This week I attended my first AEC Network meeting – Architects, Engineers, Constructors – at The Building Centre in London. I went along because I wanted to see ‘the other side’ of the built environment. What do I mean by that? Well, many of you working in FM tell me how tough it is to be a handed a new or refurbished building that a) is impossible to manage in terms of M&E etc and/or b) doesn’t meet the needs of the end user.
I was delighted to hear Don Ward of Constructing Excellence http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk suggest that architects might like to run buildings for a year once they are handed over! Don also advocates collaborative working from the very start of a project – so why don’t more FMs get involved? Is it because we don’t have a ‘common language’? You tell me.
The other speaker at the event was Richard White, the Accidental Salesman, who ran an interactive session on Storytelling for business. Amazing; you should check out his website where there are loads of free resources for those among us who are not ‘natural salespeople’! http://www.theaccidentalsalesman.com One of Richard’s first questions was to ask the audience who was in a sales role – and of course, we all are, no matter what we do; we are always ‘seliing’.
All in all, a useful and productive meeting, and one I will definitely go to again. Thinking beyond pure FM has given me an insight into the problems others face in our wider sector, and plenty of food for thought!
Let me know your thoughts on networking outside your core business sector coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk and if you’d like some advice on networking for business development contact Liz Kentish, The FM Coach on Tel: 01778 561326 / 07717 870777 or email: coach@lizkentishcoaching.co.uk