TZL 1363 (web)

TZL: Artificial intelligence and machine learning are potential disruptors across all industries. Is your firm exploring how to incorporate these technologies into providing improved services for clients?

culture and how we maintain a flexible, dynamic, and fun setting – both internally and externally – even as we grow larger. Getting bigger has afforded us many opportunities like winning more dynamic projects, but it comes with more responsibility, policies, and other corporate elements that we’ve always resisted. We believe that as long as we’re intentional about the organizational changes we make along the way, stay focused on our core values, and keep people at the heart of everything we do that our culture will naturally evolve in a way that works for us. TZL: It is often said that people leave managers, not companies. What are you doing to ensure that your line leadership are great people managers? JD: Aside from technical training you’d see at any firm, we also invest in leadership coaching and training. Mentorship and people skills development is a key part of our succession planning. We have found that if someone is a culture fit and good with people, you can teach them everything else they need to know. TZL: Does your firm work closely with any higher education institutions to gain access to the latest technology, experience, and innovation and/or recruiting to find qualified resources? JD: We’ve partnered with a number of universities on their internship development programs. This is really a win-win because their students get valuable, real-world experience and we get access to some great talent pool and develop relationships early so that when they graduate, we’re already a known commodity to them. “We’re obsessed with our company culture and how we maintain a flexible, dynamic, and fun setting – both internally and externally – even as we grow larger.” TZL: Before being managing partner at Method, you were a principal at Three Square. How is your position different now? What stands out the most? JD: The greatest difference is that I went from one person making all the decisions to a larger operational leadership group

JD: Innovation, technology, and disruption are constant topics of

conversations for our firm. We recently realigned our principal level focus so that one leader is solely focused on innovation and technology. Each year we invest time, money, and focus into experimenting with software and hardware that’s new or that we see possibly disrupting our industry. We make time to daydream about the what ifs and allow ourselves to go down the rabbit hole. TZL: What type of leader do you consider yourself to be? people and the challenges at the forefront while keeping the blame, the credit, and unproductive worrying in the backseat.” JD: I believe the most impactful leaders are servant-minded. My job exists to help guide and lead, but also to be a resource to my team, staff, and partners. I’m the most fulfilled as a leader when I’m helping someone else succeed or reach a goal – that’s what really gets me excited. I hate thinking of myself as anyone’s boss. If you work at Method and need a boss, you are probably with the wrong company. TZL: Are you using the R&D tax credit? If so, how is it working for your firm? If not, why not? JD: We’ve had good success implementing the R&D tax credit for the past three years. It required a lot of time classifying and coding staff efforts on the front end but has paid great returns for us. Our industry, in general, spends a ton of time doing research, exploring technology and innovation, doing planning studies, and other qualified endeavors. TZL: What are some key tools for keeping the flexibility of being a small firm and balancing it with large reach? JD: We’re obsessed with our company “Our ego-free culture permeates everything we do and allows us to keep the

HEADQUARTERS: Houston, TX NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 50 YEAR FOUNDED: 2008 OFFICE LOCATIONS: ❚ ❚ Houston, TX

❚ ❚ Austin, TX ❚ ❚ Dallas, TX

❚ ❚ San Antonio, TX MARKET SECTORS: ❚ ❚ Breweries and distilleries ❚ ❚ Retail ❚ ❚ Community

❚ ❚ Education ❚ ❚ Healthcare ❚ ❚ Industrial ❚ ❚ Interiors

❚ ❚ Offices ❚ ❚ Public ❚ ❚ Sports and fitness ❚ ❚ Science and technology TAGLINE: Leadership without the ego. “Ego-free architecture.” FAST-GROWING: Method Architecture was ranked number 134 out of the 250 fastest-growing private companies in Texas by Inc. magazine in the Inc. 5000 Series

See GUIDE AND LEAD, page 8

OBER 12, 2020, ISSUE 1363

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