John “Ozzie” Nelson Jr. is an accomplished global business leader who has demonstrated a commitment to the design industry and the community. As Co-CEO of NELSON Worldwide, Ozzie has guided the firm to unprecedented growth and an industry ranking as the third largest provider of design and design-related services to corporate America.
How did you become involved in the construction and design Industry?
Architecture and design is in my blood by way of my father who started the interior design firm more than 40 years ago, although, my passion has always been entrepreneurship. In 1987, immediately upon graduating from college with a degree in Business Administration, I entered my father’s 15-person interior design firm. Over the following years, I was able to enhance the firm’s core business of design by integrating emerging technologies and the high level of consulting capability required by clients with large corporate real estate portfolios to create a compelling service delivery platform. The firm was able to expand from a one-office, traditional design firm with a single core competency to its current state of 25 locations, 1100 teammates, 10 different practice areas and multiple fully integrated service lines.
What is something that your company is doing that you consider innovative?
I truly believe we are pioneers in the industry, and business evolution in general. Seamlessly combining scale, market expertise and geographic leadership, with the right technological platforms, will be the defining elements of the leading architecture and design firms of the future. All too often, I believe too many firms think of innovation in terms of one, or maybe two, of these paradigms, but not as a holistic approach incorporating all of those elements. Innovation isn’t just about accepting new ideas or processes, but instead about seeing potential through a discerning eye with a willingness to embrace change.
At NELSON we are doing just that. We have strategically acquired 40 industry-leading firms in the last 30 years, jumping almost 30 spots on Architectural Record’s Top 300 firms list, and launching a new brand vision and organizational structure that has unified a robust network of design leadership and expertise across the country.
What poses a challenge, risk or opportunity for your clients and what is your company doing to address it?
In today’s rapidly change world, every industry is being disrupted…
- Money is being replaced by Bitcoin and other electronic currencies;
- Implantable devices could replace routine doctor visits;
- Self-driving cars could replace cab and uber drivers;
- Automated tellers could eliminate tens of millions of minimum wage jobs; and
- Artificial Intelligence could replace architects and engineers drawing construction documents.
Yet with great change comes great opportunity. We need to focus on the elements that automation will not replace – and for us, that’s the ability to translate profound human vison and the innate design for impactful human experiences. So, with architecture, the focus will be less on the actual drawing of lines, and more focused on predictably, skillfully and efficiently translating the client’s desire for meaningful experiences into the built environment.
One way we combat this is with the offering of our Strategy & Insights Team. Through the years we noticed a missing link in the industry. We wanted our designs to be more than just aesthetically pleasing, but rooted in insight, creating strategic solutions that were more relevant and meaningful to the end-user.
What is something you view as an emerging trend in the industry and what are your perspectives on it?
The commercial industry has conditioned consumers for rapid change…if you were to purchase a flat screen TV model and manufacturer today at BestBuy and then return in a year, you would find the price of the product would have decreased, while the quality would have increased. We are a disposable society that is no longer attached to permanence. Brands today that are not making a conscious effort to innovate are becoming a commoditized ‘sea of red.' This shift in consumer behavior drives our need for innovation.
Those brands and companies that are watching from the sidelines, expecting to avoid disruption are sadly mistaken - while change may affect them slower, it’s inevitable. Meanwhile the brands that are facing change head-on, unafraid to take a fail-fast mentality – to trial, test or innovate, are the ones changing the cultural narrative.
Any final thoughts on what to keep an eye on in the near future in the construction and design industry?
We’ve noticed that today's consumers are engaging with brands in a much more fluid manner, moving through experiences with no delineation in mind about format, location, or category – the traditional sectors of retail, restaurant, hospitality and workplace have blurred, and their influence signifies a shift in function and utilization of spaces. Traditional, one-use destinations of the past – malls, coffee shops, offices, warehouses – have now become a mosaic of activities and engagement, a reflection of wavering consumer preferences and a desire to unify the experiences where consumers choose to work, shop, dine and play. Nearly all of our environmental projects leverage out-of-industry inspiration to create a more meaningful and differentiated experience.
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