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By Sara Parkman | The top 2025 Marketing Excellence Award winners share how strategy, authenticity, and collaboration drive real AEC marketing impact.

By Sara Parkman | Zweig Group’s 2025 Rising Stars share what inspires purpose, loyalty, and change in the AEC workplace.

By Phil Keeney | Government contractors must act now to secure CMMC compliance – or risk losing valuable federal contracts.

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

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Dunaway (Fort Worth, TX), a leading independent multi-discipline design firm in Texas.

By Mailena Urso | The path toward success is shaped by your courage, curiosity, and resilience.

By Sara Grayum | By collaborating closely, marketing and business development can craft stories that will steer your firm toward success.

By Duncan Robertson | When we intentionally build connections focused on authenticity, we create healthy, long-lasting relationships that drive a return-on-investment.

  "A lot of architects are rather introverted as well, so it takes some work to pull that out. And for me, my win is, did I get you out of your shell to share...

By Brandon Pinkerton | Integrity in leadership is sacrosanct and you must fight the urge to dilute your brand with cheap substitutes and compromised values.

By Kraig C. Kern | Corporate giving today should be about about creating meaningful opportunities for employees to make a difference while developing professionally.

By Janki DePalma | Extroverts can create meaningful connections by observing cues, balancing conversation, and actively listening.

By Sara Parkman | The 2024 Rising Stars shed light on how the next generation of AEC professionals is driving innovation and strengthening firm culture in a rapidly changing environment.

By Bob McGee | When employees actively promote themselves, their projects, and their expertise, they enhance their professional credibility and elevate your company’s reputation.

By Sarah R. Adams-Slominski | Team leaders can more effectively manage employees of all ages through strategic communication practices.

By Jeremy Clarke | Spot these devastating hires before they sabotage your team.

By Sara Parkman | Zweig Group’s 2024 Marketing Excellence Award winners share the strategies behind their winning campaigns and the impact on their firms’ success.

By Lauren Aguilar, Ph.D. | How to make all employees feel safer at work and more willing to build authentic connections.

By Kevin Brown | Five resume red flags to help AEC firm recruiters identify and set apart the best applicants from the rest.

By John Butt | This strategy empowers leaders to align their teams with organizational goals, provide feedback and recognition, and foster a culture of growth.

By Brent Schniers | Though there’s no roadmap for navigating grief, there are steps leaders can take to manage their own emotions and guide their organization through a tough time.

By Kraig Kern | The line between persuasive marketing and over-promising can be particularly fine and fraught with potential hazards.

By Jeremy Clarke | Job descriptions need radical simplification for authenticity, brevity, and impact in attracting top talent.

By Florencia Kratsman | Businesses must embrace sustainable interior design, prioritizing eco-friendly materials, longevity, and heritage to mitigate environmental impact and meet consumer demands.

Zweig Group announces its 2024 ElevateHER® cohort – a special group focused on developing and disseminating pragmatic solutions to the AEC industry’s recruitment and retention crisis.

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at MCE (Minneapolis, MN), one of the largest mechanical and electrical consulting engineering firms in the United States.

By Mark Zweig | Stand out by steering clear of cliches, as they make firms seem generic and may push clients away.

By Mark Zweig | Those who read your emails, letters, reports, social media posts, and resumes are all deciding how intelligent you are in large part from your writing.

By Leslie Jenkins | Instead of trying to impress potential clients, focus on emotional intelligence, really listening, and creating relationships built on common goals and trust.

Zweig Group advisors reflect on key insights from this year’s entrepreneurial event.

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.

Zweig Group’s 2023 Marketing Excellence Award winners share the strategies behind their winning campaigns and the impact on their firms’ success.

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 Reid Poling | As much as school can and does teach you, there are some lessons that can only be  learned “on the job.”

By Mark Zweig | When it comes to leadership, things are rarely black and white – but there are some things leaders just shouldn’t ever do.

By Mark Zweig | People who exhibit these qualities are likely to be well-thought of by their people and, more importantly, are able to achieve goals that others deemed impossible.

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 Mitch Fortner | To be effective over the long-term for an organization, our personal ambition must be grounded in mutual respect, collaborative teamwork, and integrity.

By David Harvey | When well-trained staff are equipped with the skills needed to do their jobs well, everyone will reap the benefits.

By Liisa Andreassen | Partner at Orcutt | Winslow (Phoenix, AZ), a design firm that aspires to positively disrupt architecture through innovation, experimentation, and invention.

By Liisa Andreassen | Partner at Method Architecture (Houston, TX), a full-service architecture firm that is uniquely ego-free in its commitment to a systematic, client-focused creative process.

By Peter Atherton | If we can establish trust, clearly communicate what winning looks like, and have a unifying mission and vision, we will never need to limit our success to any location.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | The words you use have the power to influence your audience: choose them carefully.

By Jason Cunningham | There are several proactive actions that can be implemented to mitigate IT security risks and keep your firm prepared.

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 Amanda Hartman, Hannah Rico & Jules Ackerson | Huge organizational milestones can be reached when you step away from your day-to-day operations to evaluate your firm’s past and plan for the future.

By Justin Smith | Calling the ideal plays will only work for you if your team understands the role that they each play in executing.

By Brian Nordmann | An actionable cybersecurity strategy can be established without significant financial investment, and with measurable results and rewards.

By Henry Liang | Mr. Miyagi was right: Balance is key. So, make sure both sides of your work-life scale are balanced.

