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Caldwell Assocatiates at last year’s Pensacola Dragon Boat Festival, an event that raises money for local community service projects.

do list. The industry is changing and so is the way businesses operate, but that doesn’t happen overnight. It’s an evolutionary process. We’re in the process of transitioning our business model to a more holistic and horizontal organization. Right now, I’m at about a 50/50 split, but working toward 70/30 by year end. Eventually, I’ll align more with the 80/20 rule. TZL: What role does your family play in your career? Are work and family separate, or is there overlap? MC: Caldwell’s roots are grounded in being a family business. There’s always been an overlap in the line between family and business and I’m proud of that. At one point, I thought it could hold back growth, but I now realize that family connection has carried throughout our organization. It has made us stronger and more engaged. I grew up in this business and learned about true work ethic. At the age of 10, my first job was with Caldwell running blueprints. I learned what owning a business was about and that, although you can’t ever truly get away from it, you have to make time for your family. My wife and I are a blended family of four kids. We have two boys and two girls ranging in age from 12 to 15. In our community, we’re affectionately known as the “Brady Bunch.” We’re working parents with demanding jobs. It’s easy to lose sight of what’s really important sometimes. I coach my kids’ sports teams and try to attend their events. As they have gotten

older and more spread out, and my job has become more demanding, it’s more difficult but we do our best to balance it all. When there is an overlap, I hope my kids learn from my actions and hope it helps them to appreciate what we have. The bottom line? We always make an effort to be together as a family and put work away. In the office we say, “If things aren’t good culturally and internally, then our external work won’t be good either.” The same goes for family. TZL: What, if anything, are you doing to protect your firm from a potential economic slowdown in the future? MC: I think about this often. I’ve lived through two economic slowdowns, so I think the question is not if, but when. Our priority is our team and culture because that’s what drives the quality of our work. We have never and will never be a firm that hires and fires based on sudden increases in workload. If that means we pass on projects, then we’re OK with that. I believe that big swings in staff lead to a poor culture and that will ultimately lead to higher turnover and inconsistent work quality. In order to manage that, we run incredibly lean as a function of NSR/FTE to ensure that when slowdowns happen we can handle them more effectively. During the interview process we try to be open and honest about how we work and let people know that there are times when overtime is needed. Some people don’t like that, but others thrive on it. We See FAMILY BUSINESS, page 8

HEADQUARTERS: Pensacola, FL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 19 YEAR FOUNDED: 1986 NUMBER OF OFFICE LOCATIONS: 3 MARKET SECTORS: ❚ ❚ Healthcare ❚ ❚ Education ❚ ❚ Government ❚ ❚ Automotive retail ❚ ❚ Commercial THEIR PHILOSOPHY: Good design improves the lives of those it serves. It is embedded in the process of thoughtful problem solving and the creation of architecture representative of its place. Our projects have the greatest impact on the communities they serve, sharing thematically in the transformative role of good design.

ober 28, 2019, ISSUE 1318

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