Re: Professional Development vs. Self-Development | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Rick Mockler (rickwhdc.com) | |
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:40:08 -0700 (PDT) |
I can offer a perspective on the self-development question, as a professional cohousing developer, because we are regularly approached by early stage groups and we have to decide whether to work with them. Our firm limits ourselves to projects in California. Unfortunately, in many areas of the country, a professional cohousing developer is not available, and so if a group is to hire a professional, the firm might not know anything about cohousing, and so there will likely be challenges around effective group involvement, the need to adapt financial and legal instruments to cohousing, etc. There is still a value to hiring the professional, but this is something to consider. Our firm also turns away prospective cohousing groups include projects that are too small and which don't appear to be economically viable, and we turn away groups when we don't have the staffing capacity to accept additional projects. In short, we turn away more cohousing groups than we accept. I have visited many completed communities, and I love to ask "if you had to do it over again, would you do it the same way?" There a many tales of woe from groups that have self-developed. The stories usually fall into one of two categories: 1. "If Only We Had Known X,Y,Z" -- A major responsibility of a professional developer is to anticipate everything that can possibly go wrong, and to confront those issues as early as possible. Because cohousers tend to be smart and educated, they often assume that they can figure things out for themselves. That is true, but the learn curve comes with a substantial cost. 2. Internal Conflict -- Often the person whom the group designates as their project manager feels under-appreciated, sometimes to the point where they actually quit and leave the community. Sometimes the group gets bogged down with a decision that would ordinarily be delegated out to a professional developer. Furthermore, there are always frustrations and disappointments, and a professional developer can serve as a valuable scapegoat (it is a lot less stressful to get mad at the professional, since you won't have to live with us after the project is completed). A couple pieces of advice, regarding self-development: 1. The reason to do it should NOT be to save money, because you won't. Some folks, however, just like doing things themselves. If you are a "do it yourselfer" that is great, but just understand that you will be paying dearly for your hands on education, in terms of cost and time (and remember, in development, time is money). 2. Not all developers are the same. Look for someone with shared values and who is willing to share risk with you. You want their compensation tied to the success of your project. Good luck! Rick Mockler CoHousing Partners Davis & Nevada City, CA www.cohousingpartners.com <http://www.cohousingpartners.com/>
- Re: Professional Development vs. Self-Development, (continued)
- Re: Professional Development vs. Self-Development Philip Proefrock, July 26 2007
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Re: Professional Development vs. Self-Development Christine Johnson, July 26 2007
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Re: Professional Development vs. Self-Development Sharon Villines, July 26 2007
- Re: Professional Development vs. Self-Development James Kacki, July 26 2007
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Re: Professional Development vs. Self-Development Sharon Villines, July 26 2007
- Re: Professional Development vs. Self-Development Rick Mockler, July 30 2007
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