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By Mark Zweig | Early career success comes from reliability, responsiveness, humility, and a willingness to work harder.

By Daryl Simons Jr. | If your retention strategy relies on appreciation events instead of competitive pay, you are already losing talent.

By Lindsay Young | Practicing interview presentations may feel like homework, but it’s what turns expertise into confidence and clarity.

By Wallace Smith | Giving back is a responsibility that strengthens communities, builds better businesses, and reminds leaders their greatest impact starts beyond the blueprint.

By Brandon Pinkerton | People-first leadership demands balance and recognition that caring for individuals shouldn’t come at the cost of organizational purpose.

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 Mercedez Thompson | How a book club sparked connection and a genuine sense of belonging in a hybrid workplace.

By Kyle Ahern | Firms that adopt these competitive strategies will be better positioned to achieve sustained success.

By Katherine Wilczek & Ceclia Martin-Smith | While it can be helpful to use generational trends to inform your management practices, it is most important to get to know your employees as individuals. 

By Jason Wilson | Problem-solving unforeseen challenges in order to boost productivity and regain work-life balance when working from home.

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

By Janki DePalma | Late bloomers gain wisdom, resilience, and unique insights, proving there’s no fixed timeline for achievement.

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 Mark Zweig | There are many factors that can create highly motivated people – some within your control as an employer and some not.

By Mitch Fortner | As demand for our industry’s services continues to increase, the firms that listen to their employees and evolve to meet their needs will continue to grow.

By Shirley Che | ElevateHER® is identifying sustainable workforce solutions to address our industry’s recruiting and retention challenges.

By Wesley Jones | Empowering diverse groups within your organization is paramount to understanding your employees, your clients, and the industries you serve.

By Laura Frein | Learn to appreciate each year, be proud of what you’ve accomplished so far, and be open to journey ahead.

By Mark Zweig | Know the pros and cons of both, and don’t kid yourself about the ramifications of either insisting everyone be there or allowing people to work remotely.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Schaefer (Cincinnati, OH), a firm that provides all aspects of structural engineering across a broad range of projects and industries.

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 Gregory Teague | Engaging with your community enriches company culture, employee development, and offers an inside advantage to local projects.

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

By Shirley Che | Participants of Zweig Group’s ElevateHER® movement are putting in the work to move the needle on the recruitment and retention crisis our industry faces.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | ElevateHER provides a platform for AEC professionals to effect the change they want to see in our industry.

By Janki DePalma | Pay attention to who apologizes and when, and work to create an environment of psychological safety within your firm.

By Scott McNally | If you swing for the fence, remember the fans, watch for curveballs, and rally your team, your firm will be successful.

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 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 Frank McIllwain | Companies that place a high value on listening to and investing in their employees have been more effective at attracting and retaining top talent.

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

By Liisa Andreassen | President of FEH Design (Dubuque, IA), a full-service architectural, structural engineering, inter design team that’s creating a better world through design.

By Liisa Andreassen | Founder, design principal, and CEO at Snow Kreilich Architects (Minneapolis, MN), a nationally recognized, award winning architectural studio.

By Paul David | The pandemic has been a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine how we do our jobs and how we run our companies.

By Liisa Andreassen | Managing principal of RDLR Architects (Houston, TX), a community-driven architectural firm that is recognized throughout Texas.

By Brian King | Firms with a strongly integrated multigenerational workforce will experience tremendous power and opportunity for success over the next number of years.

By Mark Zweig | Our industry is one of the best places for anyone to build a career, and we owe it to our children to expose them to the work we do early.

By Mark Zweig | What really makes people take responsibility for something and give it their all – to truly be accountable?

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 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 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 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 Liisa Andreassen | Managing director of Holst Architecture (Portland, OR), a women-owned architecture firm that is devoted to turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

President and CEO of Blueline (Kirkland, WA), a firm that’s committed to building relationships, enhancing communities, and improving lives.

Architect Julia Su Jack, AIA talks about being an architect, a woman of color, and making the transition from the private sector to the public sector in this episode of the podcast. 

By Allyson McDonald & Megan Chang | Matching your communication style to the needs of those you’re communicating with will ensure your message is received.

