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By Sarah Kinard | Economic shifts, regulatory change, technology, and evolving client expectations rarely arrive as disruption – they appear first as signals.

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

By Ezequiel Tovar | The firms that deliver the best client experiences are often the ones that invest most intentionally in employee experience.

By Janki DePalma | When we measure collaboration instead of individual wins, teams shift from rivalry to shared success.

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

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

By Gerry Devine | Industry lines are blurring as AEC firms evolve from service providers into strategic partners guiding investment, risk, and long-term value.

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

By Kyle Ahern | Outdated pay benchmarks are quietly undermining retention and credibility in today’s AEC compensation decisions.

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

Zweig Group, the leading provider of management consulting, research, and education for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, has released its 2026 Salary Report of AEC Firms and updated its Compensation Data Platform, delivering...

By Lucas Gray | Tech becomes a strategic advantage when firms measure real ROI and budget for tools that drive profit, productivity, and long-term capability.

By Kyle Ahern | A closer look reveals hiring and retention pressures demanding smarter, people-focused strategies.

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

By Steven Rushmore | As technology advances, AEC firms must embrace digital adoption to secure long-term success.

The 2025 Information Technology Report provides a comprehensive look at how firms are approaching IT investment, management, and innovation in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.

By Chad Surprenant | A one-profit-center approach encourages teamwork across offices and disciplines, minimizing silos and supporting sustainable, firm-wide growth.

By Mailena Urso | This year’s winners prove marketing done right delivers higher margins and stronger growth.

By Brian Shannon | Healthy rivalries fuel collaboration and innovation, ultimately benefiting communities and strengthening the AEC industry.

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

Zweig Group, the leading provider of management consulting, research, and education for the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, has released its 2025 Marketing & Business Development Report – the industry’s most comprehensive resource on how...

By Gary Bowman | Building a firm that attracts people, not just transactions, requires balancing scale, preserving culture, and investing in long-term success.

By Kyle Ahern | The latest recruitment and retention data reveals shifting expectations, transparency, and tools reshaping AEC firms’ talent strategies.

Zweig Group, the leading provider of management consulting, research, and education for the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, has released its 2025 Recruitment & Retention Report of AEC Firms, offering a comprehensive look at the...

By Kyle Ahern | The 2025 Mid-Year Compensation Update highlights key salary shifts and industry trends shaping AEC firm strategy.

By Jared Maxwell | Despite recent success, AEC firms may need to navigate headwinds to mitigate risk and sustain growth and profitability.

By Nam Douglass | Firms that critically consider how best to leverage this tool today are better positioned to win the projects of tomorrow.

By Adam White | Meaningful employee growth goes beyond trainings and workshops – it takes time, trust, feedback, and a clear path forward.

Zweig Group, the leading provider of management consulting, research, and education for the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, is proud to announce the winners of the 2025 Marketing Excellence Awards. This program honors outstanding and...

By Megan Valencia | Every employee plays a crucial role in recognizing and attracting top talent, shaping company culture, and ensuring long-term business success.

By Chris Catton | Recruiting is tough, but AEC firms that master the basics gain a serious competitive advantage.

Zweig Group, the leading provider of management consulting, research, and education for the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, has introduced a new milestone in its 2025 Best Firms To Work For rankings: the Legacy Award....

Entries are now open for Zweig Group’s 2026 awards program. For more than 25 years, these awards have recognized the firms, teams, and individuals raising the bar in the AEC industry. Think your firm has...

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

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

By James Gilmer | Proactively addressing these regulatory considerations ensures your firm remains in good standing, competitive, and positioned for long-term success.

Zweig Group, the leading provider of advisory services, research, and education for the AEC industry, has released its 2025 Fee & Billing Report of AEC Firms. This definitive resource offers a clear picture of today's fee...

By Josh Crawford | Our industry currently faces unique hurdles; success hinges on adopting tailored solutions combined with tried-and-true principles.

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

By Kyle Ahern | The latest data reveals rising firm values, stable key metrics, and the impact of market forces on AEC valuations.

