Zweig News

If you watch reality TV at all, you’ve probably heard the new word. It’s “pop.” Everything is supposed to do it— and you, as the orchestrator of change— are supposed to make it happen. The...

If you examine any business— a restaurant, a car dealership, or an A/E/P/environmental firm— they all seem to benefit from active leadership. Likewise, they all tend to suffer from a lack of it. I would...

It’s no wonder that contractors are getting more and more control over the building process. Contractor-led design-build’s popularity compared to designer-led design-build is just one example. There are many reasons for the decline of the...

Like it or not, the world is rapidly becoming one. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. And the implications for architects, engineers, planners, and allied professions are significant. What it means, quite simply,...

It’s Sunday morning on Mother’s Day 2006. We have a lot to be thankful for in the Zweig household as my wife just bore our first, a baby girl, “Olive Josephine,” 15 days ago. As...

There’s an old expression frequently heard around these parts— “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” My experience is this one really applies to the people who work in A/E/P and environmental firms. Those who ask...

After 26 years of immersion in A/E/P and environmental firms, it has come to my attention that one thing probably holds more firms back from achieving their potential more than anything else: the owners’ fear....

I know it sounds corny, but the fact is, a client is precious. They are hard to get and harder to keep happy. We need to treat them as if they are as valuable as...

Though I’ve always known it, I don’t think I’ve ever written about it— running an ethical business that is socially responsible can pay big dividends. The fact is that the more educated your clients are,...

Just about everyone in the A/E or environmental business thinks that they have strategies. I don’t think many really do because most people don’t even know what strategies are. “Strategies” are philosophies— your core philosophies...

When you’ve had the benefit of more than 26 years of working with A/E/P and environmental firms like I have, some patterns about what makes one company more successful than others clearly emerge. One of...

Before sitting down last week for a meeting with one of our PhD students— a German fellow named Sven— we both agreed that we’d like some coffee first. I asked Sven if he wanted to...

After seeing their black and white VW New Beetles running around town all of the time, I just saw an ad the other night on TV for The Geek Squad (Richfield, MN). If you don’t...

No doubt about it— A/E and environmental firms do waste money on useless research. Finding out, for example, how large the land development market is nationally, when you have a need to create work for...

While there have been some “experts” who’ve made names for themselves by bashing IT and saying it is, at best, a necessary evil, I completely disagree with them. There are so many ways IT can...

Thankfully, just about every A/E or environmental firm does a business plan these days. I no longer have to relentlessly beat my drum here in The Zweig Letter on all the reasons to do so!...

Not many architects I’ve known, and even fewer engineers and scientists, appreciate the importance of company culture. How can I say this? Because they are still trying to manage their companies by creating rules and...

I recently witnessed a transformation. An old-line A/E firm that had been on the decline for about four years decided they’d finally had enough. Their top management reallocated their energy and efforts to one thing—...

January 19, 2006. Dallas, Texas. Jon Weiner had just turned 52. Things were finally going his way. His firm, Weiner & Associates, an engineering, planning, and environmental consulting company, had grown to more than 200...

The year is barely underway, and I am already hearing complaints from A/E/P and environmental firm owners: It’s time to be more profitable! This will sound like a bold claim. But the truth is, I’ve...

Yesterday was one of those perfect days. It was so nice that I almost felt guilty about it. I really should have been at my office getting ready for the next semester or working on...

When it comes to keeping clients truly satisfied and coming back year after year for every service your firm provides, most A/E/P and environmental firms have a long way to go. Creating a genuine experience...

When you talk with those folks who have really “made it” in this business, i.e., successful principals in successful A/E and environmental firms, they will usually tell you that being able to write was critical...

As the new year gets ready to start, most companies in the A/E/P and environmental consulting business are gearing up to hire. Sure— most of the needs are for experienced staffers— but, since there are...