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Vessel Project Management Guide

Architectural Project Management is the culmination of everything it means to be a capital ‘A’

Architect. This is where it all comes together. The client’s goals and dreams are in the Project
Manager’s hands. The job is tremendously hard but deeply fulfilling. Of all the roles at Vessel, this is
the one that the Principals find most difficult to relinquish. We don’t trust this to you lightly and we
don’t set people up for failure. You have been chosen because we are confident in your desire and
ability to succeed. We need and expect you to succeed. This “guide” is simply a compilation of the
wisdom we have been taught and learned for ourselves. It will serve you well in your quest to be at the
top of your profession. This is the standard at Vessel for what it means to be a Project Manager. –
Brian and Pete

Table of Contents

1 Core Values.........................................................................................................................................................................2
2 Vessel’s Why.......................................................................................................................................................................3
3 Basic Terms of Employment...............................................................................................................................................4
4 Compensation......................................................................................................................................................................6
5 Workplace............................................................................................................................................................................8
6 Office Procedures................................................................................................................................................................9
7 Acknowledgement.............................................................................................................................................................14

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1 Core Values

Our values guide the way we work and treat each other, our clients, and those with whom we are
privileged to do business.

1.1 PROFESSIONALISM: WE DON’T DO “FREAK-OUT”.

1.1.1 We are dignified. (having or showing a composed or serious manner that is worthy of respect).
1.1.2 We are steady. (firmly fixed, supported, or balanced; not shaking or moving).
1.1.3 We do work. (not drama, blame, or guilt)

1.2 CREATIVITY: WE DON’T DO DUMB.

1.2.1 Our creative process starts with listening to better understand our client’s vision and needs.
1.2.2 We have unique creative strengths that help our clients succeed.
1.2.3 Our clients understand that they need creativity AND drawings - not just drawings. We provide them with
both.
1.2.4 We are creative problem-solvers. We don’t get stuck.

1.3 OWNERSHIP: WE DON’T POINT FINGERS.

1.3.1 We get stuff done.
1.3.2 We don’t practice defensively, nor do we do CYA.
1.3.3 We solve problems without casting blame or hiding behind others.
1.3.4 We protect our clients’ money as if it were our own.

1.4 TRUST: WE DON’T LIE TO OURSELVES OR OTHERS.

1.4.1 We enjoy each other’s trust because we work daily to earn it.
1.4.2 We deliver good news and bad news clearly to our clients.

1.5 FRIENDSHIP: WE ARE FOR PEOPLE, NOT AGAINST THEM.

1.5.1 We are polite and considerate to everyone.
1.5.2 We are humble, putting others above ourselves.
1.5.3 We are quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
1.5.4 We collaborate (work jointly to accomplish our objectives).
1.5.5 We advocate tirelessly for our clients, while showing respect to all.

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2 Vessel’s Why

Vessel exists to create places where people flourish.

A Process For Flourishing

We are committed to a proven process for success. We serve our clients with comprehensive architectural services, from
concept to completion, on a wide variety of project types.

In all aspects of our service, our greatest strength is our collective creativity. We express that creativity by leading our clients
in a collaborative problem-solving process.

1. Listen. We must understand your vision in order to help you bring it to life.
2. Create. We believe in the creative power of collaboration. Not just here in our office, but with our clients,
consultants, and contractors.
3. Iterate. We believe in constant improvement. No idea is perfect at inception, it requires testing, improving, and
perfecting.
4. Deliver. We are practicing architects, not paper architects. We understand that everything we do matters and must
work in the real world.

Flourishing Places

We understand the connection between people and places. Places start with vision, are brought to life by people, and find
their highest purpose when people flourish in them. When we focus on helping people flourish, teams, projects, and
buildings flourish. We design places that enhance well-being so that people can flourish.

Flourishing People

We need to flourish for the sake of each other and our clients. When we flourish, it gives us the energy and support to do our
best work. That is why each of us at Vessel are committed to our Core Values of Professionalism, Creativity, Ownership,
Trust, and Friendship. As we each take responsibility for protecting and promoting Vessel’s Core Values, we flourish, and so
does our culture. And together we demonstrate our Core Values to the marketplace.

All of this works together to creates places where people flourish.

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3 Be On Mission
3.1 BE THE CLIENT’S CHAMPION
3.1.1 You are the orchestra conductor. You don’t know how to play every instrument but you know when they
should be played and how they should sound individually and as a whole. When a player isn’t playing or
sounds off, you must provide the guidance necessary to restore them to their best performance.

“There is no depression for good deeds, and that is all that business consists of; and that is our real
business.” - Henry N. Kost

3.1.2 You need to be the holder of knowledge, finder of answers, and solver of problems.
3.1.3 When people are confused, wrong, annoyed, angry, they call you because you cut through confusion,
correct things other people messed up, and defuse difficult tempers.

"Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of
knowledge for folklore and superstition, and of cooperation for force.” - Peter Drucker

3.2 CONVEY CONTROL AND CONFIDENCE

3.2.1 You are the champion of the Team’s success.
3.2.2 You must lead, tell others what to do, and apply accountability.
3.2.3 You must be proactive, not reactive. The moment you sense you and your team reacting to events instead
of causing events to happen, you must do everything possible to turn things around immediately.

“Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.” - Michel de Montaigne, French Philosopher and
Essayist

3.2.4 You must be an effective delegator. Know who should do what and get them started on defined tasks with
defined schedules.
3.2.5 A Project Manager does not wait to be told what to do. If you don’t figure out what needs done and set the
course, nobody will. If you don’t solve the problem, nobody will. You must set objectives, identify tasks
necessary to accomplish those objectives, and make sure they get accomplished.
3.2.6 You understand that everyone’s success (Owner, Contractor, Architect, Subs, etc.) depends on the success
of the entire team. When the contractor, consultants, etc. don’t do their jobs or screw something up, the
client will ask why YOU let it happen.

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3.3 HOW THE CLIENT SHOULD VIEW YOUR PERFORMANCE

“My last architect stunk because they...” “Vessel is different because they...”

...were disorganized and unknowledgeable. ...are organized and have their stuff together.

...were unable to deliver projects under budget. ...watch my money as if it was their own.

...were unable to meet deadlines. ...manage my schedule with a sense of urgency.

...made excuses and weaseled out of accountability. ...do what they say they’ll do, every time.

...didn’t care about my objectives or priorities. ...understand me and work hard for my success.

...couldn't communicate clearly. ...are great communicators.

...brought me problems instead of solutions. ...bring me solutions. In fact, Vessel is my Solution.

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4 Establishing Leadership
4.1 KNOW WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT
4.1.1 Know everyone’s roles & responsibilities
4.1.2 Who is the Owner’s real/actual decision-maker (your line of accountability)?
4.1.3 Who is on your team (your resources) and what strengths do they have that can add the most value to the
project?
4.1.4 What are the contractual relationships? Who reports to who? Who do you report to?
4.1.5 Be friendly and establish rapport with everyone on the team. Life is too short and work is too hard to do it
with people we don’t like. Always be friendly and genuinely interested in people. Be especially mindful to
cultivate relationships with those in your line of accountability.
4.1.6 You can’t afford to be shy about applying accountability. Be friendly but be firm.

“I attribute my success to this- I never gave, or took, any excuse.” - Florence Nightingale, The Founder
of Modern Nursing 1820-1910

4.1.7 Be the one with enough guts to ask hard questions. Talk about money. Make sure people aren’t embarked
on tasks that require extra fee that hasn’t been approved. Can you really deliver the drawings on that
schedule? Have you thought about...? I did not receive the document you promised yesterday, etc.

“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.” – Voltaire 1694-1778 French Philosopher,
Playwright and Essayist

4.2 MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

4.2.1 Understand the Owner’s expectations for the project.

How would you like a job where, if you make a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?
- Jacques Plante – Hockey Goalie

4.2.2 Understand Vessel’s expectations for the project.

4.2.3 Provide a kick-off package that lays out your expectations for your design team. Include Owner’s and
Architect’s expectations/goals.
4.2.4 Conduct meetings a/o conference calls to review the kick-off materials and emphasize your expectations.

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4.3 WHEREWITHAL
We have come to view this quality as the most important x-factor in someone’s success. It is difficult to teach and coach
wherewithal so it is incumbent upon the learner to pursue growth in this area.

"The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct." - Occam’s Razor

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of
courage- to move in the opposite direction.” - Albert Einstein

“The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the
former. We are desperately lacking in the latter." - Malcolm Gladwell

4.4 COMMUNICATION
4.4.1 In order to be the leader you must be the best communicator on the team. A good Project Manager makes
personal contact with each team member at least once a week, every week. In a world where people don’t
talk to each other, staying in regular contact with the team sets you apart and puts you at the center of
everything. And being in the middle of everything is exactly where you want to be. When you do this
well, you will find that the team depends on you. Clients will call you to find out what is happening
because they know you are at the center of everything.
4.4.2 Be Human
 Get to know people! You are working with real human beings who have lives, families, friends,
spouses and children. We are privileged to work with awesome people who (believe it or not)
want to help you succeed. Be a friend and you will find that they will be your friend when you
need them. There will be plenty of times when you need to ask someone to knock themselves out
for you. Will they feel motivated to help you succeed? If you are just a cold business voice
demanding deliverables once a month, probably not. Begin every phone call by making a personal
connection. Ask them about their family, their hobbies, find out what make them tick.
 Have Fun and express your sense of humor.

