Designing Learning That Actually Improves Performance | Clark Quinn of Quinnovation

May 6, 2026 Christopher Parsons

In this episode of the Smarter by Design podcast, I’m joined by Clark Quinn, a cognitive scientist who has spent his career translating decades of learning research into practical guidance for organizations. He is the founder of Quinnovation and co-founder of the L&D Accelerator. His work is grounded in a simple conviction: most organizations are leaving enormous potential on the table — not for lack of effort or care, but because the science of how people actually learn has rarely made it into the room where learning decisions get made.

In most AEC firms, learning and development didn’t start with a formal strategy. It emerged organically. Executives responsible for talent came up through practice. L&D leaders stepped into their roles because they wanted to make their firms better, not because they were trained in the discipline. Subject matter experts shared what they know without ever having been taught how to teach.

As a result, most learning organizations in the AEC industry were largely built by accident rather than by design. And in that gap lies a significant opportunity: to create learning that doesn’t just inform, but actually improves capability and performance.

That is what this conversation is about.

Clark walks us through the science that most accidental L&D leaders never had access to. He explains why training so often stops at information transfer, what it really takes to design for performance rather than content delivery, and what the research says about learning design that actually moves the needle. We explore the shift from content-heavy training to practice-led learning, how to identify the root causes behind critical performance gaps before reaching for a training solution, and how to determine whether learning is even the right intervention.

We also step back and look at what a true learning ecosystem requires: not just courses, but performance support, job aids, communities of practice, mentoring, and the cultural conditions where learning compounds over time. Where knowledge is shared openly. Where failure is discussed. And where leadership sets the tone.

Finally, we go deep on one of the most important dynamics in any AEC firm: how to effectively work with busy and highly billable subject matter experts by drawing out what they know, pairing them with skilled learning designers, and building a coaching culture that makes expertise transferable at scale.

If you lead an AEC firm, build learning programs, or teach others what you know—and you’ve largely been figuring it out as you go—this conversation offers a foundation for doing it smarter. By design.

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Modernizing Learning to Scale Quality at Lionakis | Laura Knauss and Kristina Williams

April 14, 2026 Christopher Parsons

In this episode of Smarter by Design, I’m joined by Laura Knauss, President and Chief Practice Officer at Lionakis, and Kristina Williams, Director of Design Technology at Lionakis, for a conversation about how their firm is modernizing learning to scale quality and consistency across their practice.

At the heart of that shift is a deep respect for the apprenticeship model. For generations, one-on-one mentorship has been the foundation of how architects and engineers learned their craft—and it remains essential today. But as firms grow, diversify, and take on increasingly complex work, Lionakis has recognized that apprenticeship alone isn’t enough to provide the consistent, firmwide foundation that today’s environment demands.

In response, Lionakis is repositioning apprenticeship by building a more intentional and scalable learning system that ensures every team member starts from a shared baseline, while still allowing mentorship to do what it does best: helping people apply that knowledge in the context of real projects.

We explore two major shifts behind that transformation.

First, the evolution of Lionakis’s Design Technology Boot Camp. What began as long, lecture-heavy training sessions has been reimagined into a more modular, learner-centered experience built around short, focused video lessons, hands-on exercises, and live, collaborative sessions. Along the way, Kristina shares what they’ve learned about attention, retention, and how to design learning that actually sticks.

Second, we look at how those same principles are being applied beyond Boot Camp to reshape how the firm teaches practice itself. From specifications and building envelope design to programming and coordination, Lionakis is moving away from ad hoc training toward a more strategic learning roadmap that captures core project knowledge, standardizes how it’s taught, and makes it accessible across the entire firm.

The goal is both simple and ambitious: to create a shared foundation that allows any team member, in any office, to step into any project and contribute with confidence, consistency, and clarity.

What emerges is a picture of a firm learning how to operate as a modern learning organization—where knowledge, learning, and practice are tightly connected, and where investment in learning is directly tied to the quality of the work.

If you’re thinking about how to scale expertise, support the next generation of talent, or move beyond training as a one-time event, this conversation offers a clear and compelling path forward.

