ORGANIZATIONAL ADVISORY FOR A/E FIRMS
Better firms do not happen by accident.
THEY ARE DESIGNED.
Schemata helps owners and leaders of architecture and engineering firms identify the conditions behind recurring problems, clarify decision authority and accountability, and strengthen how the firm operates through growth, change and transition.
Aaron D. Jenks, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Founder | AEC Advisor
Experienced architecture & engineer firm principal & owner, 30+ years in AEC
Different firms.
FAMILIAR PROBLEMS.
When several of these conditions keep showing up together, the issue is rarely one person or one process. In architecture and engineering firms, recurring problems often trace back to unclear authority, roles, priorities, client mix, or delivery practices that no longer fit the firm.
02 FRAMEWORK
Five systems. One firm.
Every architecture and engineering firm operates through a set of underlying structures that shape how decisions are made, people work together, clients are selected and served, projects are delivered, and the enterprise is sustained.
Schemata examines those structures through five interdependent systems: Direction, People, Clients, Delivery, and Enterprise.
A problem may appear in one part of the firm while originating somewhere else. The systems are distinct, but never separate.
PROBLEMS OFTEN SHOW UP IN ONE SYSTEM AND ORIGINATE IN ANOTHER.
03 WHEN THE ROOT PROBLEM ISN’T CLEAR
The Firm Alignment ASSESSMENT
The Firm Alignment Assessment is a six-week, fixed-fee review for architecture and engineering firm owners when recurring problems are clear, but the underlying cause is not. Schemata examines how the firm is actually operating, where friction is being created, and which three decisions matter most now.
A project running over budget may reveal more than a delivery problem. Schemata examines how client selection, fees, staffing, and decision authority interact to uncover what is driving recurring problems.
Confidential interviews, operating data, and document review across the Five Systems.
WEEKS 1-4
DIAGNOSE
WEEKS 5-6
Findings are tested with leadership and translated into three priority decisions.
DECIDE
90 DAYS + 12 MONTHS
A practical action plan for the next 90 days and a priority roadmap for the year ahead.
SEQUENCE
Three Priority Decisions. Not 30 Recommendations
01 ACT NOW
Conditions consequential enough to require near-term action and clear ownership.
02 PROTECT
Strengths, relationships, and operating habits the firm should preserve while making changes.
03 DEFER
Work that may matter later but would distract from the priorities that matter now.
04 WHEN THE ROOT ISSUE IS ALREADY CLEAR
When the issue is already CLEAR.
The Firm Alignment Assessment is the starting point when the underlying problem is unclear. When an architecture or engineering firm already understands the root issue, Schemata may work directly with owners and senior leaders through Executive Advisory or a focused Strategic Intervention.
ADVISE
Executive Advisory
Independent counsel for A/E firm owners and senior leaders facing consequential decisions involving leadership, ownership, priorities, growth, succession, or organizational change.
Engagement: Custom-scoped around the decisions, cadence, and level of support required.
INTERVENE
Strategic Intervention
Focused work on one defined organizational issue, such as leadership transition, operating structure, decision authority, accountability, or client strategy, where concentrated outside judgment and facilitation are needed.
Engagement: Scope, duration, and working format are defined around the specific issue.
05 ABOUT
Built from inside A/E FIRMS.
More than 30 years working inside architecture and engineering firms shaped the point of view behind Schemata. Aaron Jenks has worked as an architect, project manager, business developer, firm leader, owner, shareholder, and board member.
That experience produced a recurring observation: capable people can struggle when responsibilities, decision authority, and operating habits do not keep pace with the firm. Problems that appear isolated are often connected across leadership, people, clients, delivery, and ownership.
FIRM OWNERSHIP + GOVERNANCE
Former principal, shareholder, and board member of a multidisciplinary architectural and engineering firm.
OPERATING LEADERSHIP
Experience across firm operations, staffing strategy, leadership development, business development, project delivery, and governance.
PROJECT ECONOMICS
Responsible for proposals, fees, staffing, delivery oversight, and project profitability.
Aaron D. Jenks, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP FOUNDER | AEC ADVISOR
The person you hire is the person doing the work. Aaron works directly with firm leadership from diagnosis through decision.
06 PERSPECTIVES
Ideas worth an argument.
Practical observations on how A/E firms make decisions, organize work, and develop leaders.
002
PERSPECTIVE
We Delegate the Expectation of Success.
Responsibility without authority is not delegation. In growing A/E firms, people are often held accountable for outcomes while decision authority remains with principals, creating rational escalation and leadership bottlenecks.
PREVIOUS PERSPECTIVES
001
Your PM problem is probably not a PM problem.
07 SCHEDULE A CONVERSATION
Let’s begin the CONVERSATION.
You do not need to have the problem fully figured out. Tell me what you are seeing, what keeps resurfacing, or simply what has you concerned.
01 Recurring issues keep resurfacing.
02 Leadership knows something is off but cannot quite name it.
03 Growth, ownership, or change is exposing strain in the firm.
04 Succession or ownership transition remains unresolved.
Prefer to talk first? book a 30-minute call aaron@schemataaes.com | 616-717-2240
INITIAL CONVERSATION
A focused conversation to understand your firm, your challenges, and what success looks like.
NO OBLIGATION
This is an exploratory conversation, not a sales call. You will walk away with clarity either way.
CONFIDENTIAL
Your information and conversation are always treated with the highest level of confidentiality.
DECIDE WHAT’S NEXT
If it makes sense to work together, we will explore the right path forward. If not, you will still leave with valuable perspective.