one in our 2019 resolution to share, include, and celebrate more with you - our friends, colleagues, and clients.