Frank Lloyd Wright would be a fish out of water in the culture of
global architecture and design firm NBBJ. The traditional hierarchical structure is gone, there’s no head office, and professionals
are hired for their teamwork skills, not their egos. The firm that
designed the headquarter buildings for Reebok, Starbucks and
Telenor and collaborated on seven of the top 10 hospitals listed on
the U.S. News and World Report Honor Roll, including the
Cleveland Clinic, has gone global and left its vertical structure and
traditional leadership model behind.
“Beginning about 10 years ago, all of the growth opportunities
were centered on a much more diverse mix of clients,” says Doug
Parris, partner at NBBJ. “The new projects required a much more
collaborative internal process and the ability to pool the best talent from across the firm. At the time, NBBJ was structured in silos,
and that soon became an impediment to growth.”
NBBJ hasn’t just survived the transition to a global economy — it’s
thrived. In the last five years, NBBJ has experienced double-digit
top-line growth, the greatest profits in the firm’s history and total
firmwide head count has grown by 200 associates to a total of 780
employees. In 2007, billings were $193 million firmwide.
While the last five years have been successful, the first five years
of the global transformation were a struggle and Parris says the
journey required a complete restructuring of the firm and a transformation into a learning organization. Parris, a 30-year NBBJ veteran, has also undergone a personal leadership transformation. He
no longer manages, he mentors, and he doesn’t command and control. Instead, he facilitates group decisions.
