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By Mark Zweig | Great planning forces hard choices, clear accountability, and alignment across the entire firm.

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

By Michael Makris & Laura Terrebonne | When promotions become the goal, firms miss the real work of building leaders, influence, and long-term engagement.

By Mark Zweig | For AEC firm owners and top managers who say they care about value but keep acting like they don’t.

By Matt Cooper | Repeat clients keep AEC firms stable, but winning new work is what determines long-term growth and resilience.

By Scott Butcher | Most AEC strategic plans fail not from bad ideas, but from misalignment, weak accountability, ignored culture, and lack of execution discipline.

By Duncan Robertson | Motivational leadership drives loyalty, ownership, and growth by connecting people’s individual goals to the firm’s larger purpose and vision.

By Lindsay Young | Firms that invest in marketing consistently drive growth, credibility, and long-term success.

By Mercedez Thompson | Performance reviews become powerful when they shift from box-checking to growth, clarity, and genuine investment in people’s long-term success.

By Robert Jones | The DOT’s new rule ends automatic DBE presumptions, requiring individualized proof of disadvantage and immediate recertification for all firms.

By Duncan Robertson | Being able to turn challenges into lasting opportunities requires sacrifice, strategic risk, and strong teams.

By Jeff Adams | Maximizing AEC M&A potential requires proactive financial planning, risk management, and trusted advisors to secure lasting success beyond the deal.

By Tom Godin | Innovation in AEC must create measurable value for owners through smarter, more sustainable solutions.

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

By Mark Zweig | A business plan only works if leadership builds accountability, relationships, and follow-through into daily operations and culture.

By Lindsay Young | Continuous investment ensures that when the market eventually slows down, your firm remains resilient and well-positioned.

By Matt Verderamo | These four  steps will earn your business a steady backlog, empowering you to chase your strategic goals.

By Mark Zweig | There is a big difference between a goal or target, and a commitment or mandate; make sure you don’t confuse the two.

By Ashley Heinnickel | Set yourself up for success, stay focused, and communicate well in order to sustain momentum in strategic plan implementation.

Stambaugh Ness (SN) and Zweig Group, two leading business and consulting services firms serving the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, are excited to announce a strategic partnership designed to elevate and expand the service...

By Mike Danko | Building trust is not only good business practice but essential for the long-term growth and success of your firm.

By Will Swearingen | A well-thought-out, proactive plan is essential for ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of your firm.

By Mark Zweig | These qualities will be essential for entrepreneurial leaders in the AEC business to have in the coming months and years ahead.

By Sarah R. Adams-Slominski | Step back and check in on how your employees are doing, learn what they care about, and discover what helps them stay engaged in their work.

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

By Lindsay Young | AEC firms should prioritize a clear marketing and business development plan to avoid distractions and strategically pursue profitable, aligned clients and markets.

By Mark Zweig | Don’t turn yours into a joke by getting the wrong help and taking the wrong direction with revising your strategic plan.

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

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Pierce Engineers, Inc. (Milwaukee, WI), a structural engineering firm based in the Midwest, working with clients across the nation.

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

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 Alicia Kamischke | This is a versatile segment of your organization that should be tailored to best fit your company structure, strengths, weaknesses, goals, and needs.

By Brad Thurman | To attract and motivate the best team, you need to be able to articulate your vision and the steps you’re taking to get there.

By Mark Zweig | Are your expectations for your people high enough, or are you letting everyone off the hook?

By Lalitha Benjaram | This report allows firms to highlight their responsible business practices, community and sustainability commitments, and social innovations.

By Luke Carothers | Zweig Group experts share their insights on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by small, entrepreneurial AEC firms.

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 Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Kaas Wilson Architects (Bloomington, MN), an architecture and interior design firm specializing in all types of multi-family housing.

By Mark Zweig | Some of the ways entrepreneurial small firm owners create value and differentiate themselves.

By Lindsay Young | It’s never too late for firm leaders to set strategic goals and start investing in their companies.

By Mallory Lindgren | Improve your ability to solve complex problems and better support your colleagues and clients.

By Katherine Nanowski | Understanding and participating in government affairs can play a valuable role in a company’s business development process.

