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By Becky Carlson | Understanding your firm’s value early can reveal growth opportunities, reduce risk, and support long-term transition planning.

By Duncan Robertson | Referral incentives turn employee connections into one of your firm’s strongest recruiting tools.

Zweig Group has announced the release of its 2026 Valuation Report of AEC Firms.

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

By Mark Zweig | Never give up, act decisively, share the numbers, and lead by example to build a stronger, more resilient firm.

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

By Kyle Ahern | A closer look at the structures, risks, and rewards shaping leadership in today’s AEC industry.

By Shannon Christiansen | As your firms grows, so does your capacity to give back, strengthening both your communities and your culture.

By Mark Zweig | Most AEC firms play it safe with bland marketing, but bold, consistent outreach is what actually drives results.

By Mark Zweig | Stop measuring success by utilization – revenue factor reveals what really drives profit in architecture and engineering firms.

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 Marcía Alvarado | From the court to the C-suite, female athletes bring discipline, drive, and dynamic leadership to the AEC industry.

By Mark Zweig | 2025 offers opportunities for AEC firms to thrive through responsiveness, strategic metrics, strong banking ties, and workplace honesty.

By Mark Zweig | Start 2025 strong by reviewing your AEC firm’s marketing tools, including your website, email lists, signage, and more.

By Emily Gaines | The words and numbers used to describe design concept, building component, and client goal form a dataset that guides decisions and improves project success.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Engaging with employees at all levels fosters respect, uncovers issues, and strengthens company culture.

By Mark Zweig | Don’t turn yours into a joke by getting the wrong help and taking the wrong direction with revising your strategic plan.

By Mark Zweig | Successful mergers and acquisitions require an entrepreneurial mindset focused on growth, branding, and value creation.

By Emily Gaines | As data proliferates at an exponential rate, firms are increasingly recognizing the importance of leveraging data to enhance decision-making and creative processes.

"The two most valuable things people have a design firm has is its people, number one. Right. That's obviously always going to be the case, but number two is really its history and its institutional...

By Travis White | The rise of nearshoring can reduce costs, address talent shortages, and enhance growth opportunities for AEC firms.

Zweig Group has announced the 2024 Hot Firm List, which honors the fastest growing AEC firms.

By Will Swearingen | Explore the latest data on compensation, perks, and key challenges shaping the industry’s ownership landscape.

By Luke Carothers | Zweig Group experts share their insights on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by small, entrepreneurial AEC firms.

Zweig Group announces the release of its 2024 Principals, Partners & Owners Report of AEC Firms. This comprehensive report contains information on the ownership agreements, responsibilities, compensation, billing rates, chargeability, work habits, and challenges of AEC firm...

In this episode of the Zweig Letter podcast, host Randy Wilburn welcomes Dave Witsken, CEO of UES, to delve into the secrets behind the company's string of accolades as a "Hot Firm." Dave's insights give...

By Stuart McLendon | Facing a talent shortage exacerbated by baby boomers’ exodus from the workforce, AEC firms must innovate to succeed.

By Eduardo Smith | For any COO to be successful in the AEC industry today, they must embrace the soft side of leadership, focusing on the people and culture as much as the numbers.

By Tom Godin | Making utilization a target in your firm could result in some undesirable behaviors.

By Mark Zweig | What owners and managers of AEC firms should be thinking about and doing as we plow headfirst into 2024.

By Chris Askins | Four ways to use CAD efficiently in a small to mid-size engineering firm.

By Sara Parkman | The success of any firm relies heavily on finding the right candidates, but this process can be complex and costly.

By Sara Parkman | The success of any firm relies heavily on finding the right candidates, but this process can be complex and costly.

By Mark Zweig | There are a number of strategies one can employ to make lots of money in this business.

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 | Open-book management is about sharing financial performance data with employees to foster trust, educate, and improve the firm’s overall performance.

This report details some of the biggest trends and movements regarding M&A activity in the AEC industry as of the end of Q3 2023.

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.

