Search results

By Shirley Che | From fees to client care, lessons learned from a season of conferences highlight growth, adaptability, and connection.

By Mark Zweig | Is your firm one that commands top fees and thrives, or one that will struggle to compete and keep up?

By Matt Cooper | In 2025, faster firms win – optimize key processes from proposal to payment to stay competitive in AEC.

Zweig Group is excited to join the 2025 AIA Florida Convention & Trade Show – bringing leading-edge industry insights, market research, and practical strategies directly to Florida’s architecture community.

By Will Swearingen | Firms that are truly boosting profitability aren’t just raising rates; they’re reengineering how they charge.

By Mailena Urso | The Zweig Group team is hitting the road to share fresh insights on how AEC firms can stay ahead.

Zweig Group, the leading provider of advisory services, research, and education for the AEC industry, has released its 2025 Fee & Billing Report of AEC Firms. This definitive resource offers a clear picture of today's fee...

By Chad Clinehens | Firms that prioritize employee experience data see higher retention rates, improved collaboration, and greater innovation.

"Mistakes are not fatal, but don't keep them to yourself.” Mike Makris About our Guests: Originally from Washington, Duncan Robertson has spent the past six years honing his marketing and public relations expertise and now...

The 2025 calendar highlights essential deadlines for award submissions, research survey participation, and must-attend learning and networking events.

By Lauren Martin | Design firms need to be vigilant about clauses and language that have the potential to significantly expand their risk while undermining their insurance protection.

By Sara Parkman | AEC firms remain largely committed to flexible options that benefit both firms and their employees.

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team...

By Matthew Miller | By understanding and addressing the factors that contribute to scope creep, project managers can mitigate its impact.

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team...

By Mark Zweig | AEC firms that restrict their marketing leader’s role greatly impact their success and that of the company.

By Mailena Urso | Zweig Group’s Marketing Excellence Awards showcase top creative campaigns that elevate AEC industry branding.

By Lauren Martin | Including certificates of merit in contracts protects AEC firms and strengthens legal defenses against unsubstantiated claims.

By Will Swearingen | The latest data reveals increased billing rates, improved chargeability, and refined collections processes in AEC.

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team...

This comprehensive report offers insights into fees, billing rates, chargeability/utilization rates, project contracts, and billing practices.

By Luke Carothers | AEC industry experts shed light on key topics for firm leaders, from employee compensation, career growth, and AI integration.

By Kristin Kautz | In the rapidly evolving universe of AI, firms willing to “go big” will be at the forefront of transformation – with all of the risk and reward that implies.

By Stephen Dominguez | AEC firms struggle to retrieve all of the revenue they bill out, however there are some solutions firms can use to counteract commonplace issues.

By Lindsay Young | It’s never too late for firm leaders to set strategic goals and start investing in their companies.

By Travis White | Effective corporate strategy requires defining a direction, fostering collaboration, and leveraging strengths for diversification.

By Mark Zweig | Stand out by steering clear of cliches, as they make firms seem generic and may push clients away.

By Jesse Fortune | Technology evolves quickly and it is imperative that AEC firms make smart decisions when selecting the software that powers project files, data storage, and financials.

By Tyler Suomala | Understand why and how decisions are made so you can leverage the power of the human brain to increase your value and improve your clients’ experience.

By Mark Zweig | Owning a firm that will be profitable and grow over time requires a longer term view and a willingness to invest in the people who generate the revenue.

By Lindsay Young | Awards present a great opportunity to market to your clients, prospects, community, and future employees.

By Mark Zweig | This advice isn’t hard to follow; it just takes some conscious effort and a little discipline.

By Lauren Martin | These clauses represent a real and potentially significant exposure for AEC firms for which there’s no insurance protection.

By Matt Verderamo | Talk to your employees about manipulation, get clear on your mission, and invest in marketing to transform your business from low-bid to negotiated work.

In this enlightening episode of the TZL podcast, Melvalean MacLemore and Zhetique Gunn, dedicated committee members of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and key players in the HBCU Professional Development Program (PDP), sit...