By Tom Godin | Making utilization a target in your firm could result in some undesirable behaviors.

By Laura Nick | Four steps for building a strategic plan that supports a people-centric, talent-attracting culture.

By Greg Sepeda | If you can clear out the unnecessary underbrush, you will benefit from a staff that finally can breathe, see new paths, and move your firm forward.

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

By Travis White | Effective corporate strategy requires defining a direction, fostering collaboration, and leveraging strengths for diversification.

By Eduardo Smith | Whether you’re running a race or running a business, put these five tips into practice and you may be surprised at how far they can take you.

By Shannon Koop | A well-developed business plan gives insight into growth potential, possible disruption, and resource constraints.

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 Stewart Haney | This tool helps businesses become more focused, disciplined, and accountable, which ultimately leads to improved performance and profitability.

By Joseph Losaria | A happy team is more productive and engaged, so make sure happiness isn’t just a personal goal but a business goal, as well.

By John Watkins | Great partnership between groups inside and outside the firm don’t just happen on their own.

By Somshekhar Kundral | Developing effective problem-framing skills can help your people think outside the box, challenge assumptions, and find innovative solutions.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Michael Graves Architecture, an innovative architecture and design company that provide services around the world for clients in multiple industries.

By Mark Zweig | Don’t forget that the real purpose of this exercise is to have something meaningful that everyone in the business can get behind.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Sunrise Engineering (Fillmore, UT), a full-service professional engineering and consulting firm that has been providing its services since 1978.

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 Dathan Gaskill | A chief financial officer provides critical financial leadership, insight, and guidance to your firm.

By Lindsay Young | Investing in marketing helps you grow, recruit employees, and gets you the projects you want to work on.

By Eric Wilson | With the right set of values and organizational alignment, you may find yourself in a positive feedback loop where shared principles guide you toward collective goals.

By Will Swearingen | When looking to sell your firm, failing to prepare could result in you missing great opportunities when they’re right in front of you.

By Mark Zweig | You need to make a profit to stay in business, but focusing on growth makes that more likely to happen, not less likely.

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 Liisa Andreassen | President and founder of ThinkForm Architects (Hopewell, NJ), a service-disabled veteran owned architecture and interior design firm specializing in “total environments.”

Zweig Group represented Bennett Engineering Services in its merger with Y&C Transportation Consultants.

By Tom Godin | If you have goals you want to achieve in the new year, start taking action and building habits today.

James Garrett Jr., an award-winning architect from St. Paul, Minnesota, has been pushing the needle forward in the design industry for more than two decades. In this episode, he discusses the benefits of having a business...

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Prairie Engineers, P.C. (Columbia, IL), a firm made up of engineers, surveyors, and scientists focused on solving problems for public and private clients.

By Justin Smith | Committing to this will make your firm safer, more resistant to adversity, and change cashflow and profit for the better.

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 Mark Zweig | If you want to be an effective leader, you must help others, build trust, and set the best example every day.

By Mark Zweig | If you want your business to be a multi-generational enterprise, you need to recognize when it’s time to step aside and pass the reins to your successor.

Zweig Group's executive search team has successfully placed Brian Myller with its client ADEC Innovations as president of its global Professional Services businesses.

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 Phil Keil | Strategic planning is an incredibly deep and nuanced practice that every firm needs to consider.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of GAI Consultants, an employee-owned planning, engineering, and environmental consulting firm that provides local expertise to worldwide clients.

By Lindsay Young | Best practices for AEC firms will continue to evolve, but firms that take steps to innovate will be the ones that succeed.

By Liisa Andreassen | CFO of Studio+ (Fort Myers, FL), an architecture and interior design firm focused on design solutions that transform lives.

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

By Andrew Schwarz | Achieve greater business success and improve employee work satisfaction by actively working toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive company.

By Mark Zweig | You can’t make people do what you want, so you must get your people to realize you’re all on the same team.

By Russell Moorehead | Tips to help you get more comfortable with meeting people, building relationships, and winning work.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Hafer (Evansville, IN), a firm that has created environments that impact people’s lives with fun, thoughtful. and inspirational design since 1978.

