804 results found for “Old”
Master Builders Reimagined: KP Reddy Explores AI, Integration, and Future Design Leadership “We keep iterating on an old construct—let’s stop and start over. How do we want to do things differently? Let’s get...
“I hope you continue to be extremely intentional in choosing to be exactly where your feet are every moment that you are.” Lynn Wong Episode Summary: In this keynote episode from Zweig Group's ElevateAEC2025 Conference,...
By Will Swearingen | A new era of AEC growth is emerging, driven by value creation and strategic expansion.
By Mark Zweig | Meeting people face-to-face builds energy, strengthens relationships, and creates new opportunities.
By Kraig Kern | When the engine stalls, take the pause to reset, refocus, and get ready for what comes next.
“If you're going to be an entrepreneur and you're going to accomplish anything and you're going to grow your business in spite of a lot of negative things happening, you've got to be...
By Brandon Pinkerton | True leadership means stepping up in crisis, answering the call when no one else will, and without seeking recognition.
By Mark Zweig | Winning big design projects requires strategy, preparation, credibility, and connecting authentically with decision-makers to secure long-term success.
By Mark Zweig | The right attorney with specialized expertise can save AEC firms significant costs, mitigate risks, and protect their business.
EMA Engineering & Consulting, Inc. is pleased to welcome Engineering Elements, a respected 20-year-old MEP firm based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, into our growing family. This strategic step expands EMA's presence into the Arkansas and Oklahoma...
By Matt Verderamo | Our future depends on bridging generational gaps through mentorship, field experience, and modern leadership development.
By Mark Zweig | Leaders should set clear expectations around vacation planning, approval, and communication to avoid disruption and disengagement.
By Chuck Miller | Selling requires building credibility, showing up consistently, and proving that you’re in it for the long haul.
By Mark Zweig | The ability to maintain long-term relationships, both personal and professional, is one of the keys to business success.
By Matt Verderamo | Finding a mentor can provide direction, accelerate career growth, and offer valuable insights, but it requires commitment and openness.
By Mark Zweig | Non-responsiveness in professional settings can stem from various reasons but addressing it directly can improve communication.
By Mark Zweig | The ElevateAEC Conference in Tampa energized attendees, fostered invaluable connections, and showcased industry potential and success.
By Mark Zweig | Successful mergers and acquisitions require an entrepreneurial mindset focused on growth, branding, and value creation.
By Mark Zweig | Here are some ways your CEO could be even more helpful to your company than they already are.
By Sam Graves | Effective team management involves setting clear expectations, equipping and empowering members, and fostering engagement and evaluation.
By Janki DePalma | Late bloomers gain wisdom, resilience, and unique insights, proving there’s no fixed timeline for achievement.
By Mark Zweig | Are your expectations for your people high enough, or are you letting everyone off the hook?
By Mark Zweig | We all need new challenges, variety in our daily routines, and to see tangible results from our efforts to be fulfilled.
By Rachel Wilde | We must seek out the rare opportunities for safe failure and make the most of them to help our employees reach their full potential.
By Mark Zweig | What owners and managers of AEC firms should be thinking about and doing as we plow headfirst into 2024.
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 Todd Hay | If you can learn to actively listen to and understand your clients, you and your firm will reap the benefits.
By Leisbel Lam | We need to strive for a leadership style that is centered on emotional intelligence and finding common ground, connection, and growth within our teams.
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 | Choosing the right partners for your business, and then keeping a good relationship with them, has always been an important subject.
By Mark Zweig | You can learn something from every new experience, so don’t lose the sense of curiosity and wonder you had as a kid.
By Jane Lawler Smith | By applying various levels of rewriting, redesign, and repackaging, you can successfully bring adaptive reuse concepts into your AEC marketing realm.
By Mark Zweig | You won’t get decent fees from your clients until you start making these changes within your firm.
By Will Swearingen | Salary increases were higher than expected in 2022 and AEC workforce demographics continue to shift.
By Mark Zweig | There’s still time to get your head on straight and do a few things to make the most of the new year.
