What the Architect Brings to Your Table...

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Looking at your horizon and then another mile beyond it is where vision lives. The visionary leader knows, however, how far out in front of the people who follow them. Far enough to be viewed as a visionary but not so far out to be considered a heretic. How far out are you in front of the people you lead?

Beyond your vision is a plan on how to turn vision into reality. What is your end state? What will success look like on the other side of that mile beyond your horizon? Can you see it? Can you map it out? Is your plan made out of steel and stone or out of bamboo?

You may feel what you've built will never have enough of any of these three elements at any given time. You are right, so breathe and embrace this reality. Recognizing this certainty is where embracing redundancies for resilience finds a place in your plans. Can what you've built or plan to build stand without any two of these three elements for extended periods?

Some would argue that a company is only as strong as its executive leadership. Do you question this opinion? We do. Remember, steel and stone are strong in different ways but very weak in other ways. Stone is excellent under pressure but falls apart when in tension. Steel is excellent in both tension and compression but loses all of that strength under fire when the flame gets too hot. Understanding strengths and weaknesses as behaviors come as natural knowledge for the architect. So, "How do you define real strength?" "From what position do you lead? "How do you walk in the world?" "What is the 'cultural competency' of the leadership?" These are just a few core questions put to people who seek an engagement.

Vision, and planning without a path and schedule (time), the right leadership and in the right places (talent), and the resources (treasure) to take the vision from a dream to reality results in a waste time, talent, and treasure. An organization needs the right people on the bus, but they also need to be in the right seats. As a designer, architect, and planner, the goal is always to take the ideas and visions out of clients' heads and will them into final three-dimensional products. Thus, I work with clients with the end state in mind. I hope we can work together to get you to the success you see on the other side of that mile past your horizon.

With design as my through-line, I listen to help individuals and teams sharpen the tools they have to succeed. When you are ready to engage, to move your great ideas to implementation, please reach out. 

I have one goal; making my clients successful.

*von is one of only approximately 2,300 licensed African-American Architects in the United States."

When clients bring "the fuel" von brings "the engines" they need for transformative change.