We sit down with Architect and Digital Strategist Sara Kolata on this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast. Sara is a part of the new breed of architects that has decided that the old way...

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

By Mark Zweig | Hiring people who fit in and don’t cause problems is hardly the way to be innovative and really push your business forward.

By Mark Zweig | Only a small number of people really get the idea that building a business is not a sprint – it’s an endurance race. It is all about who can last the...

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Firms need to devote resources toward business development and ensuring a steady stream of work for the future.

By Mark Zweig | Seeing the firm you started or used to run be successful when you’re gone is one of the greatest accomplishments you can hope for.

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 Phil Keil | Systems, value creation, simplicity, and granting authority to the most local level.

By Mark Zweig | An enduring firm will be worth much more – through an internal or external sale – than one where some of these issues are not addressed.

By Jane Lawler Smith | Channel your inner toddler and question everything about your marketing plan to uncover what still does or doesn’t work for you, your firm, and your goals.

By Seth Carlton | This requires more than just a clever slogan. It is a call to be focused, driven, and dedicated to a common goal.

By Mark Zweig | Remote workers are not going to go away as soon as this pandemic is over. Make sure they still feel connected to your firm.

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 Brian Rice | These three core strategic planning areas have unique opportunities for value depending largely on the culture of your organization.

By Anne Melia & Nicolle Scheller | This addition allows technical staff to focus on their core functions and allows for a marketing process that is more collaborative, streamlined, and consistent.

By Mercedez Thompson | Create client-focused cover letters that build trust, provide clear client benefits, and connect to your client’s broader goals or vision.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Lawrence Group (St. Louis, MO), an integrated design, development, and construction firm using the power of people with great ideas to bring clients’ dreams to life.

3-Tier Alaska and Travis/Peterson Environmental Consulting have joined forces effective February 1, 2021. This merger expands and deepens their civil, environmental, and land surveying services across Alaska. Zweig Group, a full-service AEC management advisory firm,...

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

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

Zweig Group and OnStrategy Announce Industry Partnership to Offer OnStrategy’s Strategy Management Software and Process Management Best-Practices to the AEC Industry Fayetteville, Arkansas and Reno, Nevada (September 9, 2020) – Zweig Group, a leading provider...

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

By Eduardo Smith | It’s more important than ever to stay close to our clients, to understand their changing needs, and to help them achieve their business goals.

Uncertainty in the marketplace will be with us as we move forward, but you can be successful if you adjust your game plan and expectations.

To get the most return on your marketing investment dollars, leaders need to help build dynamic, collaborative relationships between principals and marketing teams.

Most of these ideas take very little money – just your time. Invest in yourself and your business and you’ll be stronger and better for it on the other side of this.

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

“Satisfaction with the status quo leads to complacency. Complacency is the enemy of motivation.”

Exceptional brand leadership is a must for a firm to be exceptional in today’s challenging business environment.

For firm leadership, marketing may not always be top of mind. For your marketing staff, it is. Make sure they have a seat at the table.

CEO of A&E Architects (Billings, MT), a firm that believes all disciplines can live together within any given project.

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

“If you have lofty ambitions for the growth of your firm, but aren’t exactly sure of what you need to do to accomplish it, here is my best advice.”

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

“There is no question that after working as long as I have in the A/E industry with so many firms throughout the land, certain common undeniable truths present themselves.”

It’s important to understand your business model and the various outside factors that can affect the execution of an ESOP transaction.

Successful leaders have to be able to deliver tough messages. Use these six strategies to navigate difficult conversations.

President and CEO of Falcon Engineering, a woman-owned engineering firm in Cary, North Carolina.

President and principal-in-charge at Taylor Design, an architecture and interior design firm headquartered in Irvine, California.

Should the US Women’s National Team have let up on Thailand during the World Cup? Of course not, and let that be a lesson to you.

Use these five strategies to maximize client relationships without leaving your desk.

You must constantly rethink your marketing strategy, using traditional and trending methods, if you want to be effective.

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.

“Are you trying to play the role of the high-flying entrepreneurial CEO in a large firm with lots of resources instead of thinking of yourself as a business owner?”

