The TRIAD Story (abridged version)
August 19, 2021
You all may have noticed that our website was recently updated to lead with WHY we do what we do at TRIAD. When we start with WHY, HOW, and WHAT act as tangible proof of what we believe. At least that’s what Simon Sinek says. 😊
With this in mind, I set out to understand WHY the founders and early adopters along the way at TRIAD started and continued the firm.
You all may or may not know, our original tag line was Where design begins with people. Founding partner and an all-around perceptive guy that he is, Clyde Henry responded in a way that resonates well with that tag line. I recently asked him to give me two to three sentences about why he and our other founder, Dave Price, started TRIAD…
“I wanted to dedicate myself to a practice that cared about their clients and put them first, where integrity meant doing what you say you’re going to do. So, I chose a man I knew held the same values, and we gave it our all. The idea worked and continued with the next generation.”
Dave, in his humorous way, gave credence to the idea that people will follow someone with a passion and purpose that they believe in…
“Clyde promised me fame and fortune. I trusted him.”
Rena also believed in Dave and Clyde’s vision and came on board to help Clyde and Dave start the company. When I asked her why and she indicated…
“I started my career as a Marketing Coordinator for an architectural firm. 5 years into my employment, I was approached by 2 of the partners that I worked closely with to branch out and join them in starting their own firm. Without hesitation, I said YES!!! They were a bit surprised that I answered so quickly and asked if I wanted time to think about it. There was no need for me to think about something that was, not only an exciting venture, but to create something with 2 people whom I truly respected, believed in, and was loyal to……I felt honored.”
Bob Gibson quickly followed behind Rena as a project manager and later was the first person to come on as a partner to Dave and Clyde. In a less humorous way than Dave, and in a way 100% in line with how Bob sees the world, he told me this was because of…
“My respect and trust of Dave and Clyde. The opportunity they were providing for project management and project types.”
The types of projects that Dave and Clyde were offering were projects where design began with people, where clients were put first, where integrity meant doing what you said you were going to do.
As an 18-year-old curly-haired nerd, this made sense to me too. I joined the team as a high school intern in the second year of the firm. Making people’s dreams come true drove me passionately. Architecture school and the “starchitect” phenomenon of the late 90s and early 20s almost ruined me in that regard. But, luckily for me, after graduating I came back to TRIAD because…
“It felt like home, a place where I belonged. A place where people shared the same values and wanted to make clients’ visions come true. It was my community. I had a desire to expand the vision and to help use my profession as a platform to build up a community for others.”
Zach Price, Dave’s son, had grown up helping his dad run architecture firms. Like me, he worked as an intern at TRIAD. When the time came and Zach and I were offered the opportunity to become partners, we both jumped at the opportunity because we believed in what TRIAD believes in. With similar humor to his dad, Zach put it this way…
“I was a homeless masochist wandering the continent searching for a means to settle my debts.
…or another version,
I worked at TRIAD as an intern and Associate at the start of my career. The opportunity to rejoin the TRIAD team in a leadership capacity, after graduate school and having worked for other firms, opened the door to a path I had put in writing two years prior. At the time I wrote down my plan I didn’t anticipate landing at TRIAD, however because of my prior experience at TRIAD, and the fact that my dad was a co-founder, I had a good understanding of the firm culture and purpose. Ultimately, those were the two reasons why I joined TRIAD.”
Although leadership has changed and evolved, the purpose of TRIAD is still the same. Our purpose is to utilize our skills and talents to make our clients’ visions become reality and to connect those visions with our clients’ communities. This drives how we do everything we do. It results in methods that are unique to us and driven by our WHY. Because of this, we build authentic processes to engage stakeholders in overcoming challenges to making their vision a reality. Because of this, we go beyond the client’s vision and become engrained partners in our client’s community. The result is an ecosystem of mutual respect and a focus on achieving the client’s goals, which have now become our goals.
