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  “Say yes as much as you can when you’re young so that you can balance things a little better when you’re older.” Sondra Rotty Sondra Rotty is the newly elected president and COO of...

Building Enduring AEC Firms: VHB’s Approach to Ownership, Balance, and Strategic Renewal     “An infinite arc of success requires stewardship, purpose, and a relentless focus on people.” Mike Carragher, CEO of VHB What does...

By Mark Zweig | LinkedIn is just one tool in your marketing arsenal, but it can be powerful when used consistently and strategically.

By Mark Zweig | Success comes from bold, consistent marketing efforts that push visibility, build trust, and attract high-quality clients.

By Morgan Stinson | Attracting and retaining top talent in the AEC industry requires adapting to what employees value today.

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

The conversation dives into the importance of maintaining a vibrant company culture in the face of evolving work environments. They highlight how, despite the chaos that keeps everyone up at night, there are strategies to...

By Ying Liu | The essential structural and tactical elements that underpin successful strategy execution in AEC.

This episode of the Zweig Letter Podcast dives into the journey of founding the John R. McAdams Company in 1979 by John R. McAdams himself. He discusses the company's initial funding, the deliberate planning, and...

Join us as Justin Smith moderates a panel of esteemed experts, including Aaron Lauinger, Tiara Marcus, and Brian Sielaff, representing firms excelling in client engagement, project leadership, and culture protection.

  "25 years ago when I graduated the term design build, it wasn't unheard of, but it certainly wasn't something that we talked about." Dan Crist About the Guest: Dan Crist is the president of...

Randall Stevens is a long-time veteran in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, boasting over three decades of experience. He studied architecture but found his calling in software development, founding ArcVision in 1991 and...

Kristin Kautz delves into the evolving landscape of AI, emphasizing its transformative potential in business and daily activities. Highlighting tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot, and Unanet's CRM integration, she illustrates how AI can enhance...

KP Reddy, founder and CEO of Shadow Ventures, discusses the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.

Randy Wilburn sits down with Peter Johann, COO of Pirros, on The Zweig Letter Podcast to explore the innovative intersection of technology and the design industry. Peter reflects on his career path that transitioned from...

We're thrilled to bring back one of our most downloaded episodes on The Zweig Letter Podcast! In this popular episode, host Randy Wilburn sits down with Burke Pemberton, the Chief Financial Officer of Stok, a...

"What was the most important opportunity? And we heard two things. We heard learning management...and AI." - Christopher Parsons About the Guest: Christopher Parsons is the founder and CEO of Knowledge Architecture, a firm based...

Zweig Group has announced the 2024 Hot Firm List, which honors the fastest growing AEC firms.

Zweig Group is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Best Firms To Work For Award, which honors outstanding workplaces at AEC industry firms.

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

In this special episode of the TZL podcast, we feature an enlightening keynote speech by Harry Clark, delivered at the Zweig Group's 2023 Elevate AEC Conference. Known for his exceptional track record as a serial...

By Tyler Suomala | Understand why and how decisions are made so you can leverage the power of the human brain to increase your value and improve your clients’ experience.

By Javier Suarez | Successful newsletters are relevant and valuable to readers, easy to consume, actionable, and loyal to your brand.

Jerrod Hogan, CEO of OWN, Inc., discusses how his unique journey to leadership, influenced by his upbringing and a life-altering event, led him to transform his firm into an employee-owned company. This change fostered growth, client satisfaction, and...

Kristin Kautz, an artificial intelligence consultant, discusses the impact of AI on the design industry and how essential it is to get into this technology race.

By Travis White | If you want your firm to be an early adopter, you must be aware of this new technology and be willing to adapt.

By Matt Verderamo | Talk to your employees about manipulation, get clear on your mission, and invest in marketing to transform your business from low-bid to negotiated work.