A small investment of your time, energy, and creativity can yield a large return with your clients. Start gently and build your confidence.

A lot of AEC firms fall into the trap of neglecting their marketing departments because the work is not billable. Marketers need to fight back with consistent effort.

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

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

President and CEO of RLG Consulting Engineers (Best Firm Structural #13 for 2018), a Dallas-based firm in business for 65 years.

If your firm uses a doer-seller business development model, empowering your team is necessary for their success and your bottom line.

Founder and CEO of Wright Engineers (Best Firm #1 Structural for 2018), a Vegas-headquartered firm where perfection is the goal but excellence is tolerated.

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

In our industry, diversity and inclusion are dawning, so seize the day by incorporating an open mindset throughout your firm.

We might not pitch and catch over nine innings for a living, but we can learn a lot from what happens out on the diamond.

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, Alta Environmental (Best Firm #4 Environmental for 2018), a 50-person firm based in Long Beach, CA. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “It’s said that people typically don’t leave companies, they leave bosses,” Kay says. “Making...

When you look at principals of firms in this business who are really happy and successful – who have growing, profitable companies – you’ll see certain common traits that emerge. Here are a few of...

The process must be deliberate and multifaceted, but don’t forget the human touch. Be yourself and enjoy finding clients that reflect your values. Recently, I had a conversation with a very busy, newly promoted division...

Firms are super busy, but that doesn’t mean all is well. How are profit margins, recruiting, and employee training holding up? The AEC industry is busier right now than it has been in a long...

Do you have a gazillion underused software programs languishing on computers across your firm? If you do, you’re certainly not alone. Shelfware, or unused software, is said to cost companies roughly $30 billion per year...

Leaders of employee-friendly firms talk about how being a Best Firm affects culture, recruiting, and team building. Architecture and civil: Brian Bowers, President, Bowers + Kubota Our goal in being a Best Firm to Work...

Lack of information leads to assumptions and guessing. Good and complete information at the appropriate time leads to informed decision-making. Over my 30-year career, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wide range of...

After just two years, they want to be the CEO. Molding the go-getters (early on) is crucial if you don’t want them to leave for better opportunities at another firm. OK, two years might be...

July 19, 2018 Press Contact: Christina Zweig (800) 466-6275 corporate (479) 445-7564 mobile Zweig Group, LLC 1200 N. College Ave Fayetteville, AR 72701 czweig@zweiggroup.com www.zweiggroup.com FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 19, 2018) – American author, television host,...

It’s OK to wrestle with yourself as you chart the path to success. The AEC industry needs its performance metrics and monetary goals, but don’t forget about your heart. Recently I saw a coffee mug...

CEO of Ware Malcomb (Hot Firm # 21 for 2017), a 440-person international design firm based in Irvine, California. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Succession planning has been an important part of our culture for more...

With the promise of passion, collaboration, and positive impacts on local communities, Blueline, based in Kirkland, WA., recently announced its merger with The LA Studio, a firm based south of Seattle in Tukwila. The merger...

Expanding its multidisciplinary services in Northern California, engineering firm LACO – based in Santa Rosa, Eureka, and Ukiah – recently acquired surveying firm DobleThomas in a match that increases LACO’s surveying capacity DobleThomas, based in...

It’s time to build a list that matters to you, and as you do, don’t let anything stand in your way, including skeptical friends and colleagues. With so many day-to-day responsibilities, it’s easy to postpone...

The more you ask, the more you learn, and that knowledge can be driven back into your firm for the benefit of clients and employees. Maintaining a leading position in the AEC industry requires that...

Honoring your clients’ business success above all else will enhance your firm’s reputation and bottom line – without compromising design. This is the third installment of a three-part discussion on the topic of job success,...

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...

So you got the position you wanted, but that’s just the first step. You have to (help) create something bigger than yourself. Last month I wrote about my good fortune of meeting Art Gensler and...

Evaluate where you are, how you can improve, rank yourself and your team, and then work through every way you want to perform better. Between wrapping up business and preparing for family time most of...

Finding and keeping good people is the number one problem AEC firms have today. And it will get worse if any of the predictions are true about the demand for talent and the lack of...