By Shirley Che | ElevateHER® is identifying sustainable workforce solutions to address our industry’s recruiting and retention challenges.

By Mark Zweig | The majority of AEC companies are doing well, but that could be in spite of how they are being managed.

By Mark Zweig | When you work in a crowded field full of many companies that do essentially the same thing, you can either be one of many or you can choose to stand out.

By Tyler Suomala | If you ask great questions, you can guide yourself and your clients through a powerful process of discovery.

Zweig Group announces the release of its 2023 Policies, Procedures & Benefits Report of AEC Firms, which helps AEC leaders benchmark their firms in all areas related to benefits and compensation.

By Adrian De la Garza | Insights and considerations that can help you decide if you’re ready to buy another firm.

By Mark Zweig | Companies in this industry could be more successful if they spent more time on writing better fee proposals.

By Mark Zweig | You won’t get decent fees from your clients until you start making these changes within your firm.

By Mark Zweig | When used consistently, this strategy will allow you to grow faster, raise fees, shed bad clients, and ramp up your pipeline of job candidates.

By Mark Zweig | Many of these things will increase the value of your ownership in an external, or even internal, transition.

Zweig Group’s media arm, Civil + Structural Engineer Media, continues to Elevate the Industry by highlighting outstanding projects completed in 2022.

By Lauren Rhodes Martin | Small, medium, or large, firms of every size should have a regular process in place for collection of their fees.

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry, advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team here.   Domestic...

By Derek Clyburn | AEC firms and the industry as a whole should be communicating the value we provide at every level of interaction and throughout the design process.

By Mark Zweig | Where are you now in terms of billable work versus business stuff? Are you happy with the mix?

By Christina Zweig Niehues | The rapidly changing economic conditions we’re experiencing are putting salary pressure on AEC firms.

By Callum Roxborough | Lawyers and in-house counsel can be strategic partners for AEC firms when consulted at the right junctures.

By Mark Zweig | There is always something you can do to improve your bottom line, and now is the time to do it.

By Mark Zweig | No matter how you do it, getting inside your clients’ brains is crucial to your long-term success.

    We recently sat down with Raouf S. Ghali, CEO of Hill International.  Raouf oversees one of the largest “pure-play” Construction and Project Management firms with a global reach.  Hill provides program, project, and...

Knowing who does what, who needs to weigh in, and who makes the final decision is critical to success.

By Mark Zweig | You may be an architect or engineer and think you aren’t really motivated by money. But money is a scorecard in the game of business, and ‘winning’ is fun!

By Tim Schroeder | Grow your team’s empathy by embracing a culture of feedback, realigning your perspective to view feedback as an opportunity, and becoming coachable.

By Abdo Kardous | How an initial leap to the Middle East jump-started success around the globe for U.S.-based Hill International.

By Phil Keil | Systems, value creation, simplicity, and granting authority to the most local level.

By Mark Zweig | Remote workers are not going to go away as soon as this pandemic is over. Make sure they still feel connected to your firm.

Getting creative with your video marketing efforts requires a continual adaptation of your strategy, but doing so will allow you to make the most of this valuable marketing tool.

Contract disclaimers reflect the reality that estimating is an art, not a science – and that design professionals cannot guarantee or warrant the actual costs of construction.

By Mark Zweig | Answer these questions and many more, or you will, at best, be a decent copy of a firm or firms that do as well or better than you already do.

Clients appreciate the opportunity to sit down, free from distraction, and candidly discuss what is going well and where there is room for improvement.

By Mark Zweig | “Sometimes I think it is good to reflect back on all the lessons I have learned over the years. Here are a few that stand out to me.”

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Good communication shows compassion to your client – something that’s likely to be returned back to you.

President and senior principal of ICON Architecture (Boston, MA), a women-owned, SOMBDA certified firm that’s staffed over 50 percent by women.

In the current economic environment, avoid costly payment disputes and counterclaims by choosing clients carefully and staying on top of your receivables and collections.

Principal at GH2 Architects (Tulsa, OK), an international architecture and design firm founded in 1973 that’s flexible, engaging, and fun.

