Perspective

How I think about growth, succession, and exit in architecture practices

Most architecture practices are built to work, but not to last. They are often profitable, respected, and busy. Yet fragile beneath the surface.

The reason is rarely effort or talent. It is that the business has grown without being intentionally designed for the long term. Over the years, I have seen the same patterns repeat in practices I have built, acquired, advised, and helped transition.

This page sets out how I think about those patterns, and why many well-run practices still struggle when the owner wants change.

Architecture practices are not generic businesses

Most advisory fails architects because it treats their practices like any other SME. Architecture practices are different.

They are:

Deeply owner-dependent
Reputation-led
Professionally regulated
Emotionally entangled with identity
Structurally resistant to transfer

Applying generic growth or exit advice without recognising this almost always creates friction later — usually at the point when options matter most. My work starts from that reality, not from theory.

Profit is not the same as optionality

One of the most common misconceptions I encounter is the belief that profitability equals freedom. It doesn’t.

A practice can be profitable and still:

Be impossible to sell
Have no credible succession path
Collapse without the founder
Carry hidden risk that only emerges under scrutiny

Optionality is not created by revenue alone. It is created by structure, timing, and deliberate decisions made years in advance. This distinction shapes almost every piece of advice I give.

Growth without structure increases risk

Growth is often presented as the solution.

In practice, unmanaged growth frequently:

Increases complexity faster than capability
Concentrates risk around the owner
Reduces clarity rather than improving it
Makes exit harder, not easier

Scale only creates value when the practice is designed to absorb it. Without structure, growth simply magnifies weaknesses. That is why I am cautious about growth advice that focuses on ambition before readiness.

Succession and exit are design problems

Succession and exit are rarely timing problems. They are design problems.

By the time a founder is asking:
“Can I sell?”
“Can I step back?”
“Can someone else run this?”

Most of the important decisions have already been made, often unintentionally. Ownership structures, leadership depth, risk exposure, governance, and positioning all determine what options exist later.

My perspective is simple: Exit is not an event. It is the outcome of how the practice has been designed over time.

Decisions before tactics

I am intentionally slow to give tactics. Not because they don’t matter, but because tactics without judgement often cause damage. Before growth, before acquisition, before succession conversations, there are always foundational questions that must be answered clearly.

When those decisions are made properly:

Execution becomes easier
Risk reduces
Confidence increases
Outcomes improve

Most of my work is about helping owners decide what not to do.

What I deliberately don’t do

This is as important as what I do.

I don’t:

Push owners toward growth by default
Rush people into transactions
Sell exits as a goal in themselves
Apply generic playbooks
Work with everyone

Some practices should not grow. Some should not sell. Some should stabilise before anything else. Good advice is often about restraint.

How this perspective is used

The thinking on this page informs everything else on the site.

It underpins:

The tools and guides available for independent use
The frameworks used in advisory work
The way I approach succession, acquisition, and exit planning

For many owners, clarity alone changes outcomes. For a smaller number, this thinking leads to deeper advisory work over time. Both paths are valid.

Closing

If this perspective resonates, you will find practical resources elsewhere on the site. If it doesn’t, that’s equally fine. This work is not for everyone, and it is not meant to be.

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