Successful business planning isn’t about having a crystal ball. It’s about a culture that discusses goals, actions, and results on an open and regular basis. The end of one year and the beginning of a...

A Note from Jamie Claire Kiser Director of Consulting Highlights from 2017 In 2017, we helped clients across the country close deals, taking our mergers & acquisitions team everywhere from Texas to Michigan, Minnesota to...

President of CMTA (Hot Firm #2 for 2017), a 250-person consulting engineering firm, and a leader in net-zero energy, based in Louisville, Kentucky. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I think it’s important not to micro-manage people,”...

Ditch the lecture-and-listen style of training and replace it with something much more effective – the do-it-to-learn-it style. In the ultra-competitive AEC job market, professional growth is becoming the new perk. Employees and candidates –...

Bringing good people on board is one thing, retaining them is another. Make a concerted effort to keep your personnel engaged. I recently facilitated a roundtable discussion. Never mind that the table wasn’t round. It...

As a student of this “industry” for more than 37 years now, I have seen a lot of companies and their associated financial statements. And here’s what I have noticed: Some people make a lot...

Your next generation of business builders has arrived. Have you shown them the way forward with a comprehensive set of goals and expectations? What are the career paths in your firm? The next generation wants...

As a student of this “industry” for more than 37 years now, I have seen a lot of companies and their associated financial statements. And here’s what I have noticed: Some people make a lot...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 21, 2017) – Zweig Group just released the 2017 Principals, Partners and Owners of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms Survey. For nearly 30 years, Zweig Group has surveyed the industry’s...

There’s a critical set of benchmarks you need to measure so you’ll know what works, what doesn’t, and how to be more effective. Zweig Group’s 2016 Marketing Survey found that 27 percent of A/E/P and...

The transition from boomers to millennials is going to happen anyway, so put in a good-faith effort and make it a positive experience. By 2020, 50 percent of the U.S. workforce will be millennials. In...

You want your firm to be more valuable at the end of the project than it was at the beginning. Start to GRIPE. Many of our clients turn to us for assistance in providing project...

Business planning in an AEC firm is such a critical function. It really is one of the key roles of the CEO. Yet we seem to struggle with it. Here are some of the ways...

The talent war is here. Building a bigger pipeline of leaders and doing it much earlier in their careers is critical if you want to win. We sometimes have too much tradition and are slow...

You and your team need to have a global understanding of your firm so the right people are in the right places to best serve the client. This marks the first column I’ve contributed to...

Open book management is a big card to play, but it puts everyone on your team at the table, and that’s where you want them to be. One of the trendier ideas in management consulting...

Succession planning is tough, but if you put a plan in place and are careful to re-evaluate as circumstances change, you can succeed. Every privately-held/family-owned business can bank on a change in ownership and a...

The 2017 Financial Performance Benchmarking Tool is an excel based tool developed to help firm leaders make real-time decisions that impact firm performance and profitability. The 2017 Financial Performance Benchmarking Tool will help you: Compare...

Press Contact: Christina Zweig czweig@zweiggroup.com www.zweiggroup.com FAYETTEVILLE, AR. – Zweig Group, a global leader in products and services to the architecture, engineering and professional services consulting industry, announced today that Chad Clinehens has been named...

If firms employ these operational and financial strategies, their chances of weathering a downturn, regardless of how bad it is, will increase. Last week, June Jewell outlined five ways to insulate your firm from the...

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...

An internal market for the company’s stock, and a company culture of ‘just get it done’ are two key drivers of the firm’s success. By Dale D. Conger CobbFendley (Hot Firm #21 for 2016) was...

Make project management a cornerstone of the way your firm does business, and win more work in a competitive market. By Richard Massey Managing Editor A work in progress since 2005, the Technical Core Team...

As we move deeper into the final quarter of the year, now’s the time to look ahead to 2017’s backlog, pipeline, and cash flow. As we move deeper into the last quarter of fiscal 2016,...

Your firm might want to try rolling business plans with one-, three-, and 20-year projections. It’s a lot of work, but it beats starting over again and again. It is generally good business to create...