Believing in your value is the first step to success in winning on value. The next step is to walk away when clients don’t fit your new standards.

Don’t be afraid to charge what you’re worth. You want clients who value your relationship and appreciate your talent.

“Top management is largely responsible for HR’s ineffectiveness on many levels in the typical A/E firm.”

“For those of you running A/E firms – if I were you, I’d focus on recruiting in 2020.”

“If you approach feedback from the standpoint that you are trying to help your people – even if it is negative – most will appreciate you.”

“How do you stack up in these seven areas? Is money being wasted? If so, take action now!”

President of Baldridge & Associates Structural Engineering, a full-service structural engineering and forensic consulting firm based in Honolulu, Hawaii.

President and co-founder of ADC Engineering, Inc., a multidisciplinary firm based in Hanaham, South Carolina.

Zweig Group’s annual publication of AEC industry fees, billing rates, chargeability/utilization rates, project contracts, and billing practices, has been released. The data contained in this publication was gathered using an online survey and collected from...

Learn from attorneys, business advisors, and other professional service providers on how to avoid commoditization in the AEC industry.

Many of the design activities performed by architecture and engineering firms on a day-to-day basis can qualify for R&D and related incentives.

Participation is needed in Zweig Group's 2019 Fee & Billing Survey of AEC Firms. Survey deadline is July 8, 2019. Zweig Group’s 2019 Fee & Billing Survey of AEC Firms is the standard guideline for...

When your best junior associate ‘unexpectedly’ leaves, the decision was probably in the works for a long time, you just never saw it coming.

If you’re like the rest of us, your firm is busy. But as the projects and revenue pour in, so do plenty of problems that you’ll have to deal with.

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

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

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.

Your clients have definite ideas about what your firm is and isn’t, but if you don’t take the time to ask, you’ll never know what they’re thinking. Perception is reality. Do you know how clients...

Help your organization commit to framing diversity and inclusion in a positive light. Examine your own biases and try to be accountable. When I was in middle school, I was relentlessly bullied by a girl...

Why be a Best Firm To Work For? The Best Firms to Work For (BFTWF) award recognizes top AEC firms in the US and Canada based on their workplace practices, employee benefits, employee retention rates,...

With more competition, more intensive procurement, higher costs, and increasingly lower fees, firm leaders must leverage the power of mission. We have a mission as an organization. It is why we exist. The best ones...

Raise your fees to reflect value, prioritize lead generation, and delegate everything that is outside your zone of genius. Looking to grow the firm? Or maybe you have tried it before with no luck? Over...

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...

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...

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...

Firms are super busy, but that doesn’t mean all is well. How are profit margins, recruiting, and employee training holding up? The AEC industry is busier right now than it has been in a long...

What engineers need to know (but often don’t) about this critical financial tool and how it can help a firm succeed. At JBCI, one of our guiding principles is transparency. We embrace sharing relevant financial...

August 1, 2018 Available for Purchase: The Insider’s Guide to the State DOT Market for AEC Firms 2018-2021 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Aug. 1, 2018) – Anchored by a 10-year, $5.3-billion transportation bill, Oregon, for the foreseeable...

CEO of FRCH, a Nelson Company (Hot Firm #41 for 2016), a global design firm based in Cincinnati. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Everyone has access to the company’s financial information,” Tippmann says. “I believe this...

I’ve written about it before but apparently not everyone got the message. In business today, speed is everything. Whoever is faster will be the winner. Good leaders realize this is true and act accordingly. Here...

Client management is something anyone who owns an AEC firm should be concerned about. After all, if you don’t do it effectively, not only will your projects probably turn out poorly, but your firm won’t...

It’s hard to believe that in this market there are still design professionals who don’t feel fairly compensated for what they do – especially when compared to other professionals. While I don’t think the $200K+...

The first steps in taking control of your firm’s financial success should center around the billing cycle, timesheets and, most importantly, the backlog. December 28, 2015, was the beginning of my new path as the...

It is a widely-accepted idea that one of the defining characteristics of a successful enterprise working in a mature market is differentiation from all the other firms that provide similar products or services. Yet, in...

