A Story About Being Overwhelmed by the Power of Questioning Assumptions

The environment of an architectural design office sometimes confronts you with your own immaturity in the most relentless way.In front of a boss with overwhelming experience, events that make me painfully aware of my own narrow perspective happen almost every day.

However, it is not that I dislike this; rather, I find myself feeling a positive sense of learning from the unfathomable depth of this work.

This time, I would like to share a story about being overwhelmed by my boss's "power to question assumptions" regarding a high-cost estimate.

The other day, for a specific construction item in a certain project,an overwhelmingly high estimate, unthinkable under normal circumstances,was presented. As the person in charge, I stared at the drawings and specifications, trying to think of various solutions to somehow lower that amount.

Should I lower the grade of the materials, or should I simplify the details (the intricate construction methods)?

However, no matter how I calculated it, I could not find a decisive point to lower the price. I was half-resigned, thinking there was nothing more I could do, and was trying to convince myself that this was the fair market price.

So, I consulted my boss. Surprisingly, my boss's approach was on a completely different level from mine.

My boss did not focus on how to lower the cost of that construction item, but instead returned to the starting point of whether that construction item was truly necessary in the first place.

The drive shown from that point on was tremendous. They asked questions of all relevant parties, involved experts, and personally challenged the situation with hypotheses.

"If we think about it through this route, couldn't we eliminate this construction work itself and achieve a cheaper and safer result?"

As a result, the price of that item dropped toless than half.It was not magic or anything of the sort; it was simply the result brought about by the depth of their thinking.

I had been completely bound by the presented prerequisites. Caught in the strong assumption that this construction work had to be done,I was only trying to manipulate the small numbers at hand.

On the other hand, my boss had a tremendous spirit of inquiry, looking at the entire project from a broad perspective while simultaneouslyprobing into the deepest level of "why is this necessary?"

Witnessing the difference in the breadth and depth of that perspective,I felt deeply discouraged by the narrowness of the perspective I had assumed to be correct.

When I'm working, I tend to try to find the optimal solution within the given conditions. However, I was keenly reminded that true solutions can also be born from questioning the framework itself.

When you hit a wall, question your assumptions. Ask yourself if it's even necessary in the first place. It's easy to say, but there is still a mountain of things to learn from the back of a boss who practices this as naturally as breathing.

The days where I am made to realize my own immaturity are by no means easy. Even so, I think the job of architectural design is interesting precisely because such discoveries and lessons are scattered everywhere every day.

It was an event on a certain day that made me realize once again that learning continues forever.

From tomorrow on, I intend to face the drawings in front of me with a slightly higher perspective.

[Recommended reading]

Neither the quoted price nor the number of SNS impressions are the only things that are truly important. Click here for an article on the importance of looking at the 'essence' behind things without being caught up in the conditions right in front of you ↓