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By Mark Zweig | When family enters the org chart, leaders must manage perception, opportunity, and accountability with far more discipline.

By Jeremy Clarke | Most governance problems are not execution failures but clarity failures around who owns decisions and who is accountable.

The leading source of business management insights, research, and strategies tailored specifically for leaders of AEC firms.

By Mark Zweig | Long-term firm owners stay motivated by evolving the business, mentoring emerging leaders, and staying close to the action.

By Mark Zweig | Annual performance reviews fail AEC firms because real leadership requires continuous feedback, not once-a-year management theater.

By Mark Zweig | If you are serious about wanting to improve your project management performance, here are some things to focus on.

By Chad Surprenant | A one-profit-center approach encourages teamwork across offices and disciplines, minimizing silos and supporting sustainable, firm-wide growth.

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

By Mark Zweig | Winning big design projects requires strategy, preparation, credibility, and connecting authentically with decision-makers to secure long-term success.

By Michelie Little | Saying yes to new opportunities led one engineer from design to construction – and to a more fulfilling career path.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of No. 1 Hot Firm Verdantas (Tampa, FL), an integrated environmental science, engineering, and consulting firm.

By Mark Zweig | Leaders should set clear expectations around vacation planning, approval, and communication to avoid disruption and disengagement.

By Janki DePalma | Ghosting job candidates damages trust, reputation, and your firm’s future recruitment success.

By Mark Zweig | There is a big difference between a goal or target, and a commitment or mandate; make sure you don’t confuse the two.

By Mark Zweig | You will be less stressed and might find your business more successful if you can shed some baggage.

By Janki DePalma | Small actions today can reduce stress, improve efficiency, and make life easier for your future self.

By Mercedez Thompson | How a book club sparked connection and a genuine sense of belonging in a hybrid workplace.

By Mark Zweig | Having little understanding of banking could result in missed opportunities for growth or thorny problems that could put your firm out of business.

By Katherine Wilczek & Ceclia Martin-Smith | While it can be helpful to use generational trends to inform your management practices, it is most important to get to know your employees as individuals. 

By Mark Zweig | This person is at the core of what makes your business successful, however not all financial managers are competent.

By Javier Suarez | Mentorship relationships are mentee-driven – so, it’s up to you to not only establish one (or more), but to make it worth your while.

By Elizabeth Preston | Managers can unintentionally hinder their team’s writing by not providing clear standards, dedicated time, and constructive feedback.

By Sara Parkman | Zweig Group’s 2024 Marketing Excellence Award winners share the strategies behind their winning campaigns and the impact on their firms’ success.

By Mark Zweig | Mergers may be rare in our industry, but they could be the perfect vehicle for two or more firms that want to combine forces and grow.

By Mark Zweig | Leverage construction loans for AEC business real estate ownership, enhancing assets and financial health.

By Lynn Bruns | Investing in the employee experience, celebrating wins, and fostering a strong culture boosts morale, retention, and organizational success.

By Mark Zweig | Work should be an integral part of life, so why do so many people working in AEC firms clearly not feel that way?

By Shirley Che | A spotlight on progress and valuable resources for workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

By Eduardo Smith | Whether you’re running a race or running a business, put these five tips into practice and you may be surprised at how far they can take you.

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

By Mark Zweig | There are many factors that can create highly motivated people – some within your control as an employer and some not.

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

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 Mark Zweig | Stop being so preoccupied with problem solving and instead focus on the things you can do to make someone’s day a little bit better.

By Ashley Heinnickel | Dedicate time and energy to your rollout to ensure the best possible outcome when launching a new strategic initiative.

By Mark Zweig | There are some things AEC professionals must learn about business in order to be successful.

By Gordon Greene | If you trust your staff and have hired people with integrity, you will never need to tell someone you want them 90 percent utilized.

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 Josh Nord | As we continue improving work-life balance, we need to keep asking how we can foster those growth opportunities that come through listening and proximity. 

By Shirley Che | Participants of Zweig Group’s ElevateHER® movement are putting in the work to move the needle on the recruitment and retention crisis our industry faces.

