CFO Wohl agrees that accountability was a key change. "When I came aboard, we were working on a 2012 budget, and I needed input from the regional managers," he says. "But I told them this is your budget and you're accountable. I'm not sure that existed before." Wohl says the firm, through April, is 50% ahead of plan. Larrabee "challenges and stretches the board and senior management," says outside board member Robert Wilson, a former design firm CFO.
Because of her past experience with environmental projects, Larrabee says the firm is now concentrating on expanding its presence in the water-wastewater segment, including a role as program manager for the $23-million first phase of a wastewater treatment plant upgrade in Vacaville, Calif. "The seeds of diversification are being sowed right now." She also is overseeing an increased emphasis on financial and assessment engineering projects, which helps clients set up and implement assessment districts for capital models. "It's all brainy work," she says.
Larrabee also focused on corporate transparency. Because of the distances between offices, she set up a webcast system to keep the staff updated on "the numbers, what the numbers mean and what to focus on," she says. Larrabee also updated the company's intranet, embedding a centralized web-based system that enables employees to communicate with each other on client service issues. One new initiative is a schedule of quarterly meetings for 30 key leaders from across the firm. "We have a lot more interaction now with people we were not used to talking with," says Dunne.
Harris' shared accountability goal motivated the whole staff, from the board directors and corporate management to the regional offices and individual project teams, says McCosker.
"We can look at each decision and measure it against the strategic priorities and judge if it will move us forward or not," McCosker says. "At the same time, we have developed definitive measurements for continually tracking our progress. This is very different from how we operated in the past, which was more reactive. Many of our fellow firms that may have survived the worst of the recession are finding themselves unable to sustain current operations in a slowly improving economy. We are past that and getting stronger every day." While Erickson and Harris remain board members, company observers say they have avoided involvement in challenges to Larrabee's authority brought by employees.
Dunne gives credit to Larrabee's communication with clients, including a major one, the Los Angeles Community College District. It is executing a 14-year, $6-billion building program funded mostly by taxpayer-approved bonds. Harris is providing CM-PM services at one of the district's nine colleges, Los Angeles City College, which has an ambitious $323-million program under way. "The contract touches every single building on campus," says Dunne.
At first, the demanding schedule concerned college President Jamillah Moore, who arrived on campus four years ago. "Working with Harris & Associates has been a seamless process," she says. "Constructing four brand-new buildings in two years is extraordinary." She credits the new space for expanded curriculum and enrollment increases. Harris also has PM roles in high-profile transportation projects, such as the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center. The firm also is PM on phase one of the Cooley Landing Park project that will convert a former dump site into a waterside nature preserve in East Palo Alto. The job is small, but John Doughty, the city's community development director, says nearly 20 regulatory agencies were involved and that Harris was diligent "to ensure that this complicated project proceeded seamlessly."
Larrabee says it's "foolish" to predict the firm will soon go back to double-digit growth—although she's hopeful. "There's a fair share of the marketplace available to us," says Larrabee. Winning it "has to do with [our] passion and commitment and making sure that we leverage that inspiration to every opportunity."
