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By Chad Coldiron | In today’s AEC market, retention isn’t just about culture – it’s about whether employees can afford to stay. 

By Kyle Ahern | Employee survey data reveals the hidden drivers of culture, retention, and performance in AEC firms.

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

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

By Srividhya Viswanathan | By prioritizing leadership, trust, and accountability, organizations can build teams that not only achieve their goals but thrive together.

By Gerry Devine | Industry lines are blurring as AEC firms evolve from service providers into strategic partners guiding investment, risk, and long-term value.

By Mark Zweig | In the AEC business, recruiting isn’t just about finding people; it’s about becoming the kind of firm people want to join.

By Ricardo Jesus Maga Rojas | In today’s AEC talent market, belonging may matter more than pay, perks, or policies in keeping young professionals.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and co-founder of Peralte-Clark, LLC, a firm that specializes in managing, planning, designing, and implementing public and private infrastructure projects.

By Kyle Ahern | A closer look reveals hiring and retention pressures demanding smarter, people-focused strategies.

By Steve McAdams | Firms that scale successfully evolve their leadership approach, formalize operations, and stay grounded in culture.

By Matt Cooper | These firms often rely on few clients, multitasking staff, and undocumented processes, creating volatility, inefficiency, and growth challenges.

By Kristi Weierbach | Incentive plans for employees should align unique performance measures with organizational success to drive retention, engagement, and results.

By Kyle Ahern | The latest recruitment and retention data reveals shifting expectations, transparency, and tools reshaping AEC firms’ talent strategies.

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

By Mark Zweig | It is a basic human need to see one’s work go from start to finish, and leaders need to do more to empower their people with this perspective.

Zweig Group, the leading provider of management consulting, research, and education for the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, has released its 2025 Recruitment & Retention Report of AEC Firms, offering a comprehensive look at the...

By Lisa Lee | Outsourced accounting helps AEC firms boost efficiency, reduce risk, improve visibility, and scale financial operations strategically.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO and president of Drummond Carpenter, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business specializing in civil, environmental engineering, and applied research.

By Stuart McLendon | This strategy is becoming an essential tool for growth, innovation, and resilience, especially in AEC.

By Alan Lloyd | In a fast-paced AEC world, servant leadership empowers teams, boosts outcomes, and shapes a culture people want to join.

By Nam Douglass | Firms that critically consider how best to leverage this tool today are better positioned to win the projects of tomorrow.

By Steve McAdams | Lessons from M&A show that leadership, culture, and client diversity drive sustainable growth and firm value.

By Megan Valencia | Every employee plays a crucial role in recognizing and attracting top talent, shaping company culture, and ensuring long-term business success.

By Stuart McLendon | In uncertain waters, let strong financial leadership be your north star.

By Steve McAdams | A seasoned financial executive plays a pivotal role in enhancing profitability, growth, and market value.

By Mark Zweig | These misleading statements often stem from naivety and perpetuate harmful conventional wisdom.

By Carlo Lebron | Take the time to define your culture, engage your team, and make this a central part of your operational strategy – the rewards are well worth the effort.

By Duane Gaugler | It’s true that mentor relationships aren’t easy to find time for, however, the potential they offer is enormous.

  "25 years ago when I graduated the term design build, it wasn't unheard of, but it certainly wasn't something that we talked about." Dan Crist About the Guest: Dan Crist is the president of...

Randall Stevens is a long-time veteran in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, boasting over three decades of experience. He studied architecture but found his calling in software development, founding ArcVision in 1991 and...

By Lynn Bruns | Strategic investment in leadership development is crucial for accelerating business goals, increasing profitability, and improving recruitment and retention.

By Chad Coldiron | Takeaways from Zweig Group’s 2024 ElevateAEC Conference & Awards Gala.

By Sara Parkman | Compensation trends reveal critical strategies to boost employee retention and satisfaction.

By Amy Patel | Building trust through clear communication, effective management, and personal attention is crucial for successful large-scale project teams.

By Mark Zweig | Negative employees in AEC firms can undermine management, leading to declining morale, productivity, and company performance.

By Jeff Bornemiss | This investment enhances employee engagement and serves as a powerful tool for recruitment and retention.

By Will Swearingen | The latest data highlights key trends in AEC policies, emphasizing pay, remote work, and transparency for growth.