By Lindsay Young | Knowing what people really think will help you grow your business and serve your clients even better than you already do.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Mancini Duffy, a national design firm based in NYC with a 100-year-old history and tech-forward approach specializing in architecture, planning, and interior design.

By Tom Godin | It’s up to leadership to recognize entropic degradation in their firms and respond energetically to restore order.

By Mark Zweig | This is the time of year many of us, and many of our clients, will take a family vacation, so do what you can to step away and enjoy it.

By Mark Zweig | Business ownership can be one of the most rewarding things for any person to participate in.

By Justin Smith | When done well, this approach allows you to create a lean, flexible process that empowers your project managers to focus on maximizing value.

  In this episode, Jamie Claire Kiser – Managing Principal and Director of Advisory Services for Zweig Group – discusses the current state of M&A affairs in the AEC industry. Jamie Claire originally joined Zweig...

By Lindsay Young | Recruiting and marketing play a role in growing your firm, and it’s more important now than ever to make sure they are working together.

By Lucas Hayden | Unanet’s inaugural AEC benchmarking study reveals the data-management practices that separate the best firms from the rest.

By Gordon Greene | Get to know your people, find out what’s important to them, and understand that work-life balance looks different for everyone.

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 Mark Zweig | While there are no doubt some costs associated with making a brand for your firm, a lot of it just boils down to a little work and some discipline.

By Lindsay Young | Investing a small amount of time and money to train employees on presentation skills could lead to millions of dollars of work for your firm.

By Mark Zweig | You need to be identifying your successor and preparing the road for them so they can be successful.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 22, 2021) – Zweig Group, a leading provider of advisory services, research, and education for the AEC industry, announced that Dathan Gaskill has joined the firm as Managing Director of Zweig Group...

By Liisa Andreassen | Managing director of Holst Architecture (Portland, OR), a women-owned architecture firm that is devoted to turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

By Peter Atherton | Playing to win requires a real investment in organizational redesign, and the creation of both a vision and a culture that’s worth the work.

By Mark Zweig | Here are 12 things you can actually change in your business that will help you win the talent war.

By Julie Benezet | People have adapted to new ways of working and living, and in the process discovered new ways of thinking.

By Stephanie Warino | To be successful, firms must find their “blue ocean” of uncontested market space.

By Mark Zweig | As design professionals and business managers, this is your only real path to business sustainability and personal freedom.

By Mercedez Thompson | Leaders must engage in burnout prevention strategies that alleviate overburdened employees, reduce the number of meetings, encourage PTO, and promote flexible hours.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and founder of PaleoWest, a heritage consulting firm that guides clients’ projects through regulatory challenges posed by prehistoric, historic, and paleontological resources.

By Liisa Andreassen | COO of CEC Corporation (Oklahoma City, OK), a multidiscipline firm with a focus on eliminating aging infrastructure and driving community growth through innovative design.

By Phil Keil | Decentralization of structure within our firms allows for a more agile, adaptable, and unified organization.

By Mark Zweig | There are 10 things practically every firm in this business should do but won’t. If you try these things, your firm will be more successful.

To manage time effectively, you need to know – not just believe – you are spending time productively.

COO at Baird, Hampton and Brown, Inc. (Fort Worth, TX), a firm that is passionate about improving the landscape of its community with the utmost quality and integrity.

By Justin Ramirez | Nothing is as certain as death and taxes. But an owner’s retirement can be, too. If done correctly, an owner’s retirement and its benefits can be just as certain as death...

Most of these ideas take very little money – just your time. Invest in yourself and your business and you’ll be stronger and better for it on the other side of this.

Montrose Environmental Group (Irvine, CA) has acquired CTEH (Little Rock, AR), a scientific consulting firm that specializes in emergency preparedness, response and recovery. Montrose partnered with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management to finance the...

“There is no question that after working as long as I have in the A/E industry with so many firms throughout the land, certain common undeniable truths present themselves.”

You have to keep the blade sharp through the long process of making key connections, educating oneself, and repeatedly rising to the challenge.

“Being a leader means you have to keep growing and learning. We can all change. This includes you!”

By Christina Zweig Niehues | There’s plenty of support out there for women in the AEC industry, but the stats still have to catch up to the sentiment.

Considering a design project in the fledgling cannabis industry? Make sure your professional liability coverage won’t go up in smoke.