In this enlightening episode of the TZL podcast, Melvalean MacLemore and Zhetique Gunn, dedicated committee members of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and key players in the HBCU Professional Development Program (PDP), sit...

Zweig Group is proud to announce the winners of the 2023 Best Firms To Work For Awards, which honor outstanding workplaces AEC firms.

David Bolt, president of GMB, discusses his extraordinary design career journey and creating a collaborative environment that fosters growth and embraces change.

   Venture Capital Meets Design: Exploring Opportunities with Shadow Ventures and Nick Durham "You want to be a part of building something that's really important to lots of people."  - Nick Durham Get ready to...

By Mark Zweig | Looking back at more than 30 years in business, from the founding of the company to today.

Mike Woeber, CEO and co-founder of Corporate Tax Advisors (CTA), discusses how design firms can qualify for R&D tax credits and maximize their business growth to unlock potential savings. 

Mark Hodges, chief growth officer of Edafio, discusses how design firms can better protect their data from cybercriminals.

Mancini Duffy is a Triumvirate of Excellence In The Design Industry  In this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, we speak with the leadership of NY-based Architectural Design Firm Mancini Duffy.  Christian Giordano, President, Bill...

In this episode, Colleen Martindale – the Senior Pre-Construction Director with McCarthy – discusses finding success in a historically male-dominated industry.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of NTM Engineering (Dillsburg, PA), a civil engineering firm that specializes in water resources design, bridge design, and engineering instruction.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Manhard Consulting (Lincolnshire, IL), a civil engineering and surveying firm serving public and private clients nationwide.

Erica Olsen, COO and co-founder of OnStrategy, discusses how her company combine hands-on services with customized software to design great strategies and automate the process for managing execution.

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

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

By Will Anderson | A few reasons this is one of the safest and most rewarding industries to be in.

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

By Kenneth Fulmer | AEC firm leaders must actively support and empower female employees so their visibility does not vanish in the remote workplace.

    We recently sat down with Raouf S. Ghali, CEO of Hill International.  Raouf oversees one of the largest “pure-play” Construction and Project Management firms with a global reach.  Hill provides program, project, and...

By Liisa Andreassen | President at MWM Design Group (Austin, TX), a firm that continues to embody its founders’ core values of personal integrity, responsibility, and service.

Brian King – CEO and founder of A M King, an integrated design-build firm in Charlotte, North Carolina – talks about how he started his business in 2004, his journey creating an ESOP, and why...

By Corey Fenwick & Andrew Chakmakjian | Networking is a key part of any business – no matter the industry – because it can lead to a new job, experience, or business for your firm.

By Stephanie Warino | These 10 ideas can increase engagement and create a truly effective doer-seller culture.

By Mark Zweig | Ed Friedrichs, former president and CEO of Gensler, truly understood strategy and how all the pieces of a business fit together into a cohesive whole.

Will Swearingen, an ownership transition advisor at Zweig Group, discusses how leadership in firms big and small are planning out their next steps in the face of continued uncertainty, and how company owners can take...

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

By Mark Zweig | How can we each achieve the lofty and satisfying position of knowing we have made a difference through our work in this business?

Allan Tsang and Dan Oblinger discuss negotiation, active listening for design professionals, telling clients “No!” and more in this episode of the podcast. 

By Mark Zweig | This is essential if you want to build a good firm of competent people who can keep the business going whether you’re there or not.

By Mark Zweig | The leadership abilities of you firm’s principals and managers will determine your collective success this year.

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

There are countless ways to develop business without being a business developer, and you are most likely doing some of these things already.

When it comes to M&A, stay flexible and remember that it takes drive, determination, and the ability to connect people and ideas to achieve remarkable results.

It comes down to respect and providing for your employees. If you do these two things, your people will quickly become your biggest cheerleaders.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 8, 2020) –Zweig Group is proud to announce the winners of the 2020 Marketing Excellence Awards. These awards recognize outstanding, results-driven marketing in the AEC industry. Award entries were judged by a...

