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By Mark Zweig | Hiring your spouse can strengthen an AEC firm, but only when roles, boundaries, and accountability are clearly defined.

By Milly Sordo | Neurodiversity awareness can help AEC firms build more inclusive workplaces where all minds are empowered to succeed.

By Heather Applegate | Strong change management turns disruption into momentum by aligning leadership, reducing uncertainty, and helping people stay oriented through transition.

By Lauren Martin | A simple “time is of the essence” clause can transform routine schedule delays into costly legal and insurance risks.

By Mark Zweig | Firms that ignore AI will look slower, more expensive, and harder to work with.

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

By Stephen Parker & Mei-Ling Krabbe | The most successful organizations will treat adaptability, personalization, and inclusivity as organizing principles for workplace design.

By Michael Sanderson | The future of professional services depends less on hours logged and more on trust, ownership, and meaningful results.

By Janki DePalma | A manager’s guide to building a culture where recovery is respected, contribution is sustainable, and being seen doesn’t require shattering.

By Tom Godin | When the mind and body of a business move together, worry fades and real performance begins.

By Dan Schwartz | Successful M&A communication is achieved through strategy, storytelling, and staying human in the face of complexity.

By Anna Kendall | Effective internal communication plays a crucial role in shaping employee morale during times of significant change.

By Brandon Pinkerton | Power struggles are an inevitable part of leadership, so expect challengers and be ready to defend your seat at the table.

By Mark Zweig | It’s time to take some action inside your business; do these 10 things now to be ready for whatever lies ahead.

By Jeremy Clarke | The key to embracing growth without giving up what made your firm great in the first place.

By Shelby Harvey | Ignoring the elephant in the room won’t make it go away, but it might be what pushes your top talent to leave.

By Brad Thurman | Empathy, clear communication, and attentive listening are crucial in building trust and improving client relationships in the AEC industry.

By Sam Graves | Effective team management involves setting clear expectations, equipping and empowering members, and fostering engagement and evaluation.

By Matt Verderamo | Three simple but impactful strategies to shift your mindset from needing more to getting rest.

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

By Wesley Jones | Strategies for successfully managing work-life balance and reclaiming your personal life while continuing to grow in your career.

By Morgan Stinson | Reading books across a wide spectrum of topics can help you develop the skills needed to calmly and confidently tackle the challenges you face as a firm leader.

By Lauren Martin | These clauses represent a real and potentially significant exposure for AEC firms for which there’s no insurance protection.

By Javier Suarez | Participating in more tradeshows is not necessarily the best course of action, and you probably aren’t getting the best bang for your buck if this is your strategy.

By Kraig Kern | It is essential for companies to reevaluate their meeting culture and prioritize efficiency and effectiveness for long-term success.

By Janki DePalma | Recognizing this bias helps managers and company leaders create spaces where everyone can thrive. 

By Ezequiel Tovar | Transition planning takes time, and the results are gradual – but if you do it right, the rewards are endless.

By Keyan Zandy | It’s critical to take the time to develop your trust-building skills. You, your teams, and the projects you are all working on together will only benefit.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Waggoner (Jackson, MS), a civil engineering firm of planners, designers, and engineers with a passion for helping communities realize their potential.

By Jay Kennedy & Julie Thiel | Be thoughtful in how you approach and manage your emotions, and you will find success building and maintaining meaningful client relationships.

By Julia DeFrances | Giving back can be a valuable tool for attracting and retaining talent – and it gives employees a good reason to be proud of where they work.

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

By Kraig Kern | Real innovation is about a shift in perspective to progress forward, not the latest gadget or software.

By Keyan Zandy | It is up to us to do what we can to improve our employees’ mental and physical health, as well as our own.

By Liisa Andreassen | Founder of Trahan Architects, a global architecture firm that mobilizes artistry and innovation to develop thoughtful structures that enhance quality of life.

By Blake Calvert | Listen to employees, communicate strategically, embrace a growth mindset, and eliminate drama to help employees let go of negativity and thrive through change.

By Kevin Brown | Those companies that are resolute, agile, and creative will define the workplace rules of tomorrow, while the rest will be forced to follow or buckle beneath the pressure.

By Brian King | Instead, consider regular performance discussions and an annual strategy meeting to set, implement, and evaluate goals and initiatives.

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

By Jenny Phan | Get your technical professionals comfortable with sharing their stories and they’ll promote your firm, their good work, and their team.

By Keyan Zandy | Many firms have been slow to engage in conversations with their employees about mental health. It’s time to make a change.

By Keyan Zandy | The positive changes we’ve made will stay with us long after the days of the pandemic are over.

By Becky White | Being apart from one another tested the strength of our relationships, and we had to think creatively to meet the new challenges we were encountering.

By Patrick Schultz | Achieve resilient, sustainable operations while navigating an unprecedented global pandemic and addressing complex disruptions.

Positively impact your firm’s retention rates by turning abstract ideas into actionable goals.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Respond to your call to action, whatever it may be, and build a legacy that will leave your profession better than you found it.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Takeaways from a truly exceptional virtual discussion experience.

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.

Ownership transition can be an eight to 10 year process, so start early, educate yourself, define your goals, and keep an open dialogue with your employees.

If we want to be in position to effectively respond and even get ahead of the curve, we all need to know what’s likely to come next.

By Mark Zweig | No matter how you feel personally about anything happening in the country or world as a whole, it’s your job to do your job.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | We’re using videoconferencing more than ever, but constant communication isn’t the same as effective communication.

All of us in the AEC industry are being challenged by the disruption this virus is causing, but we got this. Solving problems is what we do.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Lessons learned from conversations with industry leaders about separation anxiety, empowerment, and calm confidence.

As Zweig Group’s director of ownership transition, Will Swearingen understands the emotional stakes at play when a firm founder decides it’s time to pass the torch.

“This was the fourth or fifth time since 1997 that Zweig Group has done one of these events coupled with a racing school. They always get me thinking.”

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

By Will Swearingen | The words ‘difficult’ and ‘uncomfortable’ are synonymous with ownership transition. If you try to execute one on your own, it might come out half-baked.

No generation owns the work ethic, but when it comes to motivation and anxiety, there’s a big difference between millennials and boomers. I recently read a report from Project: Time Off called, “The Work Martyr’s...

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

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

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....

But let’s just be clear – no one really enjoys working in a maddening environment. I was working with an engineering firm two weeks ago and we were discussing ways to improve operations. They had...

This year, All4 Inc., an environmental engineering firm in Kimberton, Pennsylvania, had clients go bankrupt and others stop work already in progress. Multidiscipline firm Smith, Seckman & Reid, Inc., in Nashville, Tennessee, had layoffs but...

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

Most of us heard it from our parents at some point in our childhood: “You can grow up to be anything you want, but be the best at it you can be.” It’s a good...

A funny thing happened to me the other day on the way to the office...... I pulled up to a stoplight. A few seconds later, another fellow pulled up in the lane next to me...

I just got back from the annual business planning meeting with the board of directors of a client of ours that underwent a significant turnaround in the last couple of years. They went through everything...