Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Back from New Orleans, and pausing for thought

I presented my seminar on intern mentorship and training Saturday morning at this year's national AIA convention in New Orleans (Mary, Joseph, and Fumihiko Maki bless everyone who dragged out of bed and showed up for my 7am show!), and it appeared to be well-received for the second year in a row.  (Though I have yet to receive the reviews for the presentation...we'll see.)  It would seem that there are people--many firm owners and high-level managers--who are interested in and understand the importance of good intern training and mentorship.  But as I looked out on the 50 or so folks who bothered to show up for a 7am seminar and discussion on intern mentoring, I realized that my words fall on the ears of the already-partially- or fully-converted.  No one's going to get out of bed to see a presentation that they're not really into or don't really care about or agree with.


So, I've been wondering: how do I get the word out to architects and project managers that a) aren't self-selecting to come to these seminars, and/or b) to put a word in the ears of those who might not be as interested in the topic?  I mean, look at the green/environmental issue--I'm sure few people would really consider themselves really into the environmental movement and sustainability, and yet I bet a majority of people in any decent-sized city recycle and have at least one CFL in their house.  Is it a different website?  A book?  (Someone's asked me about writing one, and I've been toying with the idea.)  A Bansky-esque piece of graffiti on the wall of an AIA office somewhere?


I've returned to Denver for yet another deadline, so once I've had a chance to catch up and let the  dust settle, I'll be sharing some of the intern and architect survey results with you.

1 comment:

  1. If you are looking for a book or looking to start a book, get in contact with Grace Kim, AIA. She is an architect here in the Seattle area with a strong push on mentoring and intern developement. She has also published a book called "Survival Guide to Architectural Internship..." Though you both have similar stances on internship and mentoring, I'm sure you could find another way to reach the masses.

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