President of OHM Advisors (Hot Firm #25 for 2017), a 440-person engineering and architecture firm based in Michigan. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Many firms tried to cut their way to success,” says Hiltz, looking back...

Zweig Group just released its 2018 Policies, Procedures & Benefits Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms. The report covers many of the questions that firm leaders are faced with when they look...

Review and understand any new or enhanced supplemental coverages available under your policy and note those most timely and valuable to your firm. Design firms may want to double-check their professional liability insurance policies for...

In dealing with my workers on a quality problem in my other business – Mark Zweig, Inc., a design/build/contracting/development company – I had an epiphany: Everything we do is either excellent OR it’s something else....

While clients want to be in the hands of an expert, they also want that expert to care deeply about the success of their project. A best practice in business development/project initiation that you can...

Some say that Project Management is a science. We're not sure about that but here are some simple things you can do to be the best Project Manager you can be! Find out what the...

If you don’t want scope creep and unforeseen expenses to ruin your profit margins, try improving your estimating process. You planned for your project to make 14 percent, but you end up with 8 percent....

You lament the commoditization of your services, but are you doing anything to differentiate your firm, and in turn, earn better fees? We have all had the experience of standing with a group of our...

Randy Wilburn talks with Mark Zweig about real leadership in the design industry and what it takes for the top person to lead their firm to the promised land. ("Seven Leadership hints to help your...

There’s plenty of excuses as to why you won’t bring one of your rising stars to meetings with clients, and none of them are good. The best training is experiential. Take your rising stars to...

I'm concerned we have a quality issue at my company, but I don't know how to adress it. What's the best way to encourage people to do their best work? Mark Zweig, Founder & Chairman...

A/E firms with new projects should carefully examine their contracts, or risk expanding overall exposure and adding potentially significant uninsured liabilities. Before inking a deal on a new project, architects and engineers should conduct a...

Zweig Group released the brand new 2017 Project Management Survey on October 24, 2017. To conduct this study, Zweig Group surveyed project managers working in architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms, to get their...

When you run an A/E or environmental firm, you want your people to feel good. Besides the fact that they won’t do their best work if they don’t feel good, seeing your employees happy is...

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...

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...

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,...

President of Ross & Baruzzini (Hot Firm #57 for 2017), a 270-person international design and consulting company based in St. Louis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We’ve offloaded some of our IT functions to the cloud...

What does your contract say about the ability to recover legal fees or staff time incurred to recover unpaid fees? Good question, huh? Two recent cases show that architects with good contracts can recover not...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 24, 2017) – Zweig Group’s 2017 Policies, Procedures and Benefits Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms released earlier this year, surveyed industry firms on a wide variety of topics...

President and CEO of Milhouse Engineering & Construction (Hot Firm #50 for 2017), a 180-person firm based in Chicago. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Engineers aren’t usually braggadocios,” Milhouse says. “We’re just not good at it....

Serving others before serving yourself sounds noble, but if you are low on your own priority list, it’ll show in poor performance. If you’re a fellow frequent traveler, you’ve probably heard the safety announcement that...

Eroding profitability. Never good. Never fun. The result is less and less money to go around. I’m not going to talk about the obvious things such as labor costs that are too high, overly lavish...

CEO of Woodard & Curran (Hot Firm #80 for 2016), a 1,000-person integrated engineering, science, and operations firm based in Portland, Maine. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Live by the contract; never lose sight of it,”...

Learning from external sources can be highly beneficial, but you must also master the art of blocking out the noise and staying the course. I have to admit it: I often feel like a fraud...

President and CEO of Hargrove Engineers + Constructors, a Mobile, Alabama-based company with 1,200-teammates in 11 states. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent For Hargrove, success starts with company culture. In fact, he says, culture to a...

President of Choice One Engineering (#1 Best Firm Civil for 2016), a 37-person firm based in Sidney, Ohio. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We have to be out there selling ourselves as much to our clients...

