Overcoming the Blame Game

Presently, I am in the Business Analytics Certificate program at the University of Washington, and part of the class deals with how to get groups to be committed towards a goal. Each class the students are asked questions about our commitment towards our goals in life. It is called "Conversations that Matter"  (The tip of the cap to Peter Block of designedLearning + Gary Mesick and Shelly Lawrence of the UofW).One set of questions asks about...

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Are You Executing on Your Workset Plan?

You’ve spent the time to devise a great way to organize your Autodesk Revit project with worksets. Your plan is excellent and will decrease time wasted opening unnecessary information and ensure that only the desired information will be printed within the deliverables.BUT… are you actually executing on this plan? Ideate Explorer for Revit knows, so take a peek at your project today and be sure that you are executing on your workset plan!Try the Ideate...

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eLearning – Upcoming Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 10.31.13::Civil 3D 201:Objects & Label Styles11.4.13::Revit 201: Revit for Interior Designers11.21.13::Civil 3D 201:Using the Intersection Design ToolEach class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics...

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Classroom Training – Open Revit Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.10.24::PortlandRevit MEP Mechanical10.24::PortlandRevit MEP - Documentation10.29-31::San FranciscoRevit Architecture Fundamentals11.5-7::San FranciscoAutoCAD Fundamentals11.12-13::San FranciscoRevit Architecture Beyond the Basics11.12-13::San FranciscoNavisworks Fundamentals Know your software. Sign up n...

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Quick Tip: AutoCAD 2014 and Navisworks NWC File Exporter

While we are all aware that you cannot export the .NWC file format directly from AutoCAD 2014 without installing either Navisworks or the NWC export utility, one thing that still makes me chuckle is after either is installed if you type in (at the AutoCAD command line) the command “NWNAVIGATOR” it will bring up into your AutoCAD session a great Navis Viewer. Which is in reality a temporary *.NWC file that you can navigate in. This is a very powerful...

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Autodesk InfraWorks R2 – .RVT Import

Here at Ideate, Inc. we are always trying to stay one step ahead of the game in order to provide the best information to our customers. With that in mind, whenever we hear about a new product or update from Autodesk, we do our best to test the new features and let you know what we think.If you haven’t already heard, Autodesk has released a Subscription based Product Enhancement for Autodesk InfraWorks called Autodesk InfraWorks R2, and Autodesk InfraWorks...

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Where Did It All Go Wrong?

How often have we sat after a bad project/decision and say "where did it all go wrong?" This analysis usually is full of hand wringing, blaming of some outside source, or even the famous 'beats me.'This form of post-mortem is not effective, because it isn't focused. Here is a quick tip:The most critical of decisions happen in the first five minutes of the action.We often don't stop at the beginning of a project, or even of a decision, to evaluate...

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The Flavors of Autodesk InfraWorks

As a Technical Expert in Infrastructure at Ideate, I need to know the intricacies of the different versions of InfraWorks. I thought you might like a quick guide to the differences. Here goes: Autodesk InfraWorks 360 Free app (on iTunes) – Download from the iTunes store.  The app has the most basic functions of navigation and model review for the iPad and iPhone and works with Autodesk 360. Autodesk InfraWorks – Available as a standalone...

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Your Ideas, Writ in Code – Annual Ideate BIMLink Survey

A big thanks to everyone who graciously gave us their input last month for the third annual Ideate BIMLink survey. Our winner from this year’s Ideate BIMLink survey is Trent Best of Rosendin Electric. Enjoy that iPad mini Trent!  When you purchase Ideate BIMLink you’re buying not only a piece of software, but also the email support, online classes, and development efforts that are on-going. For example, your past input has resulted in the following...

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BIM Workflow for Roads and Highways

This year, Ideate is offering a new class based on the BIM for Road and Highway design to go along with Autodesk’s new BIM Specialist: Roads and Highways certification.  Although the concept of BIM or Building Information Modeling has been around for years, its integration into the world of Road and Highway design has been relatively slow when compared to that of Building design. The 2014 Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite provides users with...