The Klotz firm is reaping national accolades for its growth and its workplace, but since a firm never arrives, the quest for excellence never ends. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Maintaining the status quo is not...

The act of priming your business for market increases its value, and helps you embrace an assortment of challenges and opportunities. I know what you’re thinking because I hear it all the time. “I’m not...

Your ability to sell work is probably the most crucial skill you can have IF you really want to maximize your opportunities in the AEC world we all live in. Here are a few pointers...

If a firm is to achieve something spectacular, its leaders have to have big hearts, and they have to galvanize the entire staff. One of the most rewarding things we do as consultants is guide...

“I’m not ready to sell my business,” “I am not ready to retire,” or “business is too good right now for me to sell” are all statements you might be thinking right now, but there...

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...

In a good economy, it’s easy to take on a lot of work and fill the pipeline, but some of that work can be bad for your firm. In a robust economy like the one...

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...

Here are some tips to get the most out of your strategic plan and realize your firm’s aspirational goals. How much does a strategic plan cost? If you hire a consultant, pull your senior-leadership away...

Your employees will work harder if they’re enthusiastic about their role in your firm; here are some tips to make that happen. As firms finalize their strategic plans for 2016, we hear a consistent desire...

There are probably many reasons why people have trouble completing tasks; here are some ways to solve the problem. It seems to me, a common problem we all encounter these days – either with ourselves...

Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd. (Vancouver, BC) – a 500-person international engineering, geoscience, and environmental consulting firm – is taking home second place in the Internal Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for...

Inspiration is necessary for technical/design professionals and those who manage projects to be successful. ​I’ve been saying for years that having two tracks – one for managerial and sales people, and one for design and...

HLB Lighting Design (New York, NY), a 62-person architectural lighting design firm, is the first place winner in the Internal Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its redesigned brand. In 2013,...

Westwood Professional Services (Eden Prairie, MN), a 350-person professional services firm, is the first place winner in the Integrated Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its refreshed brand. Clients complained that...

G2 Consulting Group (Troy, MI), a 50-person engineering firm, is taking home fourth place in the Integrated Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its integrated marketing strategy. In April 2013, G2...

Larson Design Group (Williamsport, PA) – a 290-person engineering, surveying, and architecture firm – is taking home fourth place in the Special Event category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its Daniel C....

Hickok Cole Architects (Georgetown, DC) is taking home first place in Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards in the Special Event category for its social marketing event – Art Night. Every October, HCA transforms its...

TEECOM (Oakland, CA), a 50-person low-voltage engineering firm, is the first place winner in the Online Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its website redesign. In 2013 clients expressed that, based...

There are a few basic traits that differentiate firms that make money from those that scrape by. Chad Clinehens and I were talking in the office yesterday about why some firms we work with make...

There are plenty of consultants out there who offer M&A consulting services, but there’s only one Zweig Group. We are a small team of professionals dedicated to finding the best candidates for deals in the...

Diverse firms can implement rules-of-thumb to establish priorities and see results for years to come. By Andrea Bennett Managing Editor A/E/P and environmental firms have several items on their to-do lists at any given time:...

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 six pointers that will help resolve conflict inside the company. Professional services firms such as architecture and engineering companies are owned and run by smart people. I’ve said it before – as...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 989 Originally published 1/7/2013 Novel pays homage to engineering profession and is a great airplane read, Mark Zweig writes. The week before Christmas,...

Press Release: July 22, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 22, 2011) –ZweigWhite has consolidated and branded its internal consulting team which manages mergers, acquisitions, valuations, and ownership transition under the new moniker, MAVALOT. Right now these...

By Christine Brack Principal, Business Planning Consulting ZweigWhite Our industry is not immune to buzzwords. In fact, there are several dozen tossed around at any given moment. Value proposition has been around for a while....

Press Release: March 15, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (March 15, 2011) — Seasoned marketing professional Debbie Frederiksen has joined ZweigWhite as Director of Marketing Consulting Services, boosting the firm’s stable of expanding consulting services to architecture,...

Debbie Frederiksen | Marketing Consultant | ZweigWhite Consulting Debbie Frederiksen’s career spans 17 years in the architecture / engineering / planning industry. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, she worked for a 10-person firm...

