Editor's note: Canstruction, Inc. was established in 1992 by Cheri Melillo and her SDA colleagues with a vision to bring together the design, engineering, and construction industries through a unique and fun medium that would provide canned food to hunger relief organizations.

Cheri's dedication to Canstruction led to her being named an Honorary Member of the AIA in 2000, and in 2009, on behalf of Canstruction, she accepted the Creativity of the Mind Award from "The Odyssey of the Mind" and a Public Service award from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA). Cheri's leadership as volunteer President and Executive Director of Canstruction lasted 17 years until her passing in December 2009.

If you want to learn more about Canstruction visit their website at https://www.canstruction.org/. Make a tax-deductible donation to Canstruct a World Without Hunger here.

The Empire of Canstruction®: How an SDA Member Brought the Force Against Hunger

May the 4th be with you! Like a Jedi mind trick, I can't help but think of the incredible Star Wars-themed sculptures that have graced Canstruction competitions over the past 31 years. While many are familiar Empire of Canstruction events, the origins of the Rebel Alliance with SDA may be lost on our younger Padawans, so let's give it some laser focus.

Canstruction® is a non-profit organization that aims to fight hunger in local communities by fostering friendly competition among architects, engineers, construction firms, and students. Founded in 1992 by SDA member Cheri Melillo, Canstruction combines the design and construction community to create giant sculptures made entirely from canned food. These sculptures are then put on display as a public art exhibition to raise awareness about the issue of hunger. At the end of the exhibition, all the canned food used to build the sculptures is donated to local food banks. Since its inception, Canstruction has donated over 82 million pounds of food to communities worldwide.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canstruction had become one of the largest internationally recognized food drives of its kind, with competitions held in over 150 cities worldwide. Canstruction operates in various countries, including the US, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, providing an opportunity for architecture and engineering firms, construction companies, K-12 schools, and universities to collaborate and fight hunger in their local communities.

Today SDA remains an official supporter of Canstruction. SDA Chapters across the country host or support events in their areas. SDA awards membership to SDA through its Canstruct a Member program. The results of the Annual Canstruction International Design Competition are featured at SDA's EDSymposium and an SDA member has a seat on the Canstruction board. 

Canstruction provides a unique opportunity for designers and builders to showcase their creativity while making a positive impact on their communities. With its continued growth and success, Canstruction will make an even bigger difference in the fight against hunger in the years to come.

Our guest blogger today is Rich Friedman of Friedman & Partners. Rich Friedman has over 30 years of experience in the A/E/C and environmental consulting industries. He is the Founder and President of Friedman & Partners and has worked with organizations of all sizes. Rich is known for his superior communication skills and ability to achieve results, despite the most challenging organizational dynamics. He is dedicated to helping firms grow their way by connecting them with the resources, opportunities, people, and strategies they need to succeed. Rich holds a B.S. from Cornell University, an M.S. from Penn State University, and an M.B.A. from Babson College. You can reach Rich via email - rich@friedmanpartners.com or by phone (508) 276-1101.

Your Secret Business Development Weapon: The Introvert

Can an introvert become comfortable with, contribute to and find happiness in business development? That’s the question we’re going to answer in this article. Let me kill the suspense: the answer is yes, introverts can play an effective, satisfying part in your firm’s business development culture. This is a topic I address often in my work, including a recent webinar – “Business Development for Introverts” –  that I presented last month as part of a series for ERP and CRM solutions provider Unanet.

Why Bother?

While business development may not come as naturally to an introvert as it does to an extrovert, the reality is that introverts are often more effective in the role. This can largely be because of their introverted tendencies rather than despite them. Introverts are often subject experts with deep knowledge of how the firm’s services interact with its clients’ challenges. They are also usually good listeners and they ask good questions. All of this frequently leads to fiercely loyal client relationships and repeat work. Clients – some of whom are introverts themselves – sometimes prefer the quieter, more laid-back approach of the introvert to an extrovert who might come on too strong for their liking.

