AU Starts in TWO WEEKS…Are you READY?

It’s that time of year…the leaves are changing, a chill is in the air. Holiday decorations are going up, and turkeys fear for their lives. Stress sets in as you realize that Christmas is only 38 days away…and you have no clue what to get the kids, the dog or your crazy aunt. Fears creeps up as you remember you’ve got to get that donation to the thrift store or make that tax payment…and the in-laws tell you they’re coming to stay from Thanksgiving to New Year…and it’s your turn in the rotation to host the office Christmas Party.

And then, for the geeks in the crowd…Autodesk University is only two weeks away. If you’re a speaker, it’s a special time of year.

A time to reflect on the thoughts and ideals you wanted to share…until you realize you left that key sentence out of your handout, “the opinions expressed in this document are only those of the writer”.

A day to plan out how you want to go through the right series of steps to get a point across…and the Autodesk Application Manager installs Revit 2016 Release 2, which changes the dialogs you captured 6 months ago.

A minute to polish your presentation…and you see a hole in the corner of your sport coat’s armpit…and you’re an arm waver.

A second to consider using the latest model you worked on…and realize you never got permission to use the file from the client.

But putting all the fears aside, you plug through your PowerPoint, make sure your teeth are brushed, that you have plenty of business cards, and get your tablet or iPhone updated with the AU application that will keep you from getting lost for the next several days.

For me, this year’s reflection goes back to the classes I have. The two that Autodesk selected. The ones that were almost an afterthought, fillers for what to use if they didn’t want the ones I really wanted to teach this year. And it got interesting…why did these get picked? What it something that they believe the industry wanted to hear and needed to know? Or was it just eeny-meeny-miney-mo?

There are two, but the first one is the one I wanted to cover the most. We talk about worksharing in a Revit project, and networking, and collaboration solutions the design firm should consider, that offer the best return on investment. And it wound up being the hardest presentation I’ve had to write to date…how do you make this topic interesting? Challenging? Inspirational? And Valuable?

As I was writing it, I realized how intense the topic could become, and how easy it is to get lost “in the weeds” drilling down to too much detail. I had to back myself up, and realize, from my layman’s perspective, that sometimes it’s not about presenting yourself and how “smart” you are.

But rather, it’s about being able to relate to the same problem someone else may be having, and how insight we provide could help them avoid the same problems later. AU isn’t about the classes…it’s about the networking, the personal connection and the shared mindset we all have. It’s about coming to a common place, that we all have the same goals. To get better at what we do, making the most of our time so have more time later to do…something else. Sort of a “love what you do, to get to do what you love” mindset.

I realized that going back to the beginning helped me understand better what it took to get where we are, and just how much life has changed since the garage so many years ago.

And I as was reflecting back on the class, I thought about what I had seen this year. I got to meet the original creators of Revit, and tell them how big of an impact they not only had on my life, but on thousands of others. I got to spend time with some awesome co-workers, who seized the moment, jumped on the bandwagon, and continue to push me – and the firm – to the next level. And we’ve been having a great time doing it, too. But it was cool telling Leonid and Irwin just what we were doing with the software, and seeing their keen interest in how it was being used, so far beyond what the original expectations were.

I turned the speed limit this year, and was able to look back on how much has changed since 1985, when I first got the chance to sit down at a computer and draw, and see the output on an old HP pen plotter. I look at the fascination I had then, and marvel at how far we’ve come, in just a generation. Not just buildings, but systems. Not just offices, but water treatment plants. Not just piping, but distribution stations that aren’t in a building at all. And when I come back to the handout for the class, I realize – it’s important to share where we came from, but just as important to have clear vision for where you want to go…and learn what’s out there for you.

I think ahead about who I would groom to take my place, to carry the banner and lead the charge for the future of design. Would they have the same passion? Would they be willing to commit themselves to being an advocate for getting away from “we’ve always done it that way”? Would they be able to blend common sense in, with the same desire for making their spot in the office and the community a better place?

Let me make a suggestion – spend some time this year looking for the students at AU this year. Go to the exhibit hall, and look for the youngest person in the room. Strike up a conversation – and ask them what they think. And realize…

That’s who we’re working for. That’s who we are teaching the skills we’ve been lucky to learn. That’s who will carry that torch. Share your passion, your knowledge and make sure they know – hey, this can be fun, too. Have a good time in your class – get down off the stage, get out in the audience, and make contact. And walk away with a lifetime of friends…that you’ll never forget.

At least until that average temperature of summer catches up with you…you old folks know what I mean…so get ready. In two weeks, it’ll be time to show the next generation…this is how we roll…and ramble…;-)

See you in Vegas!

Are You a Bag...or a Box?

Life has an interesting way of throwing you curves…and an occasional epiphany. This past weekend, as families go, we had a dust up about a family event. Too many things were happening at once – a call should have been made, feelings were hurt, voices were raised. That’s usually when things don’t end well. After having a long and sometime contentious talk with my nephew, I had to force myself to sit back and listen, putting my own emotions on the back burner.

As he spun on about how his life was structured, and went into great analytical detail about how I was wrong, I tried to make sense of why this was so difficult for the rest of my family. And as usual, at 5:00am, waking up out of a deep sleep (and great dream, I might add), it hit me. He’s a box.

And that’s when my understanding opened up. For all the people I have to interact with, both professionally and personally, you can really sum up lifestyles into two groups. You’re either a bag, or a box. Each one has its own quirks, rules, behaviors and more. For example, my nephew is definitely a box. He’s defined by his daily life, which is carefully organized, and fits into a nice, neat little box. Every action he takes is planned out in great detail…even down to his “social” time which is carefully allotted to permit interactions with family and friends within the constraints of well documented studies (I swear, he really said that to me). If an interaction is not suitable given the parameters, he simply replaces that event with another box.

