Knowledge Retention & the Future of AEC with Kristina Youngblut

In this conversation, Matt Brennan and Kristina Youngblut discuss the significance of knowledge sharing and continuing education in the AEC industry. Kristina shares her journey in the industry, emphasizing the importance of curiosity and collaboration through user groups. They explore the role of AI in enhancing productivity and the integration of CA into project management. The discussion culminates in the idea of embracing failure as a crucial part of growth and success in the field. In this conversation, Kristina Youngblut and Matt Brennan discuss the importance of embracing failure as a learning tool, the need for collaboration in the construction industry, and the significance of building a strong community and network. They emphasize the necessity of knowledge retention and mentorship in architecture, advocating for open communication and the value of every role within the industry. Kristina shares her experiences and insights on how to foster relationships and create a supportive environment for growth and learning.

Takeaways

• Sharing knowledge is vital in the AAC industry.
• Curiosity drives innovation and problem-solving.
• User groups foster relationships and collaboration.
• AI can be a valuable assistant in the workplace.
• Ownership of work is essential for accountability.
• Embracing failure leads to growth and learning.
• Surrounding yourself with experts enhances personal development.
• Continuing education is crucial for career evolution.
• Building trust is key in project management.
• Data flow is critical in bridging design and construction. Failure is an essential part of the learning process.
• Stumbling and falling are part of the journey to success.
• Trying new things can lead to unexpected passions.
• Collaboration between architects and contractors is crucial.
• Building a community can support professional growth.
• Networking should start early in one's career.
• User groups are valuable for knowledge sharing.
• Mentorship programs help bridge knowledge gaps.
• Open communication fosters better relationships in the workplace.
• Every role in the industry contributes to the overall success. 

Sound Bites

• "I want them to take it and evolve."
• "User groups came very organically."
• "I use AI as an assistant."
• "Take pride in your work."
• "Embrace your failures."
• "Failure is part of that."
• "You don't know until you try."
• "Community is the biggest thing."
• "Everyone plays an important role."
• "You need to be open to new ideas."

Chapters

• 00:00 - The Importance of Knowledge Sharing in AAC
• 02:30 - Kristina Youngblut's Journey in the Industry
• 07:19 - Building Relationships Through User Groups
• 11:52 - The Role of AI in the AEC Industry
• 17:24 - Integrating CA into Project Management
• 23:24 - Embracing Failure as a Path to Success
• 24:22 - Embracing Failure as a Learning Tool
• 27:53 - Bridging the Gap: Collaboration in Construction
• 30:30 - The Importance of Community and Networking
• 33:39 - Knowledge Retention and Mentorship in Architecture
• 42:29 - Creating a Culture of Open Communication
• 46:51 - The Value of Every Role in the Industry

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
by sharing knowledgeand continuing education
matter in the AAC industry.Let's get into it.
(upbeat music)Welcome to What the RFI, I'm Matt Brennan
and this is the podcast all about CA.So today's episode is a little different.
You know, in the pastwe've talked all about CA.

(00:22):
We're still gonna do that today,but we're gonna dive into the mentorship.
And better yet, we'vegot a guest, Christina.
And of all the experts in the industry,I couldn't ask for anyone
else to be better on the showto talk about this because, you know,
I'll let you kind of go into your historyand everything about it
and all the user groupsand you can explain that.

(00:44):
But before I even letyou introduce yourself,
I love the story of how we met.And, you know, all that started at
Autodesk University,you know, a few years
back in beautiful Las Vegas,you know, what a great event.
I don't know if youwant to share the news
and how we kind of came together,but just bumping in and
just look how relationshipsbonds through these

(01:04):
network opportunities.So, but at this point I
would say, yeah, enough said.You know, Christina, take away,
tell the beautiful people who you are.Oh, well, thank you very much.
And thank you for such awonderful introduction.
I never expected it.I'm just a passionate person
and it's sometimes it's nice to hearhow other people

(01:26):
perceive that in reality, right?So my name is Christina Youngblood.
I have been in theindustry for over 25 years.
I currently am a BIMcoordinator with SEMA Plus.
It is a engineeringfirm located in Canada
and we support Canadiancontracts from coast to coast.
So, and I've enjoyed that jobfor about a year and a half now

(01:47):
and it's been an exciting additionand evolution in my career
and is really fosteringmy passion and commitment
to continuing educationand sharing knowledge,
but because of what it provides me,which will come through
and the rest of the conversation as well.So, and so how I kind

(02:09):
of got into all of this,and I know we'll have
other questions later,but it was asking questions myself.
You know, I was curious about things,you know, software's not
working for you properly.I'm trying to problem solve, you know,
design situations and someproject you're working on
and just going online andtrying to find this information

(02:29):
and realizing that not alot of it was out there
and it was really hardto find these answers
and I was just like, okay,all right, well, that's fine.
So I figured out, youfigure out the problem
and I just share that back.Regardless if I was the
first person to share itor the 50th person to share it,
I would still put it out in a new formatbecause I have a unique personality

(02:51):
and I could put my ownlittle flair and spin on things
that make it moreengaging and more inclusive.
So that's kind of what I started doingwith no intention of
what it would evolve toover the last few years.
I really was just doing it because Igained new knowledge,
making sure it'savailable for other people.
I don't need people to do what I've done.I want them to take it and evolve

(03:13):
and grow it into their own thing,but, you know, come back and share it
with the rest of us,that evolution.
So it was just, I stumbled.It was a random thing that just happened.
But I appreciate that of youbecause the reality is
like software is limitedand especially with
some of the big softwaresthat we're tied to, we

(03:34):
can't get away from itand we are limited to what we can do.
As designers,architects, engineers, consultants,
you're trying to push the boundaryand the thing is you didn't say,
oh, it doesn't do it,I guess it can't do it.
It doesn't stop you.You just keep driving through and going,
what can we do?How can we push the software differently?
What tools do I need tokind of bring it into it?

