Writing Sample — All In Campaign
Spec Portfolio Piece · Timothy H. Kim · Communications Strategist Application
From Leslie M. Duke, Chair and CEO — Burns & McDonnell
To All Employee-Owners
Subject All In — A Message to Every Owner of This Firm

When I think about what makes Burns & McDonnell different, I don't start with our project portfolio or our safety record or our revenue growth — as proud as I am of all three.

I start with the fact that every single person reading this email owns a piece of this firm.

That's not a line from a benefits packet. It's the reason we work the way we work. It's why our clients call us back. It's why people who join this firm tend to stay. And it's why, after 125 years, we're still building things worth owning.

But here's what I want to be honest about: we've grown fast. From 6,000 to more than 13,500 employee-owners in under a decade, across 75 offices around the world. That growth is something we should all be proud of. It's also a responsibility.

Culture doesn't scale automatically. The ownership mindset that defines this firm — the one that makes you work harder on a project, stay later to get it right, push back when something isn't good enough — that mindset has to be actively passed on. It has to be communicated, reinforced and felt by every person in every location, from their first week to their 20th year.

That's why today we're launching All In — a company-wide campaign built around one simple truth: when you own something, you show up differently.

Over the next four weeks, you'll see All In across MacCentral, in your offices, in town halls and in conversations with your teams. You'll hear from fellow employee-owners about what ownership means to them — not as a financial structure, but as a daily reality.

This campaign isn't about explaining how ownership works. It's about reminding every one of us why we're here and what we're building together.

We have always been a firm that refuses to build anything we wouldn't put our name on. That's what it means to Create Amazing. That's what it means to be All In.

I'm proud to own this place with you.

Leslie M. Duke
Chair and CEO, Burns & McDonnell
Strategist Notes — AP Style & Craft Decisions
Opening line Subverts expectation — leads with what she doesn't start with before revealing the real answer. Creates a reading pattern that earns attention.
Paragraph 2 One sentence. Stands alone for impact. AP style favors short declarative statements for emphasis — this is that principle in practice.
Tone calibration "But here's what I want to be honest about" signals vulnerability and peer-level trust — critical for owner-to-owner voice. Not corporate. Not scripted.
AP style No Oxford comma. Numerals for 6,000 / 13,500 / 75 / 125 (all above 10). Active voice throughout. No passive constructions. Short paragraphs — max 3 sentences.
Campaign integration "All In" introduced mid-letter after the problem is established — not in the subject line hook. Reader understands why before they learn what.
Closing line "I'm proud to own this place with you" — peer phrasing, not hierarchical. CEO positions herself as a fellow owner, not a leader announcing a program.
Word count 334 words. Intentionally tight — a CEO email that respects the reader's time signals the same ownership mindset the campaign promotes.
Timothy H. Kim — Communications Strategy + Video Production
Prepared for Burns & McDonnell Communications Strategist Application
This is a spec writing sample created as a portfolio demonstration. It is not affiliated with, produced for, or endorsed by Burns & McDonnell. The named individual has not authored or approved this content.