Mancini Duffy is a Triumvirate of Excellence In The Design Industry In this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, we speak with the leadership of NY-based Architectural Design Firm Mancini Duffy. Christian Giordano, President, Bill...
By Mark Zweig | Try to keep calm, be positive, and don’t listen to pundits’ predictions about the economy.
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 | These are “the good old days,” so don’t take anything for granted and find something to enjoy in even the most mundane aspects of life.
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...
By Jane Lawler Smith | Over time, evolving client needs and approaches could erode your marketing foundation. Take the time to shore up your foundation before it crumbles entirely.
By Chad Clinehens | The roundtable, although now almost a thousand years old, is providing tremendous value to AEC firm leaders.
By Mark Zweig | Older folks bring perspective, patience, and gratitude to your firm, so think twice before you run them off from your company.
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 Mark Zweig | If you are a leader in an AEC firm, it’s crucial that you stay positive in spite of all the bad news we’re seeing these days.
By Mark Zweig | Our industry is one of the best places for anyone to build a career, and we owe it to our children to expose them to the work we do early.
By Mark Zweig | Here’s what you really need to do to get more job candidates for any opening you have, increase your job offer acceptance rate, and speed up the hiring process.
We sit down with Architect and Digital Strategist Sara Kolata on this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast. Sara is a part of the new breed of architects that has decided that the old way...
By Mark Zweig | The AEC industry is facing unprecedented demand for what we do. If there was ever a time to say that slow-paying clients are not acceptable, it is now.
By Mark Zweig | If you truly want “best practices” for your firm, you need to look for real innovation versus following the pack.
BySeth Carlton | Explaining things in overly technical terms could result in your message getting lost, so find ways to simplify so the most important ideas are grasped by everyone.
By Mark Zweig | If you feel your like you’re losing control and you don’t know how you can accomplish all you want to, you could benefit from establishing a routine.
By Mark Zweig | Ed Friedrichs, former president and CEO of Gensler, truly understood strategy and how all the pieces of a business fit together into a cohesive whole.
By Mark Zweig | As design professionals and business managers, this is your only real path to business sustainability and personal freedom.
By Mark Zweig | Firm owners need to be thinking about and planning for the huge wave of business that’s coming just around the corner.
Podcast | Stephen Lucy, CEO of JQ Engineering, shares his thoughts on the state of the design industry and what he is bullish on for the future, including “water being the next oil” and so...
By Mark Zweig | There are many ways to show courage, and Jerry Allen showed real courage in his willingness to confront every single obstacle in his life.
By Kevin Token | A singular leader, in place for all time, might not be the best model for your firm. Consider a different way, one that plans for transitions and accommodates change.
By Mark Zweig | These are some of the common elements that are often present in the most successful leadership transitions.
By Christina Zweig Niehues | Good communication shows compassion to your client – something that’s likely to be returned back to you.
By Mark Zweig | With new cases of COVID-19 on the rise, now is not the time for complacency. Instead, it is a time for self-reflection and new action.
By Mark Zweig | If you make these 50 calls, you will not only get new projects, you will also learn a great deal and renew old friendships.
By Jamie Claire Kiser | Despite the challenging environment, there are tremendous opportunities to be had.
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.
Niles Bolton Associates (Atlanta, GA) has acquired Dye Aviation Facilities Architecture (Atlanta, GA), a 40-year old design firm known for its expertise in aviation design spanning the continental United States, Hawaii, Caribbean, Middle East and...
By Mark Zweig | “If there’s a silver lining in this crisis it is that we may each have a chance to reevaluate our priorities and improve the quality of our lives from here on.”
“The new reality of living with the coronavirus is just getting started.”
By putting energy into the power of habit, deep work, productivity tools, and daily scheduling, you will see immediate and lasting productivity gains.
Many firms still cling to old-school attitudes and business practices that chase away top performing employees looking for a more future-friendly place to grow their careers.
We must inspire, include, empower, and educate all genders, races, and ages to look past biases and change the cultural norms that have shaped and still affect our industry.