Zweig Group is excited to announce the release of its 2023 Recruitment & Retention Report of AEC Firms. This comprehensive survey presents valuable statistics and data on the latest methods and challenges faced by AEC firms...

By Andy Chavez | This report details some of the biggest trends and movements regarding M&A activity in the AEC industry as of the end of Q2 2023.

By Mark Zweig | Don’t forget that the real purpose of this exercise is to have something meaningful that everyone in the business can get behind.

Zweig Group has announced the 2023 Hot Firm List, which honors the fastest growing AEC firms.

This report details some of the biggest trends and movements regarding M&A activity in the AEC industry as of the end of Q1, 2023.

By Adrian De la Garza | In 2022, mergers and acquisitions continued to flourish as a growth strategy throughout the AEC industry.

By Mark Zweig | For every situation that mandates disruption, there will be an equal number of situations that require maintenance of the status quo.

By Amber Hardwick, Christina Millan & Melissa Teichman | The construction industry still has a ways to go when it comes to hiring women, but the trend is moving in the right direction.

By Liisa Andreassen | Vice president of strategy at Westwood (Minneapolis, MN), an awarding-winning firm that provides multi-disciplined surveying and engineering services.

By Dathan Gaskill | Committing to this will make your firm safer, more resistant to adversity, and change cashflow and profit for the better.

By Matt Hoying | Open up and embrace full company transparency, not just financial, to enhance your firm’s culture.

By Pete Hinojosa | Professional employer organizations provide a comprehensive range of HR solutions and technology to help businesses gain a competitive advantage.

By Mark Zweig | Marketing for AEC firms has come a long way in the last few decades, but we still have a number of problems that could be easily solved.

Zweig Group has announced the 2022 Hot Firm List, a more than two-decade-old awards program honoring the fastest growing firms in the AEC industry.  Firms are ranked based on three-year growth in revenue, by both...

Zweig Group is proud to announce the winners of the 2022 Best Firms To Work For Awards, which honors the outstanding workplaces at AEC firms in North America.  These firms have been recognized for their...

By Brian King | Firms with a strongly integrated multigenerational workforce will experience tremendous power and opportunity for success over the next number of years.

By Shirley Che | As leaders, we must be the ones in “the room” recognizing and advocating for the rising stars we work with.

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

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Hafer (Evansville, IN), a firm that has created environments that impact people’s lives with fun, thoughtful. and inspirational design since 1978.

By Jared Maxwell | By adopting a zero-trust approach, AEC firms can strengthen their data security and their protection against occupational fraud and external cyber-related threats.

By Kyle Ahern | This year’s Best Firms To Work For employee survey provided 1.8 million data points, providing insight into industry trends.

By Mark Zweig | Only a small number of people really get the idea that building a business is not a sprint – it’s an endurance race. It is all about who can last the...

Chad Clinehens, president and CEO of Zweig Group, discusses the upcoming 2021 Virtual and In-Person ElevateAEC Conferences. There's something for everyone.

By Mark Zweig | Not only do you need to monitor and report on the right performance metrics for your firm, but you also have to explain what these numbers mean to your people.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Firms need to devote resources toward business development and ensuring a steady stream of work for the future.

By Mark Zweig | Stop lamenting the labor shortage and start doing what you should to find and keep the very best people in spite of it.

By Rob Hughes | With the market hardening for AEC professional liability insurance, an accurate and complete application may help keep your firm’s premium as low as possible.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 4, 2021) –Zweig Group has announced the 2021 Hot Firm List, which honors the fastest growing firms in the architecture, engineering, planning, environmental and construction (AEC) industry. Firms are ranked based on...

By Shibani Bisson | Biases and self-image issues can dampen girls’ interest in STEM from a young age, but the AEC industry can take action to change this trend.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 21, 2021) –Zweig Group is proud to announce the winners of the 2021 Best Firms To Work For Awards, the largest employee experience survey in the architecture, engineering, environmental, planning, and construction...

