The Zweig Letter

In a hot M&A market, the opportunity to sell is there, but staying put could also be a good path to take. The activity with mergers and acquisitions is quite high. There seem to be...

There’s nothing wrong with using visuals in your presentation, but you must remember that you’re the star, not the slide show. From PowerPoint and Keynote to Prezi and boards, visuals are an important element of...

President and CEO of VHB, (Best Firm Civil #23 and Hot Firm #46 for 2017), a 1,400-person firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Listening, of course, is incredibly important,” Carragher says. A...

If that’s your justification for not having a marketing department, you’re either blessed with a super team of all-stars, or you’re kidding yourself. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had an architecture/engineering firm...

Besides the fact that an external sale will typically provide the greatest financial return for A/E owners who want to transition out of their firms, a solid majority of principals still prefer internal ownership transition....

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Sustainable design is becoming a must, but you need to drill down to the roots of every project to get the most out of the process. First, full disclosure, I have never been a “climate...

The concept of a work family is nice. The problem is, you’re stuck with family, good or bad. With a team, you can pick and choose. On many occasions, we’ve heard office culture described as...

A lot of AEC firms might think they won’t qualify for the incentive, but with the increasing complexity of design, they should rethink the issue. Are you looking to be more competitive in an ever-changing...

President and CEO of Universal Engineering Sciences (Hot Firm #85 for 2016), a 715-person multi-discipline firm based in Orlando, Florida. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We make a distinction between marketing and sales,” Israel says. “We...

With the environment we are living in – crazy political stuff – potential nuclear war – mass shootings by maniacs – it would be easy to let it all get to you. But you can’t....

A/E firms with new projects should carefully examine their contracts, or risk expanding overall exposure and adding potentially significant uninsured liabilities. Before inking a deal on a new project, architects and engineers should conduct a...

What are some of the duties and responsibilities of the typical board in an A/E firm? An excerpt from A/E Board of Directors Manual The board described below, for most A/E Firms, falls somewhere between...

Zweig Group released the brand new 2017 Project Management Survey on October 24, 2017. To conduct this study, Zweig Group surveyed project managers working in architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms, to get their...

You might think about ditching the fancy slideshow in favor of something much more engaging and authentic – the story of your firm and its people! We’ve all been there; the highly anticipated meeting with...

Does the specter or a 9 1/2-year lawsuit deter you from the HOA market? Try adding a 20-year maintenance clause to protect your firm. Have you or any of your friends owned a condominium? If...

Voice activation is coming to customer relationship management, and if you adopt it, you’ll save time and succeed. We spend a lot of time talking to our gadgets these days. Whether we’re seeking directions from...

When you run an A/E or environmental firm, you want your people to feel good. Besides the fact that they won’t do their best work if they don’t feel good, seeing your employees happy is...

Can project owners be the judge of disputes? Of course they can, especially if the contract clause allows for judicial review. We’ve heard children ask parents to explain their decisions, only to get this response:...

CEO and principal of PM Environmental, Inc. (Hot Firm #99 for 2016), a 145-person environmental and engineering services firm based in Lansing, Michigan. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Recruiting due diligence is just as important as...

Participate in the Policies, Procedures, and Benefits Survey and save $320! The 2018 Policies, Procedures & Benefits Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environmental Consulting Firms provides you with industry norms on policies and procedures,...

Take this quick 15 question survey to receive $150 off any Zweig Group research product and a FREE report of the findings from this quick survey. Over the last ten years technology has provided numerous...

We all have them and need them, but do we treat them right, and are we getting as much work out of them as we should? Trying to get work in the door can be...

Do you want to win a project, identify a new service offering, or attract a new employee? Pick the right medium and have at it! Humans have been communicating through stories for more than 25,000...