By David Doxtad & Andy Brandel | As your firm grows, this person ensures you will maintain your core competencies, values, and environment with your newly added team members.

By Kraig Kern | Shift your perspective to view your marketing team as a strategic asset that constructs the very pathways through which your business grows.

By Hanbury | One firm’s rebranding reflects its growth, commitment to thoughtful design, and emphasis on storytelling through a collaborative and evolving identity.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of TreanorHL (Lawrence, KS), a full-service architectural firm with a purpose of creating places and experiences that make people’s lives better.

The AEC industry’s comprehensive, data-based resource on financial performance, departments, challenges, methodology, and practices now available in Zweig Group’s online shop

"You really need to work on building your network and working your network because you never know what kind of doors are going to be open for you." - Josh Fowler About the Show Josh...

By Jeremy Clarke | Focus your firm’s retention strategy on offering meaningful benefits that are in alignment with core human needs.

By Victoria Verlezza | Supportive leaders who prioritize communication and psychological safety can foster a positive work environment where employees feel valued and motivated.

By Sara Karstetter | The employee-focused recruiting, retention, and compensation strategy.

By Liisa Andreassen | JQ, now IMEG, a team of professionals providing structural and civil engineering, geospatial and facility performance services within a diverse group of markets.

By Mark Zweig | Entrepreneurial firms adapt better to a changing environment, are better places to work, and build significant value over time that can be harvested.

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 Mark Zweig | A lack of willingness to confront these things honestly has caused way too much frustration and unhappiness in the individuals who work in our organizations.

By Kristin Kautz | AI is becoming a crucial component in reshaping the AEC industry, especially in the realm of marketing.

By Mark Zweig | Owning a firm that will be profitable and grow over time requires a longer term view and a willingness to invest in the people who generate the revenue.

By Sara Parkman | Competitive employee benefits play a critical role in addressing recruiting and retention challenges in AEC.

Zweig Group’s 2023 Best Firms To Work For Award winners share how they’re leading the charge in setting new standards for employee experience.

Zweig Group announces the release of its 2023 Policies, Procedures & Benefits Report of AEC Firms, which helps AEC leaders benchmark their firms in all areas related to benefits and compensation.

By Conrey Guy | A standardized onboarding process is critical for the overall success of any organization, but especially in our industry.

By Will Swearingen | How does your firm’s financial performance stack up against the rest of the AEC industry?

By Jeff Sober | If you want to keep people at your firm long-term, it’s time to rethink traditional approaches to preventing turnover.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Verdantas (Dublin, OH), an environmental, engineering, and technical consulting company with global perspective.

By Jennifer Haddad | If you can approach the situation with empathy, compassion, and an open mind, you can create a positive experience and leave the door open for future opportunities.

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal and chief engineer at Hayduk Engineering, a multidisciplinary consulting engineering firm specializing in civil and wastewater engineering.

By Kyle Ahern | Making sure you’re taking steps to ensure your employees have the best experience possible can go a long way.

By Johnny Smith | What characteristics of a job, firm, and industry act as predictors of voluntary turnover?

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 Liisa Andreassen | President and chairman of the board at McFarland Johnson, a national consultancy providing program management, planning, environmental, engineering, and construction phase services.

By Liisa Andreassen | Senior vice president of AFG Group, Inc., a woman-owned firm with 30 years of experience providing program, project, construction, and relocation management services.

By Mark Zweig | Four things you can do to build the kind of workplace over time that good people want to stay in.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Key points from this year’s ElevateHER Symposium and ElevateAEC Conference & Awards Gala.

By Amber Milot | Creating a recruiting culture and focusing on retention are business savvy strategies to help your organization continue to thrive in today’s job market.

By Danielle Eisenstock | Highlighting your commitment to career growth, flexible work options, and open communication will show staff your firm has an employee-first approach.

By Mark Zweig | Improving this will not only help you attract and keep good people, but it will also bring in new clients.

By Mark Zweig | Hiring often takes a lot of time and a real commitment to get the key people you want.

By Alexis Eades | You can work to improve retention by promoting a positive culture, giving employees autonomy and empowerment, and actively showing appreciation.

By Mike Nunley | We have a responsibility to take the lessons we learned from older generations and refine them to prepare a new generation for success.

