The Zweig Letter

President and CEO of Kleinschmidt (Best Firm #34 Multi-Discipline for 2018), a 140-person environmental consulting firm.

Add value, share work, respond quickly, and be open about your process to get more business and increase revenue without spending more.

“Always be recruiting! That has to be the mantra for anyone who’s an owner or manager in an AEC firm today because finding people is crucial to your growth.”

Implementing a tailor-made set of processes for your tailor-made firm will increase your chances of success, regardless of the space in which you compete.

President of Bernardon (Hot Firm #39 for 2018), an 80-person architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture firm based in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

As firms suffer from a shortage of experienced design and construction professionals, the industry finds itself in the middle of a talent war.

When it comes to delegation, you have to pick the right person for the right job, and set them up to succeed.

Successful people will overcommit where their passion meets a purpose, where service is not a burden but a privilege.

A good attitude and honest effort are central to California engineer’s mission to build a meaningful career.

On the surface everything might appear to be fine, but back at their office, the consulting engineers might be telling the (painful) truth.

“Even if you don’t apply it to your business, knowing probabilities of success will at least keep you from buying scratch tickets or blowing your cash in a slot machine at a casino somewhere!”

While management plays an obvious role in this process, employees must also do their part by knowing their roles and doing their jobs.

It might seem far fetched, but it’s true. AEC firms can learn a thing or two from the fast-food industry.

In business development, many missteps can be traced back to a lack of understanding and acceptance of who we are.

Founder and CEO of Wright Engineers (Best Firm #1 Structural for 2018), a Vegas-headquartered firm where perfection is the goal but excellence is tolerated.

“If any of these situations sounds familiar – and you have tried to correct the situation by directly confronting it – it may be time to let that person go.”

Strong emotional intelligence, empathy, and the ability and capacity to engage the ‘whole person’ move teams and projects forward.

“When it comes to branding for an AEC firm, I wouldn’t look to other AEC firms. Frankly, we make a lot of branding mistakes in this business.”

Firm managers run a production process. If the deliverables get out the door, great. If not, cash flow – and company value – could be harmed. Over my career, I have had some disappointed clients....

By John Bray | It’s easy to send texts and emails, but to make a great and lasting impression, frequent phone calls throughout your network are essential.

CEO of SSOE Group (Hot Firm #44 for 2018), a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management based in Toledo, Ohio. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “All key positions within the company are...

A firm leader must break out of the deadline cycle and make a meaningful connection with employees. If not, performance will (predictably) suffer. Most of what we do today as leaders is not leadership. In...

“Just as it is easier (and cheaper) to keep an existing client than to get a new one, so goes it for your employees. Keeping good people is essential to your firm.”

In our industry, diversity and inclusion are dawning, so seize the day by incorporating an open mindset throughout your firm.