And here I am…a wadded up piece of paper. I don’t necessarily fit into this nice orderly system, so he’s immediately ready to begin reworking me into a shape that fits his box. You see, I’m a bag…more specifically, a 55 gallon, plastic, draw string bag…stuffed to gills with all kinds of interactions, tasks, relationships and more. While details are important, I’m not as prone to being upset when something doesn’t fit into a box.

Want to out to dinner? Text me that morning…if I’m open, let’s go. Need help with a cranky BIM model at work? I can sit aside what I’m doing at that moment, jump onto webex, and try to help solve the problem…and go right back to the wadded up piece of paper I was working on before.

Don’t get me wrong – none of this means that you can’t have good, meaningful interactions between the two types. You just have to understand the ground rules, parameters and functions for dealing with each type. For example, my sister was very upset that I waited until the last minute to let her know if dinner was still on. But for the previous week, I was dealing with the loss of a close family friend, and my emotional mind was wrapped up in dealing with both my grief and the family’s pain.

The solutions were vast and simple. I should have called, or emailed, and let them know earlier, but didn’t. They knew what was going on, and should have called, or emailed, and taken the steps to reach out and make contact. And that’s the real gist of this. If you’re dealing with a box type, you have to respect the fact that not following their structure, their rules, does cause them discomfort and pain…no matter how much it seems cold to the bag type, because you’re the source of the discomfort.

And while most box types are analytical, you have to take into account the emotional aspect of the bag types. Our relationships are much more personal and fluid, so priorities can easily get hosed up, so focusing on your own discomfort, and not reaching out on your own, also causes great angst.

One important note – it’s not that box types can’t be spontaneous and loving. With the confines of their lifestyle, they can have many bag characteristics. But it also doesn’t mean that a bag type can’t be organized or committed – in some cases, those passions run deep and are needed to keep the bag from overflowing. It’s all a case of taking the time to understand these characteristics, respecting them and learning how to deal with them. Bags will have a tendency to associate and have strong relationships with other bag types, while boxes will do the same. It’s when the two try to interact, is when the problems occur – but can be easily overcome.

So how does this fit into a technical blog? The more I thought about this, the more it made sense to me why some users pick up software packages like Revit and AutoCAD MEP more easily than others. Both of these programs are boxes for sure – they require an organized approach, with steps taken in a specific order, and with subsequent tasks being impacted by the quality of each step before. But plain AutoCAD is more like a bag. You can throw a bunch of lines in, set them to any layer, color, linetype, and size you want, and then wait until the last minute to clean it all up.

When training your staff, it’s important to learn which traits the user has. I’ve got one user, extremely intelligent, and very Sheldon Cooper like. His work has to be approached in a very analytical manner, so you can’t just explain how – you have to do step by steps, and explain why, and how it fits into his design process. And as a bag, boy, does that take patience for me. I’ll explain it, think I did a great job, and find out I’m explaining the same thing several more times, as he sorts it all out and gets the concepts organized in his box.

Then I have younger users, the Xbox generation, generation Z…you get the drift. They already have the comfort zone and lack of cautiousness when it comes to working with today’s technology. Sometimes the questions come out in random order, and don’t fit into a nice neat little box. So you’ve got to be able to reach in the bag, find the answer quickly, and send them on their way. They can get by with an outline of the process and then pick up the pieces as the go along, so full day training can be wasted on them.

What makes this all work, is that you have to want to be in that relationship. You have to be motivated, on your own, and be willing to understand the differences between them. This can’t be forced – because all it does is cause pain, and makes the walls go up – quickly. So whether you’re dealing with a mad sister, or a user that can’t seem to move forward, take the time to step back, and understand their own lifestyle and habits. It’ll make it much easier to know this, and how you’re supposed to respect and honor your friends, family and co-workers. And it’s important to understand who you are, and where you fit into this. Your reactions could mean the difference between a valuable relationship, or a lost opportunity.

So what are you – a bag or a box?

ZZZZ....Ugh...Hello? Time to GET UP...for AU 2014!

It's back...and I'm back, after taking a hiatus from the blog. Been a busy summer, with our continuing migration into BIM and newer applications at Gannett Fleming. I've also been busy working as an author/content creator for 4D Technologies' CADLearning online training. In addition to updating AutoCAD MEP, P&ID and Plant 3D, we also updated Green Building Studio in time for this year's AU.

So this is one of my lightest years teaching, with two classes:

MP1573 Managing BIM Projects Without Going CrAzY is going to be broadcast live at AU Online this year, with a review of what you need to know on the front end of a BIM implementation, and then some tips on how to keep things moving after you're rolling. I'm actually going to demo some of the new Inventor BIM Exchange tools, in addition to showing some tips on sheets and views. We're also covering how Revit disrupts CAD tasks, and how to adapt to the change. It'll be a fun, so watch out for the crazy guy in the room. Look for it at au.autodesk.com/au-online/live-stream at 1:00 EST, Dec. 3rd.

MP6393 Fast Content for AutoCAD MEP covers some new features in 2015, including how to use an ADSK file in AutoCAD MEP to make an Multi-view part. We'll also cover the in-drawing conversion tool, how to make custom catalogs, and how to add 2D symbols to other planes in a part. This one's a fast one - we have 60 minutes to knock all this out, so it'll be hot, hot, hot in the room...

I'm also going to be meeting up with a lot of speakers and Autodesk folks, and am getting to take some cool classes finally. If you want to get certified for AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor or Civil 3D, the tests are free - but get there early, this is a really popular option.

So stay tuned, I've got some tips and tricks to post - see you in Vegas!