When it comes to mergers and acquisitions of A/E and environmental firms, there’s so much misinformation out there. Common misconceptions abound, such as: You can’t sell a firm that isn’t profitable. Not true. Nearly every...
Things aren’t looking real great out there for a lot of firms in this business. The stock market is in a free-fall, we’re in the midst of pre-election paralysis, banks are failing, housing is in...
When things get ugly in a firm— as they tend to do when the firm’s financial status takes a downturn— you’ll often see fights break out. Some principals form factions with other principals or principal...
More and more design and environmental firms are adding outsiders to their Boards of Directors. There are many reasons for doing so but that’s not the point of this article. Instead, what I want to...
As someone who has worked, studied, and written about this business for 28 years now, I thought today is as good as any day to share some of what I’ve learned. Here it goes: What...
I have often felt that architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental firms pay lip service to the notion that they should keep their best clients happy— and KEEP their best clients clients. It always seems like...
I cannot recall any recent editorial in The Zweig Letter that drew the amount of inquiries my piece on open book management did (Issue 774, August 11, 2008). Because there is so much interest in...
Although it doesn’t happen to everyone who becomes a principal in an architecture, engineering, or planning firm, it happens to many of us. What I am speaking of is the dilemma one faces when you...
Last Thursday night/Friday morning, I found myself in a tough situation. I went to bed and all was well until I woke at 2 a.m. feeling like I had to use the bathroom. Thursday was...
Frank Beutellow was growing increasingly frustrated. It seemed to him that everyone who joined his firm, Beut Engineering, lately, was not as good as the person who left the firm before them. Morale was bad—...
I had a lengthy e-mail exchange the other day with someone who was the top financial person in what would have to be considered a good-sized (over 200-person) A/E and environmental firm in response to...
I have written many times in the pages of The Zweig Letter about the importance of open book management (sharing the financials with everyone in the firm). It’s much more than a buzzword. It’s the...
When it comes to architecture, engineering, and environmental firms, or just about any business for that matter, weird can be good. How so? Being weird means being memorable. Being memorable translates into more calls from...
It is not easy— finding enough leaders to fill all of the leadership needs inside your company. Some (many firm founders) might think one factor could be that most everyone in your firm probably did...
Steve Tomlinson was in shock. He always took great pride in the work output of his now 80-person environmental firm, Tomlinson Consultants. But the truth was, as they grew, their quality was getting worse and...
I just saw a blurb in our ZweigWhite’s 2008 Marketing Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environmental Consulting Firms that stated A/E and environmental firm’s number-one marketing strategy is “relationship building.” While most people in...
One of the many things I have learned over the years about architects and engineers is that they are can-do, independent people. As such, they like to do everything that they can do themselves. Yet,...
Too many leaders of firms in our business (and others) screw up their companies when they forget what the business is. It is one living system— a whole— not a collection of disconnected parts. That...
Architects, engineers, planners, and allied professionals by and large have a really hard time defining exactly who they want to sell their services to. The unfortunate truth is that most will sell their services to...
After 28 years of working in and around A/E/P and environmental firms, it is clear that there are many good firms and only a few truly great firms in this business. The “truly great” firms...
The balance sheet in an A/E or environmental firm is supposed to show what you have and what you owe. The difference between the two is the “net worth” of the company. It all sounds...
Turnover is costly. All of the human resources experts can tell you that— some could even give you the real cost of turnover for any specific position to the penny if you wanted it! Staff...
With this week’s special focus on information technology, I thought I would take the time to sound off on a number of different technology-related topics. BlackBerries: I still think they are the greatest. I am...
We all seem to spend a lot of money on training. That’s a loosely applied term. Many things fall into the “training pot” in a typical A/E/P or environmental firm. My anecdotal understanding is that...