(03:55):
And that's where you're exactly going.So yeah, I know, again,
I just wanted tocompliment you on that respect.
Oh, thank you.And another thing people don't realize is
an expert is not 100% expert.For software that I use, and this is,
I'm celebrating 30 years,nobody do the math, just don't.
30 years of AutoCAD this year, shh.Yeah, yeah, yeah.

(04:18):
30 years of AutoCAD,intense, very deep AutoCAD
that most people will never touch.And I still tell you that I only know
50, 60% of the software.And I am just-- You
still use AutoCAD today?Every day, it's actually ridiculous.
I love it.But it's not my only platform
because I am in BIB services.So that is how I have

(04:39):
the connection to CAwhere we have the
ability to talk about today.So you don't need to know everything,
but you need to be curiousenough to seek new answers.
And the software doesn'tneed to do exactly everything,
but that's not gonna stop me fromadopting it, learning it.
And then as it evolves,or I figure out new ways
to take advantage of it,that's where innovation comes from.

(05:04):
So yeah. 100%.And yeah, I totally agree.
Like, everywhere exactlycame from, but it was always,
you don't need to be an expert,but just surround
yourself with amazing people.And the stats show that.
The higher end people, the amazing peoplethat you put experts in the field,
you become like thatversus if you surround yourself
with people that justat that lower level,
you never grow.I always tell them like my

(05:26):
son's playing pool, right?And I love pool and everything.
And it's like, oh, how can I can't be?I'm like, well, you gotta surround
yourself with peoplethat eventually you'll beat up to me.
And then you gotta playsomeone better than me.
So you never get to that stalemate.You always gotta do it.
Same thing witheducation and surrounding,
surround yourself with amazing peoplebecause you don't need all the answers.
That's not what the world's working from.And that's a great segue here into like,

(05:50):
why sharing knowledge,continue education matter
in the ACA industry.And you're so well
connected in this case.You're part of a ton of user groups.
What got you into theseuser groups to begin with?
So seeking knowledge, really.You just type into your Google algorithm
what you're looking forand people are always like,

(06:11):
how do you know what to find?Literally type whatever you're thinking
and start there and evolve from there.And so you would stumble upon user forms,
Autodesk uniforms, Augie user forms,BIM coordinator summits, my friends,
and I can never getthe, I'll get to it later.

(06:32):
But I have a lot of people,I didn't know the people at first.
I was thinking answers andyou grow those relationships
because you start asking questionsand somebody was
really kind and was like,okay, I don't know the answer,
but hey, let's work on it together.And that's kind of how it evolved.
And even how we kind of met,it was, there was that

(06:53):
similarity and like our passionand our constantly
like seeking informationthat we were able to really connect.
And like our firstconversation was very exciting
because it was like, okay.Because you had, we were talking about,
am I allowed to say the software?Absolutely, yeah.
Okay, we were talking about part threeand I love AR integration and the,

(07:17):
the way that that tool integratedwith the construction
design and bridging that gapbetween the designers and the CA team,
it was just such abeautiful transition between them.
So I wanted to know morebecause how can I work with my teams?
BIM services is not just the designers.I work with project
managers to the construction team.I talk to everybody

(07:40):
because everybody needs help.So how do I carry those conversations
and what tools and solutions could I use?So the user groups came
that way, just very organicallybecause where are the
answers you're looking for?Generally, where a bunch of group of
people like yourselfare trying to find questions or sorry,
find answers to theirquestions and then work together.

(08:00):
So I don't have a favoritebecause they all have different values.
(laughing)Are you sure?
It's always some favorite, you know?No, because I get,
(laughing)no, so it's, it's because
I have different reasonsfor being at each one.
So maybe if you had a specific specialty,you might be more focused to what area,

(08:23):
but again, BIM services,I don't have to be an
expert in everything,but I have to be curious
enough to talk to all of youto understand the
workflow, to understand the picturebecause I need to be
able to navigate that data.It's the data flow of your project.
So I needed to understand thatbecause what a project manager needs,
to what a designer needs,to what a contractor needs,

(08:44):
I'm not the same thing, not even close,but what is the same, it's the data.
So that's what really drew me into you.I didn't know your personality at first.
I was curious about yourpassion about a software
you were selling and it was like,how are you so
passionate about just like,but it's because you believed in it
and you were morethan just that software.

(09:04):
You were about the peopleand you were about
giving people the toolsand resources that they
needed to evolve and expand.And that's what drew me in.
So, and I think that's kind ofwhere this dynamic came from.
Yeah, 100%.No, and it is so true.
Like, cause yeah, I've been in theindustry for 22 years,
doing it and loving it.And like I said, the

(09:25):
software drops on my plate.I was like, no, I do believe in this.
I used it for two yearsand it changed my professional career.
And the average user, they know,they were listeners of
this channel, to this podcast.They've heard that story.
But yeah, it is over, Iwould say since we met,
I've probably met withover a thousand architects,
over the last 16 months.And it's been so cool

(09:46):
to hear their story.And they're all still
stuck in the days of Exceland at the mercy of the contractor.
And it's like, there's better way guys.And at the end of the day,
like one of the littleslides that I've been doing
when I talk to people,I've kind of like
people buried in their RFIsand their desk and it's black and white
and it's just not a pretty picture.And then the next picture is like,
the people on theyacht or playing tennis.