“Sometimes in business you just have to do something that generates results NOW. There’s no time to waste. You need action and something good to happen. Your prosperity depends on it.”

The blunt honesty typically associated with the old gray hairs is something that should be embraced by the younger generation.

President and CEO of Eclipse Engineering (Best Firm Structural #12 for 2018), a Montana firm that likes to have a little “phun.”

“There’s a lot to know about your people. And we have to keep updating this information because your people are constantly changing.”

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

“Anyone who owns a business today will be better off if they accept certain ‘truths’ about their business, and business in general.” Anyone who owns a business today will be better off if they accept...

If you are looking for a training program that covers all the basics, Zweig Group has what you and your team needs. Our Excellence in Project Management training program was developed to support project managers...

Our success, as people and as businesses, depends on the quality and speed of our response to problems and opportunities. This play on the word responsibility is not new, but it has never been more...

Do you have software that you hate using? Is it too complex? Do you only have access to critical information, files, and documents at the office? Editor’s note: ProjectBoss was a sponsor of the 2018...

While the software is a proven workhouse for data storage and analysis, there are 7 good reasons to stop using it to manage your projects Editor’s note: ProjectBoss was a sponsor of the 2018 Hot...

Do you have a gazillion underused software programs languishing on computers across your firm? If you do, you’re certainly not alone. Shelfware, or unused software, is said to cost companies roughly $30 billion per year...

After being a part of the AEC industry for more than 38 years now, I have witnessed a problem too many times – one that hurts both the company and the people working in it....

By Edward Friedrichs | The things we need to do to be great leaders are right in front of us, but we must also be deliberately consistent.

Is your firm swamped with various platforms for invoicing, project management, payroll, field reports, and more? Maybe it’s time for a change. Editor’s note: ProjectBoss is a sponsor of the 2018 Hot Firm + A/E...

You know, the A/E and environmental consulting business has always been driven by the technical and design professionals who do all the billable work. These are the people who toil away on client projects that...

Understanding what fans their flames and what douses their embers will foster a more productive and fulfilling environment for everyone. Editor’s note: This top eight list was borrowed from Tony Morgan, chief strategic officer and...

Things have gotten better in the last 10 years – probably due to the popularity of texting and emailing – but architects and engineers still have a big problem with bad writing. An old friend...

Be honest. Don’t puff up yourself or your credentials. Explore the nature of the job and, more importantly, the idea behind the company. You can read many stories about how to get a job and...

All of us in the A/E/P business are consultants. Sure, we are either engineers or architects or planners or surveyors or designers – but we are also consultants. I have been studying consulting firms and...

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...

While having a fun workplace is great, the good times must be underpinned by hard work and an ever-present commitment to the firm’s mission. Let’s not kid ourselves. Our workplace cultures are about a lot...

President and CEO of BKF Engineers (Hot Firm #44 for 2016), a 415-person engineering firm based in Redwood City, California, with 13 offices primarily in Northern California. “It’s easy to get a job, but more...

They’re everywhere, and the key to dealing with them is to understand and appreciate their bad behavior by exercising a little empathy. We spend a lot of our lives at work. So it makes sense...

We’re seeing more and more multi-office A/E/P and environmental firms wrestle with this issue: should branch offices be profit centers or not? Or should some other organization units be the place where we measure profitts...

President and CEO of Universal Engineering Sciences (Hot Firm #85 for 2016), a 715-person multi-discipline firm based in Orlando, Florida. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We make a distinction between marketing and sales,” Israel says. “We...

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...

Do you want to win a project, identify a new service offering, or attract a new employee? Pick the right medium and have at it! Humans have been communicating through stories for more than 25,000...

All of us have a story to tell, so don’t shy away from it in your professional life. It could be the key ingredient for your firm’s success. Everyone loves a good story. That’s why...

A lot of what people call “cheese” these days really isn’t. When you’re talking about Kraft Singles, or Velveeta, for example, you aren’t talking about cheese. You are instead talking about “pasteurized, processed cheese food.”...

Here is the full transcript of a great conversation that we had with Mark Zweig. He gave us a history lesson on AECWorkforce and the importance of an effective job board for the Design and...