I always work from the premise that all firms should strive to create a business development culture, where every employee participates in and contributes to a firmwide effort to create opportunities, build client relationships and sell more work. This can help firms achieve their full growth potential, while smoothing the hills and valleys that inevitably come along. It also reduces the risk of having one or a few individuals responsible for all business development.

I also accept the assumption that the A/E/C industry has more than its share of introverts. At a recent class I taught for the Massachusetts chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), two-thirds of the room self-identified as introverts. For these and many other reasons, it is important to foster business development skills in the introverts among us.

Making it Happen

So how do we make it happen? Here are eight ways to turn introverts into some of your best business developers.

1. Don’t write them off. Many A/E/C firm principals look at an obvious introvert and immediately disqualify them as potential business developers. This does a disservice not only to the employee but also to the firm as a whole. Good business development is as much about strategy and tactics as any “natural” ability to sell. Introverts can be exceptional business developers; they just may need more help getting there.
2. Redefine the equation. Many introverts recoil at the idea of “selling.” But the professional services provided by A/E/C firms exist to help clients achieve a goal. Often, all it takes for an A/E/C professional to become interested in and adept at business development is for them to perceive their actions as “helping” rather than “selling.”
3. Create a shadow. Let them see how it’s done first-hand. Put them on a call with a satisfied client, then one that isn’t as satisfied. Let them witness the array of situations and how a BD expert handles them. Much better if that expert also inherently displays introverted tendencies.
4. Start in “safer” places. Encourage them to hone their networking skills where they’re already comfortable – with peer organizations, community groups and clubs. Schedule them for a lunch-and-learn with the colleagues in their group, then gradually expand the size and diversity of the audience in subsequent events.
5. Encourage them to prepare meticulously for meetings and events. Many of the stresses that even veteran business developers encounter are due to a lack of preparation. Having good background information on business meeting participants or potential networking subjects can make the process vastly more effective and much less stressful. This means knowing, to the best of their ability, who will be in attendance, and doing some homework (e.g., identifying the contacts they want to meet and the people they already know, learning as much as possible from your firm’s CRM database, LinkedIn profiles and company websites).
6. Teach them to practice good networking. As with much of the advice here, these tips are helpful for anyone presented with a networking opportunity. Even more so for the introvert. For example, getting to a networking event early avoids the awkward feeling of entering a room and finding that the only way to connect with someone is by interrupting an ongoing conversation. Is there anything more unsettling to an introvert? Arriving early offers ample opportunity to casually begin discussions with new people, and the latecomers have to bust in on your conversation. Other good networking practices include showing curiosity about the other person’s non-work life and interests, asking good (but not too personal) questions, and generally steering clear of anything related to business until a proper rapport has been developed. Training sessions on good networking practices should be standard in all firms.
7. Stress the value. Smart people will respond when they see the value in taking on a task. When A/E/C professionals understand the relationship between a winning business development culture and the success of the firm and its people, they will almost always step up and at least try. For example, when an architect, engineer or environmental scientist who loves working on a specific type of project understands that their ability to do so hinges on contributing to the BD function, they will be much more likely to see it as a vital mission rather than a distasteful chore.
8. Let them be themselves. The best – and often only – chance of success for an introvert to become a successful business developer is to avoid faking it or trying to play a role. They must be themselves, using their traits, strengths, and tools. A quiet introvert trying to be the life of the party is sure to fail. But one that is great at research and willing to put it to use while also “putting themselves out there” at a BD meeting or networking event could become one of the firm’s best BD people. It just requires a little grooming and a little practice.

Psychologist Carl Jung said, “There is no such thing as a pure introvert or extrovert. Such a person would be in the lunatic asylum.” It’s true. Most of us fall somewhere in between, not on the far edges of the introvert-extrovert spectrum. By leveraging the characteristics of introverts that benefit the business development process, and nurturing them so they can tap into the skills that are more typically considered the domain of the extrovert, A/E/C firm leaders can build a BD culture that efficiently and proudly features introverts and extroverts alike.

I’d love to hear any thoughts or stories you have about introverts in the BD function.  And please check out my Unanet webinar on this topic at Business Development for Introverts.