Let's talk about project managers: The average hourly billing rate for a project manager was $144 last year. Project mangers who were working in the south central region, at fast-growth firms, or at firms of...

President of JLG Architects (#4 Best Firm Architecture for 2016), a 110-person, employee-owned North Dakota-based firm co-founded in 1989 by Laffen. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We love organic growth but it’s dependent on developing internal...

President of Passero Associates (Best Firm #5 Multidiscipline for 2016), an 85-person engineering and architecture firm based in Rochester, New York. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There’s lots of calculated risk,” Caruso says. A conversation with...

Try employing a project management accountant to support the project manager, and watch the work and the cash flow improve. In supporting many of the firms that we work with, we find varying models of...

Chairman and CEO of Maser Consulting P.A. (#12 Best Firm Multidiscipline and #16 Hot Firm for 2016), a 650-person firm with 22 offices across eight states. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The most important formula for...

CEO and founder of Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (Best Firm #3 Environmental for 2016), a 30-person firm headquartered in Marlborough, MA. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent A cornerstone of great project management? “Be available,” Pannetier says. A...

Open book management is a big card to play, but it puts everyone on your team at the table, and that’s where you want them to be. One of the trendier ideas in management consulting...

President of Fitzemeyer & Tocci (#2 Best Firm Multidiscipline), a 50-person engineering consulting firm based in Wolburn, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The expectation is growth through 2018 followed by a mild recession in 2019,”...

President of LJA Engineering (Hot Firm #2 for 2016), the largest employee-owned civil engineering firm in Houston (600-plus employees). By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Ladner has more than 35 years’ experience in civil engineering serving both...

CEO of HGA (a multiple Hot Firm award winner), a national, 750-person integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm based in Minneapolis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Our most successful proposals help the client visualize the journey...

President and CEO of Jones|Carter (Best Firm Multidiscipline #17 and Hot Firm #18 for 2016), a 465-person engineering firm based in Houston, Texas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The board must conduct itself as a board...

CEO of RTM Engineering Consultants (Best Firm #37 Multidiscipline and Hot Firm #50 for 2016), a 120-person firm based in South Barrington, Illinois. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent The Zweig Letter recently caught up with Tony...

99 is a lot of problems, how about 9 common problems and some solutions. 1) Difficulty making a decision. Engineers too often really struggle with this one. There’s never enough information. Therefore, it is deemed...

President and one of the founding partners of San Diego-based Rincon Consultants, Inc. (Hot Firm #35 for 2016), a 115-person environmental planning and engineering firm. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Mike Gialketsis shares his insights on...

For the next generation of leaders to be successful, they’ll need a mindset sculpted by strategy, new ideas, and a willingness to embrace the unknown. I routinely hear AEC firm leaders express frustration about finding...

Do whatever it takes to get your foot in the door, and then keep your foot on the gas pedal if you want to compete in a big market. Had I known in 1995 what...

AEC firms have a big problem. We wait for clients to tell us what THEY want or need and then we give them a proposal. That may seem perfectly normal to you. What’s wrong with...

President and CEO of ISG (Hot Firm #58 for 2016) a 200-person architecture, engineering, and environmental planning firm based in Mankato, Minnesota. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent With the recent acquisition of Green Bay-based Raasch Associates,...

If improperly worded, they not only can shift significant risks, but do so in ways that leave design professionals exposed to potentially large claims. A critical component of effective risk management for design firms involves...

Campaign finance laws, bid rigging, price fixing, and bribery. We hear about this with contractors, but how about design professionals? Several times each year, there is an article about some contractor being debarred or convicted...

FREE! Here's a handy list of free reports and data available from Zweig Group: 2017 Salary Survey of Engineering Firm Trends Download an analysis of Zweig Group’s recently released 2017 Salary Surveys of Engineering Firms,...

It seems like we have more of them ever to contend with. I’m talking about brain drains. The things that literally suck the life force out of you. When you get to be my age...

As good as business is in the AEC world – and believe me, it’s really good for most everyone right now – we are seeing a lot of companies developing profitability problems. It’s pretty simple:...

