Archive for August, 2011
IBM Looks at 100 Years of Innovation
by Dan on Aug.30, 2011, under Industry News
IBM’s Centennial Film begins with a quote that reminds us of something we say about our current industry transformation.
To visualize the future … you must know something of the past.
– Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
For the past few years, we keep saying that we’re changing out process for the future, so we can get back to where we were over 100 years ago, so we can collaborate and deliver buildings like Richardson and Norcross.
The video features stories from the innovators who contributed to IBM ’s most influential projects and policies, from the Apollo Missions to UPC to civil rights.
The Like Minds of John Tocci and Rei Kawakubo
by Dan on Aug.29, 2011, under TocciNews
Yesterday (yes, Sunday), CEO John Tocci sent this email internally, with his take on WSJ’s article on Rei Kawakubo. This a normal practice for us; we like to email around articles, images and book recommendations. (And often, those emails make good blog posts).
The below quote is a simple statement we often express…but not as well as this does:
“With any collaboration or meeting of minds, I expect and hope for a kind of synergetic accident that may happen when somebody else’s work meets with my work, my designs. Collaborations have no meaning if 1 + 1 does not equal much more than 2.” Rei Kawakubo
I was “sheltering-in” this morning as advised by our local DPW’s automated voicemail messages (every four hours). It was one of the few times our local church cancelled services so I was stuck relaxing. As I thumbed through WSJ, I said to myself, I need to be broader in my reading. I can’t just read about cool design, innovative business practices and construction. I must be open to thoughts and ideas from alternative sources. If what we’re doing is right, it is right because it has its roots in truth. And truth is truth no matter which way you look at it. And who knows? Maybe I’ll find something interesting in this thing.
In talking about the growth of her impressive firm (CDG) she said, “ In order to expand Comme des Garçons’ (CDG) business, we need all kinds of strategies. One of the most important strategies is to find sources of new creation. …Junya Watanabe [whose label operates under the CDG umbrella] is a part of such a necessary company-expansion policy. With any collaboration or meeting of minds, I expect and hope for a kind of synergetic accident that may happen when somebody else’s work meets with my work, my designs. Collaborations have no meaning if 1 + 1 does not equal much more than 2. I give total freedom to Junya and Tao Kurihara, to create their own collections. I see their work only on the day of the show. They have the values of CDG embedded within them. If there was no trust, it wouldn’t work.”
OK, now we need to understand most hot designers (like Junya Watanabe) usually join leading design firms as young, aspiring designers and toil under the shadow of big name designers with huge egos. These ego’s often mentor but usually abuse and suppress the advancement of younger talent until they ‘break out’ and start their own firm. What I was impressed with is Kawakubo’s confidence to allow her bright stars to shine on their own, provide a label for them within the umbrella of their company and really trust them. The trust came from the simple fact that “they have the values of (the company) embedded within them”. This is what we’ve been striving for as we simplify and clarify the mission of Tocci and essence of being ‘us’.
Orgill Habitat Restore Volunteer Day
by Dan on Aug.26, 2011, under TocciNews
Tocci Team: John Tocci, Lila Tocci, Laura Handler, Lorrie Guthrie, Kristin Tomlinson, Tim Tocci, and Andrea Ning (friend)
Last Saturday Tocci Building Corporation joined Habitat for Humanity Boston at the Convention Center. Our task was to help Habitat pack donated home goods from the Orgill Marketplace.
We learned new skills like jumping out of the way of fork lifts, rescuing boxes from passing dumpsters, and twisting shrink wrap to get a nice tight pallet.
First we needed security clearance. Entering the back side of the building we lined up with tattooed Teamsters showing up for work. We got our badges and took a long walk along the length of the building past loading docks and dumpsters to join other Habitat ReStore volunteers.
Between instructions fleets of food service carts clattered past, a pause, then trash bins and dumpsters rolled through in formation. But we got our optic yellow t shirts and general directions to be “careful, quick, courteous.”
The scope—
Lorrie: “I entered the conference center at 2:30 PM, and was completely overwhelmed with all the STUFF. I experienced a “Carl Sagan” moment, looking at billions and billions of things that would need packing. How?”
John Tocci: “Imagine the enormity–600,000 sf convention center trade show (11 football fields); the sheer density of the retail displays (equal to six Costco’s); and overwhelming waste of left over product, equipment and display infrastructure.”
Nevertheless, armed with floor map and assignment, we entered the convention floor to begin packing. Vast, bright, cold and hectic, it was crowded with vendors and buff union guys rolling wide swaths of carpeting; fork lifts scooping then stacking the rolls.
Lorrie: “We attacked with energy, like storm troopers scouting our assigned area to secure items before they grew legs and walked off.”
John hunted down pallets and a hand truck. (which grew legs)
We boxed boxable items, stacked the boxes on pallets and shrink wrapped the pallets. Items that defied boxing, like carpets, shelving and long racks, we up-ended, supported then wrapped.
Laura took charge of labeling to make sure donors were properly recognized.
Hyper-focused on the work, we suddenly realized the change in atmosphere: with the AC off hot humid air blew in from the loading docks. Vendors were gone, the lights dimmed–only the intensity of the fork lifts increased as they sped up and down the main aisles horns beeping. Plenty of ReStore packing remained. A few hold out vendors conceded: tired of the place and their efforts they signed over product to Habitat.
Lorrie: “The Tocci team talked, planned and tackled, shrink wrapping each pallet to within an inch of its life. A shout out for Tim Tocci, wrapper extraordinaire. So efficient, we were rewarded with more jobs.”
Just before 10:30 the Tocci team left, dirty and exhausted, but with the sense of accomplishment that comes to those who conquer. We wrestled the unwieldy task to the ground and loaded nine pallets with items ranging from caulking to Closet Maid.
John: “I was thrilled to “harvest” or glean the fields and work with vendors to take new, useful product off their hands–working with our strong, focused and (seemingly) tireless team in a labor of love. Redeeming waste, we converted it to the great advantage of the poor and God’s purposes on this planet. Very, very cool.”
Digital Mockups Save the Day!
by Dan on Aug.26, 2011, under TocciNews
This week we have completed some Canopy and Screen wall digital mockups, which will be used for Fabrication. Producing these mockups has allowed the design team to examine the framing details and highlight any coordination issues.
There were major discrepancies between the architectural and structural details in the construction documents. The mock up highlighted these inconsistencies and pointed the team to review the best solution in 3D. The final detail was neither one or the other: it turns out, the best solution was a hybrid of both structural and architectural details.
A Farewell to Rita Beck
by Dan on Aug.26, 2011, under TocciNews
With both sadness and well-wishing, we say farewell to Rita Beck this week. Rita has been John Tocci’s loyal executive assistant for five years, and will be moving back home to Nebraska with her husband.
At a goodbye company picnic, John led the toast to Rita in a tradition he learned during his trip to Georgia and Armenia: say a few words, and pass the toast along. As each of us spoke, a theme began to form. Rita was a “whatever it takes” kind of employee, always finding a way to get the impossible done. On top of that, she always handled herself with poise, class, and kindness. “Grace under pressure” was the phrase coined. It suits her perfectly.
Rita will be sorely missed by the entire company. We’d like to thank her for her dedication in her varying roles, including and especially as our “office mother,” and we wish her the best of luck as she opens a new chapter in her life.