By Alan Lloyd | With all the discussion about the “great resignation,” why isn’t anyone talking about the employees that aren’t jumping ship?

By Matt Hoying | Getting creative with perks that go beyond the office can help you retain and attract employees and improve your culture overall.

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.

By Kraig Kern | Your firm’s collective strengths can and should be applied to make your new employees’ onboarding a standout experience.

By Justin Smith | Training is an investment with big payoffs, so do your research when determining the best fit for your firm.

By Rob Hughes | Many design firms that adjusted their workplace to address COVID-19 face heightened exposures to employment-related litigation and related negative consequences.

  Research and advisory firm for the AEC industry, Zweig Group, announces their annual survey on recruitment and retention in the AEC industry is open for participation.  This succinct survey is open to HR managers/directors,...

By Will Anderson | Five ways that inflation could be eating away at your firm’s growth and what you can do about it.

By Chad Clinehens | Optimism among AEC firms is high as we look ahead to 2022 and beyond.

By Kevin Johns | These five financial considerations are just a few of the measures that successful AEC firms put in place to build long-term organizational health.

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 | Whether or not the AEC industry experiences a ‘great resignation,’ there are some things you should do to keep turnover low.

By Mark Zweig | You may be an architect or engineer and think you aren’t really motivated by money. But money is a scorecard in the game of business, and ‘winning’ is fun!

By Mark Hirschi | Mentoring remains the most effective mode of knowledge transfer from older professionals to younger generations.

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

By Matt Hoying | Young (or less experienced) engineers and designers may lack construction experience. Fast track their learning with these approaches.

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 Mark Zweig | Being retired from the day-to-day business for nearly three years gives you more time to think.

By Jon Parrish | Getting everyone to think and act like an owner will result in more of your people making day-to-day decisions with the best interest of the company in mind.

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

By Mark Zweig | Firm owners need to be thinking about and planning for the huge wave of business that’s coming just around the corner.

By Mark Zweig | Don’t underestimate the importance of getting everyone involved in the business planning process and then sharing that plan with all.

By Chad Coldiron | Over the last 12 months, firms have been forced to rapidly adjust how they approach many workplace strategies – including recruitment strategies.

By Mark Zweig | If you’re trying to buy or thinking about buying another company in this business, here are a few things that may be helpful to you.

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

By Mark Zweig | Answer these questions and many more, or you will, at best, be a decent copy of a firm or firms that do as well or better than you already do.

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

By Christina Zweig Niehues | In this year of upheaval and change, the most important component of any successful firm remains the same.

By Eduardo Smith | Company culture, employee engagement, and morale are often the differentiators between common and great companies.

By Mark Zweig | “Profound changes are coming to our industry. As is always the case when the external market makes huge shifts, those companies that can adapt will do well.”

Founding principal of Kudela & Weinheimer (Houston, TX), a landscape architecture firm that has produced beautiful, exceptionally built environments for more than 25 years.

President and CEO of Wallace Engineering (Tulsa, OK), a structural and civil engineering consulting firm that believes in being active citizens, in both our profession and communities.

In times like these, it is more important than ever to monitor your costs and develop an action plan to ensure your firm can weather the storm. There are so many fixed costs associated with...

President and CEO of BSI Engineering (Cincinnati, OH), a consulting and process design engineering firm that’s building on the past to design the future.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | The situation is changing quickly, but versatility and fast decision-making have become necessary.

“To maximize your chances for success, remember you are in the consulting business. Keep these points in mind as you guide the growth and development of your business.”

If you are within the leadership group of your company, there are times when you may need to purge your leadership team to move forward.

Implement these tips to decrease tension and drastically increase the utility of your feedback.

Charting a sustainable future requires a willingness to critically evaluate your firm and prepare for the year ahead.

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

Leaders of employee-owned firms must focus on people, transparency, and vision to achieve long-term success.

“I find that using some of these other ‘screens’ can actually lead to greater success in buying.”

“When directly confronted with a difficult or painful question and you aren’t honest with people – they’ll figure that out. And you can forget them ever trusting you again.”

“Square peg for a round hole? No thanks! My first preference is square pegs in square holes!”

Most AEC leaders are aware of the common causes of scope creep, but there are also some subtler internal causes to consider.

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...

When your best junior associate ‘unexpectedly’ leaves, the decision was probably in the works for a long time, you just never saw it coming.