By Stuart McLendon | In uncertain waters, let strong financial leadership be your north star.

By Greg Sepeda | Success comes from creating a space where people feel comfortable asking questions, helping each other out, and wearing different hats when needed.

By Chad Coldiron, Casey Shea & Stefanie Richter | High-performing firms that embrace technology solutions are seeing transformative results across their operations.

By Matt Gross | Build success by fostering strong culture, investing in people and infrastructure, prioritizing cybersecurity, and planning strategically.

By Sara Parkman | AEC firms remain largely committed to flexible options that benefit both firms and their employees.

By Kyle Ahern | Salary data reveals evolving compensation trends, including regional, role-specific, and growth-driven salary differences.

Zweig Group is excited to announce strategic additions and promotions to its team. These appointments reflect Zweig Group’s continued commitment to delivering innovative solutions and exceptional service to its clients.

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...

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

By Rachel Lindblade | Discover how sustainable building design can drive significant cost savings in 2024 and beyond.

By Jeremy Clarke | Organizational optimization isn’t just a cost-saving measure – it’s a strategic imperative.

By Sara Parkman | Compensation trends reveal critical strategies to boost employee retention and satisfaction.

We’re thrilled to bring back one of our most downloaded episodes on the Zweig Letter Podcast! In this popular episode, a seasoned structural engineer, Scott Harvey-Lewis shares his unique perspective on leadership, innovation, and the...

Zweig Group is proud to announce the release of its 2024 Recruitment & Retention Report of AEC Firms, which covers all areas of recruitment and retention from the search process, integrating a new candidate into a firm, HR...

By Mercedez Thompson | Win themes should tell a compelling story about why your firm should win a client’s work, but without the right strategy they can inadvertently lose you the deal.

By Hannah Dapore | Intentional strategies to uphold a strong company culture regardless of geographical boundaries.

By Leisbel Lam | Having a service recovery mindset in your projects is essential in order to keep your organization’s sustained competitive advantage.

By Dan Houf | If AEC firms cannot have certainty in how they operate and grow, it will be difficult to stay competitive.

President and CEO of Bennett Engineering Services + Y&C Transportation Consultants, a firm that provides enduring and award-winning civil engineering services.

This comprehensive report offers insights into fees, billing rates, chargeability/utilization rates, project contracts, and billing practices.

By Ying Liu | The hidden signs your firm’s plan is neither strategic nor growth-driven.

The inaugural 2024 AEC Small Business & Entrepreneurship Forum, coming to Atlanta May 21, brings together entrepreneurial AEC industry leaders to discuss the unique issues of managing and growing a business in the AEC industry.

By Kyle Ahern | Prioritizing EX is a strategic imperative for firms looking to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.

By Luke Carothers | AEC industry experts shed light on key topics for firm leaders, from employee compensation, career growth, and AI integration.

By Stjepan Mikulić | This approach ensures the foundation of change is built on a solid understanding of human behavior, enabling more sustainable firm-wide implementation.

Zweig Group announces the release of its 2024 Principals, Partners & Owners Report of AEC Firms. This comprehensive report contains information on the ownership agreements, responsibilities, compensation, billing rates, chargeability, work habits, and challenges of AEC firm...

By Chad Clinehens | What it means to be an entrepreneur and run a smaller AEC firm in today’s competitive environment.

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

By Robert McGee | Proactive marketing anticipates industry trends, leveraging research, analytics, and simultaneous use of multiple tools for an impactful and budget-optimized campaign.

New focuses align with evolving AEC needs, including AI, tech, and small business growth.

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

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

🎙️ In our latest TZL Podcast episode, we dive into an enlightening chat with Zweig Group's data analytics guru, Keith Sequeira. We unpack how data is revolutionizing decision-making in design firms.

By Keyan Zandy | Generation Z can teach older generations valuable lessons about how they think and view their work.

By Leisbel Lam | We need to be holistic, bold, and nimble in order to transform our organizations to better align with a service culture and gain a competitive advantage.

