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By Thomas Mitchell | AI is transforming dispute resolution by predicting outcomes, reducing conflicts, and enhancing decision-making – while raising vital data privacy concerns.

By Irina Rice | The evolving use of AI in AEC projects raises complex legal questions about authorship, copyright, and ethical responsibility.

By Elizabeth Preston | How do AEC industry businesses use artificial intelligence effectively and responsibly for writing?

By Lauren Martin | The Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990 granted architects copyright protection for their designs, but recent trends see ownership shifting.

By Kraig Kern | The line between persuasive marketing and over-promising can be particularly fine and fraught with potential hazards.

By Lillian Minix | When prompting AI like ChatGPT to generate content, you are responsible for applying the program conscientiously.

Innovators should consider following these best practices to ensure that what they believe to be their trademarks and copyrights actually are their legal property.

If innovators find themselves on the wrong side of these rules, the law may deny them legal ownership of what should have been their intellectual property.

Be careful. While a design firm can retain its copyrights by contract, the firm can just as easily give those rights away – by written contract. Design professionals are, traditionally, reluctant to give up ownership...

Review and understand any new or enhanced supplemental coverages available under your policy and note those most timely and valuable to your firm. Design firms may want to double-check their professional liability insurance policies for...

It’s time for a quick review of what firm leaders should – and should not – be doing. There are a lot of people with the “principal” title in A/E of environmental firms. But I...

Bells and whistles are nice, but when it comes time to write a winning proposal, a strong, focused message is still the way to go. In recent months I have seen a number of questions...

The work and talents required of an A/E principal means that some traits associated with attention deficit can be useful. Experts have claimed that as much as 35-40 percent of the adult population has some...

Take the last few months of 2015 to assess your clients and marketing. Although 2015 won’t be over until the last day of December, September always feels like the start of something new. With the...

Strategic cooperation among competitors can result in big gains for each firm and better projects for clients. I hadn’t heard of “coopetition” – a contraction of cooperation and competition – for a while, but it...

Several organizations have found that bringing financial management staff onto the project management team results in heaven-sent synergies. In Zweig Group’s consulting practice, we see many firms grapple with the interface between project managers and...

Highly profitable firms differ from others in 5 main areas; how does your organization stack up? When you see some A/E and environmental firms making record profits right now – and others still barely breaking...

Industry prosperity can’t last forever, but preparation now can help you be ready if – and when – the cycle ends. The A/E industry is hot right now, People! The overall industry is as healthy...

Allowing late payments because ‘this is the way the client has always paid us’ is a cash-flow killer. Accounts receivable is, for most of our clients, the source of all the cash that fuels the...

RTM’s CEO Tony Mirchandani has built his career pragmatically and encourages sustainable growth within his firm. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Tony Mirchandani, CEO, RTM (South Barrington, IL), a 100-person engineering consulting firm, has expertise in...

Many lessons from ‘Small Enterprise Management’ can be applied to A/E/P and environmental firms. As most readers know, one of my “other” jobs is that of a college professor, teaching entrepreneurship at the Sam M....

Over-confidence going into a proposal or interview can create a self-fulfilling prophecy; front-runners must be sure to wow clients. We have all been there. We find out we are short-listed for that project that we...

Embracing marketing to set you apart from everyone else can change your business – and your life – for the better. Good marketing has the power to change your firm – and your life. If...

Becoming a Better Project Manager aims to provide new, aspiring PMs with a knowledge base and toolbox to be successful in design, facilities management firms. By Andrea Bennett Managing Editor On May 5, Zweig Group...

In an industry with constant news and needs, following a few simple tips can keep your messages efficient and effective. In today’s world, there’s an endless array of marketing that could or should be developed...

Bad résumés, Skype, and doing favors Why flexibility is key when hiring your next top employee. By Randy Wilburn Recruiting Notes Image courtesy of Flanzingo https://www.flazingo.com/creativecommons One of the things that always stands out to...

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...

Show paints difference between risk-takers and everyone else. Mark Zweig shares some additional food for thought. Watching “Shark Tank” episodes back-to-back last night was a great case study in the differences between entrepreneurs and most...

Five things that differentiate entrepreneurs from the rest of the people in the world. I was watching a show on Netflix the other night with my eight-year-old daughter. It was all about humans with superhuman...

The manager-producer dilemma and how it can affect your course. I am reflecting on the month of January as I write this. I was in the office for one business day and on the road...

