TZL podcast: Brenden Sherrer on M&A, legal externs, and the millennial mindset

Randy Wilburn sits down with Brenden Sherrer, an M&A consultant at Zweig Group. They talk about the state of M&A in the design industry, a legal extern program that Brenden introduced, and millennials in the design industry. Today, when it comes to M&A, there are a lot of deals closing, but that wasn't the case when Brenden started working at Zweig Group. There was a depressed market, but Brenden has seen firsthand how M&A solves many problems firms in this industry face. Brenden says he's noticed firm leaders educating themselves about strategic acquisitions, which has led to better interactions between prospective partners and faster transactions. In the past year, Brenden has been responsible for creating a legal extern program at Zweig Group. Brenden talks about how the program benefits the externs by giving them practical experience and teaching them about legal agreements that consultants use. It's also beneficial to Zweig Group because training young professionals provides information about where the market is going so we can figure out what it's going to take to lead this group of young people. Brenden is a millennial, and he says there are three things firm leaders should keep in mind when making sense of working with millennials:

1. Millennials need to be able to trust the organization and its leadership.
2. Choice is important to millennials, whether it's in work-life balance or choice in personality and approach; firms need to be comfortable with flexibility and variety.
3. Purpose is important to millennials. They need to be able to get behind the purpose of the firm and need to know where they fit into the firm's plans.

Links:

• "Prove It"
• "Prove It, Part 2"
• Road to Character by David Brooks
• Wright's Barbecue

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Additional information: Contact: Brenden Sherrer bsherrer@zweiggroup.com For more information on The Zweig Letter podcast contact Randy Wilburn: rwilburn@zweiggroup.com Twitter: @RandyWilburn Sponsor: Subscribe to The Zweig Letter for free! Click here for a free digital subscription to Civil + Structural Engineer Magazine!