The Zweig Letter

As a coach, your choices can impact the fate of your team members, so take pains to put the right people in the right places. I didn’t grow up in a very sports-centric family. We...

‘Doing it how it has always been done’ is a recipe for failure, so try something new, like ditching the ‘max utilization’ mentality. The Achilles’ heel of the AEC industry is marketing. Many firms do...

Assignments, attitudes, and acknowledgment – if you take care of the Big Three, your marketing people will do great things. I have been an A/E industry marketer since the early 1980s. In those 30-plus years,...

When you think about it, management of the design process for a complex construction project is all about accomplishing things through others. Many different people have to come together to get something done by a...

There’s three big reasons why employees choose where they work, and a firm’s rationale for its very existence can tie them all together. The “why” of a company matters. I ask the question during strategic...

Hot Firms show tremendous growth, and Best Firms clearly preparing for the future. By Richard Massey Managing Editor The top 25 Hot Firms this year showed the industry what it means to grow. On average,...

We can always improve. Take these steps and your life as a leader will get much better. Confronting those who are not doing their jobs. This is one of the primary roles of a leader....

Global firm catapults to the top spot due to meteoric gains in revenue. Firm chairman and CEO Dickerson Wright says cross-selling services is key. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent The 18th annual Hot Firm List by...

Hot Firms show tremendous growth, and Best Firms clearly preparing for the future. By Richard Massey Managing Editor The top 25 Hot Firms this year showed the industry what it means to grow. On average,...

2017 Hot Firm & A/E Industry Awards Conference sponsor is led by Dawson Fercho, a business development guy who is part social worker, part psychologist. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Dawson Fercho says he likes to...

Leaders of employee-friendly firms talk about how being a Best Firm affects marketing, recruiting, and team building. The Zweig Letter: How has being a Best Firm To Work For helped you recruit and retain top...

The rationalization process is all about determining what is working and what is not – especially with a sharp eye to the future. Most companies are doing very well these days and the effort to...

President and CEO of EAPC Architects Engineers (Marketing Excellence #3 Website and #1 Holiday for 2017), a 140-person firm based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Editor’s note: EAPC, founded in 1967, is celebrating its 50th...

Someone turns in their notice. They were either close to being fired or should have been. They let you down. Or, they are going to work for a competitor. Do you refuse to say “goodbye”...

Smaller housing within walking distance to essentials and amenities is appealing to both the young and the old. We’re listening closely to the market desires for our West 2nd District Project here in Reno. We’re...

Senior employees are outperformed by their subordinates all the time. Use metrics to reward the doers and identify the dead weight. The subject of compensation is a challenging and emotionally-charged issue. It affects all of...

Some people think of it as a four-letter word, but when accountability is backstopped by reasonable policies, it can make your business better. If there is one issue that I have heard repeatedly in working...

President of Ross & Baruzzini (Hot Firm #57 for 2017), a 270-person international design and consulting company based in St. Louis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We’ve offloaded some of our IT functions to the cloud...

Subscribe to The Zweig Letter for free to receive business management advice from industry experts to your inbox every week! If your marketing people are writing proposals, then they’re selling, not marketing. You need to know there’s a...

We have an expression in the management consulting ranks at Zweig Group. It is this: “The names and faces change but the cast of characters remains the same.” What that means is we keep seeing...

Fight the brain drain by reducing burnout, building resilience, and making sure employees are empowered and engaged. Most leaders of companies today recognize the importance of having engaged people at work. Yet research from the...

Otak, Inc., an award-winning engineering, urban design, architecture, planning, and project management firm, announces the acquisition of Loris and Associates, Inc., a Superior, Colorado-based civil and structural engineering firm, effective August 1, 2017. This merger...

Portland, Oregon – Otak, Inc., an award-winning engineering, urban design, architecture, planning, and project management firm, announces the acquisition of Loris and Associates, Inc., a Superior, Colorado-based civil and structural engineering firm, effective August 1,...

(HOUSTON, TX – July 28, 2017) WGI is pleased to announce that Jacob Gonzalez, PE joined the firm’s Parking Solutions Division in its new partner, Carl Walker, a division of WGI. Jacob, as Vice President-Parking...