1st Edition
Creating a Culture of Predictable Outcomes How Leadership, Collaboration, and Decision-Making Drive Architecture and Construction
Creating a Culture of Predictable Outcomes demonstrates the importance of creating cultures in the design and construction industries grounded in sophisticated-caring leadership, high-performing collaborative teams, and master-level decision-making discipline, informed by values, to finally address massive inefficiencies, waste, and unpredictability.
Barbara White Bryson offers specific guidance to industry stakeholders to succeed in achieving project-related predictable outcomes by focusing on culture rather than process. This includes selecting the right team members by hiring and firing bravely, valuing psychological safety, leading with values, practicing respect and transparency, fostering empowerment to make decisions at the right level at the right time, and more.
This book is a must-read for design and construction professionals who want to finally understand how to set goals and meet those goals for their clients as well as for their teams.
1. Predictability is Power 2. Sophisticated Caring Leadership 3. High-Performing Collaborative Teams 4. Master-Level Decision-Making 5. Aligning Values to Goals 6. Embracing Risk and Contracts 7. Research 8. Twenty Freight Trains of Disruption 9. Unpredictable
Biography
Barbara White Bryson, Ed.D, FAIA, MBA, is Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Drachman Institute at the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona where she also served as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Analysis. At Rice University, Dr. Bryson led an aggressive building program for over a decade as Associate Vice President of Facilities Engineering and Planning. In 2009, she wrote The Owner’s Dilemma: Driving Success and Innovation in the Design and Construction Industry with Canan Yetmen.
In her straightforward manner, Barbara White Bryson speaks directly to the fundamental misses inhibiting the built environment industry from firing on all cylinders. A blend of in-depth domain knowledge and relatable storytelling, Creating a Culture of Predictable Outcomes will stand as foundational to the professions for years to come.
- David G. Gilmore, President & CEO, DesignIntelligence
Working with Barbara on the Rice Bioscience Research Collaborative was one of the best project experiences our team at SOM has had. Her real-world experiences, including senior academic and strategic leadership, as well as being an architect with an MBA and Doctorate in Higher Education, make Barbara uniquely adept at describing comprehensive and highly effective strategies with analogous references that are clear, engaging and memorable.
- Carrie Byles, FAIA, LEED BD+C, Partner SOM
"Predictability is power." There are no truer words spoken than this premise from Barbara White Bryson’s illuminating and strategic book, particularly in a time of chaos and mismanagement. Barbara’s book is an imminently useful read for firm leaders at any phase in their careers. Universally, business, design and engineering schools will use this book to demonstrate predictability as the active decision-making model we need.
- James Timberlake, FAIA, Architect/Partner, Kieran Timberlake, Philadelphia
Creating a Culture of Predictable Outcomes packs a powerful message while forging a new path for the industry, one that is more nimble, adaptable and resilient. Bryson’s list outlining twenty disruptions that will impact our future is alone worth the price of the book. As we’ve all witnessed, unexpected things happen – this book is here just in time to help!
- Randy Deutsch, Author of Superusers (Routledge, 2019)
