Larry Armstrong - Chairman, Former CEO of Ware Malcomb

Larry Armstrong joined me on Accelerate OC at a time that his industry, commercial architecture and building, is undergoing the greatest disruption and change of his multi-decade career.

Using Leadership Development to Activate Growth

Lawrence shares how using leadership development has activated growth in their company.

Growing the Company by Giving Opportunities to Grow

Tyler Mounce and Todd Vande Hei sits down with Lawrence Armstrong and learn how he gives every one of his employees an opportunity to grow within the company.

Layer Your Leadership - Steve Preda Podcast

We learn about Lawrence’s journey from architect to CEO, how he transformed Ware Malcomb into a leading international design firm, and why he developed the Layered Leadership framework. Inspired by architectural design, he explains how leadership, like architecture, involves synthesizing different layers—Light, Sound, Emotion, and Thought—to build strong, visionary organizations. He shares how leaders can apply these 4 Layers of Leadership to inspire teams, create strategic clarity, and drive sustainable growth. He also introduces the Visible Light Spectrum metaphor for business diversification, discusses the importance of fostering a culture of innovation, and offers insights on making tough leadership decisions.

NAIOP Podcast: Inside CRE Featuring Lawrence R Armstrong

Artist. Architect. Chairman. Philanthropist. Author. Lawrence Armstrong, chairman of leading international design firm Ware Malcomb, joined the firm nearly 40 years ago and served as CEO from 1992 to 2020. In addition to expanding the company from a Southern California firm to a national and international firm with 28 offices across North America, his tenure as an unprecedented 40x revenue growth hallmarks CEO. He talks candidly about the importance of succession planning, navigating economic downturns over the years, and how creative leadership can drive double-digit growth. Recorded on Feb. 19, 2025.

LifeBlood Podcast: Whole Brain Thinking with Lawrence R Armstrong

LifeBlood: We talked about whole brain thinking, what qualities make for a world-class architect, the throughlines between art and engineering and how to design a beautiful building, how to foster collaboration and a team environment in a field often thought of as being comprised by individual contributors, and how to put whole brain thinking to work in your life, with Lawrence Armstrong, Chairman of Ware Malcomb and author.
Listen to learn why DaVinci was one of the greatest whole-brain thinkers ever!

Profiles in Leadership Podcast: Lawrence R. Armstrong

Lawrence Armstrong is the chairman of Ware Malcomb, a leading design firm that he helped grow from 3 offices to over 46 offices globally. He started at the company in 1984 and eventually purchased it from the founders in 1992. As an architect and artist, Lawrence has leveraged both his creative and strategic skills to drive the firm’s success.

Balancing Creativity and Business @ 3:28

Lawrence believes it’s important for architects and designers to develop both their creative and business skills. He advocates for “whole brain” thinking, drawing inspiration from Renaissance figures like Leonardo da Vinci who excelled in diverse domains. Lawrence’s own background as an internationally exhibited artist has complemented his work as a business leader.

Scaling and Integrating a Geographically Distributed Firm @ 7:00

Under Lawrence’s leadership, Ware Malcomb expanded from 3 offices to over 46 offices across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a “one team” culture and consistent service delivery across the distributed offices, leveraging centralized resources and collaborative processes.

Developing Future Leaders @ 9:35

Recognizing the need for strong leadership as the company scaled, Lawrence focused on building a leadership development program to identify, train, and mentor the next generation of leaders at Ware Malcomb. This included executive coaching, mentorship, and creating opportunities for emerging leaders to take on greater responsibility.

Philanthropy and Community Engagement @ 43:34

In addition to his work at Ware Malcomb, Lawrence has been actively involved in addressing homelessness in his local community of Orange County, California. He helped launch a program called “United to End Homelessness” that has housed over 1,100 people through innovative approaches like landlord incentives.

Reflections on the Creative Process @ 48:55

As Lawrence transitions from CEO to Chairman, he is spending more time pursuing his passion for art and creativity. He discusses the iterative, collaborative process of writing his new book “Layered Leadership” and is open to the possibility of future writing projects, though he is focused on the current book launch for now.