“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.” - Reba
McEntire

 Listen Actively: Any expert in communications will extol the virtue of LISTENING. Most
people pretend to listen while they think about what they are going to say next. Instead of
listening to respond, listen to understand.

4.4.3 Discover People’s Communication Preferences

 I don’t have to tell you that people are wired all different ways. Some are left-brained, right-
brained, many are hair-brained. You must communicate effectively with all of them. Study their
communication preferences because they won’t usually tell you. We have a client who can’t (or
won’t) answer the phone or return voicemails despite their best intentions. They’re just too busy

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or stressed. I figured out that text messages got dealt with promptly but I’m careful to only use
that medium when I really need something.

"People will sit up and take notice of you if you will sit up and take notice of what makes them sit up
and take notice." - Harry Selfridge

 Know the difference between informing, educating, and persuading and adapt your style
accordingly.
 Avoid convoluted obfuscating archi-speak but don’t ‘dumb it down’. Don’t use fancy words like
‘convoluted’ and ‘obfuscating’ but don’t treat people like three year olds either. Insider technical
industry language (CA, CD’s, RFI, Pay App, CO, C of O, etc.) is not as universal as you might
believe. So use acronyms sparingly. They can make people feel stupid. Even old people like me
haven’t heard every acronym and there are often regional variations. Being clear is way more
important than saving two syllables.

4.4.4 Effective Email Etiquette

 Stop. Should you even be using email? If the objective is to motivate, discourage, or encourage,
don’t use email, pick up the phone. If your objective is to obtain a certain result or outcome, don’t
use email, call.

I often place calls when I’m driving even if I can’t think of a specific reason except to ask for a status
update (or offer one). These conversations always reveal some important matter, they are a great way
to build relationships, and are ALWAYS fruitful. Pick up the phone... lots. - BVW

 Assuming that email is the correct medium. Here are some excellent tips…
 Use email for phone memos.
 Use email to convey and confirm information.
 Be concise.
 When possible, use sketches or diagrams instead of confusing descriptions.
 If you’re spending more than 15 minutes composing an email, you should have called.
Pick up the phone.
 Some engineers and contractors prefer email and deal with them quickly. Fine. But
don’t neglect to follow-up important or sensitive matters with a phone call.
 Don’t be a spammer. People don’t have the time or inclination to get book length emails
from you… ever. If you have that much to say... you guessed it... CALL!

“The NBA is never just a business. It’s always business. It’s always personal. All good businesses are
personal. The best businesses are very personal. “ - Mark Cuban

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4.5 PROBLEMS
If there are two things that are certain in life (death & taxes), there is one thing that can’t be avoided in this profession: You
will have PROBLEMS. Believe me, we’ve seen it all. Big problems, small problems, hard problems and dumb problems.
We’ve solved problems and we’ve created problems.

“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise; and thinking that
having problems is a problem." - Theodore Rubin

We are not here to judge each other. We are here to help each other solve problems and succeed. If you don’t allow us the
opportunity to help early, things may get worse and become much more difficult.

“There are no hopeless situations. There are only men who have grown hopeless about them.” - Clair
Boothe Luce, 1903-1987, Playwright, Ambassador and Member of Congress

4.6 CONFRONTING BAD NEWS

The first rule of bad news is to share it immediately with someone at Vessel who can provide perspective and guidance. We
will not be surprised or disappointed.

“Mr. Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news at once.” – Tom Hagen, The Godfather

If the client doesn’t know how things are going, it’s your job to inform them, good or bad. But don’t smother them with bad
news unaccompanied by solutions or little pesky problems that you can handle without them. ALWAYS accompany a
problem with your proposed solution. This is a good professional discipline for all of us to follow even here in the office.

“If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two
frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.” - Mark Twain

4.7 LEADING MEETINGS

We hate long meetings and play Asteroids during conference calls to prevent us from gouging our eyes out with a pencil.
When it is up to us we will conduct them as concisely as possible.

When you do have to be in a meeting you are always prepared and on time.

4.8 GUARDING SCOPE CREEP

You are the guardian of the budget. Nobody likes to talk about money and it isn’t our job to tell our client what they can and
can’t have. It is your job to make sure money discussions happen in a timely manner and that information is presented to the
Owner so that they can make an intelligent decision.

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I can’t recall a single instance where waiting to talk about money made it easier. - BVW

4.9 DOCUMENTATION
Contract Documents - The documents that we generate are not simply, “Construction Documents”, as if they are an
instruction book. They form the basis of the contract between the Owner and the Contractor. It is vitally important that they
are accurate and complete. If it isn’t in the CDs, it doesn’t exist.