By Liisa Andreassen | Board chair and CEO of Lochner, a firm that specializes in planning, environmental, design, construction engineering and inspection, and right-of-way services.

By Kraig Kern | If you stay disciplined, empathize with your team, and commit to excellence you can meet your deadlines and ultimately win more projects.

By Sara Parkman | Competitive employee benefits play a critical role in addressing recruiting and retention challenges in AEC.

Zweig Group’s 2023 Best Firms To Work For Award winners share how they’re leading the charge in setting new standards for employee experience.

By Chad Clinehens | Firms that take the time to learn and adapt to AI could gain a competitive advantage over those that are slower to adopt.

Zweig Group is proud to announce it has won six Hermes Creative Awards for its Civil + Structural Engineer magazine and for a video collection that was created for the 2022 ElevateAEC Conference & Awards Gala.

By Mark Zweig | Things are only going to get more competitive, so it’s time to raise the bar with your marketing.

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at Derck & Edson (Lititz, PA), a planning and design firm that shapes the natural and built environment in innovative and functional ways.

By Katie Batill-Bigler | Delegating demonstrates a strong sense of organization, self-confidence, and trust in your team – while also allowing opportunities for your team to grow.

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

Zweig Group’s media arm, Civil + Structural Engineer Media, continues to Elevate the Industry by highlighting outstanding projects completed in 2022.

By Andy Chavez | Some of the best practices that the most experienced buyers in our industry employ to get deals across the finish line.

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

By Kyle Ahern | Best Firms To Work For and Hot Firms continue to distinguish themselves in a highly competitive industry.

By Pete Hinojosa | Professional employer organizations provide a comprehensive range of HR solutions and technology to help businesses gain a competitive advantage.

By Malory Atkinson | If your logo no longer corresponds with your brand image and values, it’s time for a change.

In this episode, John Wheaton, CEO of Wheaton Sprague Building Envelope in Stow, OH, shares his origin story and how we came to embrace engineering as a profession. 

By Angelique Silvestre | Companies can still create strong team bonds by using technology to implement team building activities that foster company values, trust, and friendship among co-workers.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | The rapidly changing economic conditions we’re experiencing are putting salary pressure on AEC firms.

Zweig Group is proud to announce it has won six Hermes Creative Awards for its publications, conference, and website redesign. Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing, and...

CWE, a 40-person civil and environmental engineering firm providing public and private infrastructure services to clients throughout California, has acquired RFE Engineering, Inc. (RFE), located in the Greater Sacramento area of California. The acquisition increases CWE’s geographic...

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

By Kevin Johns | Despite the uncertainty and impact caused by potential tax law changes, inflation, and the pandemic, forecasts are strong overall for the AEC industry for 2022.

By Liisa Andreassen | President at ELEMENT (Tampa, FL), an award-winning, certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Minority Business Enterprise, consulting firm.

Zweig Group, a leading provider of advisory services, research, and education for the AEC industry, has just released the 2022 Engineering Salary Reports for all regions of the United States.  These reports are based on...

By Joseph Spadea | Invest in these technologies so you can continue bringing the best solutions to your clients and remain competitive in the changing market.

By Lucas Hayden | Unanet’s inaugural AEC benchmarking study reveals the data-management practices that separate the best firms from the rest.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of KSA (Longview, TX), an industry leader that provides a broad range of engineering, architecture, planning, surveying, and construction management services.

By Jim Toby | The quality of your projects sets your firm apart from the competition, so urge your prospective clients to look beyond the costs.

By Abdo Kardous | How an initial leap to the Middle East jump-started success around the globe for U.S.-based Hill International.

By Mark Zweig | Firms that can quickly fill any opening with excellent people have a major advantage over their competition in any market.

Zweig Group's media platform, Civil + Structural Engineer Media has announced the opening of the annual 2021 Engineering Drone Video of the Year (EDVY) Competition and a partnership with SPH Engineering's UgCS, the leading drone...

