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Smarter by Design

Smarter by Design

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The Smarter by Design podcast explores how leading architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms are reimagining knowledge management, learning, and AI to build smarter, more adaptive practices. Hosted by Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Architecture, the show dives into the real stories behind how firms are scaling expertise, transforming culture, and creating modern learning organizations. At the heart of the show is a simple belief: AEC firms should spend as much time designing their businesses as they do designing buildings, bridges, and infrastructure. The systems we design for capturing, sharing, and distributing knowledge shape everything else we create. Through thoughtful conversations with AEC leaders, knowledge managers, and innovators, we explore how design, leadership, and technology intersect to shape the future of practice. If you’re curious about how AEC firms are learning faster, working smarter, and designing better ways to grow—this is your show.Knowledge Architecture, all rights reserved Art Economics Management Management & Leadership
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  • Building a More Adaptable AEC Firm | Laurie Dreyer of Taylor Design

    Building a More Adaptable AEC Firm | Laurie Dreyer of Taylor Design
    28 Oct 2026
    I've known Laurie Dreyer, Chief Development Officer at Taylor Design, since I started Knowledge Architecture in 2009, and I've learned a tremendous amount from her over the years about leadership, organizational development, knowledge management, and learning.A few weeks ago, Laurie and I had a conversation about how to design AEC firms to thrive in an era of rapid, continuous change. We covered so much fascinating territory that when our half-hour meeting ended, I wasn't ready for the conversation to stop.So I invited Laurie onto the Smarter by Design podcast to continue exploring what it takes to build a more adaptable AEC firm.Five ideas from our conversation:1. Sustained simplicity creates capacity. Every unnecessary system, process, and piece of outdated information imposes a small tax on employees' time and attention. Laurie shares how Taylor Design simplified its employee experience, and we explore how firms can reinvest the capacity they recover into better knowledge, learning, and processes. Those investments can create a compounding dividend, provided firms maintain the discipline to keep complexity from creeping back in.2. Make change with people, not to people. Inviting employees into the process of change doesn't mean waiting for everyone to agree. Laurie shares how Taylor Design uses surveys, employee forums, and other feedback mechanisms to bring more perspectives into the decision-making process, uncover opportunities for improvement that leaders might otherwise overlook, and build greater trust and buy-in along the way.3. The power of the networked organization. One of our shared mentors, Ed Friedrichs, believed that employees should be no more than two degrees of separation from the expertise they need. We explore how informal networks, communities of practice, and connected knowledge systems help people find one another, share what they know, and solve problems more effectively.4. Reboarding is the new onboarding. Firms invest considerable effort in helping new employees understand how things work. But what about employees who have been there for 10, 20, or 30 years? Laurie introduces the idea of reboarding, helping experienced professionals learn how their organizations have evolved and adopt better ways of working.5. Create stable ground for continuous change. Adaptability doesn't mean everything needs to be in constant flux. We explore how shared values, trusted relationships, and clear ways of working provide a stable foundation from which employees can confidently experiment, learn, and embrace new opportunities. Laurie shares how leaders can reinforce that foundation while building a culture that expects and welcomes continuous improvement.Throughout our conversation, we explore what it takes to build a Modern Learning Organization that can accelerate learning, scale expertise, and thrive in an era of continuous change.I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.GuestLaurie Dreyer, Chief Development Officer, Taylor DesignLaurie Dreyer is Chief Development Officer at Taylor Design, where she brings a career built across some of the AEC industry’s most respected firms, including The Ratcliff Architects, Gensler, Psomas, and Anshen+Allen/Stantec. Working in organizations ranging from 50 people to a global firm of 18,000, Laurie has held dedicated leadership roles as well as the “utility infielder” roles that keep a firm running, stepping in wherever the work demands. A committed lifelong learner, she is a frequent speaker and facilitator at KA Connect and industry events hosted by the AIA, ACEC, AE Advisors, and PSMJ. Laurie holds a degree in History from UC Berkeley, a choice she does not regret.CreditsHost: Christopher ParsonsExecutive Producers: Denise Parsons, Christopher ParsonsEditor: Coe HoeksemaTheme Song: “We Took the BART” — Written and Performed by The ParentsEpisode ResourcesKA Connect TalksWilliams, Kristina. “Learning at the Speed of Change: Adapting L&D to Your New AEC Workforce.” KA Connect, 2026.Norton, Brandon. “Designing Learning Like a Product: Branding, Culture, and the Unseen Work of Building an LMS.” KA Connect, 2026.Leckman, Michael, and Sam Horton. “Scaling Design Excellence: How Diamond Schmitt Amplifies Knowledge Through Learning and AI.” KA Connect, 2026.Squire, Corey. “Knowledge Management: The Secret to Unlocking Sustainable Design.” KA Connect, 2024.Trickett, Andrew. “Knowledge Reviews in the Flow at Arup: Lessons on the Journey So Far.” KA Connect, 2018.Parsons, Christopher. “The Connected Practice.” KA Connect, 2012.Friedrichs, Ed. “Two Degrees of Separation.” KA Connect, 2011.Smarter by Design Newsletter and PodcastParsons, Christopher. “The Standardization Paradox: Can AEC Firms Scale Quality Without Sacrificing Innovation?” Smarter by Design newsletter, October 13, 2026.Parsons, Christopher. “What I Learned About Designing Smarter Firms From Ed Friedrichs.” Smarter by Design newsletter, ...
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    1 sa. ve 47 dk.
  • Building RDG’s Practice Innovation Program | Ron Heims of RDG