Document the Process - Almost everything that we do must be track-able. Every decision, every progress report, every
thought process, must be documented as well as possible.

4.10 KEYS TO EFFECTIVENESS (ADAPTED FROM PSMJ ULTIMATE PROJECT

MANAGEMENT MANUAL)
Be a person of action, not excuses. Never make excuses for time, schedule, or budget. If there is a problem, accept
responsibility for fixing it if you possibly can, and shift the discussion towards what you will do moving forward. Sometimes
an explanation may be appropriate, but not usually, if so it should NEVER sound like an excuse.

“The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all,
you're doing it next. Well, perhaps it will be the most urgent thing. Or the easiest. In fact, the most
important thing probably isn't even on your agenda.” - Seth Godin

Fix problems, not blame. When you are the source of solutions, not scorn, your team members will let you know what is
actually going on with the project. When you don’t have this attitude people lie to you.

1) Know when to take charge

2) Serve the client
3) Meet the schedule
4) Make the planned profit

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than
unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will
not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” -
Calvin Coolidge

4.11 PLANNING FOR SUCCESS

4.11.1 Put together an excellent kickoff package.
 Project Overview
 who: project team
 what/where: design narrative; size, type, levels, occupants, etc. expected deliverables, AHJ & code
information
 when: schedule

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 why: client’s goals and objectives, design-team goals

“This operation is not being planned with any alternatives. This operation is planned as a victory, and
that's the way it's going to be. We're going down there, and we're throwing everything we have into it;
and we're going to make it a success." - General Dwight D. Eisenhower

4.12 CONFLICT RESOLUTION

The first rule of managing conflict is to avoid being drawn into it in the first place.

“Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent. You will be amazed at how your whole
approach to a person or problem becomes very different. When you assume negative intent, you’re
angry. If you take away that anger and assume positive intent, you will be amazed.” - Indra Nooyi,
Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo

“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” - Robert J. Hanlon

“The test of a man’s or woman’s breeding is how they behave in a quarrel. Anyone can behave well
when things are going smoothly.” - George Bernard Shaw

"I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get
better." - Yogi Berra Baseball Legend and Philosopher 1925-2015

“The aim of marketing is to make selling unnecessary;….. to know and understand the customer so well
that the product or service fits him and sells itself." - Peter Drucker

4.13 LEAN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

4.13.1 Lean Project Management is a philosophy in service of a goal. It is a set of thinking tools that help us serve
our clients better. We will use those tools to the extent that they help us accomplish our goal. Whenever
those tools do not or cannot help us accomplish our goal, we will use different tools. We are here to serve
our clients and each other.
 General Principles: Increase value by decreasing everything else.
 Focus on value: Identify processes and tasks that contribute value and eliminate the rest.
 Minimize waste
 Continuous improvement: Streamline knowledge and integrate lessons learned.
 Flexibility
 Eliminate constraints that hinder us from creating value. Constraints could include policies,
practices, people, skills, equipment, or anything else that is unnecessarily preventing us from
bringing value to our clients.
 Perfect first-time quality

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4.13.2 Project Management
 Critical path management. Plan ahead to prevent or eliminate problems ahead of time.
 Make big decisions first. Work big to small.
 Documents should focus on clarity and producing practical outcomes.
 Don’t work as hard as you can without first knowing what you are accomplishing.
 Eliminate constraints that keep people from doing their work right the first time.

4.13.3 Lean Documentation

 Develop work methods that help you document with speed and accuracy.
 Eliminate unnecessary repetition. This reduces work and increases coordination at the same time.
 Use tools that enhance communication and consensus. Leave “breadcrumbs” for the benefit of
yourself and the team. Document in professional, concise, and accessible formats.
 Say what you mean and mean what you say. Write what you mean and mean what you write.
Draw what you mean and mean what you draw.
 Draw what you really know and communicate about what you don't. Don’t leave gaps, name
them, describe them, and then refine iteratively.
 Our drawings should tell a story. The content, organization and presentation of the content should
‘read’ like a story.
 Understand your target audience for each story you tell.

4.13.4 Lean Processes and Standards

 Processes and standards should be in the service of consistency and transferring knowledge.
Nobody wants to feel like they serve processes and standards. Always look for ways to make
processes and standards serve us and our clients.
 It is healthy for our processes and standards to be in a constant state of gradual improvement.
 We want processes and standards that are easier to follow than not. They should help us do work
smarter and faster.
 An important part of thinking lean is simply being efficient about managing information.
 Our goal should be to touch each piece of information as few times as possible. Every time
information is translated or transcribed fidelity can be lost and more work is created.
 Technology needs to support the effective management of information.

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