Читать книгу Voices of Design Leadership - Ken Sanders - Страница 15

To determine where your firm resides on the practice-business spectrum, some simple questions can assist. For example, is your firm willing to provide services as Architect-of-Record (AOR) or Associate Architect in the absence of a significant design role? Among firms with leaders profiled in this book, Gensler and HKS do, while ZGF and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill do not.

Again, there is no judgment here. Firms who undertake AOR-only services believe that in some circumstances – beyond the revenue and margins generated – such work provides one or more tangible benefits. These might include developing a relationship with an important new client, or establishing a foothold in a geography, market, or project type where the firm’s reputation is underdeveloped. Firms who avoid AOR-only services, on the other hand, generally seek to avoid diluting their design reputation and prefer to keep their technical talent focused on their own design work. Both perspectives are valid. But firms willing to undertake AOR-only services tend to sit closer to the Business-Centered Practice edge of the scale, compared to peers that do not.

Another question: to what degree is your firm strongly invested in the craft of design? Craft demands attention to detail and thoughtful study. That takes time and time is money. Business-Centered Practices generally hold a more pragmatic view about what level of craft and detail is required to achieve strong design. They are more willing to delegate more detail decision-making to third parties such as fabricators and subcontractors.

Externally, the media reinforces a Business-Centered Practice definition of success by publishing regional, national, and international lists ranking top firms by revenue. For example, the Top 10 US architecture firms of 2021, according to Architectural Record and Engineering News-Record (ENR), are ranked by revenue as shown here:

2021 Rank	2020 Rank	Firm	Firm Type	Architecture Revenue ($USD millions)
1	1	Gensler	A	1,320.19
2	2	Perkins & Will	A	595.07
3	3	HDR	EA	456.11
4	6	HKS	A	420.23
5	7	HOK	AE	411
6	4	Jacobs	EAC	384.16
7	8	Stantec	EA	337.33
8	5	AECOM	EA	337
9	13	CannonDesign	AE	269
10	9	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)	AE	268.3

Does this list show the ten “best” architecture firms? Although organic growth generally correlates to client satisfaction and market differentiation, the answer is no. Some firms, such as Gensler and SOM, have grown organically over time, while others, such as Jacobs and AECOM, have primarily relied on acquisitions to fuel their growth.

What are your firm’s key metrics of success, and how are they measured and prioritized? Revenue? Margins? Growth? Client delight? Design awards? Sustainable performance? Climate action? Community impact? Career development? Talent health and happiness? Quantitative financial metrics are the easiest to measure. How do you measure the others? The annual Architect 50 published by Architect Magazine was one noteworthy attempt to reach beyond a “ranking by revenue” approach and identify top firms using a blend of measurements focused on business, sustainability, and design. However, the Architect 50 program ceased in 2019.

My suggestion: create your own balanced scorecard aligned with the values, purpose, and vision of your firm – including business performance – and make sure everyone at the firm understands its definition of success.