TURN ThE cORNER

Chapter 40

theRU n t CoRneR

By eriC penaranDa

In 2007, I was part of a three-person development team tasked with
constructing the national headquarters for a major restaurant corpora-
tion. The project in its entirety was high profile and staffed with one of
the most talented design professionals in modern time. In particular, the
principal architect was well known in many circles as a prodigy in the
field. His reputation spanned nearly a half-century with a cult-like fol-
lowing. In short, this guy was incredible. During a preliminary design
meeting in Atlanta, he made a short appearance to articulate the funda-
mentals of the project. At the close of his presentation, an immediate
barrage of side bar questions began from the other participants, ques-
tions designed to extract some genius from this man’s mind.

This was a prime opportunity to gather ‘intel’ and utilize it towards im-
proving my career – yet I sat back and listened carefully. To my surprise,
I focused on the questions being asked and discovered the pointed na-
ture of the questions were structured in a manner to receive direct an-
swers. I then noticed the responses were choreographed and monotone,
as if this question has been asked hundreds of times. As the questioning
continued, I came to the conclusion that the line of questioning did not
allow this man to speak; pointed questions were received with pointed
answers. As I listened further, there was a subtle transition which al-
lowed the architect to pivot out of the Q&A session and leave the room.