(10:06):
And it's like, who do you wanna be?We both share the same
amount of time day to dayand it's like, how
can we be better at it?And that was the same
thing with Revit came out.It was a disruptive technology.
We were using AutoCADevery day to draw stuff.
This technology comesout and our teams went
from 10 people to draw ahigh rise to two, maybe one.
Because of the powerthat the software was doing

(10:28):
and it was just a different way.Again, the time it took was less,
maybe even the sametime, but less people.
It's just more efficient.And that's where, and we'll
get into it today about AIbecause that's always
a fun topic as well.But it's the same thing.
There is some AItools at work, but again,
you're the driver, you'rethe conductor to this method.
Yes, I'm the human.It's the tool.

(10:52):
Exactly.And you're never, that's again,
everyone's all afraidof AI and not respect,
but it's not going away.It's gonna be here.
It's gonna evolve.And yeah, you were strike a little note.
And some of us told me this beforeand I've started actually doing it,
but you said when you need an answer,you go to Google and
you type it in, right?Have you started
trying that with chatTPT?I have.

(11:14):
Yeah, and what do you find,what are you liking better?
Are you enjoyingGoogler and trying to get
all these random webpages?Or are you finding chatTPT is giving you
a more direct approach?I use more than those as tools.
I use them in collaboration togetherbecause I understand the value.
Or maybe I don't understand it.But to myself, I will always evolve.

(11:37):
I'm always seeking something better.I assume that I'm an idiot.
That is how I go into my day.Because there is always something,
but there's always more to learn.I don't know your job.
I don't know that guy's job.I do not know how to
put a proposal togetherfor a contract.
So it's, I can't know everything.So when I'm looking for stuff,

(11:59):
I take advantage of everything.But then I also cross
reference and review and analyze.I don't take it at face value.
Not even the stuff Ifind off the internet.
Because I have foundthings written by people
who know what they're talking about.But maybe, they just kind of,
just one idea went inthe wrong direction,
not the wrong direction,in a different direction.

(12:21):
And now this doesn't make sense.So, okay, I'm gonna go and
look at the other things.So my answers aren't
singular, it's very granular.And that's how I used
software to find things as well.And I've learned to not
really trust AI systems,because I trust it,
but also I've asked itto write list routines for AutoCAD.

(12:43):
And I'll ask the exact same questionto multiple different interfaces.
And they'll usually giveyou a different answer.
And like one out of six work.It's better now, it's
definitely better now.They're getting more accurate.
The programming aspect is getting better.But you still have to validate.
You still have to review.It's just a tool.

(13:03):
So, like I've pros and cons.Yeah, no it is. You've gotta be willing.
Oh, 100%.Like, even the program,
like I use it every day.Like I write up scripts,
hey, I respond in email.Sometimes I'll run it through,
but I'll take the first crack at it.I'm not just gonna let it do it.
100%.And then just see,
sometimes it comes backwith some ideas like, oh,

(13:24):
I like what you're doing.I like where you're
spinning this and that.But again, even like, you know,
mundane tasks like this,like I'm gonna get a
nice transcript from this,you know, from this, you know,
from using this tool called Reversideto do with this recording.
It's gonna give me show notes,which are pretty much bang on.
We could rewrite it to the cows come homeat the end of the day,
but like it's doing the job.It's doing that transcription.

(13:46):
And I think those are the thingsthat we can get into those habits.
You know, that's where youcan help speed up your job.
It's not gonna, youknow, it's not gonna...
Take your job.Yeah, it's not gonna take your job, like,
but it's gonna justhelp you in that sense.
And just again, it goes back to the time.Do you wanna transcript
this, you know, this podcast?Or do you wanna go do other stuff?

(14:08):
I wanna go do other stuff, right?I wanna be on the yacht playing tennis.
Exactly.Yeah, we could do both.
So I like that idea.But you hit something
that I feel stronglyabout the AI system is I
use it for an assistant.So it's just, I don't
usually have a lot of peopleto talk to or bounce my ideas off of
because like people are always like,"What are you doing?

(14:29):
What are you thinking about?"And it's just like, you
don't think about this stuff?Okay, so if I'm
working, I will just start,I will just start by saying,
I'm gonna give you a bunch of notes.I don't want a response.
Just please accumulate my data.And I'll start my chat that way.
And it's like, all right,please provide the information.
And I'll just research, type in my notes,research, type in my notes.

(14:51):
And they'll say, please give me a summaryof the information that
I have just given you.And it'll give me a summary.
It'll be like, okay,well, I'm trying to do this.
Can you ask me some questions?And then I can answer
to help build this out.And then it'll ask me some questions
and I'll do some, Iuse it as an assistant.
Cause I don't have an assistantand I can't forward an assistant.
Nope.Other people are gonna

(15:12):
use AI however they need to.But once you realize that
the tool is made to support youand to help you and
you take advantage of it,it's not real.
It has no feelings.Don't be upset if you
have, I've sworn at it.I yell at it and I said, this is stupid.
I don't want this.And like, I treat it

(15:34):
like it would be, you know,I don't treat people that way.
You know how nice I am.Okay, good.
But I'm not polite with itbecause I don't need
to be polite with it.Actually I'm Canadian.
So I still even write please.Can you please write this?
And it's like, it has no feelings,but yeah, I know I've
done the same thing.Oh gosh.

(15:56):
But with speaking of no feelings,that's a great segue into CA.
(laughing) Yeah, are you getting a lotinvolved in the CA these days?
Are you working with groupsthat have the CA kind of going?
So it has been growing more and morethat I've been
expanding my resources at work.So SEMA is a massive company

(16:21):
and we have a ton of employeesand I am assigned to
currently like 90 projectsbecause BIMS services,
I'm not doing the design.So I'm in there
supporting you across the board.Please make sure you
give me your project numberwhen you call.
Right, yeah, how would have all that?That's a lot.
So you're just kind of, yeah,you're floating between each one,

(16:42):
assisting, helping on,making sure that they're
following this, you know,from a quality control perspective.
And they have the datathat they need, yeah.
Or like, so my integration with the CA'shave been growing the last few months
and I've been building arelationship with them.
And originally it juststarted with desktop connector.
Some people's desktop connectors,cash just need to be cleared.
And I was just easily available.But I'm very personal, you call me

(17:07):
and I'm gonna make you feel good.Not because that's my job, I genuinely
want you to be okay.If you're calling me,
you're not calling mebecause you're having a beautiful day.
You're calling me because it's badand you need somebody
to help get out of it.So that's something, you
know, unique to BIM services.Like you're almost a
therapist, like in a sense.Counselor, referee.