If you want to run a successful firm, there are employees you just have to keep. But in other instances, turnover can be a good thing.

“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.”

As firms suffer from a shortage of experienced design and construction professionals, the industry finds itself in the middle of a talent war.

When it comes to delegation, you have to pick the right person for the right job, and set them up to succeed.

“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.”

By understanding the basics of performance-boosting behaviors, we can design a better approach to attract, develop, and retain top talent. Employee engagement is a powerful determinant of an organization’s success. Employee engagement is also central...

President of PES Structural Engineers (Best Firm #10 Structural for 2018), a 57-person firm based in Atlanta. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Leadership development,” Planer says, referring to his No. 1 responsibility. “We work hard to...

As an industry, we generally leave a lot of money on the table and drive up costs with our lack of effectiveness in management and training. When we think of improving, we often turn to...

CEO and founder of Sam Schwartz Consulting, LLC (Hot Firm #67 and Best Firm #49 Multidiscipline for 2018), a 130-person transportation planning firm based in New York City. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Ownership transitions, especially...

Non-creatives have to understand and respect what marketers do, or we run the risk of demotivating those who are critical to our success. A recent study by InSource reported that “Creative professionals are being asked...

Banish profit centers in small to midsize firms. Focus on your people by letting each do what each is best qualified to do. An engineering, architecture or planning professional services firm can be very successful...

Leaders of employee-friendly firms talk about how being a Best Firm affects marketing, recruiting, and team building. The Zweig Letter: How has being a Best Firm To Work For helped you recruit and retain top...

We have an expression in the management consulting ranks at Zweig Group. It is this: “The names and faces change but the cast of characters remains the same.” What that means is we keep seeing...

Fight the brain drain by reducing burnout, building resilience, and making sure employees are empowered and engaged. Most leaders of companies today recognize the importance of having engaged people at work. Yet research from the...

Zweig Group recently released the 2017 Recruitment & Retention Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms. The survey found that the average firm is spending a significant amount on new hires, even at...

Zweig Group recently released the 2017 Recruitment & Retention Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms. The survey found that the average firm is spending a significant amount on new hires, even at...

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...

So you’re thinking about acquiring an A/E firm? You’ve got a lot of questions to ask yourself, and you need to have honest answers. In a recent article, I wrote about how important it was...

Growth is all but assured in a healthy market, but if a firm doesn’t watch out, it can grow helter-skelter to the point of extinction. Many firms are experiencing growth during this post-recession period and...

Company leaders play an important role in making sure their people are aligned, capable, and engaged – a recipe for success. Are your employees fulfilled? If not, it may be costing you a bundle. While...

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

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...

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...

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

Zweig Group’s 2016 Financial Performance Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms, released on August 19, 2016, is a comprehensive study of industry firms with nearly 100 financial ratios, indicators, and statistics. The...

In a recent article, I wrote about how important it was to prepare your firm for sale even if you are not thinking about an external ownership transition. You can read that article here. This...

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...

There’s a lot to evaluate, and measures can be severe, but if fiefdoms form, or if turnover is high, it’s time to take action. Are you frustrated because some of your teams, groups or offices...

End-of-year bonuses and evaluations are obsolete. Try monthly or quarterly perks for your staff. It's clear to me that A/E firms are all in a huge rut when it comes to how they pay their...

FAYETTEVILLE, AR (November 6, 2015) – Zweig Group, which publishes more than a dozen comprehensive surveys about the A/E/P and environmental consulting industries each year, is proud to announce the launch of its first Recruitment...

A/E/P and environmental firms have tons to juggle, but ensuring that your company is finding the best candidates to fill openings should top the list. Recruitment is important to the health of a company, and,...

Are you getting all you need from HR today? Three suggestions from Mark Zweig. Human resources management often gets a bad rap. That isn’t without cause. In my experience, too many HR managers forget whose...

Mark Zweig lays out the steps you must take to create a successful organization. Also, be a real leader. One of the most important jobs any leader has is that of building their team. Yet...

Mark Zweig offers two examples of divisive attitudes, and how to fix them. It kills me how some people working in our client companies forget that they are all working for one firm. These people...

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 –...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 998 Originally published 3/11/2013 Three lessons the design industry can learn from a successful auto dealership. I feel fortunate to be a consultant...