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 Stephen Lucy | Actively work to shape your own legacy, otherwise it will be defined by others and probably not as positive as you would want.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Women in the AEC industry leave at a faster rate than men, and COVID-19 has only accelerated this phenomenon.

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

By Kyle Ahern | A good, standardized parental leave policy is a major benefit that can set your firm apart.

By Liisa Andreassen | They are the founder and principal of McKinney York Architects (Austin, TX), a certified HUB and WBE that creates beautiful, responsible architecture in a culture of collaboration.

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 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 Tammi Nagucki | Reconsider some of this advice, and you may find some insight to guide you through our current world of disruption and stress.

CEO and president of SEH (St. Paul, MN), a firm that’s simplifying the world’s complex challenges by designing better places, engineering clean water, and renewing infrastructure.

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

Firms are discovering new ways of operating that will allow them to be more effective and efficient throughout the rest of the pandemic and after.

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 Christina Zweig Niehues | At the start of the pandemic, the majority of the AEC industry was thrust into an extreme scenario of work-life integration.

COO at Baird, Hampton and Brown, Inc. (Fort Worth, TX), a firm that is passionate about improving the landscape of its community with the utmost quality and integrity.

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

By Jamie Claire Kiser | In this time of constant realignment, sustain success by appreciating your stars and making space for discussion.

As an accomplished speaker, consultant, trainer, and business coach, Wilburn helps professionals become better leaders, better communicators, and better people.

You don’t achieve success by going solo. You need allies – your manager and your direct reports – to make the load lighter.

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.

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.

President and CEO of the North American operations of Mott MacDonald (Iselin, NJ), a $2 billion global management, engineering, and development firm.

Managing principal of Woodblock Architecture (Portland, OR), a firm that sees each new project as an opportunity to create something awesome and build new relationships.

Chairman and CEO of Mabbett & Associates, Inc. (Bedford, MA), a verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.

Many firms still cling to old-school attitudes and business practices that chase away top performing employees looking for a more future-friendly place to grow their careers.

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

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.

By Will Swearingen | As owners enter the final years of their careers and ponder ownership transition, they have to make some concessions.

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

President and CEO of Barton & Loguidice, a full-service consulting firm headquartered in Syracuse, New York.

Founding principal of J2 Engineers, a multi-discipline firm looking to double its 2018 net service revenue by 2023.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | There’s plenty of support out there for women in the AEC industry, but the stats still have to catch up to the sentiment.

President of Baldridge & Associates Structural Engineering, a full-service structural engineering and forensic consulting firm based in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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

By John Bray | With a low unemployment rate, more firms are relying on a national approach for recruiting.

President and co-founder of ADC Engineering, Inc., a multidisciplinary firm based in Hanaham, South Carolina.

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

A good attitude and honest effort are central to California engineer’s mission to build a meaningful career.

Approximately 10,000 baby boomers will retire every day over the next decade. By 2030, millennials will comprise three-quarters of the U.S. workforce. A common blood sport at leadership team meetings these days begins with, “WHAT...

By Edward Friedrichs | The things we need to do to be great leaders are right in front of us, but we must also be deliberately consistent.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 25) – Zweig Group recently deepened its bench with the addition of Bill Fox, who brings a wealth of expertise in small-business administration, financial management, and strategic planning to the firm’s full-service...

Randy Wilburn recently had a chance to speak with Anthony Fasano, PE, author, speaker, and host of The Civil Engineer Podcast and The Engineering Career Coach Podcast. Their wide-ranging discussion covered everything from the millennial...

We all need a lengthy, unadulterated turning-off of our brains. How do you start? Try taking a break from the lifelong grind. Sabbatical – rooted in the Greek word sabbatikos – the word speaks to...

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...

CEO and chairman of Mead & Hunt (#82 Hot Firm for 2017), a 592-person national firm offering services in planning, design, architecture, and engineering. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There is something to be said for...

Smaller housing within walking distance to essentials and amenities is appealing to both the young and the old. We’re listening closely to the market desires for our West 2nd District Project here in Reno. We’re...

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...