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

CEO of ISG (Mankato, MN), a multi-disciplinary design and engineering firm that has growth in its DNA.

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

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

“When it comes to branding for an AEC firm, I wouldn’t look to other AEC firms. Frankly, we make a lot of branding mistakes in this business.”

By Kyle Ahern | When I think about the people our society considers stars, I think of actors and athletes, not architects and engineers. That needs to change.

Zweig Group opens office in Dallas DALLAS – Doubling down on its commitment to client service and opportunity for its staff, full-service AEC consulting firm Zweig Group has opened an office in downtown Dallas. Set...

Texas-based Atlas Technical Consultants acquires Piedmont Geotechnical of Atlanta Atlas Technical Consultants recently picked a peach when it acquired Atlanta-based Piedmont Geotechnical Consultants, a move that continues Atlas’ expansion into infrastructure engineering, program management, and...

South Carolina-based O’Neal, Inc. acquires DME Alliance, Inc. of Allentown In a nod toward the ongoing growth and dynamism of the biopharmaceutical market, South Carolina-based O’Neal Inc. moved into the Northeast corridor by acquiring a...

It is a widely-accepted idea that one of the defining characteristics of a successful enterprise working in a mature market is differentiation from all the other firms that provide similar products or services. Yet, in...

President and CEO of Pennoni (Hot Firm #48 for 2016), a 1,250-person engineering firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “One recommendation for leadership in a firm is a better working knowledge in...

Learning from external sources can be highly beneficial, but you must also master the art of blocking out the noise and staying the course. I have to admit it: I often feel like a fraud...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 2, 2017 Apple Blossom Brewing to Release Collaboration Beer with Mark Zweig FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 2, 2017) -Apple Blossom Brewing Company has collaborated with Zweig Group founder & chairman, Mark Zweig,...

We are a bunch of conformists. It’s a big problem in the AEC business. Everyone is sitting around waiting to do what the other guy is doing. And this is precisely the WRONG course of...

🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day 🍀 It's Your Lucky Day to Save some Green! To celebrate all things GREEN, from the environment to cash, Zweig Group is having an Irish 🇮🇪 Flash | Save some...

Marketers, what does your job really entail, and what should you be doing to move your company forward? Whether you are in an exclusively marketing related job or have a different title but actively participate...

Philadelphia firm undertakes huge effort to improve CRM, update brand, and otherwise remain ahead of the curve. For Pennoni (Hot Firm #48 for 2016) marketing “success” can be viewed in a variety of ways –...

Sure – it’s hard to hire good people. There are lots of reasons for it. One of them is that we aren’t keying into the talent pool all around us. People in our network. People...

Outdated or “dead” contacts are a real problem for any company that has a marketing program that uses a CRM or Client Relationship Management System. CLICK HERE TO UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO WITH US The...

Your firm’s list of contacts is critical to your marketing activity, and it can have a tremendous monetary value, too, so make it a priority. This industry is still doing a poor job of building...

Your firm’s list of contacts is critical to your marketing activity, and it can have a tremendous monetary value, too, so make it a priority. This industry is still doing a poor job of building...

Your firm’s list of contacts is critical to every marketing activity, and it can have a tremendous monetary value, too, so make it a priority. This industry is still doing a poor job of building...

How do you get a handle on billable hours and overhead without losing yourself in spreadsheets? Rely on the gut instincts of your department managers. I’m honored The Zweig Letter asked me to be a...

Allana Buick & Bers, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA), a 100-person architectural engineering firm, is the fifth place winner in the External Newsletter category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for The ABBAE Bulletin. The...

Firm leaders would be wise to reflect on current happenings in industry and to prepare for what’s next. When you’re lucky enough to survive to a “certain age,” you suddenly become aware of “certain things.”...

Four suggestions from Mark Zweig that will result in more work than you can handle. It’s interesting to me to see how many architects, engineers, planners and environmental consultants really don’t understand marketing. Many either...