    Building RDG’s Practice Innovation Program | Ron Heims of RDG
    24 Sep 2026

    Ron Heims has spent his entire career at RDG Planning and Design, moving from architect to IT director to his current role as Director of Practice Innovation. It’s a role dedicated to a question many AEC leaders are sitting with: who is actually responsible for making the firm better at how it works?

    In this episode of the Smarter by Design podcast, Christopher Parsons talks with Ron about what a practice innovation program looks like from the inside. The conversation explores how Ron discovers and prioritizes innovation projects across a firm with too many good ideas, how he uses process mapping to diagnose undocumented workflows before any technology gets involved, and how he brings people with competing opinions together to build consensus around a better way forward.

    Ron also explains how RDG decides when to buy software and when to build it, and how he and his team have developed a suite of custom tools tailored specifically to RDG's workflows, including a project management platform built with agentic coding tools that connects project teams to RDG's Synthesis intranet knowledge in the flow of work.

    A big part of what makes the innovation program work is what happens after a tool gets built. Ron talks about his approach to change management and adoption, including how he keeps early adopters close, responds to feedback quickly, and creates the conditions for people to actually want to change how they work. Building better tools is one challenge. Getting them adopted across a multi-office firm is another problem entirely, and Ron has learned a lot about both.

    If you lead or manage an AEC firm and you sense that someone should be focused on innovation on a more dedicated basis, this episode is for you.

    Guest

    Ron Heims, Director of Practice Innovation at RDG

    Ron Heims is a Principal and the Director of Practice Innovation at RDG Planning & Design, a multi-disciplinary design firm. With over 30 years of experience leading technology initiatives, Ron has been instrumental in shaping the firm’s forward-thinking approach to integrated design and digital transformation. His leadership bridges the gap between practice and technological advancement, driving strategies that elevate collaboration, efficiency, and innovation across disciplines. Ron’s passion lies in leveraging emerging technologies to enhance design outcomes and future-proof the firm’s operations in an ever-evolving industry.

    Episode Resources

    Heims, Ron. "Low-Code, High-Impact: Solving Real Business Problems with Custom AI Apps" KA Connect 2025.

    Credits

    Host: Christopher Parsons

    Executive Producers: Denise Parsons, Christopher Parsons

    Editor: Coe Hoeksema

    Theme Song: “We Took the BART” — Written and Performed by The Parents

    Chapters

    (00:00) Welcome and Episode Recap

    (02:46) From Architect to Director of Practice Innovation

    (04:46) Defining Practice Innovation

    (07:48) Building the Receipts App

    (14:02) Process Mapping and Prioritization

    (18:53) Project Pando: Standardizing Project Management

    (26:19) Driving Adoption With Simple, Intuitive Tools

    (29:15) Adding a Project Assistant and Lessons Learned

    (31:05) Why Off-the-Shelf Tools Fell Short

    (34:17) From Tinkering with AI Tools to Building Agents

    (38:12) Durable Build vs Buy

    (42:36) Replacing Tools and Managing Risk

    (45:24) MCP Integrations and Project Brain

    (52:05) Roll-Out and Change Management

    (55:04) Handling Feedback and Saying No

    (58:17) Advice for Getting Started

    (1:01:13) Innovation Role and Maintenance
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    1 sa. ve 11 dk.
  • How Greenprint and MBH Turn AI Experiments Into Business Transformation | Hillary Thompson and Nicole Chavas

