Leveling Up as Learning Organizations |
Executive Workshop 2026

Greens Restaurant
San Francisco, CA
March 18th — March 19th, 2026

Workshop Overview

We’re bringing together a small group of executive leaders from leading AEC firms for a two-day workshop in San Francisco next spring (March 18th and 19th) called Leveling Up as Learning Organizations.

This workshop will convene CEOs, presidents, COOs, managing principals, and other senior executives who are shaping how their firms learn, share knowledge, and grow. Together, we’ll explore what it takes to build organizations that are not only high-performing but continuously learning — integrating knowledge management, learning and development, and AI to create smarter, more adaptive practices.

Over two days, we’ll blend:

• Vision, strategy, and emerging best practices sessions from the Knowledge Architecture team on where the industry is headed, why this moment matters, and how to proactively evolve your firm to meet it.

• Case studies from peers who are already experimenting with new approaches to learning, knowledge sharing, and AI.

• Individual reflection and small-group exercises designed to spark fresh ideas and practical takeaways.

Participation is by invitation only, with attendance targeted at around 20–25 AEC executives to allow for genuine dialogue among peers.

This will be a high-trust, generative environment — a space for reflection, connection, and collaboration among executive peers who are thinking deeply about how to evolve their firms for the decade ahead.

Our goal is for every participant to leave with new clarity on their firm’s learning priorities and a practical roadmap for advancing them.

Registration

Your registration to Leveling Up as Learning Organizations | Executive Workshop 2026 includes the two-day workshop and breakfast, lunch, and dinner on both days.

Please Note: To preserve a small, high-trust, peer-based environment, attendance is limited and by invitation only to active Knowledge Architecture clients. If you are unsure of whether or not you meet this criteria, please email us at connect@knowledge-architecture.com.

Where to Stay

Workshop Agenda

Day One (Wednesday, March 18th)

8 AM | Breakfast (@ Greens)

9 AM | Welcome, Introductions, and Executive Sense-Making
Participants will introduce themselves and their firms, followed by a guided reflection and facilitated discussion on how learning and development is showing up in their organizations today—what feels effective, what feels outdated, and where leaders are sensing growing pressure or misalignment.

10:00 AM | Designing Modern Learning Organizations: Rethinking AEC Learning and Development in the Age of AI
Learning in AEC feels different than it did even a few years ago. The pace of change is accelerating, the half-life of knowledge is shrinking, expectations of expertise are shifting, and AI is transforming how information is accessed and applied. In this session, we’ll frame what’s at stake and introduce the Modern Learning Organization Pipeline — a practical, nine-step model for turning real business learning opportunities into durable organizational capability. From identifying and prioritizing high-leverage needs to unlocking just-in-time learning through AI search and knowledge agents, the goal is to move learning from episodic training to embedded infrastructure.

But the road to a modern learning organization runs directly through subject matter experts. We’ll explore the unspoken barriers that often sit beneath “I don’t have time” and discuss what it takes — culturally, technologically, and organizationally — to create a new social contract between experts, leadership, and knowledge and learning teams. The focus is not just on tools, but on building collective intelligence over time.

12 PM | Lunch (@ Greens) 

1:00 PM | Experiments in Modern Learning Experiences
An interactive, case-driven session exploring how leading firms are reimagining learning experiences in practice. Through a series of participant presentations and facilitated discussions, we’ll examine real experiments across the industry: hybrid and flipped models, short modular content, authentic expert-led video, AI-supported content creation and retrieval, learning paths, and alternatives to the traditional “live training, recorded and archived” approach.

Each presentation will be followed by conversation with the group, exploring what these experiments make possible — from faster onboarding and stronger knowledge continuity to accelerated expertise and more adaptive practices. The goal is not to prescribe a single model, but to expand what leaders believe is possible and to connect creative experimentation to real organizational impact.

4:30 PM | Day One Reflections
We’ll close the day by reflecting on what we’ve surfaced together—key insights, emerging opportunities, and questions worth carrying into Day Two.

6 PM | Dinner (@ TBD)
An informal evening to continue conversations and build relationships among peers.

Day 2 (Thursday, March 19th)

8 AM | Breakfast (@ Greens)

9 AM | Technology as an Enabler: An Executive-Level View
We’ll begin Day Two with a forward-looking, executive-level overview of the integrated knowledge management, learning & development, and AI technologies being developed by Knowledge Architecture to support modern learning organizations.

This roadmap session will be followed by a group discussion on technology’s role in enabling—and accelerating—the shifts discussed on Day One.

10:30 AM | From Vision to Reality: People, Process, and Culture
Technology alone does not create a modern learning organization. In this session, two firms will share how they are translating vision into reality — addressing the people, process, and cultural shifts required to sustain meaningful change.

Through case-based presentations and facilitated discussion, we’ll explore what it actually takes to modernize learning in a billable environment: resourcing and prioritization, governance and ownership, leadership alignment, cultural resistance, and the ongoing work of building trust and momentum.

12 PM | Lunch (@ Greens) 

1 PM | Deep Dives: Topics from the Room
Using themes and questions captured over the two days, participants will self-select into small breakout groups to explore specific topics in more depth—such as staffing models, governance approaches, AI readiness, content strategy, or organizational change. Groups will reconvene to share insights and perspectives with the full group.

3 PM | Reflection and Integration: What This Means for My Firm
Dedicated time for individual and small-group reflection. Participants will step back from discussion to synthesize what they’ve learned, reflect on how it applies to their own firm, and consider what actions or experiments feel most important to pursue next.

4:30 PM | What’s Next: Closing Reflections
We’ll close with a final group conversation focused on takeaways and next steps, helping translate two days of reflection and dialogue into forward momentum.

6 PM | Dinner (@ TBD)
An informal evening to continue conversations and build relationships among peers.

Workshop Ends

Register for the Leveling Up as Learning Organizations | Executive Workshop 2026