Practice Rebuilt: I'm rebuilding my practice to be AI native but human first

Hello,

My latest episode of Practice Disrupted is about AI closing the gap between a sketch and a built thing. I sat down with the team behind Trimble's 0-60 program and Formas.AI, and we discussed how quickly those tools are moving.
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​/// Listen Here:
​Closing the gap between sketch and build, with Trimble 0-60 and Formas.AI. ​

But the tools were never the part that kept me up. The harder question is what happens to the practice around them.

Practice of Architecture is a business in transition. I'm rebuilding it to be AI native but human-first, and I mean both halves of that. AI native is the easy half to say and the hard half to do: the systems are built on AI from the ground up, not bolted onto old ones, so the drafting, the tracking, and the synthesis run on it. Human first is the half I refuse to lose: the judgment, the relationships, and the thinking stay mine. The machine clears the busywork so there is more room for the work only a person can do, not less.

That rebuild surfaced something I'd been putting off. The brand needed attention too, and had for a while. So this came with a bit of a rebrand and a renaming of the pieces, so each one has a clear job in what I'm building. Practice Disrupted, my podcast, is where practice gets taken apart. This newsletter, now Practice Rebuilt, is where I put it back together: one way to practice differently, every week. And the Practice Lab is where we test it together, as we rebuild.

So you'll begin to see some changes here and across everything with my name on it. I'm also going to be better about documenting them in the Lab as I make them, including the missteps, so you can follow the actual build and take what's useful for your own practice.

This newsletter is also more than a wrapper around the latest episode. It carries my own argument from the work each week, and because you gave me your inbox, you get the rebuild first and unvarnished, the version before it is smoothed over for anywhere else.

A rebuild is a promise, and I'd rather make this one with you than at you. Not everyone reading this wants an AI native firm, and this was never a pitch for one. Wherever you sit with it, the thinking should still earn its place in your week. So, what's the one part of your own practice you already know needs rebuilding, whether or not AI comes anywhere near it? Hit reply. I read every one.

Keep learning and growing,

Evelyn M. Lee, FAIA | NOMA Founder, Practice of Architecture Host, Practice Disrupted & Fractional COO

Trimble is a valued partner of this newsletter and a fitting one for a relaunch focused on building a practice that's AI-native but human-first. Their 0-60 program backs the startups rebuilding how AEC teams get from sketch to built, and this year's cohort is worth knowing before they take the stage at Trimble Dimensions this November.

/// practice disrupted ///

Closing the gap between sketch and build, with Trimble 0-60 and Formas.AI. Germán Aparicio, Yiping Goh, and Carlos Bañón on where AEC tools are actually headed. listen now

/// the handoff ///

SOPs you can map & hand off

Every one of these is a standard operating procedure, an SOP: a task written down as repeatable steps. Most architecture firms have almost none, which is exactly why so little gets delegated. Here's how to implement: take one thing you do from memory, write it down as a set of steps, and name it.

Now it can be handed off to AI, a virtual assistant, a part-time hire, or your first full-time hire. Here’s a starter list by area. The ones marked "start here" are usually the best first handoffs: repetitive, rule-based, and low on judgment.

Business development

• Start here. New-inquiry intake: qualifying questions plus a first-response template
• Fee proposal assembly from an agreed scope
• Post-call lead follow-up sequence
• Qualifications and SOQ package assembly
• Go or no-go pursuit checklist

Client communication

• Start here. Weekly project update email
• Meeting agenda and minutes
• New-client onboarding packet and kickoff
• Change-order explanation and sign-off

Project delivery

• Project kickoff setup: folders, templates, sheet set
• Drawing set QA and QC checklist
• Consultant coordination requests
• RFI and submittal logging and response
• Project close-out and lessons-learned capture

Finance and admin

• Start here. Accounts-receivable follow-up on late invoices
• Monthly invoicing run
• Expense and receipt capture
• Timesheet review and job costing

Marketing and content

• Start here. Completed project to case study or portfolio post
• Podcast episode to show notes and social posts
• Newsletter drafting and scheduling
• Project photography shot list and asset filing

Firm operations

• New-hire onboarding: accounts, tools, first-week plan
• Standard project filing structure
• Software and license tracking
• Weekly planning and task triage

How to pick your first one: choose the task that is most repetitive and least dependent on your judgment. That is the safest thing to hand to AI or a new set of hands, and the fastest way to feel the time come back.

/// up and coming ///

Season 13 of Practice Disrupted opens Thursday, July 30. Until then, the feed belongs to a wonderful word from our partners, starting with the Trimble 0-60 bonus episode.