1. Buy-Side Representation ZWEIGWHITE has been focused on business management services, research and information for architecture, engineering and environmental consulting firms since 1988. As such, we are uniquely qualified to find the right business(es) to...

By Tracey D. Jeffers One component to a successful banking relationship is having a good understanding of your financial statements. Your ability to readily and intelligently answer questions posed by a banking professional gives loan...

While I have probably written about business planning in the pages of The Zweig Letter a dozen or more times over the years, it seems necessary to do so again. As you read this, A/E/P...

Too many leaders of firms in our business (and others) screw up their companies when they forget what the business is. It is one living system— a whole— not a collection of disconnected parts. That...

I was in a board meeting recently with a quality, old-line engineering/architecture/consulting firm where one of the primary topics was business development. We spent several hours talking about it and how they are changing their...

For my kickoff presentation at our eighth annual The Zweig Letter Hot Firm Conference and Awards Celebration in Boston last month, I decided to talk about the differences in entrepreneurial A/E/P firms from those that...

It’s been said many times— you have to focus if you want to succeed. Yet focus is precisely what so many design and environmental professionals lack. My theory is that architects, engineers, planners, and scientists...

As the fall air turns crisp and cool here in Northwest Arkansas, many folks’ thoughts turn to football, leaf raking, and the upcoming holiday season. Owners and managers of A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, however,...

Business planning does not have to be difficult. Every single firm needs a plan, whether you are a five-person architectural firm started two years ago, or a 3,000-employee, 35-year-old engineering and environmental consulting company. But...

Now that A/E/P and environmental consulting firms have been doing business plans regularly for the past 10 or 15 years, it may be time to beef them up a bit. The old platitudes, goals, and...

I recently accepted a more permanent position at The Walton College of Business, part of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. My role is teaching entrepreneurship classes to undergraduates, as well as promoting our entrepreneurship...

We are now in our 17th year of working with A/E/P and environmental firms of all types and sizes around the world. And, over that time, we have seen literally thousands of different companies’ business...

This is really getting to be the busy time of the year for the ZweigWhite consultants who help firms with business planning. And it’s good to see that many firms are refining their processes so...

From time to time, we’ll hear from a reader who wants us to give more management advice specifically aimed at small firms. These people seem to think their small firm is different from a larger...

While it certainly wasn’t the case 20 or even 10 years ago, today most design and environmental firms have a business plan. Most of them are labeled “strategic plans,” though I’ll confess that I usually...

In the nineties, executive coaching became a popular management fad, particularly outside of the A/E/P and environmental industry. So while budget cutbacks in Fortune 500 and high-tech companies have eliminated a lot of these expenditures,...

If you look at the effect the events of September 11 had on everyone in this country, it’s really pretty amazing. The collective funk that ensued hurt businesses of all types in an unprecedented way....

Friday afternoon finally rolled around. Joe Jetson gathered up everything he needed to work at home over the weekend and tossed it all into his briefcase. This was the worst week Joe could remember in...

Schweitzer, Rosenblatt, Tunick, and McBlarsky had just ended one heck of a run. The 250-person E/A firm had grown from 40 people to 250 over the past five years. And while it was undeniably exciting,...

We’re talking to a lot of company CEOs who aren’t the least bit concerned about the effects a recession would have on their firms because they serve government clients. But my experience is, if the...

Is all business planning necessarily strategic planning? That was the topic of a lively discussion among some of our most successful management consulting folks a few weeks back— whether or not to lump all business...

I said something to my 78 year-old father the other day about going someplace or another to conduct a “management retreat.” His response was, “Why not a management charge?” He went on to say that...

I’m writing this article on Monday morning, “Marathon Day.” For those of you who didn’t know, Marathon Day is a big deal here in the Boston area. We’re planning on shutting down today between 11:00...

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,...

Now is the time of year that many A/E/P and environmental firms are taking a look at what’s to come and what needs to be done in the year ahead. Budgets are being set, goals...

Twenty contacts per month! To know why we have a problem selling services in the A/E/P and environmental consulting business, look no further than the goals we lay out for our marketing and business development...