By Christina Zweig Niehues | Progress is slow, but the AEC industry is becoming more diverse every year, particularly with the newer generation.
“What causes AEC firms to fail? I have been a student of this business for 39 years now. Here’s what I have seen.”
The blunt honesty typically associated with the old gray hairs is something that should be embraced by the younger generation.
“We need to collect our money sooner. With dragged out collection periods, most companies don’t have the working capital they need without borrowing.”
“We need everyone’s talents. And we especially need those with a tremendous amount of experience, contacts, and proven skills.”
President and CEO of Eclipse Engineering (Best Firm Structural #12 for 2018), a Montana firm that likes to have a little “phun.”
By Jamie Claire Kiser | At what should be an incredibly productive and exciting time in the lives of young professionals, the AEC industry is failing to engage.
“Why do people lose interest in their own businesses and, perhaps more importantly, what can you do to keep this from happening?”
“Just as it is easier (and cheaper) to keep an existing client than to get a new one, so goes it for your employees. Keeping good people is essential to your firm.”
Director of Global Diversity at Perkins + Will, a 2,500-person architecture firm with offices across the world. By Richard Massey Managing Editor The Bronx, New York native Gabrielle Bullock has been the Director of Global...
“Should one design their organization and then look for the right people to fill specific roles on the chart, or should the organization be designed around the people the firm already has on board?” An...
“After devoting my entire career – since getting out of grad school at the ripe old age of 22 – to the AEC industry, I have had plenty of time to reflect on where we’ve...
“So many firms in the AEC business are making transitions right now. Aging boomers in their 60s and 70s are selling down, and their chosen successors are taking the reins.” So many firms in the...
Once you get to be 60, your perspective changes. If you look ahead, you know that you have, on average, another 12 years left to live (longer if you are a woman). And that’s an...
Would you like to write for the AEC industry’s leading management newsletter? The Zweig Letter is looking for contributors throughout the org chart, from CEOs to project managers, from those in technical roles to those...
Designing for the future will require intense research, following tech trends, and thinking beyond conventional boundaries. When we moved into the 21st century just a short 18 years ago, surveyors were using the same techniques...
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...
In the AEC industry, both individuals and firms need to brand and present themselves as ‘core brands for core viewers.’ Christina Zweig Niehues and I are conducting a Building your Personal Brand workshop at the...
July 19, 2018 Press Contact: Christina Zweig (800) 466-6275 corporate (479) 445-7564 mobile Zweig Group, LLC 1200 N. College Ave Fayetteville, AR 72701 czweig@zweiggroup.com www.zweiggroup.com FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 19, 2018) – American author, television host,...
If your building is too cold or too hot, or if employees become sluggish in the afternoon, take a look at the building’s operating systems. Do you work in an older office building where the...
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...
Anyone who knows me knows how much I don’t like trendy business books, self-appointed life coaches, or motivational experts – for many reasons that I won’t got into here. That said, I must say I...
The art of business is one that is best demonstrated when the organization being managed has sustained success over a period of many years. Rarely does this happen. Surprisingly few companies ever make it to...
In this episode, Randy Wilburn makes the case for starting a podcast for your design firm. He also talks about why the prevalence of smartphones and smart speakers make this new media creation easier than...
Some say that Project Management is a science. We're not sure about that but here are some simple things you can do to be the best Project Manager you can be! Find out what the...
Now is a good time to make good on your 2018 work resolution to improve your team by turning the saboteurs into loyalists. The new year brings with it the opportunity for change, growth, and...
There’s always something nice about a new year. It’s a fresh start. It’s time for a new plan. The accounting starts all over at zero. Let’s get going! Here are my thoughts: Org structure. Do...
While I am a big believer in promoting from within – it’s essential, really, if you want to have any kind of cultural consistency over time, not to mention that it’s more economical – it’s...
We all need a lengthy, unadulterated turning-off of our brains. How do you start? Try taking a break from the lifelong grind. Sabbatical – rooted in the Greek word sabbatikos – the word speaks to...
