Like many design firm owners, Bethany had built a talented team of designers, but found that the work of actually running the firm still seemed to fall on her. She was at a familiar crossroads: when do you hire an operations person, and when can the work of running the business be shared across the team? We embarked on a sustained partnership to explore that question, bringing the team together to align on goals, strengthen collaboration, and think strategically about the future.

Together, we established an annual team summit to set priorities and goals for the year ahead. From there, we developed an individually tailored quarterly planning system that translated those goals into concrete priorities and actions throughout the year. These sessions created a regular rhythm for the team to step out of the day-to-day, get aligned, and take greater ownership of the work required to run the firm.

The result has been clearer direction, renewed motivation, and stronger team cohesion. Just as importantly, the work of running the firm is no longer seen as one person’s job. By creating shared responsibility and a simple structure for staying on track, Bethany and her team have been able to build the infrastructure they need while continuing to assess where dedicated operational support makes sense.