By Stephanie Warino | Be selective with the actions you’re recognizing and the behaviors you’re amplifying, because we’re all driving the culture bus.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | New data on recruitment and retention shows how firms of different sizes, types, and geographies were impacted by the events of 2020.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | While we’re entering 2021 with a renewed sense of purpose and greater clarity, there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

By Mark Zweig | When times get tough, you have two choices: You can cut expenses and eliminate all investments, or you can double down on making improvements in your business.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | There are several management areas where award-winning, fast-growth, and very high profit AEC firms stand out.

By Mark Zweig | Marketing starts with identifying who your target clients are. Your entire business needs to be focused on them.

Managing principal at Inventure Design (Houston, TX), a firm that transforms the client experience in design and architecture by creating smart, human-centered spaces.

If your firm has the following characteristics, the more likely an ESOP is a good and viable option for your firm.

By Mark Zweig | Many owners fail to understand how much value they can create in their companies if they make the right decisions.

By Kyle Ahern | The impressive data collected from Zweig Group’s Best Firms To Work For and Hot Firms continues to provide valuable insight into the AEC industry.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 2, 2020) –Zweig Group has announced the 2020 Hot Firm List, which honors the fastest growing firms in the AEC industry. Firms are ranked based on three-year growth in revenue, by both...

Digital twins, photogrammetry, and analytics are paying off for owners and developers when this technology is in the hands of experts who push it to its limits.

By Mark Zweig | None of these is a panacea. All of these things do, however, have the potential to bring you new clients, opportunities, and projects.

President of Shield Environmental Associates (Lexington, KY), a full-service engineering and environmental consulting firm that seeks solutions of distinct value.

It's more important than ever to have good data to guide your business practices. In order to produce the data your firm needs to benchmark and make important management decisions, we need your help and...

Zweig Group and Client Savvy are joining forces to bring AEC firms critical feedback from their clients. Because the COVID-19 situation continues to rapidly evolve, getting real-time feedback and data from the clients that support...

“There are many ways to ‘cook the books’ so they show certain results. Here are some typical problems that we see showing up in the financial statements of A/E firms.”

President and CEO of Westwood (Minneapolis, MN), a firm that’s been focused on enhancing communities with smart engineering for almost 50 years.

“You would be surprised how quickly your employees get in the bandwagon when they can be part of the solution.”

Former president of CobbFendley (Houston, TX), a 530-person firm that is committed to providing innovative engineering solutions with the goal of bettering communities.

President and founder of C.A.P. Government, Inc. (Coral Gables, FL), a privately held, minority-owned consulting firm.

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

By Kyle Ahern | As we look to 2020, let’s reflect on the last year and celebrate all that this industry has accomplished.

By Phil Keil | If you’re struggling to build a productive team, it might be time to take a long look in the mirror.

By Chad Clinehens | Use these tips to achieve long-term results in a short-term world.

“Entrepreneurs are not unique to the ownership group of small, privately-held companies. They can also be found working as employees in larger organizations.”

“What causes AEC firms to fail? I have been a student of this business for 39 years now. Here’s what I have seen.”

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.

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...

Survey data from Zweig Group’s 2019 Financial Performance Survey of AEC Firms indicates strong financial performance industry-wide.

Recent data indicates strong financial performance industry-wide Zweig Group’s annual Financial Performance Survey of AEC Firms, released on April 4, 2019, identified a strong positive trend in multiple key financial indicators, including profit, revenue, staff...

By Phil Keil | People need something to rally behind. Identifying a mission for your firm is more than just a box to check when creating a strategic plan.

Is your firm an investment value candidate? If you’re looking to sell, this is the level of value at which you have the most opportunity to maximize your exit.

“You had better conquer those fears! Because the power of the information to inform, educate, and motivate your people is more powerful than any negative that could come from it.”

We all know meetings are a necessary evil, but do we have to let them wreck our productivity? Did you know that a typical American professional attends more than 60 meetings per month? That is...

Being relevant can be powerful, but it will require you to put down your devices and actively engage with those around you. No doubt you have been in meetings and looked around the room and...

President, Choice One Engineering Corp. (Best Firm Civil #2 for 2018), a 45-person firm based in Dayton, Ohio. By Richard Massey Managing Editor “Work-life balance is a phrase thrown around a lot, but we believe...