Depending on why they left – and what they did while they were gone – it might be a good idea to welcome them back into the fold. It’s not uncommon when sorting through a...
Ditch the lecture-and-listen style of training and replace it with something much more effective – the do-it-to-learn-it style. In the ultra-competitive AEC job market, professional growth is becoming the new perk. Employees and candidates –...
Smaller housing within walking distance to essentials and amenities is appealing to both the young and the old. We’re listening closely to the market desires for our West 2nd District Project here in Reno. We’re...
It’s hard to find outstanding people to work in your AEC firm. It’s also hard to keep them working for you these days when they have so many other options. What are some things you...
It dawned on me the other day when we had to order new business cards and were reviewing job titles for our people in my design/build/contracting/development company that we have a big problem. It seems...
You might think a Facebook post about a stolen office stapler is cute, or that an Instagram photo of donuts in the breakroom is quaint. Think again. In my last article, we covered some tips...
We’ve all experienced it. It usually happens on a Monday but it could be Friday or any other day of the week. I’m talking about when one of your most senior people surprises you with...
We are a bunch of conformists. It’s a big problem in the AEC business. Everyone is sitting around waiting to do what the other guy is doing. And this is precisely the WRONG course of...
Let's talk about project managers: The average hourly billing rate for a project manager was $144 last year. Project mangers who were working in the south central region, at fast-growth firms, or at firms of...
President of Passero Associates (Best Firm #5 Multidiscipline for 2016), an 85-person engineering and architecture firm based in Rochester, New York. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There’s lots of calculated risk,” Caruso says. A conversation with...
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...
While many of them might have flopped, you still have a chance to make the most important one a reality – ownership transition. Welcome to March! And congratulations on making it through all those resolutions!...
Much has been made of how to design workplaces that attract and inspire millennials. But there might be a better demographic filter for your workplace. Millennials. Gen Y. Echo Boomers. Regardless of the name, this...
99 is a lot of problems, how about 9 common problems and some solutions. 1) Difficulty making a decision. Engineers too often really struggle with this one. There’s never enough information. Therefore, it is deemed...
At nearly 59, I don’t sleep so well. My mind doesn’t shut off. So much to think about. Here’s some of what is keeping me awake right now: You have to get the right people...
At nearly 59, I don’t sleep so well. My mind doesn’t shut off. So much to think about. Here’s some of what is keeping me awake right now: You have to get the right people...
1. We are on the cusp of seeing a major shift take place in the talent acquisition space with the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning making the job of a recruiter easier in...
Cincinnati CEO usually operates at about 150 miles per hour, but from time to time he puts on the brakes. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent When it comes to leading, David Arends, CEO of CR Architecture...
Sure – it’s hard to hire good people. There are lots of reasons for it. One of them is that we aren’t keying into the talent pool all around us. People in our network. People...
Bells and whistles are nice, but when it comes time to write a winning proposal, a strong, focused message is still the way to go. In recent months I have seen a number of questions...
Demanding a resume is a good way to scare off potential hires, but your chances improve if you pick up the phone and sell your firm. One of the biggest challenges facing the AEC industry...
Finding and keeping good people is getting increasingly difficult. Paying people properly – it’s one of those areas that is a constant issue for those who own and run a business – is essential if...
Demanding a resume is a good way to scare off potential hires, but your chances improve if you pick up the phone and sell your firm. One of the biggest challenges facing the AEC industry...
We have all heard the adage, "Hire for character and train for skills." A/E/P firms really need to "get" this idea. Most don't do it. They're focused on PE registrations and degrees and knowledge of...
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...
Change is a powerful force, so embrace it, learn from it, and by all means, take account of its effects and be reasonable in dealing with it. Life would be more comfortable if clichés helped....
You have to keep your firm moving if you hope to stay ahead of the competition, and if you want your firm to age gracefully. If you’ve ever spent any time at the beach, you...
I got a text the other day from an old client and reader who said it had been a while since I addressed the topic of how to dress around clients. Apparently he is still...