Fat-Free Gracewriting: Put Your Writing on a Diet! 

Reported by Jennifer M. Greene, CDFA

In a standing-room-only session for our chapter's program, Jennifer Hebblethwaite of Graceworks conducted an interactive workshop called "Gracewriting: Words with Power and Grace." The session focused on the importance of putting the reader's needs first when writing, and how to achieve clarity, concision, and correctness in our writing.

Jennifer began by challenging the traditional approach of business and technical writers, who often prioritize themselves over their readers. She emphasized that effective writing involves understanding the audience, considering how the information applies to them, and presenting it in a way that is easy to understand and remember. Whether it's an email or technical procedures, the question should always be "How can I help my reader understand my message?"

Jennifer had us all do a self-assessment of the writing process, asking us to estimate how much time we should spend on prewriting, writing, and rewriting. She recommended spending 40% of the time on prewriting, which involves research and organizing ideas, 20% on writing, and 40% on rewriting and checking redundancy.Before starting to write,

Jennifer stressed the importance of knowing our audience by asking six key questions:

• Why am I writing?
• Who will read what I write?
• What are the readers’ key issues?
• How many different readers are there, and are their needs the same?
• What do the readers already know, and what do they need to know?
• How will what I'm writing help my readers?

She then gave us tips for writing more concisely, such as using an active voice and strong verbs, and eliminating fluff and redundancies. For instance, she encouraged us to replace nouns formed from verbs with strong action verbs and to consider replacing "to be" verb forms with more specific ones.

For example:

Keys to Conciseness - No Fluff

 Use an Active Voice

Put the actor first. Actor > Action > Object

Instead of saying “The discussion will be led by Pat Leyden” use “Pat Leyden will lead the discussion.”

Use Strong Verbs

Replace nouns formed from verbs that often end in -tion, -sion, -son, -ment, -ance or -ence with strong action verbs. For example, instead of saying “Make a recommendation,” use “recommend.” Instead of “Make a comparison to,” use “compare.”

Consider replacing “to be” verb forms: am, is, are, was, were, be, being and been. Rather than write “Charles Schultz was the creator of the Peanuts comic strip,” write “Charles Schultz created the Peanuts comic strip.”

Conserve Words

Pull the weeds! Substance goes up front. Get rid of empty openings that use expletives such as “There is,” “It is,” and “It is ... that.” Instead of “There is ink in the printer,” use “Ink is in the printer.” Not “It is necessary that we begin to” but “We must begin to...”

Prepositional idioms are clumps of prepositional phrases that can be replaced with one word. Why use several words if one will do? Instead of “In order to” use “To.” Not “With the exception of” but “Except.”

Prune-ly verbs. Instead of “Nancy’s skillfully executed presentation completely convinced everyone that they absolutely should join SDA New York,” use “Nancy’s presentation convinced everyone to join SDA New York.”

Redundancies - Watch for repetition of words and ideas. For example, don’t use “past history,” use “history.” Instead of “free gift” use “gift.” (At this point, Peggy pointed out that not all gifts are free!) If you find yourself repeating the same words at the beginning each list item, move the repeated word into the introductory sentence.

For example:The requirements for tuition reimbursement are listed below:

• a. Employee must enroll in an accredited institution
• b. Employee much maintain at least a “C” average.

Write instead: Employee’s tuition reimbursement requires:

• a. Enrolling in an accredited institution
• b. Maintaining at least a “C” average.

Check for Clear Pronoun References

We often carelessly use “this” and “which” to refer to an entire idea rather than a particular noun. Use a noun! Instead of “This will decrease costs,” use “This program decreases cost.”

Take a Stand

Avoid weasel words - almost, as much as, can be, virtually and I think. Choose specific and concrete words. Rather than say “I think the chart shows...” use “The chart shows...”

Overall, Jennifer's workshop provided valuable insights into writing with power and grace. By focusing on the reader's needs and using clear and concise language, we can communicate more effectively and build stronger connections with our audience.