What drives your firm culture?
Ayers Saint Gross
Mission Statement: "We engage people and places to create designs that enrich the world."
Our internal driving force is very much fueled by the people, especially self-starters. If you see a better way of doing something, whether it be design or operations related, there is an unspoken ethos to just jump in and do it. Part of the reason for this is that we became an employee owned company in January of 2013, and thus everyone has a stake in the success of the company. Every employee has the opportunity for input into our Strategic Plan, that we revisit every four years. My first experience with the firm wide listening sessions was in 2013 for our 2014 Strategic Plan. These are small groups representing a cross-section of the firm. We have tried different models of listening, including a firm wide anonymous online survey, to capture all voices.
Also, in the interest of transparency, we do a Business Plan every year identifying strategic objectives for the near term and every employee gets a copy. Our graphic's department puts this booklet together, and does a great job making otherwise mundane information understandable for us visual people.
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DLR Group
Design comes first, and the people are the driving force. As an employee-owned design firm, the firm values the talents and skillsets of each employee-owner. Ownership is a fundamental element of our design culture. Because of this business model, each employee-owner has a unique perspective that is seen from a position of leadership and ownership. Each employee-owner is empowered to contribute to the success of the business leading to a high level of client satisfaction and quality of design. We like to say, "every employee has a design voice." And I've found that this is a value that is respected and expected of everyone on staff.
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Moody Nolan
The projects we touch have a real impact on the people and communities that experience them. With design, we can help ensure that impact is positive. We push to do what it takes to make our clients' ideas into that positive reality. I have realized that it's not about the buildings. It is about the interconnected network of relationships and needs that those buildings help to support. We emphasize "responsive architecture" and that aphorism reflects the diverse communities and clients that we serve. We have made it a priority that our culture reflects that diversity, so that we can be responsive to the needs of the diverse clients and communities that we serve.
Knu Design
Client joy. We use architecture as a tool for elevating humanity. Of course, architecture has a lasting impact on many people, and that impact may be appropriately anything from a sense of safety, dignity, or revealing the purpose & pith of a place, to a fleeting sense of delight, but we as architects spend less of our time in our built works than other people do...so what drives us is making the design process a pleasure. We love it when our clients recognize the caliber of our service, both in the designs we produce, and, in the way, we deftly accomplish the many small tasks along the way - making what can be a stressful experience fun for everyone.
Populous
There are really two priorities that are incredibly important to us; the first is our people and the second is our clients. Taking care of both is so interrelated that it's hard to talk about one without the other. We hire the best people in the business, we take good care of them and value what they do in the firm. We are active participants in providing the necessary tools, training and feedback for them, so they can reach their full potential.
Additionally, we have tremendous clients with very large, complex, and important projects. They trust us to deliver on their dreams. We have worked with many of our clients for decades, and that doesn't happen without having tremendous professionals who understand how to serve and how to deliver. Simply stated our great people take care of our great clients.
There are many driving forces here at Populous, but if we strip away all the predictable answers there are two forces at work in this firm which when combined are tremendously valuable to our success and our future. And these two forces have been with us from the start. This firm and the people we employ are "curious and fearless." These characteristics are what allow us to draw people together through new and exciting experiences, driving change, innovation and improvement. Together they are so powerful. We can imagine and accomplish so much because we don't feel limited. When you add fun-loving to curious and fearless you have a culture characterized by high-energy, optimism and limitless potential with a good dose of lightheartedness. There is a palpable buzz in our offices derived from the combination of these three characteristics.
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Image: M. Robinson
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(Return to the cover of the 2018 PM Digest: Firm Culture)