Part III: Visionary Skills

“There are three classes of people: Those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.”

Leonardo da Vinci

“‘Think simple’ as my old master used to say—meaning reduce the whole of its parts into the simplest terms, getting back to first principles.”

Frank Lloyd Wright

“I don’t know why people hire architects and then tell them what to do.”

Frank Gehry

“Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.”

Louis Kahn

“I feel coming on a strange disease: humility.”

Frank Lloyd Wright

Part III focuses on the three essential visionary skills for an architect. These chapters focus on exploration, planning, and execution of an architectural vision. The chapters are organized as follows:

• Chapter 10, “Technology Innovation,” will enable you to

• Develop relevant trend awareness

• Align technology innovation with the business

• Enable strategic research

• Apply innovation principles to technology

• Take a pragmatic approach to technology innovation

• Chapter 11, “Strategic Roadmapping,” will enable you to

• Develop roadmaps using strategies and principles

• Know the role of an architect in building roadmaps

• Be aware of some of the key risks related to roadmaps

• Know where and when to use roadmaps

• Chapter 12, “Entrepreneurial Execution,” will enable you to

• Architect with an entrepreneurial spirit

• Take calculated risks

• Deliver results

• Use entrepreneurial principles as an architect

Visionary skills are the third layer of technical skills needed to be an architect (see Figure PIII.1).

Figure PIII.1. Essential architect skills (visionary skills)

The visionary skills will enable you to explore innovation, strategically plan, and entrepreneurially execute architectures that align with the strategic goals and vision of the business.

Figure PIII.2. Visionary skills