(17:32):
Right, so I've supported,I'm supporting the
construction team and it's growing.So right now it's still in its infancy
because you have to build that trust.They weren't used to talking to somebody
in my role and my capacity.So you got to build
that new collaboration,that new connection with them.
And it starts with trust andit starts with understanding

(17:55):
and it starts with listening.What's your problem?
How can I help you?And BIM services, that's data centric.
So what are they generally looking for?Data.
So we're just, you know, I'mjust a bit, whatever you need,
let me help you find it.And now they don't have
to go bug a project managerwho doesn't understand,

(18:15):
they understand a lot.Sometimes I can't believe
what a project manager has to do.But when it comes down
to the design portion,that's a lot more.
So that's where I'mcoming to bridge that gap
between our designersand our construction team
and making sure that they have theresources they need.
What do you need?What do you even need?
I have no idea.Please tell me.
And then I will make sure that we canproduce that for you.

(18:37):
So something I like to tell people is,somebody else
shouldn't have to do somethingto use your work.
You are responsible for your own work.When I hand it to you, you should be able
to just do your job.Because my job is to make
sure you can do your job.So if you have to redo my stuff,
I did not do my job properly.Yeah, well, that's the thing.

(18:58):
It's like you walkinto my office and say,
"Hey, Matt, there's all this, you know,all these problems."
And then you walk away and it's like,"Hold on, these are not my monkeys.
You're gonna take these back with you.And this is your thing."
And that's exactly whatyou're kind of saying,
is that, "Hey, I'll help you assist,but I am not taking over
that ownership of that.That's still your ownership.
You gotta follow through."And if it's not done by
that five o'clock deadline,you might be staying late, right?

(19:20):
But I'm not gonna takethe ownership of it, right?
No, and you have totake ownership for, yeah.
Oh, 100%, yeah.And it's taking away that bias around it.
Like, "Well, I did my job andthey should just do theirs."
And I know most people don't think this,but there is that mentality out there.
It's like, "No, take pride in your work."Be respectful of what it is

(19:41):
because that is a reflection of you.So if I have to
constantly clean up your stuff,if I constantly have to
fix your stuff, I'm sorry,but that's going to be my opinion of you,
is how I have to deal with whatinformation I get from you.
So I try and do that myself.And even I fail at that
sometimes because no one's perfect.I forget to do things.

(20:03):
I mess up a lot.So we all mess up a lot.
100%, like over the last probably decade,I think, you know, empathy
is something that I, you know,I never really understood
what that word was before, right?And now I'm really starting to tell you.
And I think like SimonSinek did a lot at Bernie Round.
You know, they've got alot of great, you know,
the episodes and books and all about thatand kind of what empathy is.

(20:26):
And it is really like whensomeone is making mistakes
rather than kind of getting on them,it's just going, "What's going on?"
You know, like, "Whyis this not working?"
You know, "Help me understand."And you know, everyone's
story is different, right?Now we're going into a counseling session
with this podcast.But the plan is, is it could be something
much deeper than that.Like there could be a reason why.
And it's, you know, basically crawlinginto that hole with them

(20:46):
and kind of going, "What's going on?How can I help you?
You know, you've got such potential,but you got to, we're
going to do this together.We're going to sit in this hole together.
And we're going to get you out together."That kind of stuff.
And again, it ties into that.But I think that's where the
one thing kind of, you know,sparked my interest as
when you were talking.And I think it's so cool that you are
being pulled in all throughthese different

(21:07):
projects that, you know, again,the 80, 90 projects here in different
life stages of them,like from the early days of Scrammatic,
them drawing just simpleboxes, doing shadow studies to,
"Hey, we're in CDs now.So now thanks for drawing
this crazy box in the sky,how are we actually going to build it?
And now you're, andhow do we model in Revit
and all these programs?"And, you know, again, even the middle of
the fun presentationsand the renderings.

(21:28):
And then like I said, you're into the CAside where they're doing it.
And now they didn't,you know, unfortunately,
details didn't get drawn during the timeand RFI was triggered.
You come in, you know,helping with, you know,
the team to basicallyget that detail properly
and issue out that siteinstruction and the way it goes.
So I think that's really cool.And that's, you know, it kind of goes
into like, you know,the training and the innovation that

(21:49):
we're, you know, pushing for.You're pushing for through
the GANS and the user groupsand cheerleading and going on.
And, you know, the need forindustry-wide collaboration
to support change and growth, you know,like thoughts on that.
Like how can we worktogether better, you know, again?

(22:09):
Yeah.My first thing, and it's kind of kind of
seemed like I'm going to the end,but it really is the beginning.
Embrace your failures.Embrace your failures.
Celebrate them.Do not be ashamed that something you
attempted didn't work.Celebrate the fact
that you took that riskand that it didn't

(22:30):
work because, you know,they're a success without failure,
but is there truesuccess without failure?
Because what have youlearned if you succeed instantly?
OK, great. It worked. Fantastic.I'm super happy about that.
But when I fail, I get to grow.I get to learn.

