APPLIED BRILLIANCE TODAY, BETTER FACILITIES TOMORROW

According to conference organizers, the annual Applied Brilliance (AB) conference is designed to “spark spirited collaboration” among its attendees by bringing a collection of varied points of view together with novel ideas. The most recent AB conference saw attendees with backgrounds such as architects (e.g., Hixson Senior Project Architect Bryon Sutherly), mingling with engineers, philosophers, medical professionals, anthropologists and others.

Such diversity among attendees is one of the key distinctions between Applied Brilliance and other conferences. From keynote to closing, and especially at the conference’s main learning sessions, attendees are able to learn from both speakers and fellow attendees how to think in unique ways to solve challenges. Through his own discussions and learnings, Hixson’s Sutherly came away from the latest AB conference with these thought-provoking insights:

• Employinghigh-qualitydesignmethods.Whatifeveryprojectfocusedonincreasingreal value of the project in lieu of just reducing costs? Productivity and building systems improvements would provide long-term value with increased flexibility incapital planning.

• Whatif,ascreativepeople/problem solvers, we began to borrow ideas from places we traditionally haven’t searched before and applied those ideas to our own vertical industries? Rather than just relying on the same sources for inspiration, look outside usual boundaries at what other leading thinkers are doing and adapt key ideas to your area of expertise.

• Whatifwelearnedtoaskbetterquestions,orevenaskedthehardquestions?Whetherit’s about mergers and acquisitions, layoffs or other sensitive topics, it is natural to want toshyawayfromansweringdifficultquestions. Yet inthecaseofadesignproject,thedatauncoveredbysuchinformationhasthepotentialtoradicallyimpactthefinaldesign solution. By working to build a high degree of trust in, and transparency with, the Architect/Engineer,theappropriatelevelofdatacanbesharedandtherightsolutioncreated.

• What if, rather than accepting the “there is no solution, therefore there can be noproblem” mentality, we genuinely worked to uncover the core of the problem once and for all – and then creatively solved it? Resolving truly complicated issues sometimes requires the application of different perspectives to organizational continuous improvement activities.

SPRING2011

Workplace InsightsWorkplace Insights

Hixson designed Corporate Innovation Center

• Havewereachedathreshold–that“width”betweenoutsideand inside,oldand new, known and the unknown? For each project, take time to pause and reflect,consideringwhetherthewaysomethinghasalwaysbeendoneshouldbechangedtoreflecttheneedsoftoday.

Primary learning sessions of the conference were focused around the theme of “Resilience and Revolution: Hope, Possibility, Surprise and Delight.” Highlights from some of the sessions included:

• Examining how the world is changing in the language of “trust networks.” In this session, organizational anthropologist Karen Stephenson, PhD., discussed her work exploring and researching the trust implications within historical culturesandapplyingthosefindingstoorganizations.Stephensonsuggeststhat should we wish to move forward with confidence, our world requiresquantificationnowmorethaneverandconcludedwehavenotperfectedourunderstanding (or measurement) of how successful people, and organizations, really work together. Instead, change, large or small, can send an organization into a tail-spin. “Trust Networks are the deep structure of culture…the nuclear force that binds an organization together,” said Stephenson.

• Changing perceptions of what and how possibilities are explored. Calling attendees to come out of their comfort zones, presenters challenged listeners by asking:

- Can we do more? - Can we ask different and better questions?

Doing so says presenters, we can re-capture our sense of where the future is going.

• Fascinating inspiring and heart-wrenching stories of hope. Presenters, including educators, biomedical engineers and doctors shared their work with the brain and how it interacts with the rest of the body. The overall takeaway? Outstanding accomplishments continue to be made in the field becausesomeonecontinuestoask,“Whatif?”

The Applied Brilliance conference is just one example of Hixson’s on-going commitment and investment in Continuous Improvement. Through these efforts with all of our associates, we hope to bring the latest trends and technologies for trueInsight,AdvocacyandIntelligentProjectExecutiononallassignments.

To learn more, contact John Hudson, Director Client Development

jhudson@hixson-inc.comP: 513.241.1230

www.hixson-inc.com

Workplace SolutionsFor more information on Hixson’s CorporateWorkplaceOptimization,

visit the Solutions website at:www.hixson-inc.com/workplace/Solutions/Solutions_home.html

Continuing EducationTo enhance our knowledge and provide greater insight to our clients, Hixson regularly participates in continuing professional education events across the country. The following are some of the recent events we are learning from.

“Impact of Generational Differences in the Workplace”Industry Workplace Seminar

April 2011

ASHRAE Energy Modeling ConferenceApril 2011

Atlanta, GA

CoreNet 2011 OH/KYChapter Conference:

“Drivers of Engagement” April 2011

Louisville,KY

Renewable Energy World ConferenceTampa, FLApril 2011

UC Real Estate Roundtable “Commercial Real Estate

Forecast”February 2011

Applied Brilliance 2010“Revolution and Resilience:

Hope, Possibility,Surprise, Delight”

October 2010Ojai, CA