By Ryan Suydam & Blake Godwin | This new award is the strongest way to differentiate your firm from the competition.

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

By Tom Godin | These fundamentals are an important part of your firm’s healthy diet.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Lynn Engineering, a windstorm, structural, and civil engineering firm specializing in residential, commercial, and infrastructure development projects on the Texas Gulf Coast.

By Dave Martin | To be an effective leader, you have to be authentic, acknowledge what you don’t know, and be willing to make mistakes.

By Peter Atherton | Most leaders haven’t taken the time to reflect on their reasons to grow and, once understood, articulate them to others.

By Phil Keil | This will inform your strategy development and ultimately allow you to build a legacy.

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

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Fishbeck (Grand Rapids, MI), a firm of engineers, scientists, architects, and constructors in the business of problem solving, inspiring results, and bringing ideas to life.

By Sara Parkman | Improved representation improves our ability to problem-solve, to be strategic with our strengths, and to think critically and comprehensively about topics.

President and CEO of Primera (Chicago, IL), a mid-size, full-service, woman-owned engineering design and consulting firm.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | If you don’t have a social media and online marketing strategy for your AEC firm, now is the time to get started.

By Chad Clinehens | Embrace this period of rapid evolution and push yourself even further out of your comfort zone.

President and CEO Ulteig (Fargo, ND), an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with locations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Colorado, Montana, and Iowa.

Owner and managing partner at Batture, LLC (New Orleans, LA), a firm dedicated to delivering outstanding results while creating powerful social and environmental change.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Despite the challenging environment, there are tremendous opportunities to be had.

President and CEO of Integrated CM Solutions (San Antonio, TX), a program/construction management firm that’s had more than $800 million worth of projects since 2015.

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

CEO of EDiS (Wilmington, DE), a fifth generation family-owned firm that has been thriving in the same region for more than a century.

Women must stop apologizing, speak up, and stand tall if they want to be successful leaders.

To maximize outputs and outcomes, leaders need to become great managers of managers and together create “great jobs.”

The World Health Organization just redefined burnout and classified it as an “Occupational Phenomenon.” So, what’s next?

President of CEI, a 20-year-old minority-owned engineering and contracting firm based in Miami Lakes, Florida.

There are plenty of tell-tale signs your AEC firm needs a set of third-party experts to help you achieve your goals.

Today’s AEC industry is experiencing significant growth, demanding that our leaders evolve and communicate far beyond the check-the-box approach. Have you ever asked yourself, “What the heck is real leadership?” This is the question that...

West Palm Beach, FL – David Wantman, PE proudly announces that he will be sharing the leadership of WGI with newly hired president, Gregory Sauter, PE and that he will step fully into the role...

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...

Sharing something personal about your history is a great way to connect with a selection panel – and, of course, to win work. Making a strong first impression and connecting with the selection panel are...

The highest performing teams across all organizations have identifiable characteristics – great role clarity, tough love, and solid performance standards. Just like the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, great teams do not happen...

Let’s try to tell our story so that we can go above and beyond the traditional marketing that AEC firms are known for. Think about some of the most iconic advertisements of the past. Many...

Surround yourself with people who will speak their truth, even when it’s hard. And then listen. You’ll see a positive impact on you and your team. There are a lot of compelling reasons to build...

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...

Talent and skill are essential, but keep a close eye on cultural fit if you want to avoid the mistake of bringing the wrong person on board. I was recently talking with a client who...

While having a fun workplace is great, the good times must be underpinned by hard work and an ever-present commitment to the firm’s mission. Let’s not kid ourselves. Our workplace cultures are about a lot...

If there’s gossip in the workplace, your firm will pay the price with warring teams and stalled dynamism. But there’s a three-point antidote to the problem. Work gossip. Some of us participate in it, and...

President and CEO of McAdams (Best Firm Civil #17 and Hot Firm #29 for 2017), a 180-person civil engineering firm based in Durham, North Carolina. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There are many challenges with growth,...

President and CEO of VHB (Best Firm Civil #23 and Hot Firm #46 for 2017), a 1,400-person firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Bottom line, when it’s the right move, and when...

You might think about ditching the fancy slideshow in favor of something much more engaging and authentic – the story of your firm and its people! We’ve all been there; the highly anticipated meeting with...

All of us have a story to tell, so don’t shy away from it in your professional life. It could be the key ingredient for your firm’s success. Everyone loves a good story. That’s why...

When marketing your firm, it’s great to be friendly and persuasive, but if you sell your brand for cheap, it’s a real turn off. I recently started watching a show called Black Mirror on Netflix....

CEO of Coffman Engineers (#62 Hot Firm for 2016), a 400-person virtual, multi-discipline firm with offices across the West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Outside members can act like guests at...

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...

There are four ways AEC project managers can shine in team interviews. Try them all and win more work. Juggler. Cat herder. Diplomat. They go by many names, but project managers have one of the...

Through enlightened business practices, young firm leaders are embracing a world of freedom, harmony, prosperity, and compassion. It’s energizing to be around young entrepreneurs with exciting ideas. My wife and I are honored to be...

If you want to groom the next generation of leaders, you’ll have to make sure your firm is changing with the times. I’m a millennial. Gasp! There, I said it. A lot has been made...

Firms like to talk about growth, but fear of risk, and even laziness, contribute to lackluster marketing and timid strategic plans. If asked to offer words that describe your firm, would you use ordinary, average,...

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...