By Jeremy Clarke Getting top talent is still a critical priority… even in this economic environment. How so? Well, because business needs are still evolving, and employee turnover is still an unavoidable reality. All of...

By Mark Zweig CEO, ZweigWhite We’ve had a rough three years. And although there have been some bright spots and encouraging moments, it could get a whole lot worse. I read one gloom and doom...

Press Release: March 7, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (March 7, 2011) — ZweigWhite has partnered with American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) to produce and publish a co-branded version of the 2011 Financial Performance Survey of...

By Mark C. Zweig It’s funny how firms in our business— many of which have been around for 20, 30, 40 or more years— can get to a certain level and then start to let...

As many firms in our industry are still reeling from a tough market for what they do, it is becoming almost blasphemous to suggest that they get back to a growth philosophy. It’s not that...

No movie was better than “Wall Street” at capturing the spirit of the go-go 80s. Michael Douglas played the role of Gordon Gekko, a charismatic “rock star” investment banker who gave a speech on the...

NOW, not later, is the time to take a hard look at your strategic plan for improved performance. The new year is just around the corner. The environment is volatile. It’s hard to see what’s...

The Zweig Letter Hot Firm List for 2008 is chock-full of success stories. Many are incredibly inspirational and serve as great examples of planning, execution, and character. Some Hot Firms have even been on the...

When it comes to mergers and acquisitions of A/E and environmental firms, there’s so much misinformation out there. Common misconceptions abound, such as: You can’t sell a firm that isn’t profitable. Not true. Nearly every...

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

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—...

Turnover is costly. All of the human resources experts can tell you that— some could even give you the real cost of turnover for any specific position to the penny if you wanted it! Staff...

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

Human resources management has long been criticized and undervalued by top management in A/E/P and environmental firms. Evidence of this fact is pay. According to ZweigWhite’s 2007-2008 Management Compensation Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning &...

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...

If you examine any business— a restaurant, a car dealership, or an A/E/P/environmental firm— they all seem to benefit from active leadership. Likewise, they all tend to suffer from a lack of it. I would...

There’s an old expression frequently heard around these parts— “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” My experience is this one really applies to the people who work in A/E/P and environmental firms. Those who ask...

Before sitting down last week for a meeting with one of our PhD students— a German fellow named Sven— we both agreed that we’d like some coffee first. I asked Sven if he wanted to...

Yesterday was one of those perfect days. It was so nice that I almost felt guilty about it. I really should have been at my office getting ready for the next semester or working on...

You’ll hear it at any gathering of A/E/P and environmental consulting firm owners— hiring is at the top of the list of challenges they’re facing as we head into 2006. That said, there’s still too...

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....

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...

I’m getting ready to start teaching a course at The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville this spring semester. It will be a class on entrepreneurship— more specifically,...

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,...

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...

I’ve written before in The Zweig Letter about the need for passion. Anyone who is going to be truly successful in an A/E or environmental firm has to have it. You have to LOVE what...

As anyone who’s read any business books in the last decade can tell you, Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” is a classic that will be talked about for years to come. In the book, Collins...

Turning around an A/E or environmental company that is not doing as well as it should be doing takes an artful leader (or bunch of leaders). If you take a closer look at these transformations,...

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...

You know what? Turnover is not always so bad. Sometimes people just don’t keep up with the firm. There are all kinds of reasons for it. Maybe they got tired. Maybe they got turned off....

I’m seeing a lot of firms following a program of short-term profit-maximization right now. It’s easy to understand. Industry profits are down as the results from our 2002 Financial Performance Survey of A/E/P & Environmental...

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...

It’s what we’re all looking for: young people that we can move up. And if we aren’t, we’re fools. Why would we hire someone, especially a younger person, who we don’t think has any potential...

It’s becoming more apparent to me every day that human resources management as we know it needs a total overhaul. Many human resources experts (staff and consultants) are perpetuating bad advice, and the typical A/E/P...

Everyone says they’re interested in it, and there are all kinds of articles out there on the subject. How to attract and keep an outstanding workforce is clearly on the minds of many principals and...

The amount of BS that exists out there on management and marketing for firms in our business is beyond belief. Just check out the program from the most recent American Institute of Architects (AIA) (Washington,...