FINLEY (Tallahassee, FL), celebrated their 10-year anniversary in a campaign that landed them the fourth place in Zweig Group’s Marketing Excellence Awards in the Special Event category. Craig Finley, Jr., president and founder, and Ann...

Expert message Barton Associates (York, PA), a 57-person MEP engineering firm, created a marketing campaign to target their two niche markets: education and healthcare. The campaign took home fourth place in Zweig Group’s Marketing Excellence...

Portfolio: Mascot delivers the good news Internal newsletter modeled after internal mascot an award-winning success. By Christina Zweig Contributing editor ECS Carolinas, LLP (Chantilly, VA), placed first in the Internal Marketing Category of Zweig Group’s...

Press Release: Sept. 9, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 9, 2011) – In recognition of exceptional marketing efforts of architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms in the United States and Canada, ZweigWhite announces the winners...

Press Release: July 15, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 15, 2011) –With only $1000.00 in start-up capital, Mark C. Zweig started Mark Zweig & Associates on a card table in the back-room efficiency apartment of his...

By Julie Kyle Newsletters Editor, ZweigWhite I have many friends who are in business for themselves. As a creative type, I enjoy helping them come up with marketing ideas; it’s fun for me— designing new...

Press Release: April 21, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (April 21, 2011) – Population growth and an overhaul of existing infrastructure are making the civil engineering profession popular, said American Society of Civil Engineers President-elect Andy Hermann,...

Press Release: April 5, 2011 Lack of Ownership Transition Plan Puts Design Firms in Peril FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (April 5, 2011) – A crisis could descend upon many design firms because aging baby-boomer owners have not...

Press Release: March 28, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (March 28, 2011) – ZweigWhite’s first course in its new Project Management eLearning Inititative—“Managing Project Communications”—recently achieved approval by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), allowing course takers...

Press Release: March 7, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (March 7, 2011) — ZweigWhite has partnered with American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) to produce and publish a co-branded version of the 2011 Financial Performance Survey of...

Press Release: February 22, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, AR (February 23, 2011) – ZweigWhite’s new eLearning courses offer easy, convenient project management (PM) training ideally suited for today’s time-pressed, on-the-go professionals in the architecture, engineering, planning and...

Press Release: January 10, 2011 As design firms were forced to shed workers and cut costs during the recession, technology often came to rescue, a report in the Jan. 10 issue of The Zweig Letter...

Press Release: January 7, 2011 If the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry has learned one thing in 2010, it’s that recov­ery doesn’t happen overnight. Last year there was an expectation that 2010 might provide the...

Press Release: January 3, 2011 Experts are saying that constantly tracking client needs and wants and delivering relevant products is the secret for success in 2011 and beyond. Mike Phillips, a client feedback expert for...

Press Release: December 22, 2010 New Management How-To Book Helps Every Business Manager. Management From A to Zweig, Revised Edition, is the one book to own if you are serious about your firm’s success. Want...

Press Release: November 17, 2010 M&A activity is expected to accelerate in 2011 as many struggling firms look for an exit strategy and firms that are doing well look for bargains and distressed sales. “2011...

Marketing in our industry is a-changing, Folks! It is not business as usual for A/E/P and environmental firms. The tough economy and the increasing power of the Internet and electronic communications are changing everything marketing-wise....

It’s time to call an end to something that there are entirely too many of in A/E/P and environmental firms everywhere— lazy marketing directors. I am talking about those marketing directors who do very little...

I’ve said it before. The standards— what we expect— from people who are supposed to sell the work to keep our staffs busy in our A/E and environmental firms— are woefully low. Forty calls a...

When we remade our Revolutionary Marketing newsletter into The Zweig A/E Marketing Letter, we had a simple idea. Cut the theory and direct the focus of our efforts to implementation. What can firms DO differently...

