Michigan firm takes the extra steps to create a family atmosphere, and that translates into employee retention, quality work, and client satisfaction. By TowerPinkster Best Firm #1 Architecture for 2016 Our firm culture is at...
The thought occurred to me that some of our readers could benefit from a few of the lessons I have learned over the years – both on my own and from observing/working with a lot...
The winning percentage in the A/E industry is not that good, so it’s vital that you learn how to take a punch and get back up to fight again! You’ve probably heard the quotes about...
Hiring good people isn’t easy, and hanging onto them is just as difficult. When you find the right person, offer an excellent benefits package. By Gale Associates Inc. Best Firm #4 Multidiscipline for 2016 Recruitment...
If you want to groom the next generation of leaders, you’ll have to make sure your firm is changing with the times. I’m a millennial. Gasp! There, I said it. A lot has been made...
Move forward in 2017 with Zweig Group seminars across a range of essentials – business development, project management, marketing, and more. For a short while during my undergraduate years, I majored in management. After a...
As a matter of personal “policy” and business philosophy, I don’t get into politics in these pages or any of the other publications or social media outlets used by me or my businesses. Just seems...
Alternative collection methods at this time of year, even if it’s something radical, might come in handy if you need to ‘stock the cash coffers.’ As the last quarter of 2016 draws to a close,...
Sometimes you have to fire an employee, but in plenty of cases, a mistake is a mistake, and an employee with a second chance is loyal. It’s a position that no boss wants to be...
Make project management a cornerstone of the way your firm does business, and win more work in a competitive market. By Richard Massey Managing Editor A work in progress since 2005, the Technical Core Team...
Over the years, we have developed work styles that are not good for our physical, mental, or emotional health, but that can be changed. It’s not that we’re bad people, or that we aren’t working...
Nancy Ruddy is a big reason why the firm she cofounded, CetraRuddy, continues to grow and evolve, and can solve complex problems. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent It all started in 1987 in the living room...
It seems like so many of us want to go back to the way things used to be. That’s why we have so much nostalgic design in automobiles and architecture, reflecting the style when cars...
Many of us in the marketing clan ended up in it by accident, but in an industry that once considered us a no-no, we have chosen to stay, and to succeed. In my more than...
If you think there’s too much recruiting, then you probably don’t realize there is no ‘season,’ but an unending grind. There is no preseason or final game for recruiting. A/E firms that don’t understand the...
1. Contrary to popular belief, healthcare costs to employers are going to go down. A plethora of options exist for companies looking to reduce their out-of-pocket healthcare related expenses. Firms on the bleeding edge will...
Working with millennials was a hot topic at the recent Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference. Most researchers define the millennial generation as those born anywhere between 1982 and 2004 (although some sources end...
1. The competition for skilled labor will increase. This will lead to more employee turnover, higher wages, and an uptick in inflation. The unemployment rate will remain near 5 percent nationally, but the number of...
Bond issues, Trump spending could spell good year for AEC By Richard Massey Managing Editor While a three-person panel hosted by Engineering News-Record did not offer an outright prediction that construction would boom next year,...
1. 2017 is going to be a fantastic year for hair pieces, but pant suit sales will plummet. 2. We are already seeing firms in hot markets forget what the recession was like – people...
It seems like we have more of them ever to contend with. I’m talking about brain drains. The things that literally suck the life force out of you. When you get to be my age...
Remember, thinkers and modelers, there is plenty of time to get to the bottom of whatever pressing issue we are facing. I’m an analytical person by nature. I am in a committed relationship with Microsoft...
McKim & Creed’s Building, Energy, and Infrastructure division is taking off in North Carolina and is set to expand in Florida and Texas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent In 1978 McKim & Creed, Inc. (Best Firm...
How we treat the environment is coming full circle, from the sustainability of the Native Americans, to the factory and dump era, and, finally, to remediation. We are in the midst of an environmental restoration...
