“One
thing I have raised to top importance is having fun…”
Jerrold Anderson, an architect, is Senior Associate in
charge of design for MHTN, Salt Lake City’s largest architectural firm.
A few
weeks after I completed the AvatarŽ course, the small architectural firm I was
working with was approached by an older and much larger firm with the idea of
merging our two offices. Rather than immediately thinking of the limitations
and losses such a move might involve, I was able to approach the idea within
the framework of possibilities. Only a few weeks before, I had intentionally
created that I would be involved more in the design aspect of architecture,
rather than the production of drawings. After negotiations and agreements, the
merger resulted in my heading a newly created design department in the new
firm. I can more easily think beyond the way it's been done before and explore
the new and creative possibilities.
As a result of the Avatar course, I created
opportunity in my career, and I have all the tools I need to create balance and
harmony between my career and my family. One thing I have raised to top
importance is having fun, and I have deliberately created my life on a lighter
side. It's easier to let go of pressure, and even when I bring work home, it's
not because I have to, but because I enjoy it.
I can coordinate efforts
and work with people much easier than before Avatar. In fact, we often take a
few minutes during the afternoon to throw a Frisbee around a grassy spot in the
middle of downtown Salt Lake - not bad for a bunch of architects in ties!