Vague Goals

A vague goal allows specialists in different functions to collaborate across rigid silos.

This seems to fit the process of building a goal and a team for your next or first green project. Can you keep the goal vague enough, for instance, let's build out this space using a "green philosophy" instead of saying we are going to achieve LEED Gold? Do they both hit that mark of goal setting? Are they similar goals? Does it matter?

When you put a green team together to work on an interiors project you have so many opinions and expertise to consider. But like any healthy relationship, every one's opinions matter and every one's input is potentially useful assuming we all keep to our boundaries and fulfill our part of the puzzle. I noticed this happening in two meetings recently, both were incredible but the content of each was really different.

Meeting 1 - Interior Designer, LEED consultant ( part of GC firm), PM/CM, Furniture dealer, Client/User. Clearly this was a sub-team of the overall project scope but this meeting was truly amazing. The interior designer talked about wanting a specific design and aesthetic. She/he was not working in a vacuum but instead pointing out what the overall intention was to be and not truly obsessed over how to get there. There were points in the intent that were taking green into consideration like quality of goods specified, green rated products specified ( GreenGuard, Greenseal etc ) but there was no plan on how to get to the goal of a green interiors project. The LEED consultant was not really concerned with the design intent or aesthetic at all, but really wanted the execution of the design to hit the LEED points needed. So there was a discussion brewing already from one player to the next. The CM/PM was schedule and price concerned, as if that is a new idea. How the project was executed and how much the greening cost. The Furniture Dealer added in options to hit the needs of the aesthetics, the points, the schedule and the costs, and then the trade offs among these decisions. The client watched over the whole discussion and determined the ultimate wins for their company. A vague goal with many aspects being considered collaboratively.

Meeting 2 - CFO, VP of Operations, VP of Sales, CEO, VP of Strategy all discussing a company initiative. Each sitting around a table and the conversation moved from one to the next for their point of view. Succinctly, each presented their own opinion as it related to their discipline. Finance talked about the financial ramifications of the decision, no cross talk about someone else's piece of the pie, just their part. This continued around the table and when you accumulated the information, it was fascinating to see the facts all at the table to decide upon. I have been in countless meetings where people accuse one another, trump one another, distrust one another etc. When you really give a vague topic, it does allow for collaboration, assuming everyone is functioning and trusting of one another.

Green building of interiors requires honest communication and collaboration to fulfill every ones needs otherwise, something gets lost in the shuffle. The budget is blown or the LEED rating is thrown out the window and so on.

I have heard numerous people say that green building and paying attention to the environment is a pain. But what about this; An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.