Zweig Group’s 2016 Policies, Procedures and Benefits Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms was just released on July 22, 2016. This legacy publication was updated in 2016 with the addition of data...

Now in my 36th year of this business, ‎I am still learning. Here are some quick bits of advice that have helped me over the years: Never lose your temper. Being calm is always best....

People want to do business with people they like, so make as many meaningful connections as possible if you want to grow your business. There are two instances where a powerful relationship with a client...

Here are some tips to help you make positive changes for your A/E/P or environmental consulting firm in the new year. The year has dawned and as many of our clients report, it has started...

This month, readers seek advice on topics related to social media, benchmarking, and increasing prices. WHO SHOULD FIRMS COMPARE THEMSELVES TO WHEN BENCHMARKING? Dear Christy, “We’re about to start our strategic planning process and like...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ar. January 15, 2016) – Four Zweig Group award programs for the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry are now open and accepting registrations/nominations: Hot Firm, Best Firms To Work For, Marketing Excellence,...

Four Zweig Group award programs for the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry are now open and accepting registrations/nominations: Hot Firm, Best Firms To Work For, Marketing Excellence, and Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership....

Training for Project Managers Zweig Group’s 2015 Project Management Survey found that a little more than half of firms provide either mandatory (23%) or voluntary (33%) training to project managers. That leaves 44% that don’t...

Implementing these 8 easy changes can help your firm work smarter, not harder, and reap the monetary rewards. I have always felt that, if A/E and environmental consulting firms spent as much time on getting...

The 2015 Fee & Billing Survey was created with information gathered from an online questionnaire that required participants to answer questions about their billing rates, fee structures, staff chargeability, and billing practices. The questionnaire was...

Technical professionals should appreciate the importance of timely and accurate time-sheets for determining appropriate project billing and more. For most A/E/P firms, it is the talent, technical expertise, and experience that are sold to clients...

HLB Lighting Design (New York, NY), a 62-person architectural lighting design firm, is the first place winner in the Internal Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its redesigned brand. In 2013,...

When it comes to generating opportunities for your firm, the more, the better. Entrepreneurial architects and engineers all do one thing well – they create lots and lots of possibilities. The more possibilities, the greater...

Several organizations have found that bringing financial management staff onto the project management team results in heaven-sent synergies. In Zweig Group’s consulting practice, we see many firms grapple with the interface between project managers and...

Though harder to apply and evaluate, assessments of interpersonal skills can promote team performance and increase morale. I have had a number of discussions lately about how to measure performance. The people I’ve spoken with,...

Embracing marketing to set you apart from everyone else can change your business – and your life – for the better. Good marketing has the power to change your firm – and your life. If...

A/E/P and environmental firms have tons to juggle, but ensuring that your company is finding the best candidates to fill openings should top the list. Recruitment is important to the health of a company, and,...

Glassdoor comments provide opportunity for reflection on leaders’ role in fostering positive employee attitudes. One of my clients was both frustrated and concerned about citations on his firm that he found on the glassdoor website...

Quantitative and qualitative data provide industry leaders with valuable information for making decisions. One of the distinctions of companies that do well over the long-haul, versus those who enjoy only a limited period of growth...

Have a conversation about project details and fees so you can staff them right and finish work on time, preferably below the allocated fee. On the architecture and engineering professions, we measure everything by time....

It doesn’t look good right now, but in a changing world, architects will always be needed. There’s a lot of discussion about the future of architecture. It’s happening in the media, it’s occurring in the...

The seller-doer model works best for design firms and Mark Zweig shows how you can do it in your firm. 2014 is going to be the year of the seller-doer for those of us working...

Costs add up, sometimes alarmingly, so be sure to discuss reimbursements. Everyone says they don’t want to nickel and dime their client and yet getting paid for doing work and providing service is the reality...

Are you able to charge the fees you think your services should command? The July issue of Interior Design magazine featured the “2013 Rising Giants 101-200” – in other words, the second group of 100...

Good communication includes good writing. Everyone sort of scoffs at the English Lit majors in college – questioning the validity of such a general degree and wondering what sort of jobs those graduates land upon...

