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By Ying Liu | Ownership mindset starts before equity, with the clarity, trust, and responsibility people need to lead like owners.

By Sarah Kinard | Economic shifts, regulatory change, technology, and evolving client expectations rarely arrive as disruption – they appear first as signals.

By Nam Douglas | Tightening immigration pathways are reshaping AEC talent pipelines, forcing firms to rethink workforce strategy, risk planning, and long-term leadership development.

Pape-Dawson has acquired BHC, demonstrating a commitment to regional growth, innovation, and investment in communities across America’s heartland.

By Matt Cooper | Software should reduce friction, surface better information sooner, and free people up to do higher-value work.

By Nam Douglass | Operational lessons and compliance priorities for AEC firms in 2026.

By Brad Wilson | ESOP success in AEC firms depends on financial discipline, clear governance, and treating employee ownership as a lasting cultural investment.

By Chris Catton | Having the right people on your board may be the most valuable investment you make for the future of your firm.

By Erik Stroemberg | Practical insights and recommendations for creating, communicating, and maintaining an effective AI policy.

By Lindsay Young | Every firm is unique, so focus on your differentiating factor to create a one-of-a-kind client experience.

By John McAdams | If you’re serious about growing your design firm, you need to add outside experts to your board of directors.

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

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

RTM Engineering Consultants, a national MEP, civil, and structural engineering consulting firm, has merged with Select Structural, a highly regarded structural engineering firm based in Southwest Florida. This merger brings together two firms that share...

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

By Anastasia Welch | Transforming team dynamics and strategies for improved leadership skills, operations, and project implementation, leading to business success.

By Mailena Urso | Business awards are an excellent way to gain recognition and highlight areas of excellence.

By Jared Maxwell & Cady Sinks | AEC firms see growth opportunities amid gradual U.S. economic rebound clouded by insurer concerns over inflation, claim costs, higher risks.

By David Keith | Prioritizing diversity, evolving leadership structures, nurturing emerging leaders, and fostering a sense of ownership drives innovation and collaboration.

By Jeremy Clarke | The past few years have had a lot to teach us about winning the war for talent.

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

By Jared Maxwell & Cady Sinks | AEC firms are navigating more complex risks and an evolving market for professional liability insurance.

By Jim Bushong | What happens when decades of consistency and cost expectations in the building trades are suddenly changing in real time, based on market forces that are completely out of control?

By Chad Clinehens | Firms that take the time to learn and adapt to AI could gain a competitive advantage over those that are slower to adopt.

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 Phil Keil | It’s time to start building a strategy for how you will compete and stay relevant in this rapidly evolving environment.

By Sara Parkman | Human resources director at CORE Consultants, Inc., a professional services firm that empowers its people to thrive at home, at work, and in their community.

By Will Swearingen | Salary increases were higher than expected in 2022 and AEC workforce demographics continue to shift.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of NTM Engineering (Dillsburg, PA), a civil engineering firm that specializes in water resources design, bridge design, and engineering instruction.

By Luke Carothers | It’s fitting that we seek out this highly engineered desert oasis as a place of celebration.

By Will Swearingen | When considering a transition, it’s important that you stay flexible and don’t wait until the end to plan your exit.

By John Bray | There is no perfect buyer or seller in the marketplace, but how do you attract the best possible partner?

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at VMDO, an architectural planning and design firm that creates community-centered environments that connect people and place through design.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Martin/Martin (Denver, CO), a full-service civil and structural engineering and surveying firm founded in the 1940s.

By Rick Cloutier & Kart Vaith | By formalizing a few key integration strategies, you could effectively leverage the synergy of each new acquisition leading to sales, operations, and delivery benefits.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO and chairman of the board at MG2 (Seattle, WA), a global architecture, design, construction, and branding studio.

By Ann M. Rolland | Even a slight shift toward more responsible materials is impactful and can effect change to the manufacturing industries and the products that designers specify.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Dewberry (Fairfax, VA), a nationwide planning, design, and construction firm with more than 50 locations and more than 2,000 professionals nationwide.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of KSA (Longview, TX), an industry leader that provides a broad range of engineering, architecture, planning, surveying, and construction management services.

By Eduardo Smith | With more work than we can handle and the current recruiting challenges we face, we need to be sure that our organizations have the foundations for sustained growth.

By Mark Zweig | If you truly want “best practices” for your firm, you need to look for real innovation versus following the pack.

By Will Swearingen | A clear understanding of how your firm will be managed after a large shareholder’s exit can greatly increase success going forward.

By Rob Hughes | Enterprise risk management provides a formal process for firms to examine their critical risks in context, and implement cost-effective risk management and risk-financing solutions.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Fuss & O’Neill (Manchester, CT), a company that – since its founding in 1924 – has grown to include 10 regional offices, one LLC, and more than...

By Sara Parkman | President of Shive-Hattery (Cedar Rapids, IA), a multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering firm that recognizes the power of design in transforming the human experience.

By Rob Hughes | This subtle but onerous language is becoming fairly widespread in design contracts and, if overlooked, could leave design firms with significant, potentially uninsured exposures.