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.

As it relates to the AEC “industry,” we all should know by now that those who can sell a lot of work are the people who rise to the top of their firms, have the...

A/E firms are fragile things. When things are going well, they grow and make decent profits. The people who work there generally feel good and the future seems bright. When things aren’t going well, morale...

Zweig Group has announced the 2018 Hot Firm List, a prestigious list honoring the fastest growing firms in the architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting (AEC) industry. Firms are ranked on three-year growth in revenue, by...

Finding and keeping good people is the number one problem AEC firms have today. And it will get worse if any of the predictions are true about the demand for talent and the lack of...

When it comes to our projects, we need to know as much as we can to ensure we stay on track for our firm and our clients. There’s a fine line between what we know...

It can be harder than writing more, but oftentimes it’s necessary, so learn how to cut without gutting your message. When I started writing this column in 2004, the size limit was 800-850 words. Sometimes,...

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....

For many, growth means losing their beloved workplace. But think again. Growth can mean increased capabilities, not increased numbers. We talk a lot about growth here at Zweig Group. It’s a philosophy that underpins all...

Successful business planning isn’t about having a crystal ball. It’s about a culture that discusses goals, actions, and results on an open and regular basis. The end of one year and the beginning of a...

Keeping up with the latest and greatest in marketing is tough, but it’s easy to see what techniques need to be left behind. If you’re still doing the same kind of marketing you were doing...

As 2018 approaches, A/E firms may want to revisit professional liability insurance limits, and find optimal solutions for their requirements. As design firms look ahead to 2018, the time may be right to reassess their...

Getting the information you need on how to run your business in a timely manner is an absolute requirement for survival and success in the A/E business today. As business owners this has to be...

If that’s your justification for not having a marketing department, you’re either blessed with a super team of all-stars, or you’re kidding yourself. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had an architecture/engineering firm...

Architects and engineers – well, anyone for that matter – who own their own business are bound to get unsolicited (or requested!) advice from time-to-time. While some of that advice may be good, a lot...

One of my theories about why A/E firms do so poorly with at-risk construction projects is we are just not equipped for the people we deal with in that “other” world. There are some bad...

It’s always good to periodically take stock and ask yourself what you have recently learned. My experience – if you don’t do this – is that you are bound to repeat the same mistakes. And...

Hot Firms show tremendous growth, and Best Firms clearly preparing for the future. By Richard Massey Managing Editor The top 25 Hot Firms this year showed the industry what it means to grow. On average,...

Hot Firms show tremendous growth, and Best Firms clearly preparing for the future. By Richard Massey Managing Editor The top 25 Hot Firms this year showed the industry what it means to grow. On average,...

Every so often I have a number of disconnected thoughts for our readers, none of which merits all of my allotted space, but each of which could prove valuable. This is one of those weeks....

In this episode of the podcast, Randy Wilburn speaks with Brenden Sherrer, an M&A consultant with Zweig Group. They covered a number of topics, including Sherrer’s experience after joining Zweig Group and the overall view...

After 37 years of working in one industry, you eventually become aware of just about every bit of what passes for “conventional wisdom” in this business. Some of it may seem logical on the surface...

There’s a critical set of benchmarks you need to measure so you’ll know what works, what doesn’t, and how to be more effective. Zweig Group’s 2016 Marketing Survey found that 27 percent of A/E/P and...

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...

Break free from immediate metrics and returns, because with marketing, the ROI could take months or even years to realize. Growing up in the ‘80s, the recent passing of George Michael brought a lot of...

The average 200-person A/E Firm is spending $200,000 on hiring, and not budgeting at all. Zweig Group recently released the 2017 Recruitment & Retention Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms. The survey...

Make your marketing count. Here are seven marketing metrics you need to be tracking. Revenue/Sales goals: While not exactly a measure of your firm’s marketing success, revenue or sales goals should be the cornerstone of...

