University of Texas Commencement
Thank you so much for that kind introduction.
For someone who often speaks on many issues, I have been strangely nervous about this speech. What do I have to say to graduates who are starting out their careers? I started mine, after all, in a different millennium. Logically -I think - I turned for inspiration to my own graduations and the graduations of my wife and our children. Then I realized a strange thing: I have no memory -not just what was said at those graduations, but who spoke at those graduations. Zero. If I do a terrible job today, at least I know I will likely be forgotten.
There is, however, one notable exception. That was my own graduate school graduation from Harvard University in 1984. The speaker was King Juan Carlos of Spain who, at the time, was viewed as having been a major figure in restoring democracy toSpain. (History has not been kind to the King but we didn’t know that then). I was very much looking forward to hearing from his Majesty. Unfortunately, and famously, due to terrible thunderstorms, the Harvard AV system failed that year and I -and many others - could neither hear a word nor see anything. Since neither the PA nor the Jumbotrons worked, I - showing rare good judgement -and following the lead of hundreds of other students - left, found my girlfriend,Chris Jacobs, now my wife of 40 years (not so easy in the pre-cell phone world),went to a coffeehouse to dry out and had a cappuccino and a chocolate chip scone. Later that afternoon I got my degree in a small school ceremony without any speeches. A most satisfactory day.
Despite my history, I do have three things I want to say today. I hope they are helpful.
First, Congratulations!!!! You have worked hard, done well and deserve to say to yourself Job Well Done. Say it on three. JOB WELL DONE. This is also a time to thank all the people who helped you get here. No one finishes a degree at a great university without help. It just doesn’t work that way. Whether or not you agree with Hillary Clinton on anything else, she is right that it takes a village. Make sure you thank the people who helped you. As one who is sometimes in the mentoring business and has been thanked, I find a hug and a hearty thank you mean a lot.
Second, I want to offer a perspective on building a career. You have learned a great deal technically here at UT Austin; in some areas your skills are cutting edge.As you progress in your career, however, it is likely that your technical skills -while always essential- will take up less of your day. What you will increasingly do is work with clients or the public to define issues, suggest possible solutions and find win-wins among competing interests. In the years ahead, make sure you hone your skills in listening and clearly communicating, and in understanding the goals of your clients. You will need to be able to demonstrate that you deserve trust and want to – and can –achieve what the client wants to achieve. I have been the client on approximately $500Min architecture services. The number one mistake firms seeking services from me and my colleagues was focusing on how creative and brilliant they were rather than showing them how they will solve our problem.
The number one mistake firms seeking services from me and my colleagues was focusing on how creative and brilliant they were rather than showing them how they will solve our problem.
My core professional training was in policy analysis; in figuring the most effective way to achieve a given end. And I did that full-time for a decade and did it well. Slowly over time, however, my career required me to build diverse coalitions to achieve change, usually in the physical realm. My greatest challenges in building Cortex in St Louis, one of the nation’s premier innovation districts, were not about science, money or space, they were about developing and maintaining a coalition of common interests between stakeholders with very different priorities. About getting 25 Board members from four universities, a major health care system, a Blue City and a Red State to agree to join together to create something great.It took me 25 years of practice to learn how to build such a coalition. You should start now.
Third, each of you, whatever your specialty, are about to be contributors to the great collective enterprise of creating the built environment of our world. As Robert Sampson, the great urban sociologist has said, “we create our world and it then shapes us”. The built environment, when done well, inspires us, delights us, helps keep us safe, helps build our community, helps raise our children and nourishes our lives.
Our job, yours and mine, is to make the built environment better, sometimes in big ways and often in small ways. Each matter. If there is one lesson Jane Jacobs, the greatest student of urban life of the 20th century, has taught us is that small and medium sized projects often matter more and have a greater long-term impact than the big flashy projects we often focus on.
Chris and I have great fortune to live on the corner of a beautiful vibrant, historic mixed use, mixed race, mixed income street in St Louis that has, by good urban design, good contextual architecture, historic preservation, nice landscaping, careful infill and good management become close to a model of what urban life should be in America. It is a place where, to quote Jane Jacobs, “the ballet of urban life” occurs each day.
The reason our neighborhood is so successful is that hundreds of people have made good decisions, some big and many small, to make it work. I thank all that have done that work.
Another example: our life as parents were infinitely aided by a quite simple but perfectly scaled play lot on the South Side of Chicago that drew hundreds of families together every weekend - despite the cold - building the ties that build community among parents and kids. And a well-designed house supports families through many years and a lot of aging.
My own career has been about creating great campuses and reviving once strong urban neighborhoods, sometimes through big moves like redoing the East End of the Washington University campus or building charter school networks. But I have seen and have great respect for the deep impact that small and medium sized projects have. Smart interventions, even if small, over time make a big impact on people’s lives.
I have complete confidence that each and every one of you will honor yourself, the School, the University of Texas Austin. Have fun, recognize that small projects matter as much as large projects, do important work, use your skills for good and make a difference.
Hook’em Horns
Feature image credit: Kumar Appaiah, Creative Commons