Here are some tips to help you make positive changes for your A/E/P or environmental consulting firm in the new year. The year has dawned and as many of our clients report, it has started...
Get your project managers to pick up the phone and call clients to improve relationships. In the A/E business, we hate confrontation. As a result, we tend to communicate via email instead of talking on...
The A/E/P industry is doing well right now, but you shouldn’t get too comfortable. Right now, we're having some really good times. A/E/P firms are doing well – some of them are doing incredibly well....
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...
Taking the time to get these 8 items in order might make all the difference when seeking a buyer for your business. A lot of us don’t want to plan for it. We don’t even...
Some insights for those planning to relocate or revamp their digs, because we just went through the process. We just moved into a new office space a couple weeks ago. It’s a big step up...
Sometimes negative thoughts can creep in; here’s why leaders should always try to maintain a positive outlook. Being positive – surrounding yourself with other positive people and believing you CAN do something – is essential...
Being human, we all have opportunities to learn (and re-learn) valuable truths for dealing with others. You’re never too old to learn, if you keep your mind open to it. I have found over the...
Six suggestions for firms seeking to work with the largest buyer of A/E and environmental services. Let’s face it: The government – be it local, state, or federal – is the biggest buyer of A/E...
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 1, 2015) – Zweig Group is excited to announce that Chris Catton has re-joined the firm to manage executive search consulting projects as well as help grow the executive search division. Catton,...
Five things that differentiate entrepreneurs from the rest of the people in the world. I was watching a show on Netflix the other night with my eight-year-old daughter. It was all about humans with superhuman...
Results of long-running study show that those who wait for reward do better in the end, Mark Zweig writes. Back in the ’60s a Psych professor at Stanford, Walter Mischel, gave a famous test to...
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Jul. 14, 2014) –Zweig Group today announced the 2014 Hot Firm List, an exclusive ranking of the fastest growing firms in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry. This list represents a look at...
Five thoughts from Mark Zweig about titles and how they are often dished out without much consideration. Title proliferation in the A/E/P business is alive and well. While intentions may be good – to keep...
Eight suggestions from Mark Zweig to motivate staff, from office decor to proposal-making. I can’t stand it when my seven-year-old tells us how bored she is. Drives me absolutely insane! But I’m afraid that boredom...
There may be something missing in your firm after the recession, Mark Zweig writes. The recession of the last six- to 8 years has been hard on the A/E/P and environmental consulting business. Many companies...
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...
Mark Zweig offers three simple tips: specialize, coach and choose your team well. I went to what some of us refer to as “Hillbilly Paradise” for a couple days with my family last week –...
Technical professionals are affected by failure too. Mark Zweig offers four examples. Many people think engineers and architects don’t really care about whether or not the company they work for is profitable. “They just want...
While the loss of a beloved BlackBerry device is a traumatic experience for Mark Zweig, change is inevitable. The last week brought a lot of change into my world. That included moving to a new...
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...
This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 1000 Originally published 3/25/2013 Follow your passions, people – for a rich and successful life! It was an interesting week for me here...
This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 993 Originally published 2/4/2013 Mark Zweig exposes his, and your, weaknesses as well as resolutions to fix them. Maybe it’s introspection that comes...
Press Release: July 1, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 1, 2011) – North America’s hottest design firms are descending in glitzy Laguna Beach, Calif., in October for a glamorous awards and event that could well rival...
Press Release: June 6, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 6, 2011) — Construction forensics could help divide the genuine from the bogus when it comes to green and sustainable design, a report from the May 31...
Ketan Chawla is a 22 year-old Financial Analyst who has been working at ZweigWhite in the Fayetteville office for nearly one year. In his time, Ketan has seen a lot of change. “I’ve seen change...
By Debbie Frederiksen We all strive for it and talk about it in our marketing materials, but are we truly innovative or is it just fresh lipstick on the same old pig? It didn’t take...
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...
By Ed Friedrichs I admit, I’m of a generation that grew up and spent the early part of my career without a computer, to say nothing of the Internet, e-mail or Facebook. Every time I...
