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Permalink Reply by Leslie B Wagle on March 12, 2012 at 3:25pm

As a certified person qualifying in both categories, I'm a bit mystified. Sure, you get to design stuff....but where does the initial contact part get erased? I'm afraid schmoozing talent is still a factor either provided by others in the shelter of a multi person office or else by doing the unnatural thing oneself. Otherwise: no work....

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Permalink Reply by nca777 on March 12, 2012 at 7:31pm

Sure if you want to work in the basement.

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Permalink Reply by Jason T. Radice on March 12, 2012 at 8:04pm

Excuse me...excuse me? I believe you have my stapler? Um, I did not receive my… paycheck this week?

 

I think the introvert part is one of the profession’s problems. We are too genial and meek when compared with our “allied” profession. Just being in the room with an architect, you realize all the ego and pomposity is being hogged. Then there are the engineers. Cocky and headstrong while really not knowing of what they speak, but for some reason, people believe them.  And there we are, relegated to the back of the room trying to politely explain ourselves and not get anybody upset, pretty much told to put in our junipers and go away.

As a profession, we need to “grow a pair”. We are constantly at risk of losing our licensure status, just when we got it in all 50 states. Our profession has taken the brunt of the economic downturn. Our lobbying is ineffective. Why? We are lobbying for the wrong things. Our voice is not strong, our voice is not united. We do too much crap and we cede parts of our profession to others (urban design in the 50’s and 60’s, parks and monuments to Architects in recent times) and we are losing the whole environmental angle as well. We don’t have our act together, we are being out-competed at our own game and we are being just too nice about it.  We need to be extraordinary extroverts if we are to survive.

As for that growth number by 2018 or whatever? They must have been reading US News or the ASLA website from three years ago. That was really funny.   

I asked for no salt…no salt, on my margarita, But there was salt. Big grains of salt.

  

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Permalink Reply by nca777 on March 12, 2012 at 8:54pm

double-like.

I just got invited to lecture at NDSU this month. Public speaking is by far my greatest fear, but I'm going to feel the fear and do it anyway as they say because I know that being a great communicator is just as important as being a great designer in these days and times.

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Permalink Reply by henry cohen on March 12, 2012 at 8:00pm

Iput this up because of the absurdity of the article.

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Permalink Reply by Walter Bone on March 12, 2012 at 10:20pm

Well said Jason.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas J. Johnson on March 12, 2012 at 10:21pm

Damn it! I knew I should have become an accountant...

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Permalink Reply by Jordan Lockman on March 13, 2012 at 7:46am

That article was just mailed in. Did they even bother to talk to professionals of any of the fields listed?

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Permalink Reply by Trace One on March 13, 2012 at 9:12am

Wow.  What a silly concept..I think one of the most successful designers I have known is the nurseryman Charlie Marder out in Southampton..

Charlie has the Hamptons eating out of his hand, all the time..

Being charming is almost the best thing a designer can be - a lot of people think that is why Leibeskind won the 9/11 Competition, he poured on the charm offensive, so to speak.

Sillly article Henry..I geuss it is pretty rare to see LA;s even listed for anything, though..

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Permalink Reply by ida on March 16, 2012 at 7:26pm

Rest assured people, as the article first mentions, being an introvert does not mean you are unsocial, shy or quiet like the basement guy from Office Space. It just means you enjoy solitary work.

Anyway there are some shy and quiet people in my office... nothing really wrong with having those qualities. In some offices there are a group of people who work behind the scenes and others who are "the face" of the office (not everyone at Apple is a Steve Jobs).

I'm sure the author did not mention Architecture because there are no more jobs for them, hahaha! (joking I have no evidence for that)

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Permalink Reply by Jason T. Radice on March 16, 2012 at 7:47pm

And one of the qualities of true genius is being an introvert (along with a messy desk). Hmm, I fall into those two categories...

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Leslie B Wagle on March 19, 2012 at 6:57am

A timely add on (introverts run the world....quietly?)

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/18/opinion/cain-introverts-power/index.h...

Although I've seen other articles stating that intro's used to be more prized, and the extro's got more emphasized in mid twentieth century culture (something to do with an emphasis on marketing or team playing & groupthink for some reason).

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