Zweig Group’s research data shows us that fast growth/high profit firms have a higher number of hours in their average work week. It makes sense – more hours put in by salaried people equates to...

1. The competition for skilled labor will increase. This will lead to more employee turnover, higher wages, and an uptick in inflation. The unemployment rate will remain near 5 percent nationally, but the number of...

1. M&A activity will increase. The majority of firms with more than 50 people are looking to buy or sell. This is crazy! According to Zweig Group's 2016 Merger & Acquisition Survey, 62 percent of...

By assessing how they plan to use drones, and by carefully evaluating related risks, A/E firms will benefit from this new capability. As more A/E firms begin integrating drones into their operations, they need to...

Jon F. Lindberg has been at the same firm for 36 years, so it’s safe to say he has a roof over his head and a room with a view. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent He...

My name is Mark. I am an addict. A phone addict. But before you sign me up for a 12-step program, I have some good reasons for my addiction. I have two businesses. Four children....

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows architects and engineers have the fifth highest suicide rate among 22 occupations. By Richard Massey Managing Editor A report recently issued by the Centers...

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows architects and engineers have the fifth highest suicide rate among 22 occupations. By Richard Massey Managing Editor A report recently issued by the Centers...

Your firm’s list of contacts is critical to your marketing activity, and it can have a tremendous monetary value, too, so make it a priority. This industry is still doing a poor job of building...

Your firm’s list of contacts is critical to your marketing activity, and it can have a tremendous monetary value, too, so make it a priority. This industry is still doing a poor job of building...

We got a fax the other day from a firm that wanted to cancel four seminar registrations it had sent in just a couple weeks before. Evidently, the firm had hit on hard times, had...

A passionate and prolific engineer, a skilled expert in disputes, and beloved by those he worked with and for, Michael Burgess will be missed. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent San Diego-based Xpera Group (#77 Hot Firm...

The Zweig Group 2016 Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference on Sept. 22-23 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix will celebrate growth and success. The Best Firms To Work for Awards honor the creation...

The Zweig Group 2016 Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference on Sept. 22-23 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix will celebrate growth and success. The Best Firms To Work for Awards honor the creation...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (August 15, 2016) –Zweig Group has announced the winners of the 2016 Marketing Excellence Awards. Zweig Group had the most competitive year to date for these awards, with a record number of applicants....

Everyone wants better project management. That's why principals of AEC companies spend more time and money on PM training than any other type of business training. But I'm not here to talk about training. I...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 5, 2016) –Zweig Group is proud to announce the release of the 2016 Best Firms To Work For List, a prestigious list honoring the creation of outstanding workplaces at architecture, engineering, surveying,...

Registration for the Best Firms To Work For Awards, Zweig Group’s ranking of the best workplaces in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry, has come to a close, but entries to Zweig Group’s other awards...

If a firm wants to succeed at a high level, it must keep a keen eye on the documents, and have an ear for what the client needs. It’s my experience that too many firms...

Your firm’s list of contacts is critical to every marketing activity, and it can have a tremendous monetary value, too, so make it a priority. This industry is still doing a poor job of building...

How do you get a handle on billable hours and overhead without losing yourself in spreadsheets? Rely on the gut instincts of your department managers. I’m honored The Zweig Letter asked me to be a...

New Recruitment and Retention Survey sheds light on key issues in finding, hiring, and keeping the best talent in the design industry. One thing I enjoy about working here at Zweig Group is that we...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ar. October 30, 2015– On November 15, Zweig Group releases the latest Project Management Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning, and Environmental Consulting Firms, which contains an expanded look at project management trends. “In every...

From the early responses to Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Survey, we can already see differences from last year, but there’s still time to have your data included. A lot has changed in marketing approaches, budgets,...

Though it has been around for a while, email isn’t going anywhere anytime soon; make sure you’re using it effectively. Email is not going away for those of us in the A/E business – even...

The process of business valuation and the analysis of the firm it involves can be a valuable tool for any firm. A properly prepared business valuation should provide firm owners with an independent view of...