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Maximizing the Value of Learning & Development Investments | Chris and Susan of Knowledge Architecture

March 25, 2026 Christopher Parsons

In this episode of the Smarter by Design podcast, Susan Strom and I discuss The Modern Learning Organization Pipeline—a framework for helping AEC firms prioritize and maximize the return on their learning and development investments.

For decades, most AEC learning programs have relied on familiar formats: lunch-and-learns, live training sessions, and recorded presentations. But a new generation of tools—AI search, modern intranets, modular learning systems, and knowledge agents—is dramatically increasing the potential ROI of learning assets. When knowledge can be searched instantly, accessed on demand, and revisited whenever someone needs it, learning assets become far more valuable than they used to be.

That shift creates a new challenge: how do firms decide where to invest their time and energy? You can’t manage all the knowledge in your firm. So the real question becomes: which knowledge and learning investments produce the greatest return?

In this conversation, Susan and I walk through how to identify, prioritize, and design high-impact learning experiences in AEC firms using the Modern Learning Organization Pipeline.

Along the way, we explore:

Why AEC firms need to evolve into modern learning organizations
How firms can maximize the value of learning and development investments
The DESIRE framework, a practical tool for prioritizing learning opportunities
Why learning experiences should increasingly be treated like products
How firms are modernizing learning experiences for the AI era
How learning content can become searchable organizational knowledge
Why learner involvement and piloting are essential to good learning design
The rise of dedicated knowledge and learning roles inside AEC firms

Underlying the discussion is a broader idea: the industry is entering a platform shift in how knowledge, learning, and expertise are developed and distributed. As AI-powered knowledge and learning platforms like Synthesis make knowledge more accessible and reusable, the potential return on learning investments is rising dramatically. The challenge for firms is where to invest their time and energy to create the greatest impact.

If you’re leading an AEC firm and wondering where to invest in learning, knowledge, and capability building, this episode introduces a practical framework for prioritizing the opportunities that will matter most.

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What Will It Mean to Be an Expert in 2030? | Christopher Myers of Johns Hopkins University

March 4, 2026 Christopher Parsons

In this episode of the Smarter by Design podcast, I’m joined by Christopher Myers, Peetz Family Professor of Leadership and Faculty Director of the Center for Innovative Leadership at Johns Hopkins University, for a wide-ranging conversation about expertise, learning, and how AI is reshaping knowledge-intensive organizations like healthcare providers and AEC firms.

Christopher studies how professionals learn from experience and from one another. Together, we explore what happens when AI becomes extraordinarily good at synthesizing information but still struggles with judgment, context, and tacit nuance. In fields like healthcare, architecture, and engineering—where decisions carry real liability and long feedback loops—the distinction between synthesis and judgment matters deeply.

We examine a growing paradox: In the near future AI may be able to perform much of the “junior work” that once served as the apprenticeship path to becoming an expert. If AI creates the slide decks, drafts the notes, checks the drawings, and summarizes the literature, how do emerging professionals gain the reps, exposure, and judgment that traditionally came from doing those tasks? And if organizations eliminate junior roles in pursuit of efficiency, what happens to the future pipeline of senior expertise?

The conversation also explores how expertise actually forms. Christopher shares his research on vicarious learning—how professionals learn from stories, informal conversations, and communities of practice—and why hybrid work may be compressing or eroding some of those learning opportunities. We discuss why informal knowledge sharing sometimes outperforms formal systems, and how simulation and AI-powered scenarios may offer new ways to scale apprenticeship in the future.

At the center of the episode is a deeper question: What will it mean to be an expert in 2030? As AI raises the “standard of care” across industries, leaders must rethink not only how work gets done, but how judgment, responsibility, and organizational intelligence are developed over time.

If you’re leading an AEC firm and wondering how AI will affect your talent pipeline, apprenticeship model, or long-term expertise, this conversation offers a thoughtful and research-backed perspective on what may lie ahead.

