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Hellmuth continued to think about how to create the ideal architecture practice, one that didn't fall into crisis and lose most of its staff and knowledge every time a project ended. He developed a series of insights about how to design a world-class architecture firm and was determined to bring them to the attention of SHG leadership.

Hellmuth was a visionary and, over time, these revelations would have a major impact on his own fortunes—and on the design industry. Here they are:

 Talented People. Hellmuth's first insight was that talented people are the key to a successful architecture practice. Without talented people, no firm can plan for the future. Architecture firms should attract talented people, then keep them long-term to leverage their growing skills and abilities. Of course, keeping talented people long-term meant having steady work, and that led to the next key insight.FIGURE 1.2 George Hellmuth.Source: Photo courtesy of HOK.

 Full-time Marketing. Hellmuth's second insight was that full-time marketing was essential to replace the current work before it was finished. Marketing to obtain a worthwhile new project took time—as much as five years. Hellmuth often described marketing as farming. “First you till the ground, then plant the seeds, then tend the fields. Only after that effort can you harvest the results,” he liked to say. In addition, full-time marketing could be even more successful if supported by an effective, professional public relations program to cultivate awareness of the firm's abilities and build relationships with potential clients.Hellmuth's first insight was that talented people are the key to a successful architecture practice. Without talented people, no firm can plan for the future.

 Diverse Work/Cities/Services. Hellmuth's third insight was to diversify the work of the firm to the maximum extent possible. He believed a diversified workload was superior to a focus on one type of building. For example, most architects kept busy during the post—World War II baby boom by designing schools. Hellmuth understood that abundant school projects would dry up one day soon, and that other work was necessary before the baby boom went bust. His diversity insight also extended to geographic diversity. If work in one city was slow, work in another city could well keep a talented staff busy. Finally, he understood that diversified professional services were important to bring more work from each project in-house, rather than farming out much of that work to other firms. Some clients need landscape architecture, or engineering services, or interior design. A diversified firm would develop the capacity to serve those needs, in addition to building design.

 Specialized Leaders: Hellmuth's fourth insight concerned specialized leaders. He proposed that each partner focus on a separate responsibility—marketing, design, and production—for maximum efficiency. Partners in traditional firms did everything—sell, design, and produce the work. Hellmuth believed that, by specializing, each partner could become an expert in his area of responsibility. This would also help avoid power struggles, since the partners would oversee separate domains.

In summary, George Hellmuth reinvented the modern practice of architecture with four savvy ideas:

1 Attract and keep talented people.

2 Build a steady workload through full-time marketing and active public relations.

3 Strive for diversity of work, geography, and services for long-term workload stability.

4 Have specialized leaders run the firm, with separate focuses on marketing, design, and production.

In 1944, Hellmuth wrote “The Depression-Proof Firm,”² a 23-page paper detailing these ideas. He was determined to put it into action. He approached SHG leadership with his paper, but they only seemed interested in winning the next job—not his long-term firm-building strategy.