My 80 year-old parents just came up from Kirkwood, Missouri, for a short visit. As is always the case, my dad and I eventually got around to talking about business. I don’t know anyone who...

“What goes around comes around.” “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” “You reap what you sow.” “To get love, you need to give love.” These adages (and many more) all reinforce the thinking...

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...

Like the dinosaurs, some A/E/P and environmental firms are destined for extinction. These companies seem to be blindly stumbling down a path of self-destruction. But in this hot economy, their owners may be too content...

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...

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,...

One thing I know about smart people—they hate being treated like children. It’s insulting and demeaning. Unfortunately, we routinely see owners and managers of A/E/P and environmental firms who do just that to their employees....

Most of us will never get rich quick. We won’t have a single breakthrough discovery that makes us millions. We won’t win the lottery. We won’t have a rich aunt who leaves us her art...

We’ve talked about it for decades, but the labor shortage in the A/E/P and environmental industries is finally here. Our clients are telling us that it’s hard to hire just about anyone. Every job takes...

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....

Having a hard time keeping your staff? Are your new graduates working a year or two and then moving on? Are your mid-level folks, just below principal, moving on before you move them up? If...

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...

One of the most interesting products we have put together is our new Fast-Growth Firm Survey, just released a couple weeks ago. It’s just fascinating when you look at the comparisons between A/E/P and environmental...

He’s a really nice person, a “people person.” He’s someone who deeply cares about other people. He’s a really good listener. He’s someone the employees will confide in. Does this sound like the ideal human...

With the tight market labor, Gen-X employee turnover, inefficiency from internal competition, and record backlogs of project work to be completed, it may be time to take a hard look at your compensation policies and...

I have found myself saying more than once recently that just about every firm (would you believe 80-90%+?) is looking for someone to work in their marketing area. Whether it’s a marketing manager, marketing director,...

If you consider the truly successful people you know who own and manage A/E/P or environmental firms, I think you’ll find that they think differently from everybody else. They are irreverent. They defy logic. They...

The longer I have been involved with management of A/E/P and environmental firms the more convinced I am that the whole key to success lies in thinking long term. The sooner one comes to this...

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...

I think I know something about what it takes to make a firm grow. Three times in the last few weeks, I’ve conducted our new, 1½-day seminar, “Managing a Growing Firm.” I attended the “Inc....

The longer I am involved with this industry the more aware I am of how critical the collective and individual morale of a firm’s employees is to its continued ability to function successfully. Let’s face...

Although I sometimes wish I were more clever or entertaining than I am, writing about what makes A/E/P or environmental firms more successful is what you pay me to do. Occasionally I think I sound...

I spend more of my billable time helping A/E/P and environmental consulting firms with their business planning than anything else. Most firm owners want to do more with their businesses, to be more successful. But...

In spite of my repeated attempts to educate our readers about some of the crazy things they are doing, it takes some people a long time to catch on. Here are few examples of what...

Ask any president, CEO, managing principal, or managing partner if they really care about their A/E/P or environmental consulting firm, and they’d probably guffaw and come back with some sarcastic comment that might make you...

The long anticipated, talked about, and dreaded shortage of qualified people is here. Ask principals in most firms, and they will tell you that it’s very difficult right now to find staff— particularly engineers, geologists,...

We’ve all experienced the joy of doing business with a company that acts as if their people like serving you. It really is a great feeling. Most of the time, it happens with businesses like...

Every A/E/P and environmental firm I’ve encountered that has survived over the long haul has periodically made a push to improve its profitability. All the growth in the world won’t do you any good if...

For most A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, working with a bank is a necessary part of being in business. Very few companies can get by without some sort of credit line to finance receivables or...

I visited one of my favorite client companies the other day. It’s a mid- to large-sized consulting engineering firm that has been around a while. The principals are entrepreneurial. The staff is pretty good, too,...

While 1994 was a truly great year for most architecture and engineering firms, and even for some environmental consulting firms, there were still firms in our industry that lost money. And it’s not unusual for...

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...

When Sharon T., a successful entrepreneur and owner of three European auto dealerships finally found the location of Land Design Associates Three’s (LDA3) office building one sweltering Tuesday afternoon and pulled her Volvo into the...

Although I’ve been trying to preach the gospel for years now, most principals of A/E/P and environmental consulting firms still do not understand what human resources management is all about. First, there’s the way so...