John Drinkard thinks Mark Zweig, ZweigWhite CEO, had CJMW Architecture in mind when he recently made the case for organizing firms by market sectors. CJMW, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based 97-person architecture, engineering, interior design, and...
2010 is here. And, it’s going to be a year like none before. If you aren’t particularly happy with your firm’s performance these last couple years, it’s a great time for change— radical change. Out...
I was talking with an old acquaintance recently— a principal in a very successful international planning and design firm— about how things were going for him and his firm. In spite of some rocky times...
In these hard times we live in, many companies in our business are not performing like they once did. No question about it— there’s been plenty of suffering to go around. Fewer projects, lower profits,...
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...
The year is winding up. Along with that, usually goes a little self-examination. One thing many firms are discovering as they go through this process is an alarming increase in old accounts receivable. By “old,”...
Regardless of how you feel about the results, the national, state, and local elections are now over. Yea! We can move on with our lives and get back to business. Lord knows many A/E/P and...
I have often felt that architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental firms pay lip service to the notion that they should keep their best clients happy— and KEEP their best clients clients. It always seems like...
Frank Beutellow was growing increasingly frustrated. It seemed to him that everyone who joined his firm, Beut Engineering, lately, was not as good as the person who left the firm before them. Morale was bad—...
Steve Tomlinson was in shock. He always took great pride in the work output of his now 80-person environmental firm, Tomlinson Consultants. But the truth was, as they grew, their quality was getting worse and...
With this week’s special focus on information technology, I thought I would take the time to sound off on a number of different technology-related topics. BlackBerries: I still think they are the greatest. I am...
Brenda Potwater was quite proud of herself. She was going to be a principal in Hitesh, Springwald, and Fruttison, the oldest old-line planning and design firm in the San Francisco Bay area. She was already...
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...
There’s no question in my mind that using personal letters is one of the best-kept marketing secrets for architects, engineers, and environmental consultants. Newsletters are overused. Every firm has one. And if the firm is...
I was in a board meeting recently with a quality, old-line engineering/architecture/consulting firm where one of the primary topics was business development. We spent several hours talking about it and how they are changing their...
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...
I am getting really tired of principals (and, in some cases, finance and accounting people) telling me that there’s no way they can do better than a 96-day, 105-day, or 119-day average collection period (ACP)...
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...
Erwin Winter finally relented. For years, people had been telling him it was time for an image makeover for his firm, Winter Engineers. He couldn’t see it— the icy blue “Winter” script next to the...
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...
Whether or not an A/E/P or environmental firm should have a formal, written dress code, and if so, what should it be, are a couple of age-old questions that firms have been wrestling with as...
It seems like yesterday that I was “the young guy.” And that’s the last thing I wanted to be. I always tried hard to look and seem older than I really was so people would...
We can all take a lesson from my old buddy Bert Johnson (not his real name). He is a classic case of the entrepreneur who lost interest in his business, but figured out how to...
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...
Rupert Stanchion was the founder and only CEO Stanchion Associates had ever had from its founding in 1980. Now nearly 60 years old, he was beginning to get the idea that some people thought it...
Even though he’d only worked at Associated Consultants for about three weeks, Bob Smearhoff was sick and tired of his co-worker, Bruce McJerquartd. “That guy is an idiot,” Smearhoff found himself thinking at least 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 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...
Mitchellene Terrence was the 42-year-old director of human resources for Wright, Skidmore, and Johnson, a top-line A/E/P firm in Los Angeles. She was proud to be there. Graduating with a BS degree in 1986 from...
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...
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—...
January 19, 2006. Dallas, Texas. Jon Weiner had just turned 52. Things were finally going his way. His firm, Weiner & Associates, an engineering, planning, and environmental consulting company, had grown to more than 200...
It’s been said before that success comes from 2% inspiration and 98% perspiration. That’s one reason why I never worried about who saw our strategic business plan. Knowing WHAT to do is the easy part....
