President of Pond & Company, Inc. (Best Firm Multi-discipline #19 for 2018), a 550-person firm based in Atlanta with 25 offices in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Spain. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “One of the...
Getting there is one thing, but staying there is another. Figure it out and your firm will have the world in the palm of its hand. Being “top of mind” with your clients and potential...
We’re all busy with our personal and professional lives, but that doesn’t mean we should stop educating ourselves. I have spent a good portion of the last eight months crisscrossing the country training professionals in...
President of LandDesign (Best Firm Multi-discipline #30 for 2017), a 165-person landscape architecture, civil engineering, and planning firm based in Charlotte, NC. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “From the day LandDesign was founded, it was intended...
By Edward Friedrichs | Things I could not have imagined just a few years ago are now coming to market, are affordable and practical, and are changing the world for the better.
As communities look for ways to protect themselves from large-scale weather-related events, design firms are equipped to help them meet the challenge. Through mid-2018, the U.S. experienced six weather and climate disaster events with losses...
“When we are going through times like this, we all have a choice. We can sit back and think of all the reasons why we are in the mess we are in, or we can...
Leading through accountability takes a willingness to do a better job at recognizing challenges and accepting feedback toward positive change. Have you ever worked with someone who can’t perform their basic job functions? Have you...
President of Gale Associates Inc. (Best Firm #18 Multi-discipline for 2018), a 115-person consulting firm based in Weymouth, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Gale has been involved with a number of design-build procurements, primarily for...
We all know it does, but it’s also hard to define, hard to achieve, and if we fail in our pursuit of it, the consequences can be severe. The word “quality” seems to be constantly...
When you look at principals of firms in this business who are really happy and successful – who have growing, profitable companies – you’ll see certain common traits that emerge. Here are a few of...
The process must be deliberate and multifaceted, but don’t forget the human touch. Be yourself and enjoy finding clients that reflect your values. Recently, I had a conversation with a very busy, newly promoted division...
Firms are using social media for marketing, but the frequency, consistency, and quality of the content needs to improve. Chaos. Zero strategy. Lack of metrics. Zweig Group’s just released 2018 Marketing Survey shows that while...
If we want to grow as people and as firms, we have to first find the fine line, and then what’s on either side of it. Choice breeds chaos, or so the saying goes. Even...
Once you get to be 60, your perspective changes. If you look ahead, you know that you have, on average, another 12 years left to live (longer if you are a woman). And that’s an...
Approximately 10,000 baby boomers will retire every day over the next decade. By 2030, millennials will comprise three-quarters of the U.S. workforce. A common blood sport at leadership team meetings these days begins with, “WHAT...
President and CEO of Ghafari (Hot Firm #54 for 2017), a 550-person multi-discipline firm based in Dearborn, Michigan. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I would describe myself as a people person and am elated to see...
Upstate New York firms Shumaker and Woidt combine forces Shumaker Consulting Engineering & Land Surveying, D.P.C., based in Binghamton, New York, recently announced the union of its firm with Woidt Engineering and Consulting, a premier...
For a firm to find the transformative, positive change it’s looking for, leadership needs to be intentional and steadfast in its commitments. Management – planning, budgeting, staffing, organizing, controlling, and problem solving – helps you...
It’s not always flattering, but hearing from those you work for and with, and acting on it, is key to improving your products and services. We’ve all become accustomed to, and maybe a little weary...
“Clients, co-workers, partners – they aren’t always completely forthright in their communications. Despite this fact, your success ultimately depends on understanding them.” If you work in an AEC firm as a leader or manager, it’s...
COO of Aguirre & Fields, LP (Best Firm Multi-discipline #27 for 2018), a 120-person engineering firm based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “If you haven’t started planning for ownership transition, you’re behind and you...
By Edward Friedrichs | In a time of polarization and crass tribalism, don’t forget the founding norms of respect and civility. It’ll be good for you, your firm, and your clients.
Would you like to write for the AEC industry’s leading management newsletter? The Zweig Letter is looking for contributors throughout the org chart, from CEOs to project managers, from those in technical roles to those...
