Publications
Combining two popular titles in the Architect's Essentials series, this book offers a single resource that design professionals can depend on through the life cycle of their firms. Half the book guides architects and other design professionals through the ins and outs of launching a firm. The second half helps them enhance their firms' strengths as they navigate ownership transitions, which can occur when they expand ownership to raise capital or begin preparing for retirement. This book helps design professionals determine when to conduct reviews and how to make essential course corrections to keep their firms moving along a successful track. It offers practical advice for dealing with:
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Creating a business plan and evaluating initial costs
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Implementing winning business and marketing strategies
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Managing personnel, fees, contract negotiations, budgets and legal considerations
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Determining a firm's value
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Establishing criteria for selecting new owners
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Designing a smooth ownership transition program
Architect's Essentials of Starting, Assessing, and Transitioning a Design Firm
Architect's Essentials of Ownership Transition
The first in the Architect's Essentials series, this book takes the guesswork out of buying, selling, merging, and, especially, internal ownership transfer. It provides instant access to highly focused, specific advice on all critical transition phases, including candidate selection, valuation, transfer mechanisms, program implementation, and more. It is an indispensable resource for architects, engineers, planners, landscape architects, interior designers and other design professionals expecting or planning to participate in an ownership transition.
Architect's Essentials of Starting a Design Firm
This book presents a thorough, organized approach to building your own design firm or expanding an existing firm. Written by two leading experts in the field, this authoritative resource offers real-world tips and guidance, as well as pitfalls to avoid, to give your practice the best chance for success. The authors address all aspects of getting started, from preliminary assessment of personal skills and resources preceding startup (including creating a business plan and evaluating initial costs) to business and marketing strategies to keep your firm going. The book also provides the solid, hands-on advice needed to manage issues such as firm organization, personnel requirements, setting fees, negotiating contracts, creating budgets, legal considerations, and more.
Success Strategies for Design Professionals
The ideas presented in Success Strategies constituted a significant breakthrough in the understanding of the essential differences between different segments of the marketplace and in the architects, engineers and other design professionals that serve those markets. Tested before a variety of knowledgeable professionals whose feedback informed the ideas, the book presents a set of principles and six complete game plans for building a successful design practice, one for each of the six different positions that differentiate "strong idea," "strong service," and "strong delivery" firms. New when first presented in this book, the identifying labels presented and discussed have become part of the common language of design professionals.
The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice
Now in its 14th Edition, The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, also known as The Architect's Handbook or simply Handbook, is the "bible" for architects in practice and for the students and interns learning and training to become architects. This indispensable resource covers all aspects of architectural practice, including information about professional life, legal and organizational structure, marketing and client relations, project delivery and agreements. A recognized expert on financial management matters, Peter Piven served on the Editorial Committee for the Handbook and wrote the chapters on "Financial Health" and "Acquiring Capital."
Articles
2000s
The New Norm, Part Two: Finances
ArchNewsNow, June, 2020
ArchNewsNow, May, 2020
Cultural Fit
What is cultural fit in design firms, and how do you achieve it?
ArchNewsNow, December, 2019
A case study on end-game strategies
ArchNewsNow, April, 2017
An Article on Scenario Planning, January, 2013
Adapt or Atrophy
Design Intelligence, October, 2011
Survival-Mode Leadership
Design Intelligence, June, 2010
Positioning for the Turnaround: a report on the effect of the current economy and what to do about it
Whitehorn Financial Newsletter, May, 2009
Success and Succession: Ensuring a Firm's Afterlife
Columns, AIA Pittsburgh newsletter, March 2000
1990s
Firm Valuation: Determination, Exceptions
and Management Implications
Design Intelligence, November, 1997
Transferring Ownership Effectively: Additional Thoughts on Responsibilities and Expectations
Design Intelligence, January, 1997
Increasing Your Project Team's Effectiveness
Design Intelligence, June 1996
Successful Ownership Starts with Active Leadership
Design Intelligence, June, 1995
Total TQM (with Thomas Kvan and Dr. Gregory Shea)
The Coxe Group, September, 1992
Effective Business Planning
Messages, the Society of Environmental Graphic Design newsletter, Summer, 1992
Pricing Services
Architectural Record, September, 1991
A Stitch in Time: What to do when your financial statements look like these
Architectural Record, January, 1991
The Future of Architecture: Education and Practice
Pennsylvania Architect, Summer, 1990
1980s
Processes for Delivering Projects to Clients
Architecture, June 1989
Charting Your Course: Master Strategies for Organizing and Managing Architecture Firms (with Weld Coxe, Nina Hartung, Hugh Hochberg, Brian Lewis, David Maister and Robert Mattox)
Technology, May/June 1986
1970s
Financial Management
Current Techniques in Architectural Practice
The American Institute of Architects, 1976
A User's View of Computer-Based Financial Management
AIA Journal, July, 1973
Time — A Building Systems Benefit
Building Research, July/December 1970