Oguro of TPG: Never be complacent and settle

Name: Naoko Oguro, CID, NCIDQ Title: Senior Associate, Studio Design Director Company Name TPG Architecture What year did you start your career in commercial real estate: 1994 What recent project or transaction are you most proud of? Designing of our own office in 2014. What recent honor, achievement or recognition has meant the most to you and why? I'm very pleased with the positive feedback we've received from our industry partners, colleagues and most importantly, the senior leadership of the firm with the outcome of our new office space. This design was also named an Interior Design Best of the Year Honoree. Who or what has been the strongest influence on your career and why? There are several mentors in my career that taught me to continue to pursue solutions that best suit the challenge and never be complacent and settle. What is the first thing you do when you arrive in the office in the morning? Greet my colleagues and scan my calendar and emails to prioritize the goals I need to target and conquer. What time management strategies do you find to be the most effective for you? I ask everyone to schedule meetings even for in-house design discussion. I ask everyone to prioritize the discussion points so that we make sure that important big picture conversations are covered. Otherwise it's easy to lose track of time when we're dreaming up creative solutions. What is the best advice you have received and who was it from? Never lose sight of the big picture in the context of the immediate issue and don't let the tail wag the dog. List 3 women that you would like to have drinks / dinner with and where would you go? This probably isn't the 'inspiring' answer you're looking for but there are really two women - my mother and my grandmother, because I'm too wrapped up and busy in my 'productive ways' that I haven't sat and spent time with them in decades, especially my grandmother who I haven't seen in close to 20 years. What is your favorite quote? "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery What did you want to be when you grew up? An interior architect or a pilot. And according to my pre-school graduation year book, I apparently wanted to be a nurse too.