Organizational Development and Governance

Organizations are dynamic and ever-changing. Thoughtful planning ensures that vision is coupled with efficiency and continued development.

Building and leading a successful firm is complex and demands agility to address external and internal change. We work with clients to increase their effectiveness through organizational development, practice management, and strategic planning, as well as assisting clients with ownership transitions.

Strategic Planning

In strategic planning, a firm envisions its future and determines how to get there. Firms that engage in this process not only create a long-range plan; they also build alignment among leaders improve their capacity to motivate and keep staff. We start with a framework and tools from formal strategic planning and then customize a process that suits each client's needs and preferences. Our strategic planning results in plans that can be implemented.

Organizational Development

Effective firm organization and leadership fosters innovation, business performance, client satisfaction, and the quality of the work itself. The right governance structures help individuals and the entire team reach their fullest potential. We assess a firm's organizational effectiveness, apply lessons from our experience and other comparable firms, and then suggest the most appropriate models to support our clients' goals.

Operations and Financial Management

The business of design and construction is more complex than ever. As experienced industry leaders, we help firms address their organization, management, and performance issues: advising them on their financial models, leadership roles, compensation, overhead services and costs, and business practices.

Internal Ownership Transition

Privately held design and construction firms are often challenged in transferring ownership from one generation to the next. Retiring partners or shareholders deserve to be rewarded for their career-long investments, but ownership must be attractive and affordable for younger leaders. We help firms select the right ownership models and manage the transition process.

Meeting and Retreat Facilitation

We facilitate key meetings, planning sessions, and retreats. Our first step is to define the areas of concern to all the participants, then to properly sequence them for discussion. During the meeting itself, we make sure that the group keeps to the topics, engages openly in the discussion, stays on schedule, and reaches meaningful conclusions. As consultants who work with a wide range of firms, we also offer our opinions and insight about best practices.

Merger and Acquisition Representation

When firms want to acquire other companies in order to grow in new markets, expand into new geographies, or get access to new clients, we help them find candidate firms to acquire. We also represent owners who are selling their firms externally with the aim of becoming part of a larger platform, getting access to more leadership, or allowing them to transition out at the end of their careers.

Firm Performance Audits

Many principals wonder whether their firms' business results could be improved and how they compare to peer firms in their professions. Published benchmarking reports provide information but not a specific analysis of performance strengths and challenges. We perform focused audits of project performance and business results through personal engagement with firm leaders and critical review of internal data. Within a few weeks, we deliver actionable recommendations for performance improvement at every level.

Project Team Performance

Client relationships and projects are the basic business units of a design or construction company. A project can be like a new enterprise, often involving partners who have never worked together before. We help design firms, builders, and owners select appropriate delivery strategies, engage, and align the right team members, and apply appropriate management practices for project success.

Case Studies