Here is the full transcript of a great conversation that we had with Mark Zweig. He gave us a history lesson on AECWorkforce and the importance of an effective job board for the Design and...

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,...

Register for the seminar and receive the 2017 Project Management Study for free. EXCELLENCE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT was specifically developed to support Project Managers in AEC firms. Many architects, engineers, planners, and environmental consultants receive...

When it comes to large projects that affect a lot of people, a multi-pronged communications effort is the best way to bring stakeholders together. When planning regional infrastructure projects, getting the right amount of engagement...

Regardless of what else the future holds for B2B marketing, one thing is certain: Content marketing is here to stay. Marketing communications. Social media. Graphic design. Media relations. Proposals. Internal communications. Event engagement. Brand management....

Keeping a good team together requires lots of maintenance, great perks and benefits, and the willingness to toss out the bad apples. I get asked the same question all the time – how do I...

For multi-office firms, it’s important to monitor overhead allocations so one region doesn’t consume more than its fair share of resources. Here’s the issue: Department managers, regional managers, and office managers all question the general...

The leading management newsletter for A/E leaders, The Zweig Letter, announced today that its site license, in which entire firms have access to the weekly publication, is available to subscribers for as little as two...

The leading management newsletter for A/E leaders, The Zweig Letter, announced today that its site license, in which entire firms have access to the weekly publication, is available to subscribers for as little as two...

In the first episode of the new TZL Podcast Life Hacker series, Randy Wilburn and Sanjay Jenkins run through some of the tech tools and “hacks” that make their lives and their work easier. The...

Too many owners/managers/leaders in AEC firms are obsessed with looking in their rearview mirrors when instead, they should be looking far down the road. Doing that – as I was taught at Freddie Spencer’s Superbike...

You don’t want to lose sight of your current business, but fostering ideas and innovation with your staff is increasingly essential. Achieving the seemingly impossible could be one way to sum up several epic sporting...

If your firm does not have a well-crafted system for handing out employee bonuses, you run the risk of creating the haves and the have nots. 2016 was a good year in the domestic A/E...

You know what you’re supposed to do, but since your marketing department is understaffed and disempowered, you can’t make it happen. I’m sure many of you have found yourselves in that familiar seminar or conference...

Research shows that a good onboarding program is the best way to keep the people you hire, and save a chunk of change on recruitment and training. The process of accepting a job seems much...

Nancy Ruddy is a big reason why the firm she cofounded, CetraRuddy, continues to grow and evolve, and can solve complex problems. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent It all started in 1987 in the living room...

Many of us – as responsible spouses, parents, and business owners – always do what we think we are supposed to. Our whole lives are based on serving and taking care of other people. Unfortunately,...

From job to job and firm to firm, all with the push of a button on a mobile app. Is that the future for the design industry? There’s plenty out there who sure hope so....

Florida multidiscipline firm Kisinger Campo and Associates, with four decades under its belt, knows how to treat clients and employees. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Kisinger Campo and Associates (Tampa, FL), a multidisciplinary engineering firm of...

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...

Did your interns live the dream? If so, great, but if not, it might be time to retool your program by taking these six simple steps. As a communications major with an interest in broadcast...

A good communication plan is vital when things don’t go your way, so put a little thought into who’s going to do the talking when people start asking questions. Not a day goes by that...

Earthquake engineer Kit Miyamoto travels the world to dispense knowledge and training to those who need it most – those who have lost it all. By Richard Massey Managing Editor Globetrotting structural engineer Kit Miyamoto,...

A Q&A might be just what the doctor ordered if you want to shed new light on your career and the choices you’ve made along the way. A start-up company I’m mentoring here in Reno...

For most of my career, I have defended the "new generation," i.e., those just getting out of school and starting their careers. The older people have always complained about the group coming in behind them,...

Zweig Group Releases 2016 Valuation Survey for the A/E/P Industry FAYETTEVILLE, AR (February 1, 2016) – Zweig Group, a management consulting and publishing firm that produces comprehensive surveys for the A/E/P and environmental consulting industries,...

Annual Publication Includes Case Studies of A/E/P, Environmental Firms FAYETTEVILLE, AR – January 14, 2016 — Do you know how much your architectural, engineering, planning or environmental consulting firm is worth? If you're the leader...