President of Environmental Partners Group, Inc. (Hot Firm #22 for 2017), a 55-person firm based in Quincy, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Their problems need to be your problems,” says Gabriel, referring to the client-firm...

Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA), a leading architecture and design firm that has more than 200 employees in three offices in Wisconsin and Iowa, today announced that it has expanded into the Rocky Mountain region...

If at first you don’t succeed, don’t give up. Cast your net again and chances are you’ll catch another fish. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Rob Matthews, president of Matthews Design Group, Inc. (#10 Best Firm...

Alabama firm looms large along the Gulf Coast, and a lot of that’s due to a laser focus on service and always starting out at the top. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Years ago, while working...

HELIX CEO Michael Schwerin headed into the New Year with double-digit profits and a strong book-to-bill ratio. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent In 2001, Michael Schwerin started as an assistant environmental planning group manager with HELIX...

As architects and engineers, we need to be on the front line in the campaign against inefficiency and waste. I just listened to an excellent edition of National Public Radio’s TED Radio Hour titled “Finite,”...

President and CEO of Ghafari, a big Michigan firm, has broadened its services, allowing it to weather tough times and maintain an era of growth. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent As president and CEO of Ghafari...

Casual leader of engineering firm is doing what he wants to do, surrounding himself with smart people, and getting the job done. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent After 20 years of working for someone else, David...

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...

Hiring good people isn’t easy, and hanging onto them is just as difficult. When you find the right person, offer an excellent benefits package. By Gale Associates Inc. Best Firm #4 Multidiscipline for 2016 Recruitment...

Working with millennials was a hot topic at the recent Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference. Most researchers define the millennial generation as those born anywhere between 1982 and 2004 (although some sources end...

McKim & Creed’s Building, Energy, and Infrastructure division is taking off in North Carolina and is set to expand in Florida and Texas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent In 1978 McKim & Creed, Inc. (Best Firm...

How we treat the environment is coming full circle, from the sustainability of the Native Americans, to the factory and dump era, and, finally, to remediation. We are in the midst of an environmental restoration...

The holiday season always motivates us to give back, but a company-wide campaign can provide for charity where and when it’s needed most – locally and all year long. I really like this quote from...

Cincinnati CEO usually operates at about 150 miles per hour, but from time to time he puts on the brakes. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent When it comes to leading, David Arends, CEO of CR Architecture...

Third-generation leader of multidiscipline firm embraces debate, seeks consensus, and likes anything with bacon. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent It started with his great uncle. Then his father. And now him. Firm president John Hiltz is...

If you want to drive traffic to your website and your brand, it helps – a lot – to be an expert in your given field. It’s true. The origin of your web traffic is...

Jon F. Lindberg has been at the same firm for 36 years, so it’s safe to say he has a roof over his head and a room with a view. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent He...

Leader of Kansas-based civil engineering firm learned a lot during the recession, and has found a nice niche inspecting levies and dams. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent It’s about the client experience, not just the project....

A visionary rather than a command-and-control type of leader, Mike Sanderson has a musical side to him that some might find surprising. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent He doesn’t like the word “client.” He prefers “customer.”...

Ireland-raised David Spillane likes both the past and the future, kayaking in the sea, and doing whatever it takes to keep his firm nimble. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Like many of his colleagues, David Spillane,...

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...

Project needs and client needs are two different things. If you want to win more work, figure out the human side of the equation and you’ll be rewarded. AEC firms often approach proposals and interviews...

Lonnie Laffen, CEO of JLG Architects, is a Bison who likes burgers and fries, a big motor bike, but not politics. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Twenty-seven years ago, Lonnie Laffen, president and CEO of JLG...

Keep the inexpensive items on the table and hand them out freely, but give the good stuff only to those who seem truly interested in your firm. Costs for attending trade shows can range from...

Independent environmental firms are increasingly rare, but out on the East Coast, CEO Eileen Pannetier has succeeded by sticking to her small-firm roots. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Prior to founding Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (Best Firm...

In the form of growth, profitability, and important projects, multidiscipline firm based in upstate New York is reaping the benefits of a well-executed ownership transition. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent In 1977, when Wayne Wegman joined...

