“Being brilliant is no great feat if you respect nothing.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

As I work in the creative field, I am constantly interacting with people. While I sometimes think back to the times where, as a programmer, I found myself a bit secluded in my day-to-day routine, I generally like that aspect of my job. The work that FORGE does simply can’t exist without the insight and collaborative partnership of the clients that are paying us. This collaboration is crucial to a successful project of any type, and is dependent on things like trust, professionalism, and honesty.
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The RFP (or Request for Proposal), is there any item that is so loved and so hated at the same time. Loved because it is sometimes the first step in getting a great new client. Hated because it is a time-consuming, tedious, and subjective process. Part of my responsibility at FORGE is to evaluate RFPs to see if we are a good fit. This has led me to question the use of RFPs as an accurate and fair method of choosing a design firm.

At first glance the RFP could be considered a fair way to find common ground in which to compare different companies to do the same project. While I would mostly agree, I would question why this needs to be the case. No two companies are the same. If FORGE tried to mimic another design firm, we would at best be similar. The truth is, we are unique, whether we want to be or not (in this case we very much want to be.)
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The project manager is a strange position. In the past, I often found myself in discussions with clients or employees where the problems of dealing with project managers were discussed. To be honest, this sometimes surprises me as I have had some very positive experiences with project managers over the years as a developer. But this positive view is not shared by everyone, including some of our current and potential clients at FORGE.

There’s no denying that somebody needs to manage projects. With anything but a very basic project, somebody needs to ensure that tasks are accomplished, deadlines are met, and that both the client is happy and the project is profitable. This is a LOT of responsibility for one person to have. I have only known a couple of people who have been able to do this well. For example, a web project requires that the project manager have at least a decent understanding of database design, programming theory, user interface design, copywriting, HTML, and CSS, as well as be incredibly organized, friendly, and have a strong presence. This list is obviously ideal, but highlights the complexity that comes with the job of managing web projects.
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One of my partners recently mentioned that he was becoming more and more annoyed that people with stop a discussion with him to check their iPhone, or perhaps worse yet, to check their twitter or facebook pages. This got me thinking, are we placing undue value on virtual relationships v/s physical relationships?

I recently received a facebook friend invite from somebody I went to High School with. Now, I’ve long since moved away and haven’t kept in touch with a single person that I knew from my hometown, but I accepted this Facebook invite anyway. I guess it’s because I was interested to see what he’d been up to. Maybe it’s the fact that I am not required to actually participate in the Facebook dialog, but can simply consume it as I do a news site. This leads to questions of the relevance of Social Networking as a part of a vibrant and healthy lifestyle.
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Many articles have been written about choosing a Design Firm, most of them focusing on things like; what questions to ask in the interview, what should be in an RFP, ect. All good things to know for sure, but perhaps not the angle that I believe is most important.

From a business standpoint, the strategic choice of partnering with another company is a very important one. It’s a choice that can make or break a small company, and greatly affect a large one. Choose correctly and each company get’s a profitable bit of business, as they are each able to work within the operational efficiencies that they have established. Choose wrong, and the problems that come with the decision can take years to make right.
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So my “independant” life started in January of 2008.  I didn’t know what to do with myself and, as it turns out, I didn’t need to.  The bringing together of Jän Ostendorf, Jeremy Loyd and Ben Callahan was a very significant event in all of our lives.  While Jän graciously offered me some cheap space to rent in the office of his design firm, Catalyst Creative, I proceeded to worry.  Yes, that was my initial contribution to the cause…worry.  Embarrassing, huh?  Such is the transitional life of the entrepreneur, I guess.
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