Three ideas to help you implement a successful HR recruiting program. I sit here writing this article the day after Super Bowl 49. I’m neither a Patriots nor Seahawks fan but it was an exciting...

Are you getting all you need from HR today? Three suggestions from Mark Zweig. Human resources management often gets a bad rap. That isn’t without cause. In my experience, too many HR managers forget whose...

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...

It may sound cheesy, but it applies to both personal and professional relationships. There’s so much written these days about how to be a great leader. It’s everywhere. A million ideas and things one should...

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....

Ten characteristics Mark Zweig has seen in high-flying AEC leaders. Thirty five years as a student of human behavior – all concentrated in one industry (the AEC world) – coupled with an incredible amount of...

Five types of unnecessary practices that are making you lose big bucks, Mark Zweig writes. I’ve always thought there was a lot of time wasted in the typical AEC firm’s office, especially for the managers....

Distinguishing between marketing and sales offers a true perspective of investment. We have a problem in this industry. Many of us have a simple-minded perspective of “marketing.” For many firms, the marketing department is a...

Avoid dropping the ball with that perfect out-of-town candidate. I recently left a fairly comfortable existence in New England to relocate here to Fayetteville, Ark. the home office of the Zweig Group. I spent a...

Despite what the pundits say, Mark Zweig believes that magnetic leaders aren’t such a bad thing. "Charisma” – some people have it and some don’t. It has been defined as a special charm or appeal...

Your job is to instill harmony between those who thrive on change and those who prefer the status quo. After working with A/E firms for about 35 years, I have come to the conclusion that...

Which units are performing and which are not? Do a little research; allocate your investment appropriately. I'm all for holistic thinking – always have been. I’ve seen a lot of silly (make that stupid) stuff...

Marketing is the area of your business intended for giving to others. I was on-site with a client recently and we were discussing a business development strategy for their new planning group. One of the...

An ode to the A/E profession, from Mark Zweig. Being in the construction and development business through Mark Zweig, Inc., and getting exposure to many other businesses and industries as a professor teaching entrepreneurship at...

Five ways to increase your digital footprint in branding and recruiting the best and brightest in 2015. As we approach the end of 2014, I’m amazed at how much has changed in such a short...

Build a better, more sustainable company with these suggestions from Mark Zweig. 2015 is shaping up to be a FANTASTIC year for firms in this business. It’s really fun to see how many firms are...

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...

Mark Zweig offers remembrance on passing of dear friend and firm leader Joe Lalli. We lost a great leader, design professional, and friend with the passing Joseph J. “Joe” Lalli, FASLA, in Fort Lauderdale on...

Six suggestions from Mark Zweig on how to form and keep relationships alive. I never liked the idea that a consulting business should have its marketing based on personal relationships. I just don’t like being...

These comprehensive campaigns are more than a marketing exercise. Do you roll your eyes when you hear of a firm going through a rebranding? Be honest. Certainly the concept of branding has been slow to...

Results of long-running study show that those who wait for reward do better in the end, Mark Zweig writes. Back in the ’60s a Psych professor at Stanford, Walter Mischel, gave a famous test to...

Find out what you should be really pursuing and go for it. Mark Zweig predicts success. Some years ago, Toyota’s Lexus brand promoted itself through the slogan, “Lexus: The relentless pursuit of perfection.” That decision...

A new era dawns as this company moves ahead refreshed and re-emboldened. The 15th Annual Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Event marked the announcement of a new name and complete rebranding of ZweigWhite to...

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...

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 lays out the steps you must take to create a successful organization. Also, be a real leader. One of the most important jobs any leader has is that of building their team. Yet...

Think of leadership not as a single person but as a team of individuals, each with his or her own strength and talent. For years I’ve watched firms struggle with leadership transition, particularly firms started...

Mark Zweig lists some things he has learned about the A/E/P and environmental business over three decades. The end of August marked 34 full years working in the A/E/P and environmental consulting business. I have...

This over-used word can be working against you. In one of our seminars, we ask the attendees to spend 5 minutes developing a short pitch to convince a potential client why they should hire the...

Mark Zweig offers five things you can do to keep valued employees who just don’t see eye-to-eye. After working as an owner, consultant, and employee in A/E firms for more than 34 years, it’s interesting...

Is personality a window to culture when interviewing candidates? It’s amazing how often the word “culture” is used in the recruiting process. More often than not, a candidate’s fit with, or should I say into,...