Do you know how much your architectural, engineering, planning or environmental consulting firm is worth? If you're the leader of an A/E/P or environmental consulting firm, you can't risk not knowing the value of your...

Zweig Group, publisher of more than a dozen annual surveys about the most important issues in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industries, is proud to announce the opening of its first-ever Social Media Survey. “Social...

Garver, LLC (North Little Rock, AR), a 375-person multidiscipline engineering firm, is taking home fifth place in the Integrated Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its 95th anniversary campaign. 2014 marked...

FAYETTEVILLE, AR (December 22, 2015) – Zweig Group congratulates Westwood Professional Services on their acquisition of Pogue Engineering and Development Company of McKinney Texas. Zweig Group has provided ongoing consulting services to Westwood Professional Services...

The work and talents required of an A/E principal means that some traits associated with attention deficit can be useful. Experts have claimed that as much as 35-40 percent of the adult population has some...

In a recent poll of project managers and firm leaders in the A/E industry, training/mentoring was ranked as the most important thing A/E firms could do to improve project management. The poll also indicated that...

This is part one of a two-part series on the acquisition process, written by Jamie Claire Kiser, Director of M&A Services, and Ryan Renard, Financial Analyst/Consultant. Part one focuses on the search phase of an...

Zweig Group has launched an all new seminar series titled “Becoming a Better Project Manager,” targeted at new and aspiring project managers in the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry. The course is presented...

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....

Which units are performing and which are not? Do a little research; allocate your investment appropriately. I'm all for holistic thinking – always have been. I’ve seen a lot of silly (make that stupid) stuff...

Find out what you should be really pursuing and go for it. Mark Zweig predicts success. Some years ago, Toyota’s Lexus brand promoted itself through the slogan, “Lexus: The relentless pursuit of perfection.” That decision...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 29, 2014) –William Brock Johnson (1949-2012) was named the recipient of the 2014 Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership Award, an award recognizing outstanding leaders in the AEC industry. Brock was the President...

Take the time to share with new hires your wisdom about why things are the way they are and how they got that way. What happens when someone joins your firm? Do you merely sit...

They sell themselves into the job but do little else, Mark Zweig writes. We have a big problem in the A/E/P industry. As good as most of our people are, after 34 years of working...

Being treated as a second class employee, independent of rank, is very demoralizing, Mark Zweig writes. The other day I stopped to talk with ZweigWhite’s CPA, who was meeting with our in-house accountant – a...

It’s your employees; Mark Zweig offers five solutions to help deal with them better. I got a call from an old friend of mine from Boston the other day. He wanted to tell me how...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 1001 Originally published 4/1/2013 The long love affair between design firm leaders and cars continues, Mark Zweig writes. We were doing an in-house...

By Christine Brack Principal, Business Planning Consulting Many firms are glad to be leaving 2011 behind and are casting a warmer, more positive outlook to the New Year. Other firms claim they enjoyed moderate success...

By Ed Friedrichs Chairman, ZweigWhite When I was CEO of Gensler I was often asked how I kept track of it all. At the end of my tenure, we had 2,400 people in 25 offices...

Editorial: By Mark C. Zweig It seems to me that many – if not most – companies in our business today have given up on the idea that they can grow in this economy. Instead,...

By Christine Brack Principal, Business Planning Consulting ZweigWhite Our Best Firms To Work For Summit, held in San Diego in late September, celebrated the firms with the best work environments, commitment to strong values, dedication...

By Mark C. Zweig CEO, ZweigWhite The tough times haven’t gotten any better. If you look at the American Institute of Architects’ billing index, it goes up a little and then falls back again. Money...

Press Release: June 29, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 29, 2011) – With the economic challenges that architecture, engineering, planning & environmental consulting firms have faced in recent years, effective project management skills remain a crucial...

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....

By Christine Brack, PMP A few weeks ago, I was talking to a client about his firm’s project management practices, its managers, and systems, and… eventually we began discussing the challenges and frustrations he was...

As someone who teaches entrepreneurship in The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, one of my responsibilities is to mentor students who enter business plan competitions. In these competitions, students...

