by Lynxspring
As March comes in like a lion and we get ready for the madness that happens at this time of the year, I am reminded that the built environment is a lot like March Madness.
In addition to each being dynamic, transformative, and full of surprises, they share several similarities.
Both encounter diverse elements and complexities. In March Madness, you have a multitude of teams with varying skills, strengths, and approaches to the game. Similarly, the built environment embodies a range of different building types, each with its own unique characteristics, functions, and approaches to how they are operated and managed.
March Madness is known for teams competing against each other to advance in the tournament and hopefully, win the coveted championship. Likewise, in the built environment, there is competition among facility management, engineers, IT, solution providers, and developers to create innovative and functional spaces that stand out and meet the needs and requirements of a variety of businesses.
In March Madness, the tournament bracket is carefully planned, and teams are seeded based on their performance and rankings. Similarly, those involved in managing and operating buildings need to carefully plan and design their operating environments, considering several factors such as facility use, productivity, compliance, infrastructure, security, sustainability, desired outcomes, and more.
In March Madness, teams must be flexible, often needing to adapt their gameplay and strategies based on live game situations. Likewise, the built environment must accommodate the unpredictable---adapting in real-time to dynamic events such as occupancy levels, environmental conditions, equipment functionality and unexpected occurrences.
March Madness garners widespread attention and support from a community of fans and alumni rooting for their favorite teams. Similarly, the built environment relies on a community and extended ecosystem to ensure buildings operate efficiently and effectively and to key performance levels.
While the built environment and March Madness may seem unrelated, they share several of the same characteristics that are essential to win. They both need to operate harmoniously, unite disparate things together, utilize data to get a leg up, make people and things interoperate with each other---all to deliver winning outcomes.