“Democracy is messy, and it’s hard” said Robert Kennedy, Jr. about the political landscape. Current trends in the built environment may doubly merit that observation. In a democracy where everyone has a vote and a say on a wide variety of issues, decision-making can get complicated. In a very similar way, technology is democratizing how…
Read MoreTopic: Firm management
What You Need to Know About Business Continuity Planning
When running a firm, you need a business continuity plan to ensure orderly leadership transition in case one or more key people leave, no matter the reason. Leaders, whether owners or managers, may leave because of retirement, death, a disagreement over strategy, or a job opportunity at another firm. Planning is crucial–and an important part…
Read MoreBlockchain: 5 Things to Know Now
While the conventional wisdom around blockchain is that it’s a technology only affecting financial markets, design and construction stakeholders ought to pay attention to new developments, too. If you don’t, you risk falling behind on an important trend that potentially presents a competitive challenge for your firm. You also risk missing the opportunity the technology…
Read MoreHow Employment Lawsuits Can Destroy Your Firm
Small firms are the most vulnerable to crises, disasters, and lawsuits. In fact, according to the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform more than 40% of small firms were either involved in or threatened with a lawsuit due to A) administrative oversights or errors, B) undelivered services or C) poor quality of service, much lower…
Read MoreThe Reality of Virtual Architectural Practice
A webinar, Virtual Architectural Practice—An Alternate Reality, presented by the AIA Trust in partnership with the AIA Practice Management Knowledge Community, showcased current virtual practitioners, a legal expert, and an insurance expert who shared their insights in a 90-minute session. The webinar was designed to help you understand the many benefits of a virtual practice…
Read MoreCould Your Firm Use a PEO?
A Professional Employer Organization, or PEO, also referred to as HR outsourcing, is a business model that helps small to mid-sized businesses manage the everyday HR needs that smaller businesses struggle to handle alone, such as paying employees, filing payroll taxes, providing health insurance (and other benefits), getting workers’ compensation coverage, developing employee policies, managing…
Read MoreBusiness Coverage Professional Liability
The Perils of Substitutions
While you may have spent years developing a reliable specification based on research and product performance to be sure your work is exemplary, you may be asked to review proposed product substitutions with which you have limited knowledge or experience. Since you may be perceived as obstructionist if you object or viewed as approving the…
Read MoreHow to Start & Run Your Own Firm
The AIA Trust workshop, How to Start & Run Your Own Firm offers practical, professional, ethical, legal and insurance tips for a new firm to start off right. In addition, be sure to check out the full-page website guide about how to Start a Firm — where you’ll find recommended benefit programs for your new…
Read MoreManaging Cyber Threats
It can happen to anyone. An event on a system or network detected by a security device or application: malicious activity that is attempting to collect, disrupt, deny, degrade or destroy information system resources or the information itself. As an architect, if you don’t think you need cyber protection or don’t believe someone would want…
Read MoreWhat Kind of Disability Coverage Do You Need?
Confused over the differences between Long Term Disability Insurance (LTD) and Business Overhead Expense Insurance (BOE)? While both plans provide a monthly benefit if you are disabled and unable to work, the purposes are very different: LTD provides a monthly benefit to cover your personal expenses while you are disabled, whereas BOE provides a monthly…
Read MoreWhat Kind of Disability Coverage Do You Need?
