The Practice is an Iterative Design Project
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.
— John Muir
BNIM has always been guided by the belief that good design can inspire change and improve the human condition in the communities we serve and for the clients who trust us with their work. When BNIM became an employee-owned company held by an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) trust in 2023, it gave us a different kind of design question: how should we organize the practice to deliver on that purpose as fully as possible?
Designing Roles Around the Work
We approached the design of our practice the way we approach any design problem: by looking carefully at its parts before composing them into a purpose-centric whole. We studied the functions, responsibilities, and relationships that make the practice work, then reassembled them into a clearer structure.
The principle behind that work was generous pragmatism: what a role does matters as much as, and often more than, where it sits in a structure. We started with roles before we started with titles. We asked what functions the practice needed, separate from who happened to be doing them at the time, and then clarified roles around responsibility and impact. Some roles were large enough to be shared by several people; others belonged clearly to one. People stepped into roles based on the work in front of them, not simply on title or position.
A Company of Leaders
Underneath this was a larger question about authority: would leadership remain concentrated with a few people, or would it expand across the practice as a company of leaders? We chose the latter. That means each person is expected and empowered to lead within their role and area of responsibility. Leadership can then emerge where the work is happening, and from the people closest to it. Put simply: authority lives with the work, not above it.
The broader leadership system is built to support that shift. The ESOP Board provides a long-term strategic direction. The Practice Council develops annual, outcome-based objectives. Core Leadership translates those priorities into day-to-day alignment. The three groups meet quarterly, each bringing a different vantage point to the same shared goals. Shared leadership only works when roles are clear, accountability is understood, and trust is built between the people holding those responsibilities.
Shared Ownership, Shared Stewardship
Employee ownership asks people to share responsibility, not just shares. We have built ways of working to make that responsibility more visible and more actionable: education sessions, firmwide town halls, leadership coaching, and quarterly financial transparency that gives employee-owners a clearer view into performance, priorities, and the choices shaping our future. We also formalized a practice model with these areas — Design Excellence & Delivery, Shared Services, Practice Advancement, and Employee-Ownership — they integrate with each other to form ecosystems so the parts of the practice doing the work and the parts stewarding the practice stay connected rather than siloed.
An employee-owner who understands how the practice runs is better equipped to make good decisions in the work: when to push for a stronger sustainability strategy, when a client relationship needs more attention, or when a community’s needs have shifted since a plan was first drawn. Stewardship of the practice and stewardship of the work are closely connected.
Growth in Service of Impact
A thriving practice gives BNIM more capacity to pursue the work that matters most. Growth is not the point by itself; it gives us the ability to ask better questions, take on more complex problems, and deepen our service to the clients, communities, and places to have greater impact..
The most meaningful work starts with listening carefully to clients and communities, understanding the full complexity of what they are facing and not just the scope of a project. Market Sector Co-Leaders help us build deeper expertise in the areas where we work and cultivate the long-term relationships that make our contributions more effective over time. Every employee-owner has a role in addressing complexity for each client and community — helping build a problem-solving ecosystem that actively looks for opportunities to serve our clients and our purpose.
Designing for Continuity
Generational transitions often happen in bursts: a founder retires, a few people step forward, and the practice waits years for the next major shift. BNIM is working toward something more continuous — leadership that renews steadily, role by role, as people are ready for it. When roles carry defined accountabilities, leadership can be renewed without depending on one person’s timeline.
We have also begun talking about terms of contribution within leadership roles, so new leaders are intentionally developed into what we call a company of leaders. The commitments BNIM makes — to a client over the life of a building, to a community over the life of a master plan, and to the planet over the time frames climate work requires — last longer than any one person’s career. A practice designed for continuous succession is a practice better able to keep those commitments.
The vision of the practice transformation remains straightforward: a future-ready, thriving practice, led by purpose, powered by employee-owners, and designed to adapt as the work changes. We aspire to be a company of leaders whose work contributes to a more restorative and equitable world.