(22:50):
So I want people to bring that into theworld by like not just continuing
education and mentoringand sharing knowledge,
but also that mentality about failure aswell, because there that is a huge part
of all of this. Youreducation is failure is part of that.
So, you know, getting into the educationpart, OK, ask the question again

(23:15):
because I want to makesure that I get off track.
I think that was great.I thought it was really come together.
And I you're OK.I know the way you
opened it about failure.You're absolutely right.
And again, lots of individuals, otherpodcasts that I listen to and books
and everything like you're right, like,you know, it's it's
like your stock market.You know, you're going to have the

(23:36):
failures, you'regoing to have up and gross
and stuff like that. And every little,you know, every step of the way
and you do that dip and everything.But when you that's the thing, when we
kind of narrowly mineinto this little tiny area and I'm trying
to explain this, you know,by words because we're
the ones that are listening.But basically, as you're going through
these things, you are going to stumble,you're going to fall, you're going to
trip down a couple of steps.But then you're going to

(23:56):
keep going up and you get it up.And then you're going to trip again.
You get it. Maybe one day you're going tohave a really bad day.
You're going to have a bad month. Right.You know, again, doesn't matter if it's
in design or whatever.You've just hit it or right.
You've got you got aproject that's just not coming.
You got a bad contract or whatever thecase is that things are not going really
well. But again, you're going to getyou're going to start back climbing.
And now if we like we zoom out, you know,we take a, you know,

(24:18):
a thousand feet backwards and look atthis picture of where you've come from.
It's not perfect. It's nota it's not a rocket ship up.
It's not how it works.And, you know, if you never
try anything, you never know.And that's the thing, like with job
careers, with life,you know, like, you know,
again, you know, you both you and I havekids and everything.

(24:39):
And that's like, oh, I don't want to dothat. I want to do that.
It's like, have you ever done it? No.Well, let's try it out.
And then holy smokes.It may be the newest,
coolest thing, right?You know, maybe maybe if you were
petrified, I don't want to go through,but I don't want to go through it.
Well, maybe you go scuba diving one time.You go try it in the pool and you're
like, oh my goodness.And next thing you know,
this is your new passion.You don't know until you try.
And yeah, you're going to fail.And sometimes failing sucks because it's

(25:02):
going to be a financial burden.It's not going to be
just like, oh, I failed.It's like, oh my goodness, I failed.
And I'm hitting, you know, I'm startingpre-coast lock bottom,
but you'll get there.And again, it's all about
attitude and what you do.And that's kind of like what I'm hearing
from you, too, is just pushing.So you answered the question just fine.
Come on.That was awesome.

(25:24):
All right.But here's a good challenging thing is
because again, right now, yeah,in SEMA Plus and everything,
you've got the whole group.Again, that's the architects, that's the
engineers, the consultants, right?Then on the other side of the fence is
there's the contractors.In all your experience with some of these
user groups or what you're doingor like the conversations in terms of

(25:44):
mentorship and growth,do you find that there's like a gap where
we have both of them in the same room?You know, it's kind
of, you know, it's yeah.Yeah.
So my I am part of the Autodesk big roomand they're the ones that are actually
sponsoring and collaborating with me onmy a tip a day project.
So I have a very goodrelationship with them.

(26:05):
But it is a unique user group because Ido have a lot of
people, BIM services in there,but there's a lot of contractors.
Because the focus is ACC and ACC build ishuge in there and the
digital builders podcast.So like very big over there.
But I go to any of my other user forms.I don't think I can I don't think there's

(26:26):
a single construction administrationperson in any of them.
And I'm not saying there isn't.There could be, but not at the forefront,
not of the ones thatare answering questions,
not that the ones that are engaging.But over on this one,
they are so engaging.And it's actually what made
me so much more passionate.I'm going I'm going to attribute a lot of
this actually to thebig room for me starting

(26:48):
those relationships withthe construction group.
Like, yes, they werecalling me to solve problems.
But I realized that I had a lack ofknowledge that there was this wall.
And I was like, oh, my.I think I need to address this.
They're such a it's such a brilliantgroup of individuals who

(27:13):
are extremely passionateand knowledgeable that there aren't a lot
of user groups out there for constructionprofessionals and to come across one
where they were soengaging and with the activities
and the interactions, it really allows usto communicate, work
together and get together.And I and so I wish I

(27:35):
could see more of that.And I'm trying to take lessons that I'm
learning with the big roomand I'm using it to evolve
myself and to to build those thoseconnections, to build those relationships
with my constructionteam, because there is no reason they
should be in the dark.Why are we not they do talk?
I'm not saying that it's a complete likebefore me, no one ever talk.

(27:58):
It's just that I had neverstarted that conversation.
I had never started that relationship.So I'm putting the effort into it.
That was a failure on my part.And am I going to sit there and never
talk to them because Ididn't talk to them for
no.I reached out and I said,
hey, I have some questions.What do you do?
And and that's where it all began.So I really am excited to

(28:22):
see kind of things evolve.And I hope, you know, even with this,
because, you know, I'vebeen services, which isn't
specifically construction.You know, maybe some new audience members
might hear this or be like, you know, whoam I not connected with?
It doesn't have to beyour construction team.
Maybe it's your procurement team.I'm not sure you should have a

(28:43):
conversation with them.We should all work together.
There's a reason it'scalled collaboration.
That's right.And I agree.
And like I was a few weeks ago, I was onthe construction
brothers podcast with Tyler andEddie.
And I don't know if you'vekind of checked them out.
Really, you know, great guys.They always publish stuff.
Yeah.But yeah, they one thing that we talked
about, we got on a good,you know, went on a good

(29:03):
role.And but it is like the synergy between
like I've been on jobswhere it's like contractors,
architects and, youknow, it's just not cool.
Right.It's it's but I've been on the projects
where we are a team as one.Right.
And then the owner is just is such agreat relationship when
you can be on that thing.Yeah, there was time there was mistakes
and stuff like that.And we had to pay for it.