By Chad Clinehens | 2021 is looking to be a year of increasing freedom, control, and opportunity.

Design firms in the process of renewing their professional liability insurance will find the marketplace generally stable and competitive, even amid uncertainty created by COVID-19.

Current world events are changing the way we value everything. This pandemic highlights the need for collaborative and equitable decision-making between leadership and staff.

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

Staff training fuels a culture of continuous education, enabling your firm to stay competitive, relevant, and profitable for the long run.

By Chad Clinehens | Break out of the spreadsheet mentality and build an ownership team that drives value and performance long-term.

By combining traditional marketing tactics with unique approaches for our industry, AEC firms can get ahead of the competition, stay relevant, and win more and better contracts.

In times like these, it is more important than ever to monitor your costs and develop an action plan to ensure your firm can weather the storm. There are so many fixed costs associated with...

Through solid communication, planning, and leadership support from both organizations, a smooth transition is under way.

“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.”

Charting a sustainable future requires a willingness to critically evaluate your firm and prepare for the year ahead.

By John Bray | The value you will add and the time you will save is worth the cost almost every single time.

By Chad Clinehens | Use these tips to achieve long-term results in a short-term world.

By Kyle Ahern | Data collected from Best Firms To Work For and Hot Firms continues to provide valuable insight into the AEC industry.

Zweig Group’s annual publication of AEC industry fees, billing rates, chargeability/utilization rates, project contracts, and billing practices, has been released. The data contained in this publication was gathered using an online survey and collected from...

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

By Phil Keil | People need something to rally behind. Identifying a mission for your firm is more than just a box to check when creating a strategic plan.

“You had better conquer those fears! Because the power of the information to inform, educate, and motivate your people is more powerful than any negative that could come from it.”

Breaking into new markets isn’t easy, but it can be done if you have a long-term, coordinated plan of attack. Following 30 years as an Army Engineer officer, I went to work as a market...

Having the ability to offer candidates participation in the ESOP may provide your company a benefit your competition cannot offer.

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

By Kyle Ahern | Do you want to lead a firm where people come and stay, and where employees are always striving for improvement?

For a firm to find the transformative, positive change it’s looking for, leadership needs to be intentional and steadfast in its commitments. Management – planning, budgeting, staffing, organizing, controlling, and problem solving – helps you...

If you don’t identify and address your firm’s problems, you could increase the measure of risk while decreasing value. There is a four-letter word floating around out there that’s probably the first that comes to...

One-two punch of growth, big incentives for 2018 Hot Firms and Best Firms to Work For. By Richard Massey Editor Each year, Zweig Group names the 100 fastest growing Hot Firms in the country, as...

Mergers and acquisitions, among other events, can wreak havoc on firms. Keep in mind that when faced with upheaval, different people adjust in different ways. I checked Wikipedia at the start of this article, and...

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...

As the outlook for AEC firms remains bright and professional liability insurance rates stay competitive, the time is right to make sure your firm has adequate protection. Things are looking up for design firms. They...

An experienced insurance advisor can help design firms find the coverage and program structure required to address their evolving needs. A new survey by Ames & Gough of 17 leading insurance companies providing A/E professional...

Co-founder and president of BHC Rhodes (Hot Firm # 15 for 2017), a 130-person civil engineering firm based in Overland Park, Kansas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Profit centers go against the dynamic of a team...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 23, 2018) –Zweig Group is proud to announce the release of the 2018 Best Firms To Work For Awards, a prestigious list honoring the creation of outstanding workplaces at architecture, engineering, and...

Banish profit centers in small to midsize firms. Focus on your people by letting each do what each is best qualified to do. An engineering, architecture or planning professional services firm can be very successful...

An acquired firm can double your size, elevate your design reputation, and give you a foothold in a new market – if the cultures fit. Editor’s note: Design Organization was acquired by Shive-Hattery in 2012....

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...

Every design firm has lost a good employee to the competition. It’s even tougher when the individual is a project manager overseeing and completing work on your firm’s behalf. ("What to do when your PM...