By Mark Zweig | It’s great to be needed, but it’s not really where you want to be. The position you should really seek to attain is to be wanted.

Zweig Group's media platform, Civil + Structural Engineer Media has announced the opening of the annual 2021 Engineering Drone Video of the Year (EDVY) Competition and a partnership with SPH Engineering's UgCS, the leading drone...

By Kim Fowler | If you chip away at your organization goals one task at a time, you will begin to see the benefits.

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.

President and CEO of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (Northbrook, IL), a global firm that’s committed to helping clients solve, repair, and avoid problems in the built world.

When you underestimate the proposal and fail to invest in its development, you risk losing money and wasting business development resources.

We must apply our human intelligence to identify the real problems and leverage technology as a platform to bridge the gaps between tools, people, and processes.

By Chad Clinehens | Break out of the spreadsheet mentality and build an ownership team that drives value and performance long-term.

CEO of Sambatek (Minneapolis, MN), a professional services firm with an authentic culture that promotes openness, transparency, and trust.

ESOPs are becoming an increasingly common tool for succession planning among AEC firms.

CEO of ISG (Mankato, MN), a multi-disciplinary design and engineering firm that has growth in its DNA.

Zweig Group’s 2019 Project Management Report of AEC Firms presents an in-depth look at the responses of over one-hundred project managers and firm leaders in the industry. What are they doing to optimize project delivery...

When new partners buy out old ones, you have to outline specific duties before assigning leadership roles, among other considerations.

President of JBCI, a small, but venerable, repair and restoration firm based in Philadelphia.

President of Reaveley Engineers, a national structural engineering firm based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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

President of Ampirical (Best Firm Multi-discipline #21 for 2018), a 200-person firm on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

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

“Even if you don’t apply it to your business, knowing probabilities of success will at least keep you from buying scratch tickets or blowing your cash in a slot machine at a casino somewhere!”

Chairman, CEO and President of Woolpert (Hot Firm #18 for 2018), an 800-person national architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) firm based in Dayton, OH. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I would say moving through our minority...

An experienced insurance advisor can help design firms find the coverage and program structure required to address their evolving needs. A new survey by Ames & Gough of 17 leading insurance companies providing A/E professional...

Zweig Group offers plenty of opportunities for education and training, but among the crown jewels are The Principals Academy and CEO Roundtable. If you work in the AEC industry, it almost goes without saying that...

Randy Wilburn sits down with Mark Zweig, founder and chairman of Zweig Group, to talk about what it takes to pull together a winning presentation. Mark has worked on many presentations over the last 38...

President and chairman of Garver (Best Firm Multi-discipline #2 and Hot Firm #43 for 2017), a 500-person consulting and professional services firm in North Little Rock, Arkansas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We give our employees...

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

If you make it that far in the interview process, don’t forget to show the potential client your best asset – your ability to make a human connection. A few weeks ago, your A/E team...

Leader of Kansas-based civil engineering firm learned a lot during the recession, and has found a nice niche inspecting levies and dams. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent It’s about the client experience, not just the project....

McMahon Associates celebrates its accomplishments as it moves into a new era with continued focus on staff, shareholders, and clients. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Exciting things are happening this year at McMahon Associates, Inc. (#21...

In the AEC marketing world, proposals are usually treated as business as usual, but I believe we need to make them personal. I will be celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary on June 1, 2016, (I...

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

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

The holidays are a great time for fun and creative marketing pieces. Taking home second place in Zweig Group’s 2014 Marketing Excellence Awards in the Online Marketing Category, Clark Patterson Lee (Rochester, NY), a 220-person...

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...

  It seems like hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear from a reader with a question or two about organizational structure. I thought perhaps I should put together a list of some...

The folks at Deltek Systems, Inc. (Herndon, VA) have always claimed their market for software and consulting services was “project-driven businesses.” The truth is, the first time I heard that, I was skeptical. I wasn’t...

“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....

I’m bullish on this business. As a group of firms, we are doing better than ever. Revenue is up. Profits are up. And the projects are gratifying. It’s an ethical business. There are a lot...

From all we see and hear through our “catbird seat” at ZW&A, it seems to me that many of the professionals out there in our industry have forgotten what their role is in the building...

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

We finally received notice a few weeks ago that Zweig White & Associates was selected for the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest-growing privately held firms in the U.S. It’s something we are certainly...

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

Everybody who’s anybody in the A/E/P and environmental business will tell you that teamwork is critical to the success of their firms. But aside from the occasional hiring of a smooth-talking organizational psychologist to give...

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%...

One of the key determinants of any architecture, consulting engineering, or environmental consulting firm’s ability to get work at decent fees is how well “positioned” it is. Positioning means becoming established as an expert service...

Reflecting back on all of the A/E and environmental consulting firms that we came in contact with during 1992, one thought comes to mind. By and large, our industry’s management expertise has significantly improved. The...

After countless management consulting assignments involving turnarounds and strategic business planning for A/E and environmental consulting firms, it has only recently become clear to me why so many companies in this business don’t believe in...