Mark Zweig expresses frustration about the mishandling of the sales process at design firms. It is a hard to manage the business development (BD) effort in the A/E and environmental consulting industry. To start with,...

If vertical or horizontal expansion (or both) is in the cards for you, approach with caution. Business has been good lately in the A/E professions. Opportunities abound, yet many firms struggle with the question of...

Mark Zweig offers five suggestions on how to stay out of trouble and in the black. One of the greatest challenges is keeping your business profitable. It’s easiest when you’re growing. Revenue is going up...

Mark Zweig praises the winners of the 2014 Hot Firm List and Best Firms To Work For ranking. With the winners of both ZweigWhite’s Best Firms To Work For and Hot Firm competitions announced (both...

And since they are, follow these eight tips to improve their effectiveness. What is a job posting? C’mon, think about it. It’s simply an advertisement. Aren’t you advertising an opening that you want to fill?...

Mark Zweig provides 10 tips how to treat potential new employees right. One of the things we do at ZweigWhite is a limited amount of executive search consulting. Most people don’t really understand that. They...

Recruiting may not be immediately seen as a great branding tool, but it is. I’ll bet you never imagined your recruiting process could be an important brand-building tool for your firm. How can that be?...

Five thoughts from Mark Zweig about titles and how they are often dished out without much consideration. Title proliferation in the A/E/P business is alive and well. While intentions may be good – to keep...

Make your company stronger by involving marketing folks in the sales process. I recently attended a SMPS “Spring Training” one day seminar in Oklahoma. The first speaker, Carolyn Ferguson, asked several probing questions about developing...

Coach your staff on the small things that make all the difference and follow these four tips from Mark Zweig. So much of one’s success in the architecture, engineering, planning or environmental business has nothing...

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...

Mark Zweig tackles the misconceptions with four examples. I started out in business at a young age, buying and selling bicycles, then motorcycles and then cars, on my Mom and Dad’s street corner. Then I...

Take the time to share with new hires your wisdom about why things are the way they are and how they got that way. What happens when someone joins your firm? Do you merely sit...

Are you investing in consistent, brand-building marketing activities, Mark Zweig asks. Let’s face it. Living too well can be a problem. I’m talking about eating your seed corn, spending too much, and not reinvesting in...

Feel trapped at work? Four suggestions from Mark Zweig to help you have a saner lifestyle. It’s interesting – and frustrating as well – to see how many A/E/P and environmental firm owners and managers...

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...

It doesn’t look good right now, but in a changing world, architects will always be needed. There’s a lot of discussion about the future of architecture. It’s happening in the media, it’s occurring in the...

They sell themselves into the job but do little else, Mark Zweig writes. We have a big problem in the A/E/P industry. As good as most of our people are, after 34 years of working...

The motherload list of truisms that makes Mark Zweig’s blood boil. One benefit of aging has been a certain calmness that I now have that I didn’t have when I was younger. That makes each...

Search outside the firm or groom from within? To this author, the answer is obvious. I wrote last month about a position description for an office leader. But where do you look for the talent...

No method of communication is perfect, but each is best for certain situations, Mark Zweig writes. As leaders and managers of A/E/P or environmental firms, we all share one thing: lack of time. We work...

Need help identifying targets for potential recruiting? The answer is in the headline. Sometimes in the recruiting world, you’ll hear the term “sourcing.” It sounds like something you would hear in the buying/procurement business, right?...

Give recruiting the attention it deserves. Create a recruiting budget and follow these three tips from Mark Zweig. I have always wondered why recruiting is not a more prominent function in the majority of A/E/P...

Four pointers from Mark Zweig for firms stuck in a no-growth mode. One thing is for sure about the A/E/P and environmental consulting business: We’re all “stuck” if we can’t train people who work for...

Look for ideas to simplify every single thing you do and the benefits will accrue, Mark Zweig writes. For those of you not aware of it, earlier this month ZweigWhite announced the combination of two...

Being treated as a second class employee, independent of rank, is very demoralizing, Mark Zweig writes. The other day I stopped to talk with ZweigWhite’s CPA, who was meeting with our in-house accountant – a...

Consider the unexpected in your next candidate search and you’ll be that much closer to winning the war for talent. Dwight Eisenhower made a statement once that bears repeating. He said: “Plans are nothing; planning...

