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Beyond the Ordinary

The world is full of extraordinary. Join me in exploring all that sparks creativity and change.

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August’s Architect of the Month: Eero Saarinen

An architect with ties to St. Louis whose work I have always admired is Finnish-American Eero Saarinen, who was known as a leader of the second-generation modernists. In 1947, he designed the magisterial Gateway Arch, built to commemorate the westward expansion of the US. A futuristic symbol, it rises above the cityscape of St. Louis and is a great example of how Eero constantly pushed aesthetic boundaries. He was born in Kirkkonummi, Finland in 1910, to world-famous parents. His father was the architect Eliel Saarinen and his mother, Loja Gesellius, was a textile designer and sculptor. The family moved to the US in 1923, where they settled first in Evanston, Illinois, and then in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West

I recently read Christopher Knowlton’s book “Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West” and it gave great insight into the open range cattle era and how it changed America forever. The US has consistently proven that it can withstand repeated boom-and-bust eras within our civilization. From the Great Depression to the housing bubble of the early 2000s, to an unprecedented global pandemic and everything in between, perseverance and adaptation are key parts of who we are as a nation. After the Civil War ended, the cattle age brought about the greatest boom-and-bust cycle until the Great Depression, the invention of the assembly line, and the beginning of the conservation movement. Knowlton gives a new view of the Old West and how its movements and cowboys achieved incredible goals, rose, fell, and left a lasting impact on society.

July’s Artist of the Month: Clotilde Jiménez

A visual artist I admire is Afro-Latino, Honolulu-born, Clotilde Jiménez, who grew up in North Philadelphia. He was raised in a tough neighborhood, but thanks to his mother, he used his artistic talent to move out of the city and enroll in college. Clotilde received his BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio in 2013 in printmaking. He completed an MFA in painting at the Slade School of Fine Art in London in 2018.

Two books to Read on Philanthropy in the Modern World

Two thought-provoking books I recently read on achieving a world that’s more equitable are The Business of Changing the World: How Billionaires, Tech Disrupters, and Social Entrepreneurs Are Transforming the Global Aid Industry by Raj Kumar and The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune Without Anyone Knowing by Conor O’Clery. These books are helpful for anyone thinking about how to make a lasting impact. As Raj Kumar explains in The Business of Changing the World, the foreign aid industry, in the United States and elsewhere, is undergoing a vast transformation. Governments and aid agencies are no longer pouring large sums of money into international development projects. Instead, today’s demand is for evidence-based solutions that could more realistically put an end to extreme poverty, and that is very good news.

July's Architecture Educator of the month: Geoffrey Taylor

Designing for the next generation is an important trend in architecture and design. A forward-thinking architectural educator that I admire is Geoffrey Taylor, Dean of the School of Building Arts at The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). A Harvard and SCAD graduate, he is a Doctor of Design and a major contributor to Savannah's innovative design sector. Geoffrey believes that the responsibility of architects is to make good buildings that meet human needs while also addressing the impact of construction on the environment.

Two Cautionary Tales About General Electric for Our Times

I have had tons of experiences working with Fortune 100 companies over the years. On capital projects ranging from $50 to $500 million, we are usually collaborating with the C-suite team members. Looking back over 35 years of doing business, I found that I could tell from these encounters, or should’ve been able to, whether a company was going to excel or deteriorate. Some of the great companies I worked with include Centene, Express Scripts, Microsoft, and Amazon. The planning, the energy, and the professionalism were evident throughout our exchanges and collaborations. A couple of companies I worked with that didn’t do so well were Venture and a large brewer, and you could see the handwriting on the wall.

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Inspiration

I have always had an insatiable curiosity

What causes me to get out of bed every morning is driven by inspiration. Ever since I was a little boy, I was inspired by my insatiable curiosity, which caused me to be a reader, a thinker, and a dreamer.

I can remember being inspired by seeing Bobby Kennedy on TV and watching videotapes of Martin Luther King Jr., and being deeply saddened by their assassination even though I was only 10 years old when I experienced all of this.

As a little boy, rocket flight was a big thing. I remember being fascinated by the moon and the stars and the astronauts exploring them.As humans we are achieving remarkable things that only a handful of years before were just in the imagination.