(29:25):
But we did it in a way thatwas business and professional.
There wasn't emotions to it.And by having that synergy, really,
really, truly work together.We in this case, it wasn't too crazy,
but, you know, it was amultimillion dollar daycare
project and it was being built during theworst time during
supply chains and covid,like every like every day,
like prices were going up.The big thing in the industry at the time

(29:48):
for us and B.C. was distribution panels.Right.
So you could even get like before being athree month lead time
now was like turninginto 14 months.
So, well, the reality is you can'tenergize your building
to go for substantial.So you just hit a dead wall and, you
know, it just sucked.But this group managed to work and then
there was rooftop units.We couldn't get that.
And then they were finding ones.And again, they're like, you

(30:10):
need to read the shop drawings.We would jump on to it to make
sure that things were moving.And they were being so proactive.
And again, if you've got thatrelationship, you can see
projects just, you know, justblossom, be amazing.
And then at the end of the day, when youdo wrap up the project,
you do crack open thatchampagne and you are literally smiling
and you're not likegrinding your teeth like
you have.That's a good project.

(30:30):
Like you were, you guys came together andI think that's a cool attitude.
It's a great outlook andit's the best way to do it.
No, 100%.Yeah.And we need to connect as individuals
because we're goingto work together again.
The fact that you worked on with thatperson once a very strong
chance, unless you leavethe industry or change jobs or, you know,
go somewhere thatdoesn't interact with that

(30:51):
group of people, you're probably going towork with that individual again.
So would you rather that be pleasant andbeing able to share
knowledge and learn fromeach other?
Because again, that's whatit's going to come down to.
I need to learn to work with you.You need to learn to work with me.
So that's honestly, that's how I look atevery day, every

(31:12):
conversation, because I know Ilearned something, multiple things every
day and people arelike, Oh, I haven't learned
something new in like a week.It's like, how I turn on my computer.
I learned something new.I seek.
Maybe that's my personality.You need to learn one thing
at bare minimum every day.100%.I agree.

(31:33):
And that brings us into retention, right?Retention of actual
knowledge and everything.And one thing that, you know, the good
old COVID did is itreally forced a lot of people
to retirement.A lot of guys in this, like more on the
construction side, they were holding on.They were still making money.
They were enjoying.They were having fun.
Maybe they did less hoursand hired their younger stuff.

(31:53):
And then COVID came andthey went, screw this.
I'm done.Like I've, I've, and that really quickly
escalated a lot ofretirees overnight in that sense.
And so, and the same thing with, youknow, architects and consultants.
The reality is people are retiring, newgenerations coming in.
So addressing the knowledge gap betweenthose, you know, what is

(32:14):
your record for any, andwe have a lot of young architects that
listen to this podcast.What are, what would be your
recommendation for a young architecttrying to seek knowledge?
Where are they going?TikTok, or they go onto user groups?
Where would you say?Oh gosh, please don't go to social media.
Like, but not in a sense,like don't go to social media.
Like you have LinkedIn, you have thatstuff, but TikTok is not
going to have your answer.There are going to be professionals out

(32:35):
there that do post onTikTok, but that's not coming
up in your algorithm unlessyou put a lot of effort into it.
So but in school, getconnected to user groups.
Now you are having problems in school.You are trying to do your design.
You're trying to like ease that test sothat you can pass with
good grades or whateverit is.
Don't just go to Google, go to user formsspecializing in those

(32:58):
topics and join multiple.Get connected to a community now because
the community that yougrow now is going to support
you in your future because the peoplethat I have made
friends with, the connectionsthat I have made, this, those
relationships you'reforging, those are going to help you
in your career.I have problems at least once a week that

(33:19):
I'm messaging myAutodesk expert elite colleagues
because you know, there's not a lot ofus, but we specialize
in certain fields and Iwill message them saying,
guys, what's going on with this?Can somebody help me?
And then either they answer it or theysend me somewhere else.
I didn't get that from my career.I got that from joining user groups, from

(33:41):
building mycommunity, from building those
relationships.Don't think that you
have to wait to get a job.Start now.
And then when you're looking for a job,you're going to have
those people to be like, hey,this person's amazing.
You should hire them.It's about building a family, your
professional family.And if I can give any advice to anybody
is build yourprofessional family now because

(34:03):
you know, some of the people I'mconnected to now have been
in the industry for 25, 30years.So have I.
But you know, are just like maybe 10years older than I am.
So I'm able to learn and grab theirknowledge, speaking to
them, reach out to these people.If they're on those forums, they're most
likely willing to talk toyou or message you or make

(34:24):
you join a group with themso that you can get connected.
Like community is the biggest thing.But if you don't want a community and you
want to do it on yourown, there's success
there.You're going to have
to work a lot harder.Maybe you're cool with that.
But it's so much better with people whocare so much better with.
It's perfect.I totally agree.

(34:44):
Because like, again, I'm dating myselfmany, many, many years ago.
That's good enough.We'll stick to that.
But yeah, at BCIT, they had anauto desk user group meeting.
Everything happened once a month and Igot my motorcycle
ripped out to the campus andthere and got to meet.
And at first it's so intimidating.It's like anything.

(35:05):
It's walking in a big room.These guys have been friends.
You know, they're joking.They're joking.
Like, I have no ideawhat you're talking about.
You've got to know everything going.And eventually, as you know, the second,
the third, the fourth,you started meeting one
on one.Everyone's very welcoming to that.
But you're right.It's a new community.
And what it like, it's the start of yournetwork into your new career of
architecture and designand all these things.

(35:26):
And sure enough, like the proof in itwas, yeah, I did there.
I got connected.And I had already had my job
after school and everything.But I, you know, there was one job.
I was just like, thisisn't what I wanted to do.
This is not what Iglamored architecture to be.
And then because of that user groupconnection, I get a call
out of Blue from a little goodfriend, Dan McKinnon.

