The Next 10 Years in Business
My children provide the clearest indication of the passage of time. One year to the next stands out in stark relief, marked by each milestone…first words, first steps, first trip to the emergency department, first day of school.
When it comes to business however, the progression is less clear. With so many different projects, opportunities and day to day management, finding the time for reflection and strategic planning can often move down to the bottom of a very long ”to do” list. It’s common to focus only on the short to medium term planning, to the detriment of the long term vision. Bill Gates identified this issue:
"We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction.”
With this in mind, what is the ten year plan for Joe Adsett Architects?
The core of our business will remain our architectural practice and we will continue to take on inspiring projects which come our way. Traditional practice enables us to better understand the property market, providing insight as to what is in demand for consumers of high end architecture. We will be limiting our work for private clients so that we can explore our own projects. It is in this area that we anticipate enormous growth.
With our development projects, we intend to pursue opportunities in South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales. We will have a particular focus on servicing the increasing appetite for quality owner occupier housing. After observing this market over the years, we are now aggressively acquiring land in under supplied locations with a view to catering for this market gap. Our unique architectural and development expertise positions us to service this growing sector.
We will continue to invest in key areas of our company to ensure that we remain at the forefront of innovation, providing better service, value and of course, design.
Our plan will involve expansion, through developing additional companies under the Joe Adsett Architects umbrella. These companies will align with our core business, providing expertise in project marketing and digital media, data and computing technology, finance and capital raising.
The pioneering spirit is very much alive within the company and will continue under my leadership. Further ideas we will look into exploring through research and development include:
Creating a quality offering to service the affordable housing market. The build to rent model is an excellent structural change however the product design is very conventional. Good design needs to lead change in the sector, alongside a different model of home ownership.
Rapid prototyping and production of prefabricated housing to supply our own projects and ideas. The way we currently build buildings is unsustainable, unsafe and in general the construction industry will be disrupted.
We will be seeking to work with the best minds and also to invest heavily in the people that are integral to Joe Adsett Architects.
In ten years time my children will be teenagers. They will have made their way through primary school and into high school, possibly with ideas about what they will do when they graduate. That puts into context what can be achieved in a decade. The aspirations for Joe Adsett Architects are similarly lofty and ambitious. Most importantly, we have strategic plans ready for implementation to achieve these goals. The last thing we want, is to be lulled into inaction or simply maintain the status quo.
I like to think that Bill Gates would approve.