October 22, 2019
The Story of The Baker
By
admin
A story we often tell when we get asked what Project House is all about, is one about a Baker who loves to bake pies. We’ll call him The Baker. The Baker made pies all of the time. His pies were well-loved by his family, who demanded pies for every conceivable occasion. His pies were delicious and better than anything available in a shop. Over time, The Baker started making pies for his kids’ fundraising events, for his friends and their friends, and before he knew it, his pies were in such high demand that he had a business on his hands and he needed to hire some helpers and find a community kitchen space several days a week just to keep up with the orders.
October 22, 2019
PH Team Member Spotlight: Sandi Callender
By
admin
Sandi is Project House’s Engagement Manager. Her many responsibilities include welcoming and onboarding new clients, training new team members, tracking all of our projects, and keeping on top of monthly commitments and events. Sandi joined our team in March 2015 and she has been instrumental in helping us keep the trains running on time ever since!
October 22, 2019
Feeling Pinched? 10 Signs It Might Be Time For A New Office Space
By
admin
You might be feeling the pinch of an overcrowded workspace without even realizing it. Here are 10 reasons it might be time to upgrade your office space:
- Getting up from your desk is an agility contest. You can’t get out of your desk area without climbing over and around boxes and mounting piles of paper, supplies and other materials.
- You have downsized desk sizes at least twice already. In an attempt to gain more workspace for new hires, you’ve forced everyone to purge their stuff and sold them on the idea of further collaboration by sitting closer together…twice! You are pretty sure your employees will all walk out if you ask them to downsize yet again. Besides, you’re not sure you can actually buy smaller desks than the ones you have now – they need to be at least large enough for a laptop, right??!
- You have taken over every meeting room with workstations. This is classic – you need more space and there is a big room over there, just waiting to be filled with more bodies…but wait, how can you hold a team meeting, entertain or meet with clients…in the hallway? No wait…see #6.
- Your new hire has to sit in the lunchroom. The lunchroom is already standing room only…and you have two new hires starting next week and they will likely have to move in there too. You might have to put everyone on a 5 minute rotating lunch schedule! It’s important to have breakout space – somewhere for people to eat away from their desks, collaborate, and have informal conversations.
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October 22, 2019
Project House Client Spotlight: Connie Pretula
By
admin
Connie Pretula is an inspiring health coach to mature corporate women, using a holistic approach to nutrition and life.
The design team at Project House was thrilled to partner with Connie to design and create a beautiful and informative marketing brochure, using key messages from her mission and values in combination with beautiful new photographs of Connie and her food, taken by our talented pal Kevin Shoesmith.
October 22, 2019
What the heck is an .eps file?
By
admin
When working with a Graphic Designer, there comes a time where the final art files are delivered to you, and you can begin the exciting process of planning what you’d like to do with them, be it for a vinyl wall decal or in an email signature. Knowing which file type should be used for each of these kinds of projects can be confusing – should you choose a .png or .ai? …and what the heck is an .eps file?
These questions can often pop up when a branding folder full of logos using different file formats is handed over to you, and as with most things, clear communication is key to getting the most from your designer and saving time and money. Rather than a flurry of emails explaining what type of file to use and where, it helps to understand the basics of file types and to know exactly what you want out of the final product and which files you need to get it done.
Here is a guide to some of the different file types used by Project House Graphic Designers on a daily basis to help our clients make the most of their graphic projects. We’re going to start today with raster and vector based files, because this is the major differentiator of file types.
October 22, 2019
Embracing Conflict
By
admin
As a kid, I was very uncomfortable with conflict. I wanted everyone to get along, and when they didn’t, it made me uneasy and anxious. I often tried to solve problems that weren’t really mine, and was eager to build bridges between people in an effort to keep the peace.
Early in my career, as a newly promoted manager in video games, I continued to struggle with conflict, as I interpreted all argument as discord, and I believed it was my responsibility to maintain harmony within the team in order to keep people motivated and moving forward. Once, in a technical team meeting, a discussion about how to approach a challenging new feature turned into a particularly heated argument. As was normal for me, I waded in and tried to diffuse the tension before it got out of hand. A software engineer (who I have since thanked) turned to me and told me that, by trying to make everyone get along, I was in fact blocking creativity and the healthy flow of ideas.
Rather than creating harmony, I was interfering with the sometimes messy process of solving problems, and I needed to stop seeing disagreement (and even anger) as negative. I needed to let the team solve their own problems and learn through the process of decision-making, especially mistakes. I couldn’t protect them from taking a wrong turn, and more importantly, I shouldn’t.
As a consultant, I often work with new managers who are trying to find their “sea legs” within a leadership role. As subject matter or craft experts, they have been effective and experienced, and this excellence has been rewarded with a promotion to manager. The challenge of transitioning effectively from “getting it done” to “getting it done through others” can sometimes take a competent and respected worker by surprise and make them feel uncertain about how to measure their own success. As a result, they can slip into a pattern of solving problems that are no longer theirs, as that is much more comfortable.
I recently read a very insightful article by Joseph Grenny, calledWhen to Solve Your Team’s Problems, and When to Let Them Sort it Out . In the article, Grenny says this: “Prior to taking a management role, you can measure your contribution to the organization by counting the number of important problems you solve. But the day you become a manager, the arithmetic changes. Your success is no longer measured by how many problems you solve. Instead, your role is to build a team that solves problems.”
Solving other people’s problems and putting out fires takes a lot of time and energy. It’s unproductive and doesn’t teach others the skills they need to solve their own issues creatively. Worse still, it doesn’t allow for the learning and growing confidence that comes as a healthy by-product of tackling challenge and conflict.
In his article, Grenny also explains why effective managers first ask, “Who should own this problem?” As a manager, leader, and parent, I often find myself in situations where I need to make a conscious decision to either step in or step aside, and asking to whom the problem really belongs is a very effective filter to use.
I have never forgotten that meeting early in my career as a manager and the advice to change my point of view to see healthy conflict as a catalyst to problem solving. I have spent many years learning to appreciate the benefits of clashing and passionately fighting for what you believe is right. Today, I enjoy coaching others through their own discomfort to see that conflict can often be a key component to getting to the right and best answer.
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