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By Sara Parkman | President of Shive-Hattery (Cedar Rapids, IA), a multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering firm that recognizes the power of design in transforming the human experience.

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

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

By Patrick Schultz | Achieve resilient, sustainable operations while navigating an unprecedented global pandemic and addressing complex disruptions.

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 Rob Hughes | This subtle but onerous language is becoming fairly widespread in design contracts and, if overlooked, could leave design firms with significant, potentially uninsured exposures.

By Lindsay Young | This is our opportunity to get creative and bring in new ideas for our firms to get work.

By Stephen Lucy | In the past year, we’ve learned a great deal about how we can do better and have begun to seize opportunities created by 2020.

By Sara Parkman | Improved representation improves our ability to problem-solve, to be strategic with our strengths, and to think critically and comprehensively about topics.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | While we’re entering 2021 with a renewed sense of purpose and greater clarity, there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

By Liisa Andreassen | COO of CEC Corporation (Oklahoma City, OK), a multidiscipline firm with a focus on eliminating aging infrastructure and driving community growth through innovative design.

By John Bray | Approachable steps you can take to prepare for a potential acquisition down the road, and why it’s never a bad idea to take them.

By Mark Zweig | Things are real messy right now, but we can all get safely to our destinations if we keep our cool.

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.

Through recessions and tough times, innovations explode as people are forced to slow down and think. Many are already working on the next big thing for their business. Are you?

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

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of HEAPY Engineering (Dayton, OH), a leader in sustainability, engineering, and commissioning solutions with a vision to build a more resilient and sustainable society.

Chairman and CEO of Salas O’Brien, an employee-owned firm with no corporate headquarters that provides building and facility solutions to clients across the United States.

By Chad Coldiron | Practice becoming a better communicator, and you’ll build better rapport and credibility with clients, colleagues, and just about everyone else.

President and CEO of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (Northbrook, IL), a global firm that’s committed to helping clients solve, repair, and avoid problems in the built world.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Companies are adopting fluid work from home policies and people have begun migrating away from dense cities.

The texture of varying beliefs, values, and backgrounds inform how we see the world, and are at the very core of our ability to serve our clients and community.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | If you don’t have a social media and online marketing strategy for your AEC firm, now is the time to get started.

President and CEO of Payette (Boston, MA), a firm that values the close relationships it builds with its collaborators on the journey from design to reality.

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.

Keep tabs on your insurers in a difficult economy by reviewing evaluations by popular ratings agencies.

President of EPS Group (Mesa, AZ), a full-service consulting firm that is dedicated to exceeding expectations.

We must apply our human intelligence to identify the real problems and leverage technology as a platform to bridge the gaps between tools, people, and processes.

Managing principal at Inventure Design (Houston, TX), a firm that transforms the client experience in design and architecture by creating smart, human-centered spaces.

By John Bray | Bringing work to your firm right now could be the difference between coming out of the pandemic stronger on the other side or getting left behind.

Chairman and CEO of Nabholz (Conway, AR), a 1,200 person multi-discipline, employee-owned firms whose name has been synonymous with integrity since its founding in 1949.

By Mark Zweig | “Being allowed to teach what I’ve learned about entrepreneurship and business to my students over my long career has been one of my greatest honors and privileges.”

Collaboration is key when navigating challenging times. Our best way ahead is together, through strategic partnerships and adaptive thinking.

We need to remain flexible for the foreseeable future as we continue to determine what is resonating with our clients.

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 Mark Zweig | Firms in this business are quickly sorting themselves into two categories – those that are doing better than ever post-COVID-19, and those that are doing worse.

By Chad Clinehens | Embrace this period of rapid evolution and push yourself even further out of your comfort zone.

By Mark Zweig | “Sometimes I think it is good to reflect back on all the lessons I have learned over the years. Here are a few that stand out to me.”

By Chad Clinehens | This is an opportunity to immerse your team in the best thought leadership and best practices in the AEC industry.

The ways our businesses and facilities function in relation to employees and customers are bound to adjust due to COVID-19.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Celebrate the present, and focus on extreme flexibility and radical empathy going forward.

By Kyle Ahern | The impressive data collected from Zweig Group’s Best Firms To Work For and Hot Firms continues to provide valuable insight into the AEC industry.

By Jamie Claire Kiser & Christina Zweig Niehues | ElevateHer has been a call to action to work together, and the reaction to this inclusive approach has been powerful.

Leaders of employee-friendly firms talk about recruiting, culture, and the importance of employee feedback.