Whether you realize it or not, they are your biggest competitive advantage, so train them, mold them, and set them up to succeed. Clients are great. They are your main source of revenue. Technology is...

Des Moines, Iowa (December 11, 2017) – The Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Des Moines Business Record awarded Shive-Hattery as the Best Workplace for Young Professionals. With over half of its employees under the...

It’s not about what emotions we experience, but how we harness and direct our emotions that will impact our success or failure. In the AEC industry, each constituent group has a stereotypical emotional profile. Engineers...

When taking control of proposals, squat down, get dirty, and just like a baseball catcher out on the diamond, manage your team. Johnny Bench, one of the greatest baseball catchers of all time, said: “The...

We’re seeing more and more multi-office A/E/P and environmental firms wrestle with this issue: should branch offices be profit centers or not? Or should some other organization units be the place where we measure profitts...

The benefits are higher prices, less competition, and a better ability to withstand downturns in the economy. It seems to me that one of the core tenets of any business today – especially those that...

In a hot M&A market, the opportunity to sell is there, but staying put could also be a good path to take. The activity with mergers and acquisitions is quite high. There seem to be...

A lot of AEC firms might think they won’t qualify for the incentive, but with the increasing complexity of design, they should rethink the issue. Are you looking to be more competitive in an ever-changing...

A lot of what people call “cheese” these days really isn’t. When you’re talking about Kraft Singles, or Velveeta, for example, you aren’t talking about cheese. You are instead talking about “pasteurized, processed cheese food.”...

Can strategic thinking be learned? Sure, if you know where to start and are mindful of the mileposts along the way. Halfway through a two-day strategic planning retreat, a senior leadership team member nervously pulled...

President of WestLAND Group, Inc. (Best Firm #41 Multi-discipline and Hot Firm #45 for 2017), a full-service civil engineering and land surveying firm based in Ontario, California. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “It’s important to identify...

A/E firms with sound risk management may benefit most from a competitive professional liability market, and should take the opportunity to increase coverage. Design firms that practice sound risk management, have good loss experience, and...

If you’re looking to sell, it’s critical you attract the right buyers with a detailed yet concise overview of your firm. The M&A transaction “teaser” is the first document that a prospective buyer will review...

Too many owners/managers/leaders in AEC firms are obsessed with looking in their rearview mirrors when instead, they should be looking far down the road. Doing that – as I was taught at Freddie Spencer’s Superbike...

You don’t want to lose sight of your current business, but fostering ideas and innovation with your staff is increasingly essential. Achieving the seemingly impossible could be one way to sum up several epic sporting...

The acronym is PDB, not to be confused with PBR, the beer, or PBR, professional bull riding. Bone up on the latest method of project delivery. By some statistics, design-build accounts for some 40 percent...

Growth is all but assured in a healthy market, but if a firm doesn’t watch out, it can grow helter-skelter to the point of extinction. Many firms are experiencing growth during this post-recession period and...

AEC firms have a big problem. We wait for clients to tell us what THEY want or need and then we give them a proposal. That may seem perfectly normal to you. What’s wrong with...

Campaign finance laws, bid rigging, price fixing, and bribery. We hear about this with contractors, but how about design professionals? Several times each year, there is an article about some contractor being debarred or convicted...

1. The competition for skilled labor will increase. This will lead to more employee turnover, higher wages, and an uptick in inflation. The unemployment rate will remain near 5 percent nationally, but the number of...

A trio of profound shifts in the A/E/P industry has made it much more difficult for firm owners to retire. As I enter my mid-50s (never thought it would happen) I have become privy to...

Global infrastructure and environmental services firm is poised to introduce patent-pending workflow process to $1B market in remediation of abandoned Navajo uranium mines. By Richard Massey Managing Editor A billion-dollar market in the remediation of...

Figure out what your firm is and what its values are, and remain disciplined if you want to flourish in a competitive market. The competitive environment continues to change at light speed, and that in...