Letting go is hard to do, so when the time comes for a changing of the guard, it helps if the second tier is groomed, confident, and empowered. Much of our recent work has been...

Friendships are not only good for the soul, their good for business, so make as many of them as you can if you want your firm to prosper. Personal engagement with clients determines so much...

Keynote Title: Driving more ROI from your Existing IT Investments Speaker: Noah Eckhouse, VP Portfolio Development Description: Plenty of software vendors are anxious to sell CIOs and CFOs "the next great thing”; however, only a...

Take an honest look at your client relationship and ask yourself if it’s still mutually beneficial; if it’s not, it is time to do the hard thing. In addition to working at Zweig Group, I...

It’s lonely at the top and hard to find someone who will listen and provide useful advice, Mark Zweig writes. It’s been said before that it’s lonely at the top. There’s a lot of truth...

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...

Listen to your staff, have an appealing culture, hire selectively and keep your employees for the long-term. I’m hearing more and more about the market firming up and people being in demand. So, I think...

I’m often asked two questions about leadership: 1. Are leaders born or made? 2. How did you become a leader? I believe everyone has the potential become a leader. Despite endless debate on the subject...

Press Release: May 2, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 2, 2011) – Industry leader Daniel A. Cuoco will become the editor of Structural Engineer (formerly Structural Engineering & Design), effective June 1, 2011. The magazine is...

After 29 years observing leaders and managers in A/E/P and environmental firms (as well as many other professions and industries), I have learned that one of the keys to success is simply “being nice.” That...

A recent article in The Zweig Letter where various A/E and environmental firm principals were asked about the best interview questions to ask prospective employees got me thinking. It got me thinking about what I...

Though I’ve always known it, I don’t think I’ve ever written about it— running an ethical business that is socially responsible can pay big dividends. The fact is that the more educated your clients are,...

Every year, after we announce the winners of The Zweig Letter Hot Firm List, we get contacted by other firms wondering why they are not on the list. It’s always one of two reasons: Either...

After a brief stop in Las Vegas for a quick family wedding, I just returned from The Zweig Letter Hot Firm 2003 Conference and Celebration in San Francisco. And let me tell you that while...

Is your firm a compassionate firm? Do you choose what’s humane over what’s best financially in certain situations? And what difference does that make, anyway? Business is business. And we all know that to be...

I have always been interested in design and construction. When I was as young as seven years old, I was drawing up floor plans for houses on graph paper and building them with my Legos....

Set to music from The Beverly Hillbillies: Let me tell a little story about a man named Jed, a poor engineer, barely kept his family fed. And then one day when designing to buy food,...

Raymond Stodge, managing principal of “Stodge Engineers and Architects,” was depressed. How would he get the firm’s executive committee to start taking action on the issues that had plagued the firm for years? And now...

Talk to some architects and engineers and their real feelings will come out: They believe there’s something bad, something sick, something wrong, something immoral about business. Their attitude is that design or technical work is...

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...

We went to Scottsdale, Arizona, on a family vacation last week. Of course, we did the usual tourist stuff. We visited Montezuma’s Castle near Sedona and rode the stagecoach at Rawhide, the quintessential tacky tourist...

Oops.....I just used a four-letter word. Excuse me. But unfortunately, I don’t know a better term to describe people who constantly push the limits and question the status quo. In fact, I think having one...

Did you ever notice how some companies muddle along while others seem to keep advancing? What allows some firms to make so much more progress and to get so much more accomplished than others? It’s...

Everyone in the A/E/P and environmental consulting business wants to be more “successful,” but I don’t recall ever seeing “success” clearly defined. It’s one of those good-sounding words that architects, engineers, and environmental consultants use...

Most of us in A/E/P or environmental consulting firms who are at project manager level or higher must travel occasionally. The probability that you will have to travel increases the larger your firm is, the...

Good professionals have a lot in common— no matter what their profession. Take my six year-old’s kindergarten teacher, Ms. Donohoe. Many of the professionals working in design and environmental consulting firms could learn a thing...

We’ve all heard it before from people we work with: “I’m going to...” or “We’re going to...” or “I would have, but....” or “Some day, we’ll...” These “do-nothing” people may work for you, with you...