Bringing good people on board is one thing, retaining them is another. Make a concerted effort to keep your personnel engaged. I recently facilitated a roundtable discussion. Never mind that the table wasn’t round. It...
They go hand in hand, and both need regular maintenance if they are to be positive. Take a look at your firm and make adjustments if necessary. A company with a great culture can, and...
President and CEO of Stonebrooke Engineering (Best Firm Civil #41 for 2017), based in Burnsville, Minnesota. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We have found that ‘growing’ our employees has been much more successful than bringing in...
As a student of this “industry” for more than 37 years now, I have seen a lot of companies and their associated financial statements. And here’s what I have noticed: Some people make a lot...
There’s three horses you need to ride if you are going to win the race, so saddle up with Facebook, Twitter, and a killer website. It’s time to roll up your sleeves. In this installment...
Mick Gronewold, Principal, Fehr Graham Principal at Fehr Graham (Hot Firm #72 for 2016), a 170-person engineering and environmental firm based in Rockford, Illinois. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “If you ain’t falling down, you aren’t...
Success in recruiting is relational, not transactional, so keep those contacts warm and be prepared to wait for that all-star to join your team. Last year I had the privilege of watching the courting of...
Your next generation of business builders has arrived. Have you shown them the way forward with a comprehensive set of goals and expectations? What are the career paths in your firm? The next generation wants...
As a student of this “industry” for more than 37 years now, I have seen a lot of companies and their associated financial statements. And here’s what I have noticed: Some people make a lot...
Co-founder, president, and CEO of P2S Engineering, Inc. (Best Firms To Work For Multi-discipline #8 and Hot Firm #27 for 2017), a consulting engineering firm in Long Beach, CA. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The belief...
You can leverage M&A to accelerate strategic shifts and implement your growth strategy, but there are plenty of risks along with the reward. While M&A is not a strategy in and of itself, it is...
It’s always good to periodically take stock and ask yourself what you have recently learned. My experience – if you don’t do this – is that you are bound to repeat the same mistakes. And...
Good old American ingenuity is what we need to save the planet, not a cumbersome set of rules and regulations. A great deal has been written, and there has been significant handwringing, about America backing...
Digital is critical, but don’t fixate on having an army of followers. Instead, use social channels to build your brand equity. What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?...
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (September 1, 2017) – Zweig Group released the annual Fee & Billing Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environmental Consulting Firms yesterday, August 31, 2017. The 2017 Fee & Billing Survey of Architecture,...
AECWorkforce.com, a digital ecosystem where great firms can find great people. Transformative job site launches in November. For the past several months I’ve been working with a fantastic team. We’re figuring out just how many...
Value really, truly is in the eye of the beholder. If you can find someone who sees value in what your firm does, the clients you serve, your expertise, the markets you know, your leadership...
President of ESG (Hot Firm #36 for 2017), a 120-person architecture and design firm based in Minneapolis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We have a small SWAT team that focuses on networking and about 75 percent...
As a coach, your choices can impact the fate of your team members, so take pains to put the right people in the right places. I didn’t grow up in a very sports-centric family. We...
‘Doing it how it has always been done’ is a recipe for failure, so try something new, like ditching the ‘max utilization’ mentality. The Achilles’ heel of the AEC industry is marketing. Many firms do...
Assignments, attitudes, and acknowledgment – if you take care of the Big Three, your marketing people will do great things. I have been an A/E industry marketer since the early 1980s. In those 30-plus years,...
When you think about it, management of the design process for a complex construction project is all about accomplishing things through others. Many different people have to come together to get something done by a...
There’s three big reasons why employees choose where they work, and a firm’s rationale for its very existence can tie them all together. The “why” of a company matters. I ask the question during strategic...
Hot Firms show tremendous growth, and Best Firms clearly preparing for the future. By Richard Massey Managing Editor The top 25 Hot Firms this year showed the industry what it means to grow. On average,...