You should if you want more business and enhanced services for your clients, and besides, the new generation of engineers has to have it. In 1971 the founders of our firm went to their local...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (August 15, 2016) –Zweig Group has announced the winners of the 2016 Marketing Excellence Awards. Zweig Group had the most competitive year to date for these awards, with a record number of applicants....

You have to keep your firm moving if you hope to stay ahead of the competition, and if you want your firm to age gracefully. If you’ve ever spent any time at the beach, you...

Did you know? Marketing trends are discussed by only 40% of A/E firms during marketing meetings. Marketing departments are becoming increasinly responsible for tracking all marketing/sales related data. From 1997 until last year, the percentage...

Competition can be a good thing, especially if it stimulates others to make themselves better; survey data shows that now is the time to think about your competitive edge. I’ve spent most of my career...

The 2015 Fee & Billing Survey was created with information gathered from an online questionnaire that required participants to answer questions about their billing rates, fee structures, staff chargeability, and billing practices. The questionnaire was...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (August 20, 2015) – For the first time, Zweig Group’s Annual Salary report for the architecture and engineering industries will include data gathered from two sources: HR professionals and employees themselves. Previously, the...

It is a good to be to be a principal, partner, or owner in the architectural, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry! In its 2015 Best Jobs rankings, U.S. News & World Report lists Architect...

Have a conversation about project details and fees so you can staff them right and finish work on time, preferably below the allocated fee. On the architecture and engineering professions, we measure everything by time....

(The following is an excerpt from the book Successful Project Management for A/E/P and Environmental Consulting Firms, by Ernest Burden) Client service. Client-focused. Client-driven. Client-centered. Every A/E/P and environmental consulting firm includes these words in...

Using industry benchmarks can help invest with confidence. Have asked yourself how many marketing staff members your firm should really have? Firm leaders often ask us this because they are constantly hearing how they should...

Go deeper on the statements you make to potential clients. Convincing them to hire you takes a customized approach every time. How many times have you used the “we’re local” crutch as one of your...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 1002 Originally published 4/8/2013 There are many things you can’t control, but this one you can. Here are seven ways you can be...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 989 Originally published 1/7/2013 Employ these three tactics in your selection process and you’re likely to begin seeing significant improvements in talent acquisition...

By Jeremy Clarke Getting top talent is still a critical priority… even in this economic environment. How so? Well, because business needs are still evolving, and employee turnover is still an unavoidable reality. All of...

By Debbie Frederiksen Director of Marketing Consulting, ZweigWhite During my junior year of college I took an elective business course in market research. I don’t recall exactly why I chose this class, but more than...

Press Release: August 15, 2011 Time to love thy neighbor or raise the draw bridge? A/E/P Experts have mixed feelings on when to share information and if it’s always beneficial. FAYETTEVILLE, AR (August 9, 2011)...

By Mark C. Zweig CEO, ZweigWhite The tough times haven’t gotten any better. If you look at the American Institute of Architects’ billing index, it goes up a little and then falls back again. Money...

Press Release: June 28, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 28, 2011) – More design firms are engaging in partnerships to remain competitive, whether that means expanding their range of design services or partnering with companies that...

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

Press Release: June 14, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 14, 2011) – Firms in the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting arena appear to be investing in design process-enabling technologies that will help them face the...

Press Release: June 2, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 2, 2011) — After a boom in 2007 and near stagnancy in the years following, merger and acquisition activity is heating up for firms in the architecture,...

Press Release: May 25, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 25, 2011) – Universities offering online master’s degrees in civil engineering are reporting record increases in enrollment, in large part because of technology improvements and the sluggish...

By Tracey D. Jeffers There is a four letter word floating around out there in the atmosphere that is likely the first formed in the mind of an investor when determining whether or not an...

By Hobson Hogan I recently attended a conference on alternative investments for asset managers and investors. The attendees were mostly representatives from large institutional investors, endowments, hedge fund managers, and corporate bankers. The conference focused...

