The Zweig Letter

Most of us will never get rich quick. We won’t have a single breakthrough discovery that makes us millions. We won’t win the lottery. We won’t have a rich aunt who leaves us her art...

At 11:01 a.m. a few weeks back, I got an e-mail message from our switchboard operator that said Ms. So-and-so, “a principal with local architectural firm X” called. She did not want to speak to...

We’ve talked about it for decades, but the labor shortage in the A/E/P and environmental industries is finally here. Our clients are telling us that it’s hard to hire just about anyone. Every job takes...

Do you know how many times a day I think this? I can’t count that high! Some of what we see and hear in our work with A/E/P and environmental consulting firms is truly amazing....

Most people would agree: Much in life works out like you expect it will. So why, if this is the case, do so many of the people running A/E/P and environmental consulting firms have such...

You start your A/E/P or environmental firm with a great business plan. Your marketing strategy pays off and you get lots of projects. Your recruitment approach works and qualified employees are lined up at your...

Let’s all hope it never happens. But as anyone with a few gray hairs can tell you, another recession can, and probably will, occur. So what are you going to do about it? Here are...

I don’t mind telling our readers that it’s a great feeling to have a vehicle such as The Zweig Letter to share my thoughts so widely. Along with that comes a certain responsibility not to...

Having a hard time keeping your staff? Are your new graduates working a year or two and then moving on? Are your mid-level folks, just below principal, moving on before you move them up? If...

Just got back from the Spring Meeting of ASFE: Professional Firms Practicing in the Geosciences (Silver Spring, MD) in Atlanta. I think the management and volunteers do a wonderful job. They had about 140 top...

When I was a kid I worked at the local bike shop. It was underneath an optician’s shop accessible only from an alley. The place was a dump, as some readers of The Zweig Letter...

Leadership is one of those subjects that, if you really want to be good at it, tends to lead to a more philosophical approach toward work and life. It’s conventional wisdom in our business that...

We talk a lot about marketing in The Zweig Letter. And we’ll continue doing so until we think all our readers have gotten the message about what it takes to really start using the knowledge...

While I have been and continue to be bullish on the A/E/P and environmental consulting business, I must say that we see some wacky things out there when it comes to how firms manage and...

Say “strategy” to an architect, engineer, planner, or scientist and you are bound to get a negative reaction. These folks have been through all of the strategic planning meetings conducted by the management consultant of...

While we’re big believers in building a brand name for your firm through a variety of means so your phone rings off the hook with new opportunities, we also know that somebody has to eventually...

One of the most interesting products we have put together is our new Fast-Growth Firm Survey, just released a couple weeks ago. It’s just fascinating when you look at the comparisons between A/E/P and environmental...

He’s a really nice person, a “people person.” He’s someone who deeply cares about other people. He’s a really good listener. He’s someone the employees will confide in. Does this sound like the ideal human...

As periodically happens, I have a number of issues I want to share with our readers, none of which merits an entire article. Here they are: There will never be true equality of the sexes...

I would say that most readers of The Zweig Letter work in firms that export themselves beyond their immediate local area. Although not everyone gets on a plane every week, some travel is required to...

With the tight market labor, Gen-X employee turnover, inefficiency from internal competition, and record backlogs of project work to be completed, it may be time to take a hard look at your compensation policies and...

John Burgess, co-founder of Carter & Burgess (Fort Worth, TX), passed away on November 26th. He was a civil engineer who founded the now 1,400-plus-person firm with his childhood friend and fellow Boy Scout, Eugene...

When you get to work with all of the different A/E/P and environmental firms that we do here at ZweigWhite & Associates, it is apparent that many firms are marching blindly ahead, doing things they...

I have found myself saying more than once recently that just about every firm (would you believe 80-90%+?) is looking for someone to work in their marketing area. Whether it’s a marketing manager, marketing director,...