    How Greenprint and MBH Turn AI Experiments Into Business Transformation | Hillary Thompson and Nicole Chavas
    20 Aug 2026
    In this episode of the Smarter by Design podcast, I’m joined by Nicole Chavas, President and COO of Greenprint Partners, and Hillary Thompson, Principal at MBH Architects, for a candid conversation about what they are learning as they turn AI experiments into meaningful business transformation.Both Nicole and Hillary are senior leaders who are also personally building agents and redesigning workflows, which gives them a close-up view of not only what the technology can do, but what it reveals about their firms. Again and again, they have found that building with AI exposes the same underlying questions: What does good look like? Is this actually our standard, or just what we happen to do today? Is the knowledge documented clearly enough to use? And are we redesigning the work itself, or simply bolting AI onto an existing process?One of the clearest lessons is that scalable transformation often means going smaller, slower, and together. Nicole describes initially trying to move quickly, work largely on her own, and use agents to redesign entire business processes at once. What she learned was that proposal development and project management are really collections of interconnected subprocesses, and that lasting change requires a different approach: involve the people doing the work, break the system into smaller pieces, focus on the highest-impact opportunities, define what good looks like, redesign each subprocess for an AI-enabled way of working, and then train the firm on the new process.Hillary describes a parallel journey at MBH, where rapid prototyping with firm leaders through an “agent charrette” surfaced her leadership team’s dreams for AI-driven business transformation. Rapid prototyping then exposed the undocumented processes, conflicting standards, duplicated effort, and poor data quality standing in the way of their dreams. In that sense, AI serves as an organizational mirror because when agents struggle, they often teach you something about the business.But process redesign is only part of the challenge. The other major constraint is change capacity. Nicole and Hillary are both operating in environments where the technology is improving faster than their organizations can realistically absorb change. They discuss experimenting with “good enough” solutions, following the energy of early adopters, sharing successful use cases between peers, building trust with skeptics, and giving leaders closer to day-to-day project work permission to control the pace of change.The goal is to build a trusted core of people at their firms who can experiment, interpret what is changing, and act as a kind of shock absorber for the rest of the organization. This helps the firm move fast without forcing everyone to experience the full chaos of living at the bleeding edge of the AI frontier.The throughline is that AI itself is not the point. It is an increasingly powerful catalyst for redesigning the business around the fundamentals AEC firms have always cared about: high-quality work teams are proud of, profitably run projects, happy clients, and engaged employees.GuestsNicole Chavas, President & COO, Greenprint PartnersNicole is President & COO of Greenprint Partners, a Chicago-based urban planning, civil engineering and landscape architecture firm. In leading all aspects of firm operations, she brings a passion for rallying resources, talent and partnerships to scale sustainable infrastructure—a passion that has informed her approach to team leadership and company growth since 2014.Nicole's love of learning is inherent in every initiative she leads. Whether it’s spearheading a proposal, accelerating adoption of a new knowledge management system or recruiting and onboarding employees, she is committed to transparency, collaboration and continuous learning every step of the way. She is inspired by the knowledge and interests of every Greenprint team member and seeks to foster a flexible, inclusive and mission-oriented company culture that supports the personal and professional growth of all employees.Hillary Thompson, Principal, MBH ArchitectsHillary brings together design thinking, strategic communication, and systems development to strengthen how MBH operates, learns, and tells its story. With experience leading brand, marketing, knowledge management, and business systems initiatives, she approaches organizational strategy as a design challenge, creating frameworks that connect people, processes, and information to drive better outcomes. Her work focuses on building scalable platforms, improving access to knowledge, and transforming complex data into actionable insights that support decision-making across the firm. Hillary has led initiatives spanning brand strategy, digital experience, business intelligence, AI-enabled knowledge systems, and cross-functional process improvement, helping teams work more efficiently while preserving the creativity and expertise that define MBH’s culture. She ...
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    1 sa. ve 38 dk.
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