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By Mark Zweig | Calm leadership under pressure –whether in business, aviation, or racing – proves experience and composure drive effective decision-making.

By Nick Heim | Innovation in AEC succeeds when people, processes, and technology work together with purpose and alignment.

By Tim Spence | With a clear purpose, empowered professionals, and a drive for ongoing development, design firms can motivate all of their employees to row together.

By Mark Zweig | If you’re not doing a good job with these, you’re losing an opportunity to further your culture and to provide meaningful motivation to your employees.

By Mark Zweig | We create much of our own good luck – and a lot of that comes down to understanding probabilities and doing things that increase our odds for success.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Take advantage of the smartphone and internet addiction – make your firm internet famous and reap the rewards!

By Mark Zweig | Know your purpose, intent, and philosophy of business, but be willing to change if it becomes prudent to do so.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | With some ingenuity and proper planning, the AEC industry can adapt and thrive in any climate.

It might sound a bit odd, but there’s plenty of things the C-suite can learn from stand-up comedians.

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

“It’s crucial that the individual manager work hard to gain acceptance. Not doing so will almost inevitably lead to getting shot in the back.” While it’s best if you can promote from within, there are...

At some point most of us in the A/E business come to realize that “close” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. That certainly applies to winning projects that you go after! I’ve worked on...

Do you want to make 2018 a great year of growth and prosperity? Pay attention to, and act upon, a four-point plan to get the best out of your firm. To prepare for a successful...

President and founder of McCarthy Engineering Inc. (Hot Firm #74 for 2016), a 41-person firm based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. “Our philosophy is that no one can be perfect on their own, but together as a...

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...

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...

Clients want to learn about your firm’s capabilities, resources, and experience, but only as it relates to them and their projects. One of the best-known songs in the Pink Floyd catalogue includes a voiceover that...

There are four ways AEC project managers can shine in team interviews. Try them all and win more work. Juggler. Cat herder. Diplomat. They go by many names, but project managers have one of the...

Working with millennials was a hot topic at the recent Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference. Most researchers define the millennial generation as those born anywhere between 1982 and 2004 (although some sources end...

Recruiting top talent to small markets is an adventure, but with persistence, you can ride the horse all the way to the summit. As I was discussing the need for a lead architect with a...

An influx of foreign capital and an acute housing crisis have created a surge in tall buildings, and in an ancient, low-slung city, that’s controversial. By Richard Massey Managing Editor Once dominated by landmarks like...

Architect Mike Reynolds, founder and owner of an unconventional design-build company, uses recycled materials to construct a sustainable enterprise. By Richard Massey Managing Editor Mike Reynolds, the founder of Earthship Biotecture, rose from obscurity outside...

What did I learn about running an A/E/P firm from a 62-year old former British equestrian Olympian? Quite a lot, as it turns out. I recently had the opportunity to ride in a two-day clinic...

If you are planning an event, pay attention to the details so that your firm can reap the full benefits of publicity, business development, and old-fashioned fun. Holding an event is not something just for...

Take an honest look at your client relationship and ask yourself if it’s still mutually beneficial; if it’s not, it is time to do the hard thing. In addition to working at Zweig Group, I...

By Mark C. Zweig What does it really take to be an effective consultant? This is a question I am constantly being asked as well as asking myself. We are all in the consulting business....

Many firms in the A/E/P or environmental business today have some sort of designated market leaders. Usually, there’s a new business plan and part of it requires a “realignment” to a more market-driven structure. Then,...

With so much negative information coming in— project cancellations, Warren Buffet stating in an interview that “the economy has fallen off a cliff,” and amazing stock market declines— along with layoffs and, for those who...

Architects, engineers, and planners are always talking about what they will do to keep their clients happy. In marketing meetings, repeat business statistics of 80% or better are bandied about with pride, and chests are...

A couple weeks ago, a motley group of A/E firm principals and I went on a 700+ mile ride on two-lane roads through some beautiful countryside in New Hampshire, Vermont, and just a little bit...

When you do what I do you see a lot of smart people. Architects, engineers, planners, scientists … who own and run firms. Many of these smart people started their companies; others were strong enough...

Both of my daughters are into horses. I mean they are into horses and have been for the last five years. We have three of ‘em right now. They ride every day. Then we have...

“You can lead a horse to water, but first, you’ve got to have a horse,” is one of the homilies my old friend Mike Latas of ) used to use all the time. I don’t...

One of my associates and I recently went to Idaho to visit a new consulting client— Power Engineers, Inc. (Hailey, ID). Without question, one of the high points of our trip was meeting their CEO...

One thing I have learned over the years is that how good something turns out depends on the sum total of many small decisions. Most of the time, as it relates to projects, it’s not...

Several times in the last few months, I’ve been asked to speak on the topic of what keeps people in A/E/P and environmental firms happy and productive. The first thing I always tell folks is...