Everyone in the A/E or environmental consulting business wants to turn their technical people into sellers. Not a week goes by that the desire to do this isn’t mentioned to me by someone in this...

On the one hand, it would be easy to get negative and discouraged about the current business climate. The war efforts are dragging on with no clear end in sight. The Middle East, in general,...

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...

Spring has sprung and we are now into summer. And while some firms are having record years, more companies are not doing so great. This has resulted in diminished expectations for the owners and employees...

In spite of the post 9/11 travel slowdown, it seems like there are more trade shows and conferences for A/Es and construction companies than ever before. As dutiful ZweigWhiters, we seem to get to all...

There’s a lot out there on management: books, articles, videotapes, newsletters, seminars, and more. Ditto for marketing. And negotiating. And project management. And leadership. There’s even a lot of stuff aimed exclusively at our audience—...

At 11:01 a.m. a few weeks back, I got an e-mail message from our switchboard operator that said Ms. So-and-so, “a principal with local architectural firm X” called. She did not want to speak to...

“Process marketing” is a term you’ll see a lot of in The Zweig Letter. Heck, we even have a supplemental, stand-alone Process Marketing Advisor devoted entirely to the subject! The reason is that process marketing...

I like the fact that The Zweig Letter has an editorial point of view. So many newsletters for this industry and others are just compilations of other, previously published articles. Or, they are so white...

Here’s a collection of practical advice I think anyone in the A/E/P or environmental consulting business can use in response to questions that seem come up over and over again: Where can I find someone...

t seems to me the only way to really be successful is to be different from everyone else. Whether it’s your career or your firm we are talking about, it’s all the same. Yet many...

At our new “Managing a Growing Firm” seminar series, which kicked off last week in Boston, a hard-driving CEO from a local area firm took exception to one of our recommendations on how to improve...

You spend all kinds of money to get the phone to ring and to get on qualified bidders lists. Your best technical seller-doer-closers beat the bushes for new opportunities. Your glossy quarterly newsletters are mailed...

Although conventional wisdom says that an A/E/P or environmental firm’s greatest asset is its staff, that may not always be so. I don’t want to diminish or underestimate the importance of the workers to a...

I gave a talk last week at a meeting one of our clients had for all their market sector leaders. This is a successful company that we do quite a bit of work for, and...

Until the 69,000 firms who make up the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry wake up and start doing something different marketing-wise, we’re destined to remain a fragmented group of small firms owned by people who...

Most A/E/P and environmental firms spend a lot of money just for the opportunity to make a presentation to a client. You send your technical/professional staff chasing all over the countryside, hither and yon, looking...

We’ve all experienced the joy of doing business with a company that acts as if their people like serving you. It really is a great feeling. Most of the time, it happens with businesses like...

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,...

It is widely accepted that any well-managed A/E/P or environmental consulting firm should monitor and report on the profitability of the projects it undertakes. Pick up practically any management newsletter, or look in the practice...

Most A/E/P and environmental consulting firm insiders would agree that we, as a group of companies, do not manage very well. I say that because if we did, we would not be an industry made...

I have tremendous respect for any A/E/P or environmental firm that has learned to successfully manage a network of satellite or branch offices. It's not easy. There's no question that having multiple offices greatly complicates...

We constantly get asked by principals in A/E and environmental consulting firms about what or where the next “hot markets” will be. It seems that these people have read about market life cycles in the...

One of the key determinants of any architecture, consulting engineering, or environmental consulting firm’s ability to get work at decent fees is how well “positioned” it is. Positioning means becoming established as an expert service...

In any number of surveys conducted over the years on what demotivates professionals in the workplace, “not feeling in on things” always ranks at or near the top. By “demotivation,” we are referring to what...

After countless management consulting assignments involving turnarounds and strategic business planning for A/E and environmental consulting firms, it has only recently become clear to me why so many companies in this business don’t believe in...