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By Mark Zweig | Work/life balance sounds appealing, but real careers and real lives are built through integration.

By Matt Cooper | Most AEC firms stall at key growth stages where outdated people, processes, and technology can no longer support scale.

By Sara Parkman | Rising Stars reveal what today’s young AEC leaders truly value in their firms.

“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 Mark Zweig | Better project management isn’t about new systems, it’s about disciplined leadership, clear decisions, and relentless execution of fundamentals.

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

By Chad Coldiron | The ability to adapt rather than resist is what separates the firms that thrive from the ones that fade.

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 Kraig Kern | When the engine stalls, take the pause to reset, refocus, and get ready for what comes next.

By Mark Zweig | In a world of constant distraction, true effectiveness comes from knowing your priorities and having the discipline to follow them.

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

By Kyle Ahern | Recent survey data reveals a surprising dip in satisfaction among mid-career professionals.

By Lynn Bruns | If we want to create workplaces where people thrive, innovate, and stay, we must go beyond managing to metrics.

By Michael Makris | Early to mid-career professionals can overcome burnout and imposter syndrome with support from leadership, mentorship, and proactive career engagement.

By Tom Mesk | Prioritizing personal well-being and balance enhances workplace culture, productivity, and presence while preventing burnout and endless to-do list cycles.

By John Butt | The transition from being an individual contributor to a people leader is a significant milestone in a professional’s career – but it can also come with many challenges.

By Kyle Ahern | The Best Firms To Work For survey provides a comprehensive view of the organizational climate across the industry, highlighting achievements and areas for growth.

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

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

By Rolf Armstrong | This exercise empowers employees and provides clear direction, allowing leadership to let go and focus on success during periods of growth.

By Dan Houf | Nothing prepares you for the challenges of managing a firm like putting your feet to the fire and learning from everyday experiences.

By Kyle Ahern | Best Firms invest in an employee-centric culture, organizational efficiency, and leadership development.

By Janki DePalma | When you notice feelings of resentment, take a moment to explore what that warning sign is trying to tell you before it escalates into something more.

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

By Adam Bugielski | Burnout is a serious condition that can lead to decreased job satisfaction, productivity, and overall well-being – but there are steps you can take to prevent it.

By Janki DePalma | It’s hard to shake off the feeling of being lazy, but it’s critical that we redefine our work-rest balance to enhance well-being and productivity.

By Alexis Eades | Put your interns to work and gain long-term positive benefits for yourself, your firm, and the young people who may one day be your employees.

By Peter Atherton | These shifts have fundamentally changed the way we must lead and develop our teams and organizations if we want to sustainably grow and prosper in this new era.

By Chad Coldiron | AEC firms must offer variety, identify employee interests, and create a positive work environment to retain top talent.

By Todd Perry | Be wary of spreading yourself and your services too thin; your team’s productivity and your firm's profits could begin to suffer.

By Melanie Harris | Instead of making predictions about the future of work, take part in actively shaping it.

By Ezequiel Tovar | These continuing education opportunities offers valuable insight into what makes successful AEC firms stand out from the rest.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | This group will require more flexibility, autonomy, and learning opportunities in order to stay engaged and motivated. 

By Malory Atkinson | Challenge your marketing team to think beyond proposals and begin to work to strategically impact the entire client experience.

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

By Christina Zweig Niehues | AEC professionals have a choice about where they live and work, so what makes them choose their workplace?

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 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 Andy Chavez | Actionable solutions for owners and employees alike to promote the longevity of high performers in today’s workplace.

Leading advisory and publishing firm for the AEC industry, Zweig Group, has opened registrations for an exclusive, in-person, leadership roundtable. This event will be held at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, Texas, on June 23-24,...

By Alexis Eades | The consequences of burnout can be detrimental, so give your mental health the care it deserves.

By Peter Atherton | A “lack of time” can no longer be an excuse for not doing what needs to be done or not investing in what needs to be invested in.

By Lindsay Young | Recruiting and marketing play a role in growing your firm, and it’s more important now than ever to make sure they are working together.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | We’re about to be short on leaders in AEC industry firms. It’s time to act now before it’s too late.

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

By Kraig Kern | Too much of a good thing can lead to a crisis for you and your staff and dissatisfaction for your clients.

By Mark Zweig | This isn’t easy, but it will ultimately make you more successful – not just as a business leader, but in life itself!

By Phil Keil | There is a bridge to opportunity that can lead us to a landscape where the change we seek is possible.

By Chad Clinehens | Use this data to inform your firm’s strategy and keep employee sentiment high.

By PeteR Atherton | Most of us have been taught to believe in projects and profits, but do we also believe in people and purpose?

By Mike Nunley | The pandemic highlighted the importance of workday social interaction, protecting key technical staff from burnout, and using technology to engage with clients.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | It’s time to reevaluate every penny of our cost structures and ensure that our investments are going to our workforce.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | This year’s cohort has picked up where last year’s group left off – taking on creative ideas to solve both historic and emerging challenges.

By Eddie Wade | Burnout is blazing through workplaces at a rapid pace and negatively impacting productivity, morale, and retention.

By Keyan Zandy | There are a lot of heroes in our companies, but some are less noticeable. Their successes are quieter and less dramatic, but no less valuable.

By Peter Atherton | Playing to win requires a real investment in organizational redesign, and the creation of both a vision and a culture that’s worth the work.