We went to see my Mom and Dad in Kirkwood, Missouri, last weekend, for my Mom’s 85th birthday. While I was there, we had a lively discussion with my 85-year-old father, my 55- and 52-year-old...
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...
I recently accepted a more permanent position at The Walton College of Business, part of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. My role is teaching entrepreneurship classes to undergraduates, as well as promoting our entrepreneurship...
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...
A recent article in Fast Company magazine focused on Despair, Inc., the makers of calendars and posters that poke fun at those motivational posters from companies like Successories and others. The fact that Despair, Inc....
How many times have you seen it— one or more of the best people in either your firm or another local AEC firm quit their jobs and start a new company? By year’s end, word...
While there is no doubt a downside to employing too many seasoned veterans in terms of their vacation accrual rates and basic hourly labor cost, I do not understand why some A/E and environmental firms...
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,...
Last week, I took my oldest daughter Christy (she’s a high school junior) and one of her friends on a day of college tours. We went to three schools and took the guided tour at...
Air travel is at an all-time high for me. It’s always frustrating... so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to share some of my recent thoughts and observations: E-tickets. It always amazes me when I see...
It’s always distasteful to compare your employees to your children. I hear firm owners do it all of the time, and I see the non-owners cringing when they do! That said, I have noticed a...
After a brief stop in Las Vegas for a quick family wedding, I just returned from The Zweig Letter Hot Firm 2003 Conference and Celebration in San Francisco. And let me tell you that while...
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...
Spring has sprung and we are now into summer. And while some firms are having record years, more companies are not doing so great. This has resulted in diminished expectations for the owners and employees...
I think a lot of smart, motivated, capable people working in A/E and environmental firms often get the idea that if they don’t start their own companies they have somehow sold themselves short. This is...
Fifty-eight-year-old Frank Gristleling was a strong leader of his firm. Other than a three-and-a-half year tour with the Navy from 1968 to 1971, Gristleling worked at Johnson, Smatters, and Tattersham (JST) since he started as...
It is a sad day as I write this. I am at Boston’s Logan International Airport waiting for a flight to Dallas-Fort Worth so I can attend the funeral of my long-time friend and mentor,...
Victor Goodcoat knew he had a problem. Sure— he may have been a principal at Honest Engineers for the last ten years but things weren’t like they used to be. Clients weren’t calling and he...
In some previous articles we’ve talked about principals who are too involved and wreak havoc on budgets and schedules due to their last minute involvement on projects. But there’s another problem, and it may be...
Irving “Tuck” Schlockmeir walked into the Schlockmeir Associates board meeting in a bad mood. Tuck was frequently in a bad mood, and if he wasn’t, the fear that he might go into one scared everyone...
July 13th marked the thirteenth anniversary of the founding of ZweigWhite. We’ve done O.K. We’ve gone from the balloon-wallpapered playroom in my asbestos-shingled house in downtown Natick to a $200 a month office above a...
“God, it smells good out here,” Bob Trunkwater thought to himself as he started out on his early evening walk around the neighborhood. Trunkwater had just recently made the decision to start his own company....
Paul Schipperknocket’s alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. After a quick workout in his basement gym, he turned on the coffee maker he’d gotten ready the night before, and then woke up the rest of...
I just heard a story the other day about one of our clients from another clients (both large A/E firms). Evidently, the first firm had been called by a big client for help on a...
I had a 56-year-old client say to me the other day that he just isn’t having any fun anymore. He wants to change his life, and he had decided to sell his firm so that...
If there was ever a time when the moon lined up with the stars and the timing was right for A/E/P and environmental firms to raise prices, this is it! Never before has the unique...
The idea came to me at 3:50 p.m. on Sunday, January 2, 2000. It was a balmy afternoon here in the Boston area— temperatures in the 60s, sunny and bright. I took out my wife’s...
It seems to me that a lot of people in leadership roles in A/E/P and environmental consulting firms are just waiting around. Whether the discussion around the table is related to dealing with a non-performer,...
Do you know how many times a day I think this? I can’t count that high! Some of what we see and hear in our work with A/E/P and environmental consulting firms is truly amazing....