There are lots of firms that feel stuck in the mud today. They’re just muddling along, treading water, at a break even at best. Some owners think this is a fine position to be in....

The first time someone suggested that I needed to have an “ice cream social” to help motivate my employees, I wanted to strangle the guy. Are you kidding me? We have professional employees. Sure— morale...

It’s pretty well accepted by most firm owners that if you want to be successful in the A/E/P or environmental business, you MUST keep the good clients you have. No one’s marketing is so good...

There are no easy businesses in this economy. And if you think there are— still— watch out. You’ll probably learn soon that I am right about this one. Everyone— no matter what they do— has...

Things aren’t looking real great out there for a lot of firms in this business. The stock market is in a free-fall, we’re in the midst of pre-election paralysis, banks are failing, housing is in...

Although it doesn’t happen to everyone who becomes a principal in an architecture, engineering, or planning firm, it happens to many of us. What I am speaking of is the dilemma one faces when you...

Last Thursday night/Friday morning, I found myself in a tough situation. I went to bed and all was well until I woke at 2 a.m. feeling like I had to use the bathroom. Thursday was...

I just saw a blurb in our ZweigWhite’s 2008 Marketing Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environmental Consulting Firms that stated A/E and environmental firm’s number-one marketing strategy is “relationship building.” While most people in...

One of the many things I have learned over the years about architects and engineers is that they are can-do, independent people. As such, they like to do everything that they can do themselves. Yet,...

We all seem to spend a lot of money on training. That’s a loosely applied term. Many things fall into the “training pot” in a typical A/E/P or environmental firm. My anecdotal understanding is that...

Now that we are fully working ourselves into a recession frenzy (whether we needed one or not), many A/E firms will be facing some tough choices IF they want to remain as profitable as they...

A friend of mine who redoes old houses here in town was telling me the other day about an architect he’s been working with lately. She’s a registered architect, has her own company, and is...

When it comes to A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, the difference in profitability and growth vs. marginal performance and no growth is very little. But that “little” difference may just be how your people feel...

One decision I made recently in my redevelopment business was to start running it more like a “real” business. This may seem strange coming from me— we always tried very hard to practice what we...

I can admit it. I’m a little “bah, humbug” about the upcoming holidays. I sure don’t need or want anything for myself I don’t already have. All of us in the Zweig family have so...

Lawrence Tunican was really starting to wonder what was wrong. Was the company he started nearly 30 years ago— Tunican Engineering— that uncool of a place to work? He could not hire young people any...

Orville Honstater was starting to sweat a little for the first time in a long time. His company, Honstater & Associates, had enjoyed a long run (more than 10 years) of profitability and good, if...

As the market softens a bit and collections are starting to stretch out, more firms are moving a little deeper into their lines of credit. That always raises the stress level for everyone in the...

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...

When I passed the baton to Dick Ryan as our CEO three years ago, it allowed me to move on and do some other things I have always wanted to do. One of those activities...

How many times have you heard it? Someone turns in their notice to leave and the response of his or her immediate supervisor is: “We didn’t need Bob (or Sue), anyway,” or, “We were going...

On the whole, A/E/P and environmental firms seem to take themselves and their marketing too seriously. Sure— many of you DO have life-and-death responsibilities attached to much of what you do. You are serious people...

There’s an interesting article in the latest issue of Inc Magazine on PR firms that get paid only when they get results for their clients— results being a press mention in the local paper, a...

For years, we told principals of architecture, engineering, and planning firms that they should have a mission defining what their firms were all about. The question of “why are you in business?” is fundamental, we...

I could talk about growth all day and why it’s good to be a growth firm. Any faithful reader of The Zweig Letter over the last 14 years has heard me pounding the growth drum...

I have been in business long enough to know that there’s one rule everyone should follow if they’re smart— “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” It always drives me mad when certain people...

When you talk with those folks who have really “made it” in this business, i.e., successful principals in successful A/E and environmental firms, they will usually tell you that being able to write was critical...

In observing firm leaders of A/E and other firms over the years, one quality stands out in the best of them. These leaders do something that endears them to all in their employ— they deflect...