(35:46):
And he's like, whatare you doing right now?
Why don't you come work with me?Right.
And that was my introduction to becomingan Autodesk reseller at the time.
And that opened up a thousand differentdoors where meeting
architects and training themand implementing
Revit as an early adopter.And then next thing you
know, I was working from RC&A.And the rest of the whole history of my

(36:07):
career kind of blossomed from it.So it is, like you said, it is a family
and on its own and it'sa network opportunity.
And still today, these days, I still, youknow, meet all these people.
It's all part of your career.It's all your stepping stones and your
journey and a hundred percent.What do you think about firms and
document and transferring this knowledge?Again, there's all this mentorship.
You're doing it already.But right now it's just kind of you're

(36:29):
doing one on one, one on one times.Are you doing any way to document, to put
it into like, youknow, standards of protocol
and SOP document, right?You know, and that like, are you so it
kind of gets retained onsome intranet or you know
what I mean?Like, what's the best way?
Like, you know, like that was kind oflike with CA, like there's
just not a lot of knowledgeout there.

(36:50):
That's why I started the podcast.What are you guys doing as a firm to kind
of help retain thatknowledge and, you know,
make some kind of documentation to giveit to young people
when they start, you know?Yeah.
And so we are working on documentationand it comes with like
passionate individualsbecause you know, you can you can tell
somebody their job is tomake SOPs for procedures.

(37:12):
But you need somebody who recognizes thatthere is a lack of
resources and a passionto be able to, you know, actually want to
sit down and createcontent that is educational
but engaging becausethat is very difficult.

(37:33):
So I agree that, you know, making itstandard procedure to have this
documentation but pickingthe right people and maybe look at the
people who are showingthat interest, asking about
the information.Where is this?
Why can't I find this?Oh, I found this and they're
the ones out there sharing.If you're going to if you're going to
designate those roles tosomebody, make it somebody

(37:53):
who's demonstrating to you that theywould be interested in doing it.
Maybe they don't think they can.So we're starting that and just going
through our procedures, right?You know, we have a certain way that we
geo reference our Revit models.And there is a way they're used to used
to have to take it like Revit from ECC.You had to take it

(38:13):
off the cloud to do it.But there is a way to do it cloud based
and just making surethat people understand the
different ways to navigate the softwarebecause not that that
information isn't actually veryfine.
It's quite difficult.So making sure that we have consistent
information because something I tellpeople is regardless
of the software you use, regardless ofwhere you came from,

(38:35):
your skills or background,I shouldn't be able to tell the
difference between yourdrawing, my drawing and Joe's
over there drawing.I don't care if you're using Revit,
AutoCAD, SketchUp andMicroStation in the same project
in the same project.I shouldn't be able to tell the
difference between any of them.When I put it into a PDF, it should just
look the exact same.So making sure that those

(38:57):
resources are available.So we have a lot of that documentation,
but there's alsospecialties that people hadn't
stopped to consider that if you lost thatknowledge, then how does
the next person proceed?Think about that.
If this person leaves, retires, quits,whatever, it's by a bus

(39:18):
because things happen.Those buses, I swear.
Those buses, geez.What's the joke?
Is it the train or the trolley?The trolley equation.
So if you've got an old man on one trackand you've got a bunch
of kids on the other, whatdo you do with the trolley?
That's horrible.And everybody will...
Yeah, but the answer is even more morbid.You're the one who goes with the trolley.

(39:44):
Why would you sacrifice other people?Almost being willing to sacrifice
yourself, but everybodyhas their own opinion about
that question.Think of that in the same way that you're
retaining that knowledge.If you don't have this knowledge and
people retire, it's gone.What are the new people going to have?

(40:08):
Don't beat the trolley that goes off thetrack and nobody
knows what to do with it.Make sure that you have those resources.
And then ask those people in those weirdjobs, what do you even do?
How do you even navigate these projects?And then document that.
Maybe you have a call with them, turn ona transcriber, and let them just talk.

(40:29):
There's so many ways to retain knowledge.Those people who are retiring, maybe if
you know they're goingto retire in a year, you
set up biweekly meetings with them andyou start asking them
questions and you starttranscribing it.
I don't know what you need to do, butthere is no excuse in
our day and age, with ourtechnology and our availability, that any
of this information should be lost.I 100% agree.

(40:50):
Absolutely.And what are you guys doing for
mentorship programs?I was at AI Aspire and they were talking
about this group would beonce every week and have
lunch or something like that.Or one of the clients I work with in
Vancouver, every odd lunchthey'll do, they'll talk CA.

(41:11):
They're kind of litand that kind of stuff.
What are you guys doing in time?We have a mentorship program
and I am currently a mentor.I haven't had a mentee yet, so we're only
on our second session.They started it just after I had showed
up and I instantly signed up.I actually asked if I could go mentee and
they're like, "No,you need to go mentor."
I was like, "Oh, okay.Sure, whatever."

(41:32):
So I applied for that, but you have to beconnected to the
right person and I held nogrudges.
You didn't choose me?That's perfectly fine because maybe my
values didn't align towhere you wanted to go.
That is not thepurpose of being a mentor.
I am available if needed and if notneeded by all means.
No hard feelings becausethat's not the purpose of it.