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...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 15, 2015) – Marian Young, CEO of BrightFields, was awarded the 2015 Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership Award by Mark Zweig, Founder and CEO of Zweig Group on Thursday September 3, 2015...

Louis Berger (Washington, DC), a professional services firm, is taking home third place in the Internal Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for the Louis Berger Employee Nexus – a global intranet...

Sam Schwartz Engineering (New York, NY), a 100-person consulting firm, is taking home second place in the External Newsletter category in Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its “TransCentral” email service. “TransCentral” is a...

Leadership, accounting, rewards, and more contribute to an organizational culture of positivity and high morale. ​Great projects happen, and successful firms become even more so, when morale is high inside the firm. It’s one thing...

Harris & Associates (Concord, CA), a 200-person engineering and construction management firm, is taking home second place in the Online Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its new and improved website....

Here's a small excerpt from the A/E Board of Director's Manual.... In short, some do and some don’t....Since a majority of firms in the industry—most of which are small—have boards, it would seem that boards...

Strategic cooperation among competitors can result in big gains for each firm and better projects for clients. I hadn’t heard of “coopetition” – a contraction of cooperation and competition – for a while, but it...

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...

Highly profitable firms differ from others in 5 main areas; how does your organization stack up? When you see some A/E and environmental firms making record profits right now – and others still barely breaking...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (April 14, 2015) – Zweig Group’s recently released 2015 Merger & Acquisition Survey of A/E/P and Environmental Consulting Firmsfinds that the number of firms in the industry considering M&A activity is on the...

Zweig Group’s recently released 2015 Merger & Acquisition Survey of A/E/P and Environmental Consulting Firms finds that the number of firms in the industry considering M&A activity is on the rise. The survey found that...

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...

Mark Zweig expresses frustration about the mishandling of the sales process at design firms. It is a hard to manage the business development (BD) effort in the A/E and environmental consulting industry. To start with,...

Look for ideas to simplify every single thing you do and the benefits will accrue, Mark Zweig writes. For those of you not aware of it, earlier this month ZweigWhite announced the combination of two...

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...

Mark Zweig offers 13 lucky suggestions on how to be closer to your clients. How you manage your clients is a big part of success in the A/E or environmental consulting business. And these skills...

It needs to be relevant, user-friendly and affordable but is well-worth the investment. Recruiting is not so simple an enterprise anymore. Like it or not, recruiting has become increasingly sophisticated over the years – in...

Mark Zweig offers five steps to keep your expanded departments happy and productive. When I started working in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry in 1980, most companies in the business did NOT have a...

Mark Zweig provides six directions on where the market is heading. Here’s a quick summary of where I see things going right now in the A/E business and the world at large: The housing recovery...

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 # 994 Originally published 2/11/2013 Twitter is riddled with management experts. Mark Zweig dispels them all. I spend a little time every day on...

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...

Press Release: October 21, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (October 21, 2011) – Goodbye to that swanky Midtown office space? Architecture, engineering, planning and environmental firms are spending less than previous years on rent and utilities. These...

By Debbie Frederiksen Director of Marketing Consulting, ZweigWhite During my junior year of college I took an elective business course in market research. I don’t recall exactly why I chose this class, but more than...

Press Release: August 9, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, AR (August 9, 2011) --Despite recent news about slow economic turnaround, a surprising number of A/E/P and environmental consulting firms report an acceptable or increasing backlog of work. An...

Press Release: July 26, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 26, 2011) – For many leaders in architecture, engineering, planning and environmental firms, a finance chief’s job goes beyond managing finances. When editors of The Zweig Letter...

Press Release: July 8, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 8, 2011) –ZweigWhite is proud to announce that all its 1 Professional Development Hour (1PDH) offerings are approved by the Florida Board of Professional Engineers. Continuing education...

Press Release: June 7, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 7, 2011) – Two can be better than one. From adding clients, expanding to new markets or locations, increasing services, or building staff numbers/skills, a merger or...

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 25, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 25, 2011) – Universities offering online master’s degrees in civil engineering are reporting record increases in enrollment, in large part because of technology improvements and the sluggish...