Mark Zweig lists seven concerns, so it’s time to act. With the construction economy roaring back, it’s interesting to me to see some A/E and environmental firms cashing in on it and others that still...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 999 Originally published 3/18/2013 If you have rosy outlooks on profitability, marketing, proposals, and backlogs it’s time to clean up your numbers. A/E/P...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 995 Originally published 2/18/2013 Sometimes it’s more about gut, patience, clarity and follow-up than just following recipes. You can talk all you want...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 990 Originally published 1/14/2013 (Doing the same thing but expecting a different result.) I just got asked why I came back to ZweigWhite...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 987 Originally published 12/17/2012 See what more successful firms than yours are doing, straight from ZweigWhite’s surveys. We’re down to the end of...

Press Release: September 1, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (September 1, 2011) – It’s hard to overcome adversity! Politics, the government, and the economy are major thorns in the side for many architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental...

Press Release: August 18, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, AR (August 18, 2011) –Statistics from ZweigWhite’s 2011 Valuation Survey show a reduction in staff but a general holding of value for many sectors of the architecture, engineering, planning...

Press Release: July 15, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 15, 2011) –With only $1000.00 in start-up capital, Mark C. Zweig started Mark Zweig & Associates on a card table in the back-room efficiency apartment of his...

Press Release: July 13, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 13, 2011) – ZweigWhite is offering for the first time a confidential report that shows how any individual firm stacks up against industry norms. YourWay Survey stacks...

Press Release: June 24, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 24, 2011) – Country clubs, health clubs, and other social clubs have historically been places where one could go to make new contacts and entertain clients. For...

By Christine Brack Principal, Business Planning Consulting Design firms don’t sell an actual product, even if drawings and written deliverables are part of the final package. They make their living selling units of professional time....

Press Release: May 10, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, AR (May 10, 2011) — Up one day, down the next. The volatile economy means many firms are no longer able to rely on a static budget. Almost 37%...

By Ed Friedrichs There is no “right” or “wrong” about where work gets done today. Work and ideas flow freely across the planet. The marketplace will buy from the source that provides the right service...

A “gloom and doom” economic outlook is still seen by many in the A/E and environmental business, even after the recent pronouncement that the recession officially ended in June 2009. This offers opportunities— as well...

John Drinkard thinks Mark Zweig, ZweigWhite CEO, had CJMW Architecture in mind when he recently made the case for organizing firms by market sectors. CJMW, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based 97-person architecture, engineering, interior design, and...

I hear the question all the time: “How can we make good project managers out of our people?” The answer— like it or not— is, “You may not be able to make good project managers...

2010 is here. And, it’s going to be a year like none before. If you aren’t particularly happy with your firm’s performance these last couple years, it’s a great time for change— radical change. Out...

Everyone thinks they know why clients hire their A/E/P or environmental firm. Sometimes you DO know— but sometimes people make bad assumptions. Those bad assumptions will HURT your future selling efforts because you will be...

No movie was better than “Wall Street” at capturing the spirit of the go-go 80s. Michael Douglas played the role of Gordon Gekko, a charismatic “rock star” investment banker who gave a speech on the...

With this kind of a statement, you might assume I am either stuck in a 90s time warp, or that I have finally lost my mind. But neither is true. Yes— I know times are...

As someone who has worked, studied, and written about this business for 28 years now, I thought today is as good as any day to share some of what I’ve learned. Here it goes: What...

What you stand for is a little more subjective but not hard to figure out, either. Look at the heritage and culture of the firm. New ventures should be consistent with that. And again, go...

I have already written in The Zweig Letter that I think times are going to get a little—perhaps even a lot— tougher for many A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. It doesn’t mean I’m not bullish...

Most of us could benefit at times from a new perspective. This is especially true when you start considering the subject of business planning in A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. But a new perspective is...

By Mark Zweig | If you really want to raise your effective labor multiplier, here are some things to try.

We have a terrible problem with accounts receivable in this business. The average A/E or environmental firm waits 80 days or so to get paid for their services whereas attorneys and accountants often get their...