I got up this morning to an e-mail from one of my old clients and friends, Kit Miyamoto, CEO of Miyamoto International (Sacramento, CA), a fantastic structural engineering firm. He sent it at 4-something a.m....

I got a call from a friend and old client of mine recently. He’s down right now— and has been for months. His small design firm just isn’t doing very well, at least not compared...

Those who knew me way back when could tell you that, in my younger days, I was more rigid in my beliefs, more certain of my direction, and generally a lot less flexible than I...

Hiring enough people— and the right ones— is where it’s at today. How well an A/E/P or environmental firm does this really is either an impediment (or stimulus) to growth. It impacts every area of...

Everyone in the A/E or environmental consulting business wants to turn their technical people into sellers. Not a week goes by that the desire to do this isn’t mentioned to me by someone in this...

When you are young, you do things just because you want to. “Fun” is an important part of your life. Too many people forget that when they get older, however. The responsibilities grow and grow,...

I recently agreed to serve as an outside member on the board of directors (BOD) for one of our client companies. This is not the first (nor probably the last) time I have done this....

It is so valuable… being THE place to work. What I mean by THE place is the firm that everyone wants to work at. It is the cool place, the desirable place to be, the...

There’s nothing like a little quality time to do nothing but think. Just sitting in a chair or lying back in your hammock… pushing the mower… driving on a long solo drive. I relish those...

Davis Grey was the new man at the top of Frinklemore-Datuna Associates. He had been hired by Charlie Datuna a couple years ago with an understanding that at some point, Davis would be in Charlie’s...

Conventional wisdom and a course in marketing will tell you that any business— especially a professional service business— must have close relationships with clients IF the firm wants to keep those clients and get as...

Karen Smartstuff was really excited about the chance to work at TFA (Those Fantastic Architects). It was her second job out of school, and she was thrilled to land there. Especially after her first full-time...

Durwood Ryan, CEO of Ryan, Brookhouse, and Springdale, was frustrated. He knew that Jeannie Turtlepup, his structural engineering department head, needed a raise. But he wasn’t getting any support for it from Poppy Buck, the...

I read somewhere once that being in love is a mental illness. All logic goes out the window. Rationality does not prevail. The ugly can become beautiful. Suffering is tolerable. Sacrifices can be made. Walls...

Want to get some new jobs? Need them fast? If so, you aren’t alone. We have seen a number of our consulting clients and readers of The Zweig Letter face major reductions in their workload...

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...

Ever have one of those days where something hits you out of nowhere and it just knocks the wind out of you? It’s so demotivating. You feel like you got kicked in the stomach. These...

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...

I came away from our first-ever Hot Firm conference held last week in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as impressed as I could be. Not only did our conference planning staff do a first-class job in terms of...

Now lie in it. I’ve been a believer in the adage that you make your own luck. But that’s not just good luck, it’s bad luck, too. Make bad decisions, do the wrong thing, and...

I just got back from a 1,720-mile motorcycle trip with my wife on our new Kawasaki ZG1000 sport touring bike. It was fantastic! We went up the coast of Maine from Kennebunkport to Bar Harbor....

Set to music from The Beverly Hillbillies: Let me tell a little story about a man named Jed, a poor engineer, barely kept his family fed. And then one day when designing to buy food,...

Everything I need to know was not taught in kindergarten! In growing our own business and working with hundreds of firms over the years to help them grow theirs, I feel like I have learned...

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...

I don’t mind telling our readers that it’s a great feeling to have a vehicle such as The Zweig Letter to share my thoughts so widely. Along with that comes a certain responsibility not to...

When you get to work with all of the different A/E/P and environmental firms that we do here at ZweigWhite & Associates, it is apparent that many firms are marching blindly ahead, doing things they...

Here are some quick thoughts on a few issues: Pay or don’t buy. There have been a number of articles in the business press recently dealing with ethics issues. One that I read involved a...

Summer’s here. Our local swimming hole— “Farm Pond”— in the town I live in (Sherborn, Mass., pop. 4,300) is also a social gathering spot. Late in the afternoon and on weekends you’ll see all of...

With times as good as they are, particularly for architecture, engineering, and building-related environmental consulting firms, it’s hard to think about failure. But there are still firms going out of business and firms on the...