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What the Best Synthesis Teams Do Differently | Susan Strom of Knowledge Architecture

February 18, 2026 Christopher Parsons

In this episode of Smarter by Design, I talk with Susan Strom, Chief Client Officer at Knowledge Architecture, about the patterns she’s seen across the most successful Synthesis teams. Drawing on years of implementation experience, Susan explains how great teams build momentum, lead change intentionally, and bring people into the process one person at a time.

We explore the human side of intranet, LMS, and AI Search rollouts—what strong project champions do, how they prepare their organizations, and the leadership behaviors that consistently set teams up for long-term success.

Whether you're evaluating Synthesis, preparing for a new implementation, or trying to take Synthesis to the next level at your firm, this conversation offers practical insight into what the best teams do differently.

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Why AEC Firms Are Leveling Up as Learning Organizations Now | Turner Fleischer and Greenprint

February 4, 2026 Christopher Parsons

In this episode of the Smarter by Design podcast, I’m joined by Ellen Bensky, CEO of Turner Fleischer, and Nicole Chavas, President and COO of Greenprint Partners, for a wide-ranging conversation about what it takes to level up as a learning organization in the AEC industry.

As both firms evolve beyond primarily live and synchronous training models, Ellen and Nicole share how they’re building systems to deliver the right knowledge, to the right people, at the right time—while reducing overload and lifting the burden from learning leaders to serve as “air traffic controllers.”

We explore how integrating their learning management systems with their intranets and AI Search is helping their teams access critical information in the flow of work, as well as how that shift is also encouraging more subject matter experts to contribute knowledge, knowing it will reach the right audience at the right moment.

We also dive into the mindset shifts required to scale learning effectively. From navigating the balance between live and on-demand learning, to designing hybrid programs that combine asynchronous content with meaningful human interaction, Ellen and Nicole show how their teams are rethinking training as a design problem—one centered on empathy, access, and adaptability.

This episode is a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how two growing firms are building learning organizations that reflect the pace of modern practice, the needs of emerging professionals, and the realities of day-to-day AEC work.

If you’re grappling with learning at scale, looking to reduce information overload, or wondering how to balance video, in-person, and AI-powered tools, this conversation offers fresh insight and practical ideas.

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Redesigning Learning for the Next Generation of AEC Talent | Dan Hottinger and Kari Shonblom of BWBR

January 6, 2026 Christopher Parsons

In this episode of the Smarter by Design podcast, I’m joined by Dan Hottinger, Principal and Director of Professional Services at BWBR, and Kari Shonblom, Knowledge Manager at BWBR, for a deep conversation about how their firm is redesigning learning to meet the realities of today’s AEC industry and the expectations of the next generation of talent.

Dan and Kari take us inside BWBR’s Landmark Learning program, a decade-long effort to help emerging professionals build judgment, confidence, and technical fluency faster than experience alone would allow. We explore how BWBR uses quality assurance (QA) and construction administration (CA) feedback loops to identify recurring gaps in practice, translate real project issues into targeted learning, and continuously evolve what and how the firm teaches technical skills to emerging professionals.

Along the way, we talk about how learning itself is changing. As the next generation of AEC professionals has grown up searching first, watching short-form videos, and expecting knowledge on demand, BWBR is rethinking traditional training models. Dan and Kari share how the firm is experimenting with shorter, more focused content while preserving the value of longer, story-driven sessions where context, judgment, and tacit knowledge can be shared.

The conversation also explores a hybrid approach to learning: pairing on-demand resources with live discussion, designing learning paths that evolve across career stages, and connecting technical instruction with the softer skills—such as communication, leadership, and decision-making—that become critical over time. At the center of it all is a simple but demanding idea: learning only matters if it shows up as improvement in the work.

This episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at how learning, QA, and career development can be woven into a single system that allows BWBR to develop talent from within, adapt to changing expectations, and build resilient expertise over time.

If you’re thinking about how your AEC firm can redesign learning for a new generation, connect knowledge management to real project outcomes, or move beyond training as a one-off event, this conversation is for you.

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Welcome to the Smarter by Design Podcast!

December 23, 2025 Christopher Parsons

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.

Subscribe to the Smarter by Design Podcast

Subscribe via YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes start January 7th.

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