(41:54):
On Monday, we had what was called acoffee chat for
International Women's Month for thisyear.
I met with two colleagues from work andwe just had a great
conversation about strugglesfor women in the industry and just had a
great natural talkbetween the three of us.
We weren't solving world problems, but itwas nice to be like,

(42:18):
"We are all differentat different stages in our careers, but
there's a lot of similarities."It was humbling to
learn that you're not alone.Other people are dealing with this and
that was really what itwas about, just hearing
each other's stories and connecting withnew individuals
because you're building a newrelationship.
They're adding to my community.CMA Plus is very passionate about opening

(42:47):
up those questionsregardless of the topic
and making them accessible for everybodyat the company and
making it a safe environmentfor us to be able to
connect with each other.You're not just
connecting with another designer.You might connect with a director.
You might connect with a project manager.You might connect with other people
across the companybecause people always wonder why

(43:12):
I have no problem talking to anybody.I don't care if you're the CEO.
I don't care if you're the president.I care.
Congratulations.Good for you.
Or the custodian or whatever you are.We're all human.
We're all individuals and we're all justtrying to get our job done.
Just because your value is different thanmy value doesn't mean it's less.

(43:33):
Especially a lot ofthem, especially custodians.
Everybody high five your custodianbecause their value is
more than us in a lot of casesbecause your building wouldn't be able to
run and function withoutyour facilities management
teams.I got a soft spot for them because it's
an amazing group of people.Why connect with everyone?

(43:54):
You're just an averagedude that has this job.
You're going home to your family.You're having your life, but
this is just you professionally.Wonderful.
You have no problem talking to that CEObecause you're just a person.
You're just doing something a little bitdifferently than me, but you're still
interesting, hopefully.That's right.
But again, it's all the assembly line.Like looking at an average car, everyone

(44:17):
plays an important role.Like I said, even the custodian, the
person that's keepingthe place clean so no one's
tripping that they're doing their job,they're doing it
really well in that sense.You're the guy that's painting, putting
the doors on, someonethat's putting the door
frame on, that final deco,that attention to detail.
There's that one individual that's doingthat and you're right.
It's all part of bringing together anddesigning and bringing

(44:42):
the right product at the endof the day and that's
the buildings that we do.All everything goes into it.
Everyone plays a role.I know like a younger generation gets
really fed up becausethey just want to be part of
the big fun, the schematic and they don'twant to get into the details.
It's like, well, that's okay.Being a part of those details
is where it all comes together.It's all about where that molding is

(45:04):
going to terminate intothis piece of millwork to
ensure that you don't open the door andyou're hitting piece of millwork.
All those details, you may not feel like,oh, it's worth or whatever, but it is.
You bringing it to the light, whetheryou're at the beginning
of the project or you'rethe guy that's being the field reviewer
and you're rippingaround, ensuring that they're
following the drawings.All everyone's playing their part and not

(45:26):
so important and it'sso critical and it's
so needed.I actually did a talk a couple of weeks
ago and it's alltaken pride in your work.
It is.It totally is.
You already said thattoday and just re-expressed it.
So no, thank you forsaying it because yeah, 100%.
It's all in the process.We're all in this together.
We are.We literally are in that boat.

(45:46):
Yeah.So here you go.
Because we're coming up to the hour in asense, but your soapbox
moment, your 30 secondselevator's pitch, you know, what does the
industry need to hear right now?Be open minded, be willing to ask
questions, share your knowledge,regardless if you think
it has value, you don't know who's goingto find value in it.

(46:10):
And there is no responsibility on yourpart or their part to
replicate what you've done,but to hopefully evolve and grow from it
for you to learn yourself.And you know, if somebody calls you,
they're not calling youbecause it's a good day.
The calling is because it's a bad day.And what if you were in that position?
What would you do?You know, there's a reason why if you

(46:30):
call me, the first thingI say is how can I make
your day better?Because that matters.
And at the end of the day, Iwant you to go home, be happy.
And I want to go home and be happy.So you know, I know this is a
compassionate thing, but I think it isneeded in our industry
because there used tobe a very clear divide.
And I want people to, you know, be openminded and, you know, be

(46:53):
willing to see things throughother people's perspective.
You don't have to change your mind, butyou need to be open to new ideas.
So I know that's kind of like a very widething and maybe
different than most peoplewould say.
But, you know, we are all just trying todo a job and we're
just trying to do the bestthat we can.

(47:13):
I take a lot of heart into making surethat I don't make
someone's day worse because Icouldn't deal with that.
Well said.Well said.
That was awesome.I think that's an awesome
note to end on this one.So I love it.
Absolutely.Thank you for being
on the show, Christina.Where can people find you?
You know, I get a lot of places, butwhere can they find you?

(47:36):
So start at LinkedIn.That's just the easiest place to go.
I am very active on the Autodeskcommunity blog as well.
I write articles forthem when I have time.
I'm also a board of director for AugieInc. and I write
articles for Augie magazine, butI post all of that on LinkedIn.
And you know, that's just my professionallocation to find anything that I'm doing.

(47:58):
And you know, if you're sitting there andyou have a tip or
trick about some Autodesksoftware that you are passionate about,
look into the tip of dayproject that is community
driven initiative and it's meant to shareknowledge and it's meant
to bring people together.And that's that's my entire goal for 2025

(48:18):
is just opening thosedoors for more people.
So yeah, if you would like to know more,just head over to LinkedIn.
Nice.Oh, thank you.
Yeah.I appreciate being on the show.
We're going to definitely do this again.I'm hoping to go to Nashville for
Autodesk University 2025.So waiting for that
call to speakers moment.So I'll definitely be applying, but yeah,
most likely we'll be out there and yeah.And I know you will be there of course,

(48:42):
and we'll be pullingall the podcasts gear with
me on the planes.I'm going to get all
checked through security.It's just the way they love doing it.
They always do that process.But yeah, in wrapping this episode up to
all the listeners andeverything, it's been fantastic.
It's great mentorship, lots of resourcesfor everyone to go to.
And I think that's very powerful.And but yeah, no,

(49:03):
thank you so much again.So in saying that last month, at least
until next time, architects keepdesigning contractors,
keep making those blueprints reality.We'll see on the next one.