By the end of the 1970s, it appeared that the professional design industry was in a period of seemingly unlimited growth. RMW (the firm in which I was a partner) certainly benefited from economic recovery and expansion following the 1974 recession, as we grew to 85 people in 1982. We had diversified our client base quite a bit, designing major buildings for clients that included IBM (located in the recently named “Silicon Valley”) and Fireman’s Fund (owned by American Express).

We had begun to reshape our leadership roles and responsibilities, with the “junior” partners moving into Principal-in-Charge roles, taking responsibility for client development and management. However, the founders — Robinson and Mills, who were in their mid-40s — continued to be responsible for bringing in the lion’s share of the work. Our organizational model was shifting to more of a client-service approach; design was important, but the Project Managers were vested with primary responsibility for project performance.

In addition, we had made major changes in our own technology, bringing in Micom word processing equipment for the administrative staff, computer terminals for Harper and Shuman accounting (now Deltek), and a new interactive, computerized specification system that was developed by a really smart architect on our staff. It’s hard to believe today, but this was a miraculous achievement in advanced technology.

Not surprisingly, we also experienced financial problems that were a direct result of our explosive growth. As anyone who has managed a firm will know, it can take 60 to 180 days to begin to capture revenues generated by a new employee. In those days, firms didn’t have our modern workstation technology requirements, but we still paid salaries and benefits well in advance of invoicing our clients (and collecting the revenues).

After an energy crisis in 1979, a brief recession occurred in 1980, when inflation reached 13.5%. (Today’s rate is 1.2%.) The Federal Reserve Bank kept raising the prime interest rate, and it eventually reached 21.5% in June 1982. (Today’s rate is 3.25%.) There was a wave of deregulation, and by mid-1982, the number of bank failures was rising steadily.

We all know first-hand how these factors affect the AEC industry: Clients stop building.

At RMW, we started trimming, but after a few more weeks, it was time to make some hard decisions. I had been looking at options for myself, including law school, and there was no question that I would be leaving the firm.

Like so many people faced with life-changing decisions, I decided to take stock. I wrote a resume, for the first time in years. (I only wish that I still had it in my files.) I realized that not only had I grown professionally, but I had also developed a remarkable network, and I had been able to position myself as a leader in the AEC industry nationally.

On the professional side, I understood the economics of architectural practice as well as the legal aspects of practice. I had managed the growth of RMW’s infrastructure “energy grid” from 1 person (me) to 15 people involved with administration, accounting, human resources, and marketing. I was writing and negotiating terms for our professional services agreements or advising the PICs or PMs on how to do it. I had hired and managed people who had grown into leadership positions, and I was continuing to mentor several of them on the design/management side as well as infrastructure. I had also participated in business development efforts that resulted in at least one major project coming into the office, and I continued to learn about marketing and management through my own mentor, Weld Coxe.

On the social networking side, I had become an Associate AIA member, thanks to the urging of our local chapter. I also joined the Professional Services Management Association (now AE Business Leaders), which was a new national organization, and I became actively involved, forming relationships with smart A/E business leaders from around the country. I was instrumental in organizing a group of about 20 local AIA firm leaders to meet regularly to share information about practice issues, and I initiated a salary survey of key firms in SF (later handed off to Management Design). I was elected to the AIA/SF Board of Directors, and when the chapter’s anniversary was approaching in 1981, I was asked to manage a committee for the anniversary party. (Unfortunately, the timing couldn’t have been worse, since firms were already feeling the effects of the coming recession, and weren’t interested in buying expensive tickets. But we all learned a lot that we were able to put to good use in 1983 — refer to Episode #4, coming soon.)

When I told Weld that I was leaving RMW, he immediately told me that he wanted me to join The Coxe Group. He said that he had wanted to recruit me, but couldn’t because of their client relationship with RMW. He thought that it would be more and more important for the Group to have women consultants with experience in the AEC industry, and he told me that if I didn’t like consulting, I would have a platform to find my own next job. Who wouldn't find that interesting!

A few weeks later, I went to Philadelphia for my official interview with The Coxe Group. First though, I had the great pleasure of going to Block Island with Weld and his wonderful wife, Mary Hayden, staying in the house and studio that their friends, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, had designed for them. The East Coast shore experience was new to me, and I loved feasting on just-caught lobster after a day of sailing on the bay. Of course, Weld and I also had more opportunities to talk about what I might do with the Group.

Then, I went to Philadelphia to meet with Nina Hartung, who managed the Group. She had joined them to do recruiting, but had begun to do management consulting, and she wanted to bring in someone who would take on recruiting for the firm. We agreed that if I joined the Group, I would do a combination of management consulting and recruiting.

A position was offered and accepted, and over the next 60 days, I closed out my tenure with RMW by developing two binders of collected knowledge and master forms for human resources management and contract management, attempting to transfer as much information as I could to others in the firm. I had last meetings with Robinson and Mills, and I suggested that Matthew Mills look at developing Tom Gerfen to grow into the managing principal role, succeeding Mills. (I had recruited Tom to RMW in 1978, and he became President in 1987; Tom has been the Chairman/CEO of RMW since Mills retired in 2000.) I cleaned out my office and took home my personal files and belongings, as I faced a very different and somewhat uncertain future as a 35-year-old management consultant.

Tally: 1982: 85 to 70 people, including me.

For the next installment of My Recession Stories, click here.