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Are You ALL IN or Just Surviving?

In poker, there is a term called ‘all in’ where the poker player puts all their remaining chips on the table in order to win the pot. In business ‘all in’ means commitment to making a business decision, or business situation better/faster/stronger. My question is, as a member of a team (whether you are the top or the bottom of the team, whether you are an internal member or an external consultant)…Are you ‘all in’ or are you ‘just surviving?’ More...

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Ideate, Inc. Publishes a First – a Civil 3D Virtualization Study in Success

SAN FRANCISCO, California – 10/10/2013 - Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller Ideate, Inc., a solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, today announced the publication of its first Virtualization-focused Study in Success, “Ideate Consulting and IMSCAD Lead ESA to Autodesk Design Solution Virtualization Mastery.”Ideate customer Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental science and planning firm with offices in...

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Basic Differences Between Inroads and Civil 3D

Over the past year, through Ideate I have been training Civil 3D to Caltrans employees. Recently, it got me thinking back to my design days as an Inroads master. Now that I have as much experience with Civil 3D as Inroads, I’d like to illuminate for you some high level difference between these two competing software, specifically integration with the CAD platform and data management.    At a glance, Inroads and Civil 3D are seemingly...

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Ideate, Inc. Earns Autodesk Construction Specialization

San Francisco, CA, 10/7/2013 – Ideate, Inc., (ideateinc.com), an Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller, today announced that it has earned the Construction Specialization designation for value added resellers from Autodesk, Inc., a world leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. As an Autodesk Specialized Partner, Ideate has shown that it provides a high level of expertise, experience and support to customers, has made a significant investment in its people, has a solid business plan specific to its specialization areas, and...

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eLearning – Upcoming Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 10.8.13::Revit 201:Site Tools10.10.13::Civil 3D 201: Working with ReCap10.15.13::Revit 201:Worksharing Best Practices10.17.13::Civil 3D 201:Intro to InfraWorks10.21.13::Ideate Software 101: Ideate BIMLink for RMEP ProjectsEach class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time....

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Classroom Training – Open Revit Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.10.7-9::San FranciscoCivil 3D Fundamentals10.8-10::PortlandRevit Architecture Fundamentals10.9-11::San FranciscoRevit MEP: Mechanical and Plumbing Fundamentals10.14::San FranciscoRevit MEP Families10.16-18::San JoseRevit Architecture Fundamentals10.21::PortlandRevit Architecture Families Know your software. Sign up n...

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Intuition - The Inner Voice

That inner voice is intuition.  I am not a superstitious person, and intuition is not voodoo magic or other mystical notions.Intuition is the accumulation of past decisions and past learning, that is integrated into our 'brain' experience. So the question is how to harness/access that experience?LISTENING TO THAT INNER VOICE1.  Start doing good post-mortem on your past decisions (good and bad decisions). See my blog -http://connectingthedata.blogspot.com/2013/09/making-new-mistakes-grow.html2. ...

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AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014: Hidden Command – Export to DGN

At Ideate we are always digging and searching information to help improve your workflow. Have you ever needed to export your drawing to DGN because your work is going to be consumed by Microstation users without AutoCAD and hence no way to open a DWG? Read on for your options: AutoCAD Civil 3D includes AutoCAD Map functionality and has historically included a command MAPEXPORT (not available in Civil 3D 2014 ribbon interface) to export to DGN...

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Ideate, Inc. Tech Team Member Awarded Autodesk® Certified Instructor (ACI) Designation

SAN FRANCISCO, California, 10/1/2013 - Ideate, Inc., an Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller, today announced that Ideate AEC Application Specialist Gaurav Bagga was awarded Autodesk Instructor Certification (ACI) upon completion of the three-day ACI Workshop in San Diego, California, August 20 –August 22, 2013. Bagga joins Ideate AEC Application Specialists who have received the ACI designation: James Cowan, Shruti Harve, Matt Miyamoto and Ron Palma.  The ACI program is a cornerstone of the Autodesk Professional Excellence Program. It provides...

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