Eight suggestions from Mark Zweig to motivate staff, from office decor to proposal-making. I can’t stand it when my seven-year-old tells us how bored she is. Drives me absolutely insane! But I’m afraid that boredom...

Being crystal clear on intent and purpose allows you to build a powerful and consistent value proposition. Your organization has a culture and brand, whether by intention or happenstance. When asked about their brand, most...

Six traits that will make you and your team highly successful, Mark Zweig writes. There’s no doubt in my mind that most successful people in this business didn’t get there by accident. It’s because of...

The business is evolving faster than ever. Here are Mark Zweig’s eight steps for implementing change. I am convinced that both the world and the A/E/P and environmental business are changing at an accelerating pace....

Smart investments and ability to effectively manage debt are key to success at these firms. By Christina Zweig What are fast-growth firms doing differently than their competitors in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry? We...

Mark Zweig offers two examples of divisive attitudes, and how to fix them. It kills me how some people working in our client companies forget that they are all working for one firm. These people...

Costs add up, sometimes alarmingly, so be sure to discuss reimbursements. Everyone says they don’t want to nickel and dime their client and yet getting paid for doing work and providing service is the reality...

Are you able to charge the fees you think your services should command? The July issue of Interior Design magazine featured the “2013 Rising Giants 101-200” – in other words, the second group of 100...

Mark Zweig offers three simple tips: specialize, coach and choose your team well. I went to what some of us refer to as “Hillbilly Paradise” for a couple days with my family last week –...

Mark Zweig contrasts five examples of individuals best avoided. It has been said before that you “can tell a lot about someone by the company they keep.” It is such a true statement! Successful people...

Having it is one thing; using it is another. Over the years we’ve received several inquiries for off the shelf QA/QC (quality assurance and quality control) plans and manuals – typically prompted by requirements in...

Technical professionals are affected by failure too. Mark Zweig offers four examples. Many people think engineers and architects don’t really care about whether or not the company they work for is profitable. “They just want...

Pent-up demand means more hiring, so here are some critical musts for attracting and retaining great people. July is a time for grilling hamburgers by the pool, packing everyone into the family Denali or minivan...

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...

Mark Zweig offers 13 lucky suggestions on how to be closer to your clients. How you manage your clients is a big part of success in the A/E or environmental consulting business. And these skills...

It needs to be relevant, user-friendly and affordable but is well-worth the investment. Recruiting is not so simple an enterprise anymore. Like it or not, recruiting has become increasingly sophisticated over the years – in...

Some common policies display no common-sense. Mark Zweig exposes four problems and offers solutions. It’s interesting to me how so many A/E firms seem to just follow the same unwritten rules about how to pay...

Mark Zweig lists five questions you need to ask before tackling your next opportunity. Attention all readers in the A/E/P business – you have got to make some BIG changes to the way you’re marketing...

Good communication includes good writing. Everyone sort of scoffs at the English Lit majors in college – questioning the validity of such a general degree and wondering what sort of jobs those graduates land upon...

The year is half over, so here’s eight things you can do now to improve performance, Mark Zweig writes. Time’s a-wastin’. The year is now approaching halfway (time flies, doesn’t it?). You cannot keep rationalizing...

These are the two core words that define how and what people lead. I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking and learning about leadership. Endless books have been written about leadership and I’ve pursued...

Mark Zweig lists seven concerns, so it’s time to act. With the construction economy roaring back, it’s interesting to me to see some A/E and environmental firms cashing in on it and others that still...

Don’t we all want to be part of an organization that we are thrilled to be a part of; that makes us proud? I often get chills when I think back on my early career...

Mark Zweig offers five steps to keep your expanded departments happy and productive. When I started working in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry in 1980, most companies in the business did NOT have a...

But let’s just be clear – no one really enjoys working in a maddening environment. I was working with an engineering firm two weeks ago and we were discussing ways to improve operations. They had...

Stop holding so many of them and get back to work, Mark Zweig writes. We’ve got a HUGE problem in the A/E/P and environmental business. And it’s one we can solve easily. I’m talking about...

While the loss of a beloved BlackBerry device is a traumatic experience for Mark Zweig, change is inevitable. The last week brought a lot of change into my world. That included moving to a new...

Several things happen when a new person joins your firm. Don’t scare them away. This term seems to have come into popular usage among HR folks lately, referring to how a firm brings a person...

Mark Zweig provides six directions on where the market is heading. Here’s a quick summary of where I see things going right now in the A/E business and the world at large: The housing recovery...