It is worth noting that when Mikano Kitano was heading up Toyota Motor Manufacturing in the U.S., he argued that it was important for assembly line personnel to be more integrally involved in assuring the quality of build. Similarly, management consultant Tom Peters has pointed out that there is a tendency for managers to underestimate the capabilities of their employees, even though those employees are managing their households and dealing with nontrivial issues like mortgages, children's' education, etc. Entrusting employees with the ability to make discretionary decisions isn't such a big deal when that context is considered. Kim's approach to doing more than talking about good design is also simple. He employs 30 people in Palo Alto.
Clients are customers.
If there are no customers, no one buying any of the designers' time and talent, then there is no work for the designers. I.D. firms, like businesses ranging from parts suppliers to brokerage houses, typically lay people off when there is no work coming in. But Kim has decided that this approach is, in the long-run, counter productive. Funding is based on both profits made on previous projects and royalties coming in to Innodesign from some product designs it has developed for clients. If you go slowly, you'll never catch up with the market.