TZL 1286

BH: When I was named CEO. Our finan- cials were lagging and I wanted to focus on four key areas: clients, culture, collabora- tion, and employees. I believe those are the leading indicators of success. If we could make progress in these four key focus ar- eas, the numbers would follow. I knew we had a great corporate growth strategy, but there were aspects of our culture that were getting in the way of us successfully exe- cuting that strategy. We’ve conducted mul- tiple “All Hands on Deck” meetings across all of our operations in the years since. The energy level of the employees was extreme- ly high and the results of our employee en- gagement surveys and customer satisfac- tion surveys have shown significant im- provement. During this same period, the financial performance of the firm has also increased considerably. TZL: How do you promote young and new leaders as the firm grows? BH: SSOE has two programs that help de- velop new leaders within the organization and prepare them for future promotions. “Getting Results” is our leadership devel- opment program that expands the capac- ity of high-performing individuals. It pro- motes relationship building among those individuals to benefit collaboration efforts now and down the road. This program pro- vides specialized leadership coaching as they tackle group projects. After a two- day seminar, individuals are grouped into teams and given an assignment involving an actual business problem or opportuni- ty that they must research and solve over a six-month period. Each team presents their solution to senior management and meets for regular coaching sessions for the remainder of the year. The second is our “Next Generation Lead- ership” program which is a leadership de- velopment initiative that consists of six, four-hour sessions in addition to a consid- erable amount of pre-work for each ses- sion. Participants attend quarterly ses- sions prior to SSOE’s scheduled manage- ment team meetings to provide an oppor- tunity to rotate participants into the meet- ings and present on current NGL content. This program requires considerable time, energy, and commitment and ends with a graduation celebration. TZL: What happens to the firm if you leave tomorrow? BH: We have a formal succession plan- ning process and we place great empha- sis on this area. Our succession planning process has two scenarios – a planned

succession and an unplanned succession. Each one addresses various possible suc- cessors and timing of readiness. We know how valuable it is to determine succes- sors and help them develop into those fu- ture roles. Recently, we had organization- al structure changes which allowed us to spread out the roles and responsibilities of the COO to other key leaders to en- sure that more than one person is ready to move into the CEO position down the road. It also ensures that the subsequent CEOs will also be prepared to take on the role. All key positions within the company are required to have two key successors. TZL: With technology reducing the time it takes to complete design work, how do you get the AEC industry to start pricing on value instead of hours? BH: As a firm, we’re moving toward col- laborative project delivery, similar to what some people in the industry refer to as in- tegrated project delivery, although CPD is not necessarily contractually based like IPD. At SSOE, it refers to a strategy guid- ed by a LEAN mindset with a goal of de- fining and delivering a collective vision of success on a project by eliminating waste, compressing schedules, lowering cost, and improving satisfaction. The overall idea is to work with the contractor, client and key subcontractors as a team to collectively set a target cost for the project below industry benchmarks. This challenges the team to drive innovation and deliver better results. However, efficiency leads to fewer hours worked. To transition to more value-based pricing, AEC firms need to be willing to share the risk in order to get compensated fairly – shared risks equal shared rewards. It not only aligns with our corporate-wide cultural journey, which is centered around collaboration and LEAN principles, but it allows us to move toward executing proj- ects in a way that brings more value to our clients and their business. We also document our value promise to our clients in the form of project cost sav- ings. We have been successful in providing our clients with project cost saving equiva- lent to our fees. TZL: Diversity and inclusion is lacking. What steps are you taking to address the issue? BH: SSOE has made a commitment to fos- ter a diverse and inclusive culture that pro- motes personal and organizational growth – building these values into the firm’s vi- sion, core values, and corporate priorities. See KEY SUCCESSORS, page 8

YEAR FOUNDED: 1948 HEADQUARTERS: Toledo, Ohio OFFICE LOCATIONS: 27 NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 1,013 BOB HOWELL: Bob Howell began his career with the company in 1980. He started out as a draftsman trainee and worked his way up to associate in 1990. He continued to help the firm grow and evolve before being named CEO in 2014. THEIR MISSION: Making clients successful by saving them time, money and trouble. THEIR VISION: World-class people, delivering world-class projects, for world-class clients. They have:

❚ ❚ Safety-always culture ❚ ❚ Continuous efficiency

improvements/innovation ❚ ❚ Prominence in their markets ❚ ❚ Career growth opportunities

❚ ❚ Employee prosperity ❚ ❚ Diversity of thought

❚ ❚ Growth in strategic areas ❚ ❚ Competitive advantage ❚ ❚ A reputation for adding the greatest client value and environmental sustainability MARKETS: Automotive, chemical, commercial, consumer products, energy/power, education, food, glass, healthcare, manufacturing/ high tech, pharmaceutical, retail, and semiconductor SERVICES: Architecture, engineering, construction management, project management, program management, site selection, master planning, interior design, data/fire/security, and procurement

arch 4, 2019, ISSUE 1286

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