By Mark C. Zweig I thought it might be fun to reflect back on my 30-plus years of working in this business and assemble a list of fundamental laws none of us can get around....

Press Release: January 20, 2011 The 2011 The Zweig Letter Marketing Excellence Awards will recognize the most innovative and effective marketing strategies in the architecture, engineering, planning, construction and environmental consulting industry. The competition will...

From the Chairman:Ed Friedrichs As the end of this rather protracted recession plays out (we all hope), I’ve been questioning lots of clients— both the architecture/ engineering firms to whom I consult and the companies...

Let’s face it. People will come AND go. And they don’t always leave (voluntarily or otherwise) at the best time. Sometimes it really hurts! A critical client relationship may be injured or lost by a...

As someone who teaches entrepreneurship in The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, one of my responsibilities is to mentor students who enter business plan competitions. In these competitions, students...

If you have a firm of any size and have been in business for any length of time, you will at some point discover one of your key people is interviewing with a competitor. You...

After 20 years of writing The Zweig Letter and its no-named, type-written predecessor, I feel like I know our readers. Most of you are architects, engineers, planners, and scientists. You (rightfully) consider yourselves professionals. Theoretically,...

After 28 years of working in and around A/E/P and environmental firms, it is clear that there are many good firms and only a few truly great firms in this business. The “truly great” firms...

I recently had the pleasure of serving as faculty advisor for three teams of students in a statewide business plan competition called The Arkansas Governor’s Cup. There were 42 very well-coached teams that submitted plans...

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...

Like it or not, the world is rapidly becoming one. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. And the implications for architects, engineers, planners, and allied professions are significant. What it means, quite simply,...

Anyone who knows me or who has read my writings on management for architects and engineers over the years knows that I absolutely HATE buzzwords. They automatically raise the suspicions of the smart design, management,...

For this, our annual “A/E Firm of the Future” issue, you will see a lot of predictions. Therefore, I thought I would throw in my two cents’ worth of predictions on what that firm of...

I should be reading now, sitting here in my tight blue “pleather” Northwest Airlines seat on my umpteenth flight this month. But I’m not. Instead, I just wasted a half hour on “Brick Breaker,” a...

It just doesn’t matter what type of business one talks about. Whether you are a housepainter, you sell window blinds, or you are in the architecture, engineering, or environmental consulting business— ALL of your clients,...

Years ago, I coined a term called “supply-side human resources management.” The basic theory of supply-side human resources management goes something like this: If an A/E or environmental firm invests heavily in its recruitment function,...

When design or environmental firms face problems, the first course they usually pursue is one of cost cutting. Obviously, there’s merit to it. I have recommended cost cuts to clients many times over the years,...

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...

Although I sometimes wish I were more clever or entertaining than I am, writing about what makes A/E/P or environmental firms more successful is what you pay me to do. Occasionally I think I sound...

We’re seeing more and more multi-office A/E/P and environmental firms wrestle with this issue: should branch offices be profit centers or not? Or should some other organization units be the place where we measure profits...

We hear it a lot these days: “We can’t compete with the five-man firm across town— they’ll do the job for half what we charge,” or, “How can a big firm like ZH43C do that...

If you talked with as many people in A/E/P and environmental consulting firms as I have over the years, you would soon discover that “office politics” is a dirty term in our industry. Engineers, architects,...

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...

When you hear the word “elitism,” it usually strikes a negative chord. Used in the context of describing an A/E/P or environmental consulting firm, the first thing that comes to mind is: “They think they’re...

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...

As someone with a business orientation and education who started competing at a young age, competition is something I’ve always been interested in. I take pride in being a pretty competitive guy— one who likes...

Conventional wisdom (CW) isn’t always so “wise.” Let’s take a look at some of the wisdom frequently heard in the halls and conference rooms of A/E and environmental consulting firms: The company will be profitable...

It’s the time of year when you can’t reach anyone on the telephone, when important decisions seem to be postponed, and when, as one CFO who participates in our ZWEIG 100 index remarked recently, firm-wide...