Just got back from the Spring Meeting of ASFE: Professional Firms Practicing in the Geosciences (Silver Spring, MD) in Atlanta. I think the management and volunteers do a wonderful job. They had about 140 top...
When I was a kid I worked at the local bike shop. It was underneath an optician’s shop accessible only from an alley. The place was a dump, as some readers of The Zweig Letter...
John Burgess, co-founder of Carter & Burgess (Fort Worth, TX), passed away on November 26th. He was a civil engineer who founded the now 1,400-plus-person firm with his childhood friend and fellow Boy Scout, Eugene...
Any business, particularly A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, better be concerned about how to keep current clients happy and satisfied. The reason is simple— getting new clients is expensive, and if you have to constantly...
Traveling all the time is no party, as anyone who does it can tell you. But it’s a fact of life for many of the top people working in the A/E/P and environmental (as well...
Raymond Stodge, managing principal of “Stodge Engineers and Architects,” was depressed. How would he get the firm’s executive committee to start taking action on the issues that had plagued the firm for years? And now...
Here’s a collection of practical advice I think anyone in the A/E/P or environmental consulting business can use in response to questions that seem come up over and over again: Where can I find someone...
It’s hard to believe, but 1997 is almost over. It seems as if the year just started and now it’s nearly gone. I hope you had a great year, because very few companies ever make...
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...
One of my associates and I recently went to Idaho to visit a new consulting client— Power Engineers, Inc. (Hailey, ID). Without question, one of the high points of our trip was meeting their CEO...
We just got back from the 15th Annual Inc. 500 Conference and Award Ceremony held in Philadelphia. Zweig White & Associates made it onto Inc. magazine’s list of 500 fastest-growing privately held firms for the...
Let’s face it, readers— the A/E/P and environmental business just isn’t what it used to be. The old assumptions just don’t hold true. The old ways of doing things aren’t working. The people who can’t...
There may be truth to the old adage: “Ignorance is bliss.” Because the fact is, there are a lot of people, many of them at the highest levels in A/E/P and environmental firms, who are...
We’re in the throes of our annual business planning process here at ZWA. You know the routine— get everyone together, have an office party and a holiday dinner at a nice restaurant and spend a...
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...
There are lots of different success formulas for A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. It’s always interesting to me when one of our consultants discovers that a company we are working with is successful in spite...
I’ve been thinking a lot about change lately, probably because I have been experiencing so much of it so fast. Moves are one type of change that most people find stressful. I know— I have...
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 of the great things about the A/E/P and environmental consulting business is that it always provides you with a challenge. Right now, many firms are feeling particularly stressed— with a higher than normal workload,...
Most A/E/P and environmental firms spend a lot of money just for the opportunity to make a presentation to a client. You send your technical/professional staff chasing all over the countryside, hither and yon, looking...
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...
A few weeks ago, I went to Colorado and gave an all-day presentation on marketing at the management retreat of a rapidly growing environmental consulting firm. I thought I’d share with our readers what it...
Let me tell you a little story about two managers. Both head divisions for the same large, international engineering and environmental company. By most any standard, one of the two, who we’ll call “Jed,” is...
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,...
Environmental consulting firms are starting to come to grips with what A/E and consulting engineering firms have faced for years— a mature marketplace. No longer is the demand for environmental services growing at a 10-20%...
Some readers might think that a discussion of writing has no place in a management publication aimed at architects, engineers, and scientists. They couldn’t be further off the mark. Good writing skills are absolutely critical...
Have you seen the bumper sticker that says “Question Authority?” One thing is for sure— now’s the time to question conventional wisdom with respect to marketing A/E and environmental consulting services. Many of the experts...
Everyone knows the old adage: “You have to spend money to make money.” But who follows it? Take the example of two of my wife’s friends. Both are smart, educated, and come from good families...
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...
Many of our readers are already reflecting back on a year that was not so great, financially speaking. But in 1993, some firms will find this cloud really does have a silver lining. Many firms...