By Julie Benezet | People have adapted to new ways of working and living, and in the process discovered new ways of thinking.

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 | A lack of speed is a big problem for too many A/E firms. You all really need to pick up the pace!

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 Jamie Claire Kiser | The decisions firms make today will determine the talent available for the next professional generation.

By Talin Espinoza | Now that we’ve been working from home for a year, let’s unpack the pros and cons of our new lifestyle.

By Mark Zweig | Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are still doing what you want to do every day. Maybe now is the time to get really serious about your transition.

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 Chad Coldiron | With remote work burnout setting in for many, here are some ideas to take care of your people now and for the foreseeable future.

By Mark Zweig | These six traits are most likely to lead to success and are absolute “musts” for whomever is the CEO of the firm.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Celebrate the present, and focus on extreme flexibility and radical empathy going forward.

Taking a break and letting your mind wander can bring a fresh perspective and the extra boost you need to make it through the day a happier, healthier you.

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.

Vatsal Shah, VP and principal engineer with Mott MacDonald, talks about the challenges that his firm and so many other design firms are dealing with during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Burnout prevention is the key to healthy, growing, and resilient organizations, especially now.

A well-designed sabbatical program can combat burnout and disengagement, ensuring your organization’s long-term success.

It can lay the foundation for a positive relationship with bosses, subordinates, and co-workers when the time comes to go the extra mile.

President and CEO of ARM Group (Hershey, PA), a science and engineering consulting firm where the entrepreneurial spirit thrives.

Winning today is about serving others and providing value. Both are good. They always were, and always will be.

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

Why is work today so unfulfilling and how can we change that? Let’s set our sights on having an impact and figure out a way to get there.

No one wants just a job, and no one wants to live in “quiet desperation.” As leaders, we can help employees sidestep burnout.

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

Your peoples’ top priority is development. If you want to keep them, you need to identify the ideal learning and development strategy for you and your firm.

Do you want to survive the next year, the next recession, and the ongoing reset of the workplace, the marketplace, and the recruiting space?

Do you want to survive the next year, the next recession, and the ongoing reset of the workplace, the marketplace, and the recruiting space?

Do you want to survive the next year, the next recession, and the ongoing reset of the workplace, the marketplace, and the recruiting space?

Being cautious and reasonable about your growth plans is a smarter move than filling seats just for the sake of beefing up the org chart.

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

President and CEO of LACO (Best Firm Multi-discipline #46 for 2018), a California firm with a famously branded shirt.

“Why do people lose interest in their own businesses and, perhaps more importantly, what can you do to keep this from happening?”

While management plays an obvious role in this process, employees must also do their part by knowing their roles and doing their jobs.

Strong emotional intelligence, empathy, and the ability and capacity to engage the ‘whole person’ move teams and projects forward.

A firm leader must break out of the deadline cycle and make a meaningful connection with employees. If not, performance will (predictably) suffer. Most of what we do today as leaders is not leadership. In...

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...

We all know meetings are a necessary evil, but do we have to let them wreck our productivity? Did you know that a typical American professional attends more than 60 meetings per month? That is...

With more competition, more intensive procurement, higher costs, and increasingly lower fees, firm leaders must leverage the power of mission. We have a mission as an organization. It is why we exist. The best ones...

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...

President and CEO of Larson Design Group (Best Firm #5 Geotechnical and Best Firm # 29 Multi-discipline for 2017), a 300-person firm based in Williamsport, PA. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “One person alone can’t make...

Co-founder, president, and CEO of WSB (Hot Firm #34 for 2018), a 475-person full-service consulting and design firm based in Minneapolis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The best PMs create their own brand, supporters, and clients,”...

CEO of FRCH, a Nelson Company (Hot Firm #41 for 2016), a global design firm based in Cincinnati. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Everyone has access to the company’s financial information,” Tippmann says. “I believe this...

Founder and CEO of GATE (Hot Firm #35 for 2017), a 300-plus person oil and gas engineering consulting company based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “When clients/friends see what we post and comment to...

CEO of Apex Companies, LLC (Hot Firm #41 for 2017), a 700-person environmental engineering firm based in Rockville, Maryland. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There is nothing that drives value creation for an organization more than...

President, CEO, and chairman of the board for T&M Associates (Hot Firm #73 for 2016), a 350-person engineering firm based in Middletown, New Jersey. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Gary Dahms, PE, PP, CME, has been...

This week, Randy Wilburn spoke with Peter C. Atherton, PE, president and founder of Actions Prove, LLC. Peter is a successful professional engineer with more than 25 years of experience in public infrastructure projects. Peter...

Founder and president of Gunda Corporation (#32 Hot Firm for 2017), a 60-person engineering consulting firm based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I’m not a big fan of utilization rates,” Gunda says. “I believe...

President and CEO of BSB Design (#87 Hot Firm for 2017), a 180-person architectural design and development firm based in Des Moines, Iowa. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “My advice is to get on it!” says...

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...

We work a lot of hours and handle a lot of stress, so it’s important to take charge of life, both in and out of the office. How many hours do you work each week?...

Press Release: June 16, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 16, 2011) – Social media, fierce competition for the same jobs, clients who expect more value, and young creativity all are pushing the evolution of marketing to...

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...

I am not proud of my five airline frequent flyer program gold cards. All that means is that I spend too darn much time in the air, when I’d much rather be someplace else. But...