Press Release: May 17, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 17, 2011) --A recent survey shows the frequency and method of mentoring programs in the A/E/P and environmental industry. According to the online survey of industry HR...

By Tracey D. Jeffers One component to a successful banking relationship is having a good understanding of your financial statements. Your ability to readily and intelligently answer questions posed by a banking professional gives loan...

A software update for Kindle is bringing features that really ought to have been around from the beginning: real page numbers that match what's in hard-copy versions of books, a public notes feature that lets...

Until 2004 Ravi Maniktala ruled supreme at ME Group (Omaha, NE), a 60-person mechanical and electrical engineering, building simulation, and lighting design firm. At that time, however, Maniktala, still the firm’s president today, decided to...

Marketing in our industry is a-changing, Folks! It is not business as usual for A/E/P and environmental firms. The tough economy and the increasing power of the Internet and electronic communications are changing everything marketing-wise....

Although there have been many compensation-related articles over the years in the pages of The Zweig Letter, I thought perhaps it was time to clearly articulate my own strategies for compensating employees in A/E/P and...

One would think that with the business climate being what it is for A/E and environmental firms (lower volume and less profit), that everyone would be staying on top of their accounts receivable. But, guess...

While accounting is widely accepted as the “language of business,” the knowledge of it in a typical architect, engineer, planner, or environmental scientist does not even reach a rudimentary level. You have to know the...

I have written many times in the pages of The Zweig Letter about the importance of open book management (sharing the financials with everyone in the firm). It’s much more than a buzzword. It’s the...

It is not easy— finding enough leaders to fill all of the leadership needs inside your company. Some (many firm founders) might think one factor could be that most everyone in your firm probably did...

Just about every firm in the A/E/P or environmental business today has identified its number one problem as “not having enough good people.” Solving this ongoing problem takes a lot of hard work and some...

After doing business plans for more than 20 years, the truth has finally sunk into me: You cannot please everyone with one strategic plan. In other words, the strategic plan for internal purposes is probably...

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

Like it or not, the world is rapidly becoming one. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. And the implications for architects, engineers, planners, and allied professions are significant. What it means, quite simply,...

It’s Sunday morning on Mother’s Day 2006. We have a lot to be thankful for in the Zweig household as my wife just bore our first, a baby girl, “Olive Josephine,” 15 days ago. As...

Just about everyone in the A/E or environmental business thinks that they have strategies. I don’t think many really do because most people don’t even know what strategies are. “Strategies” are philosophies— your core philosophies...

I recently witnessed a transformation. An old-line A/E firm that had been on the decline for about four years decided they’d finally had enough. Their top management reallocated their energy and efforts to one thing—...

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...

Anyone who knows me or who has read my writings on management for architects and engineers over the years knows that I absolutely HATE buzzwords. They automatically raise the suspicions of the smart design, management,...

We all know it. If we cannot train a second generation of leaders who will be able to take over the firm and run it successfully after we are gone, we probably won’t see any...

Years ago, I coined a term called “supply-side human resources management.” The basic theory of supply-side human resources management goes something like this: If an A/E or environmental firm invests heavily in its recruitment function,...

It’s one of those certainties, like death and taxes. Managers are supposed to hold those who work for them accountable to reaching certain goals or achieving certain performance metrics. It sounds good to say, “I...

It’s real popular for A/E and environmental firms to proclaim that they are “client-centered.” Sounds good, right? Give the clients what they want…. But not many firms really do what is necessary to make this...

It seems to me that I am running into a greater number of pissed off people working in client organizations as of late. Maybe it’s the winter blues. Or maybe it’s war threat induced economic...

As management consultants to the A/E/P and environmental industry for many years, we get up close and personal with literally hundreds of firms each and every year. Many of these are very successful companies that...

We just ended our most successful Zweig Letter Hot Firm conference ever. It was successful from three points of view— attendance numbers, attendance quality, and speaker quality. I won’t bore you with the numbers but...

Last week I was on the phone ordering a part for an old British motorcycle. It vibrates so much that every time I ride it something either breaks off or falls off. In any event,...