Let’s face it. Some clients just aren’t worth dealing with. They are too much trouble, they are dishonest, they don’t pay, they don’t do what they say they will...and the aggravation that comes from trying...

t seems to me the only way to really be successful is to be different from everyone else. Whether it’s your career or your firm we are talking about, it’s all the same. Yet many...

Most A/E/P and environmental firms send their people to conferences. Whether it’s the annual event of a “peer” organization such as the AIA, ACEC, or NSPE, or a “client” organization such as the Building Owners...

This week, you get three topics for the price of one. What makes for value? An article in the February 21 edition of The Boston Globe under the headline “Internet ad company stock gains 57%...

A lot of firms are successful right now. But the question they should ask themselves as the new year approaches is, “Are we successful because of what we are doing as management, or in spite...

The headline for this week’s editorial sounds like the title of a bad country and western song, but there’s a lot of truth in it. Maybe it’s human nature, but we don’t seem to appreciate...

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...

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...

No doubt about it, all of us who are managers in an A/E/P or environmental firm have to face some tough situations from time to time. They aren’t usually “fun” decisions, or situations that give...

Oops.....I just used a four-letter word. Excuse me. But unfortunately, I don’t know a better term to describe people who constantly push the limits and question the status quo. In fact, I think having one...

We’re seeing more and more multi-office A/E/P and environmental firms wrestle with this issue: should branch offices be profit centers or not? Or should some other organization units be the place where we measure profits...

One of the principals of a firm I have been acquainted with for a couple of years called the other day to tell me he had just left a board of directors’ meeting where they...

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...

Fred White and I just returned from the 14th annual Inc. 500 Conference and Awards Ceremony, which was held this year at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. The event is held to recognize...

One reason the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry is predominated by small, not-so-successful firms is that it has too many weak leaders. A firm can end up with a weak leader for many reasons. The...

If you’re anything like me, you hate to fire people. It’s at the top of my “least desirable activities” list, above even performance appraisals, collection calls, cold calls, and dental extractions. Most halfway-decent folks feel...

Everyone in the A/E/P and environmental consulting business wants to be more “successful,” but I don’t recall ever seeing “success” clearly defined. It’s one of those good-sounding words that architects, engineers, and environmental consultants use...

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...

It has been said that the only thing an A/E/P or environmental firm can do in a presentation is “not lose the job”— meaning that the selection decisions are made before presentation time, and can...

Every week, I have to come up with something relevant to say to architects, engineers, and environmental consultants who own or manage A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. That’s my job. I like it— and because...

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...

If you listen to the “experts,” you could easily be convinced that it’s darn near impossible to successfully acquire a firm. By “successful,” I’m not just referring to getting the deal done. I’m talking about...

This year’s Professional Services Management Association (PSMA) National Convention was held in St. Paul last week. (I keep wanting to say “Minneapolis,” but St. Paulians are sensitive about that). Ed Vick, president of PSMA (Charlotte,...

I have tremendous respect for any A/E/P or environmental firm that has learned to successfully manage a network of satellite or branch offices. It's not easy. There's no question that having multiple offices greatly complicates...

I don’t think anyone who knows me or reads my stuff is confused about where I stand on at least one subject— how many hours a professional in this business should work each week. There’s...

Management people are usually critical of technical people for their lack of business knowledge. But having a business degree is no assurance you know any more than the average design or environmental consultant about how...

I watched a movie on T.V. the other night titled “Lean on Me,” starring one of my favorite contemporary actors, Morgan Freeman. Freeman played Joe Clark, the inner-city high school principal who had one year...

Ever been house hunting? No matter what you can afford, it’s never enough. Especially with the appalling things some people will do to their homes. I’m not just talking about starter homes (here in Boston,...

A solid majority of firms who use direct mail are less than thrilled with the results. In fact, according to our newly published Marketing Survey For A/E/P and Environmental Consulting Firms, 12.5% consider this the...

When it’s time to hire, most A/E and environmental consulting firms do a pretty good job defining their needs in terms of education, registrations, experience, and so forth. But they don’t do a good job...

Too many people are unhappy— unhappy with the way we’re running our country and unhappy with the way we’re running our firms. The presidential elections to be held on November 3rd and the issues facing...