Its glass reflects the beauty of the buildings around it. Its spire splits the clouds. Its 104 floors allow it to stand tall and look after the rest of Manhattan. Have you seen it yet? The recently completed One World Trade Center is a marvel.
In addition to its aesthetic beauty and imposing presence, master designer of the W.T.C. site, Daniel Libeskind says, “It wasn’t just about building the tallest tower in New York, but building a tower whose height will mean something.” He is referencing the many symbolisms (optimism, resilience, etc.) but among them is that the building is 1,776 feet tall – a deliberate reference to the year when the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Our clients have taken us around the world and as a result we have seen some of the most interesting buildings in the world. And as we hear the stories of the mosque’s sculpted murals, the skyscraper’s structural support, or an IT center’s technical infrastructure we are struck at just how much intention, process, and resolve goes into building something that is functional, beautiful, and meaningful. And how often we miss it when we fixate on the final product.
We hear a lot of demands from our clients. We get calls from Fortune 500s wanting stronger teams. We get emails from entrepreneurs who want nimble organizational structure. But regardless of the life stage of the company or leader, we all know the finished product we desire for our companies. We want organizations that last. We want products that are beautiful. We want processes that empower. We want teams that cooperate. We want strategies that have meaning.
But all of these things must be built. And anything worthy of building requires intention, time, and hard work. And, if you’re anything like us or our clients, we aren’t always sure how to do that work (or if we really want to do that work).
This Navalent Quarterly is dedicated to reflecting on the confounding, labor intensive, long-view, work of building. Like the architectural wonders, all great organizations look different to the eye. Yet we believe the posts in the following weeks contain a few universal principles that though beneath the the walls, can help you and your organization build with care and confidence.
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