Sometimes it’s amazing how little things change, huh? The challenges of implementing change, the myth of the dual career path, the hassles of poorly performing principals, the confusion resulting from messy office environments, why firms...

It’s the kind of question that plagues principals: Why, if their firm has spent more than $300,000 on an all-new web-based software program that is designed to integrate every single front office function, are they...

I just got back from the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) (Washington, DC) national convention in San Diego (held October 4-6). What a turnout! Their estimates were that they had somewhere between 1,400 and...

With all of the employment-related pressures that firms face today, it’s getting harder and harder to figure out what you really need to pay somebody to do a given job. There are so many ways...

When it comes to staffing your A/E/P or environmental consulting firm, it’s one thing to have all of your seats filled. It’s another thing to have those seats filled with people who are motivated— motivated...

As periodically happens, I have a number of issues I want to share with our readers, none of which merits an entire article. Here they are: There will never be true equality of the sexes...

At one of my “Managing a Growing Firm” seminars a few weeks ago, I had an attendee tell me how another attendee was handling his ownership transition program. When I asked him who was offering...

I would be surprised if more than one of our readers hasn’t said to themselves recently, “We really ought to be thinking about what we’ll do if things slow down.” Well get ready folks, it’s...

Believe it or not, some people don’t like the term “human resources management.” They think it diminishes individuals in some way, and by referring to “human resources” we might as well be talking about “natural...

As an old car guy, I’ve learned that gauges are vastly superior to “idiot lights.” Idiot lights tell you when something has gone wrong, such as “engine hot” (it is now overheated). Gauges tell you...

I am not proud of my five airline frequent flyer program gold cards. All that means is that I spend too darn much time in the air, when I’d much rather be someplace else. But...

Not much gets someone who works in an A/E/P or environmental firm more upset than unnecessary bureaucracy. I’m talking about stupid forms to fill out, channels to go through, or steps to take that don’t...

There are a few firms out there that really have their act together when it comes to the finance and accounting function. But by and large, A/E/P and environmental consulting firms struggle with what should...

We often run into firms that need help turning things around. The scenario usually includes some combination of the following: Principals/top managers who aren’t billable. Excess debt caused by poor collection of accounts receivable. Owners...

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...

We work for the owners and top managers of a lot of different A/E/P and environmental firms. While all those companies and their managers are different, they share one thing— they’re not happy with project...

I get to see a lot of proposals and qualification documents from A/E/P and environmental consulting firms of all types and sizes. In most cases, there’s plenty of room for improvement. Consider the following: Length:...

Everything you read on psychology tells you that we, as individuals, should each have a healthy self-image. It’s only common sense. Without a healthy self-image, we won’t live up to our career potential; we won’t...

Sometimes I think the owners and managers of A/E and environmental firms need a strong dose of realism. We seem to want to bury our heads in the sand to avoid the obvious, or wish...

“Leadership development” for our industry too often translates into another boring all-day seminar on liability reduction, or a weekend retreat with a soft-spoken consultant who walks us through “team building” exercises. We say we want...

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...

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...

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...

In the past six months, I’ve had the pleasure of working for three firms with very low average collection periods (ACPs). Average collection period is the average number of days it takes a firm to...

It’s the time of year when you can’t reach anyone on the telephone, when important decisions seem to be postponed, and when, as one CFO who participates in our ZWEIG 100 index remarked recently, firm-wide...

What differentiates a “hot” firm from a “not-so-hot” one? In our experience, virtually all successful, marketing-driven A/E/P or environmental consulting firms are doing something that the mediocre firms are not. They’re developing a marketing process....

In any number of surveys conducted over the years on what demotivates professionals in the workplace, “not feeling in on things” always ranks at or near the top. By “demotivation,” we are referring to what...

We’re convinced that 1993 is going to be a good year for the A/E and environmental consulting industry. No matter how bad the last few years have been, every single firm has the potential to...

This is the time of year many firms do their budgeting. Unfortunately, many of them make the budgeting process far more difficult than it has to be. Small firms may not know where to start...