Before sitting down last week for a meeting with one of our PhD students— a German fellow named Sven— we both agreed that we’d like some coffee first. I asked Sven if he wanted to...

The year is barely underway, and I am already hearing complaints from A/E/P and environmental firm owners: It’s time to be more profitable! This will sound like a bold claim. But the truth is, I’ve...

The longer I’ve worked with A/E/P and environmental firms, the more clear it has become to me: Most firms are working on the wrong side of the equation when it comes to boosting effective multipliers...

Every single A/E or environmental firm in this country needs more people who can sell work. These people feed the rest of the firm, allow the owners to sleep at night, and are generally the...

“Take this job and shove it” was a phrase popularized by country singer Johnny Paycheck back in the 1970s. The song told a story about a hard-working factory man whose wife left him, so he...

I had a nice woman come up to me before a talk I gave in Rochester, New York, last week. She asked me if we had ever considered doing an article on how to recognize...

As you get your A/E/P or environmental firm ready for 2003, you may be patting yourselves on the back. The fact is that while overall, 2002 was not as good as 2001, a lot of...

This week’s issue of The Zweig Letter is devoted to The Zweig Letter Hot Firm 2001 List. For me, this is what it’s all about— success. I love the Hot Firm focus and putting the...

We’re talking to a lot of company CEOs who aren’t the least bit concerned about the effects a recession would have on their firms because they serve government clients. But my experience is, if the...

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...

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...

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...

Every A/E/P or environmental firm finds it necessary to hire outside consultants at some point. Whether it’s simply to get tax advice or to plot out a new course for a growing firm, it’s inevitable....

Although I don’t consider myself a member (honorary or otherwise) of the morality police, the latest presidential scandal got me thinking about morality and ethics. I’ll limit my political commentary to one statement: I think...

Just ask anyone in this business— it’s damn difficult to hire good people today. And the situation doesn’t appear to be easing up. As long as this building boom continues, the competition for talent is...

A common theme is emerging in our business right now, especially with large firms— but certainly not limited to them. Firms need to improve their profits. Volume is up, optimism is up, backlog is growing,...

The recent acquisition of Woodward-Clyde Group (Denver, CO) by URS Corporation (San Francisco, CA) is just one big deal among many, many other smaller deals that are going on weekly in the A/E/P and environmental...

To a lot of people in the A/E/P and environmental business, small projects are still something to be avoided. In fact, many business plans we read contain some sort of strategy statement that say the...

We hear it a lot these days: “We can’t compete with the five-man firm across town— they’ll do the job for half what we charge,” or, “How can a big firm like ZH43C do that...

Mention “human resources management,” and too many principals and managers working in A/E/P and environmental firms will turn their noses up. They immediately associate it with benefits administration or eight-page performance appraisal forms, instead of...

The A/E/P and environmental consulting business is really pretty simple from a financial management standpoint. It shouldn’t be hard to track the numbers you need to run a firm, yet so many companies seem to...

It seems that our readers in A/E/P and environmental firms can’t get enough on project management. No one out there appears content with how he or she is handling it. Although my treatise a few...

We’ve all experienced the joy of doing business with a company that acts as if their people like serving you. It really is a great feeling. Most of the time, it happens with businesses like...

I have yet to see an A/E/P or environmental consulting firm with a utopian project management system— one where every single job goes exactly the way it’s supposed to in every way. One of my...

There really is something to the notion that you do your best work when you feel good about what you are doing. This is especially true when you are under stress. Any professional working in...

For most A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, working with a bank is a necessary part of being in business. Very few companies can get by without some sort of credit line to finance receivables or...

One of the most important milestones in the development of an A/E/P or environmental firm is the first time the company turns down work. Knowing what work to take on and what work to refuse...

We constantly get asked by principals in A/E and environmental consulting firms about what or where the next “hot markets” will be. It seems that these people have read about market life cycles in the...

Although I’ve been trying to preach the gospel for years now, most principals of A/E/P and environmental consulting firms still do not understand what human resources management is all about. First, there’s the way so...