By Mark Zweig | Firms seem to be doing better than most anyone would have predicted when everything had to shut down in March. Why is that?

COVID-19 has pushed leaders in the design industry and beyond to develop new strategies to manage an increasingly untethered workforce.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Takeaways from a truly exceptional virtual discussion experience.

In the current economic environment, avoid costly payment disputes and counterclaims by choosing clients carefully and staying on top of your receivables and collections.

By Mark Zweig | When people are demotivated they become negative and cynical, and can pollute the attitudes of their co-workers. And if they’re really demotivated, they may quit.

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

Click here to take the NEW Q3 Impacts of COVID-19 on the AEC Industry Survey This is a short questionnaire that should take no more than 10-15 minutes. In mid-March 2020, Zweig Group launched a...

Owner and managing partner at Batture, LLC (New Orleans, LA), a firm dedicated to delivering outstanding results while creating powerful social and environmental change.

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

By Mark Zweig | With new cases of COVID-19 on the rise, now is not the time for complacency. Instead, it is a time for self-reflection and new action.

Co-founder and executive vice president of Patel, Greene and Assoc. (Temple Terrace, FL), a firm with a mission to elevate their families, communities, and profession.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | With some ingenuity and proper planning, the AEC industry can adapt and thrive in any climate.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Despite the challenging environment, there are tremendous opportunities to be had.

If we want to be in position to effectively respond and even get ahead of the curve, we all need to know what’s likely to come next.

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.

Co-founder and principal at CWE (Fullerton, CA), a  civil engineering, water resources, and environmental engineering firm whose experts pledge to create a better tomorrow, today.

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.

Founding principal of PK Electrical (Reno, NV), a women-owned, small business electrical engineering and design firm founded in 1996.

Chris Huckabee, CEO of Huckabee and Associates, talks about how his architectural firm has learned to quickly evolve over the past few months during the pandemic.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Discarding an entire year’s worth of results may be an even greater barrier to future success than our current circumstances.

By Mark Zweig | Getting on the phone right now may be the single most important thing you can do to bring in new work.

By Will Swearingen | In recent months, long-time issues like communication have been trumped by new challenges: loneliness, problems with technology, work-life balance, and distractions.

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

By Jamie Claire Kiser | We’re using videoconferencing more than ever, but constant communication isn’t the same as effective communication.

Co-founder and managing partner of Shear Structural (Chamblee, GA), a 100 percent women-owned and women-managed structural engineering firm.

By Mark Zweig | Now is a good time to take stock of the many positive aspects of our industry to help keep yourself and your employees motivated and directed in the midst of uncertainty.

Founder of edg (New York, NY), a technology-driven firm that leverages the power of software and equipment to deliver higher quality projects in less time.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Addressing questions about the impact of COVID-19 through the lens of the Great Recession.

By Mark Zweig | For many A/E firms, it is going to take a lot of tough decisions, hard work, mental intensity, and help from everyone in the firm to get through this situation intact.

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

President of Shield Environmental Associates (Lexington, KY), a full-service engineering and environmental consulting firm that seeks solutions of distinct value.

Tracey Eaves and Randy Wilburn discuss valuation, how COVID-19 will affect firm values, and what owners who are near retirement should be thinking about now.

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

By Mark Zweig | “Profound changes are coming to our industry. As is always the case when the external market makes huge shifts, those companies that can adapt will do well.”

All of us in the AEC industry are being challenged by the disruption this virus is causing, but we got this. Solving problems is what we do.

By Phil Keil | Recommendations for how your firm can adjust budgets and make smart investments of your money, your time, and your energy.

Founding principal of Kudela & Weinheimer (Houston, TX), a landscape architecture firm that has produced beautiful, exceptionally built environments for more than 25 years.

Ten takeaways from the Ames & Gough survey of 15 leading insurance companies providing AEC professional liability insurance in the U.S.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Lessons learned from conversations with industry leaders about separation anxiety, empowerment, and calm confidence.

By Mark Zweig | “If there’s a silver lining in this crisis it is that we may each have a chance to reevaluate our priorities and improve the quality of our lives from here on.”

By John Bray | Connect with your people and bolster your business so you come out of this pandemic stronger on the other side.

President and CEO of Wallace Engineering (Tulsa, OK), a structural and civil engineering consulting firm that believes in being active citizens, in both our profession and communities.

Rather than another article about how COVID-19 is affecting the engineering world, allow me to take you back to 1630s Peru for a quick history lesson. The beautiful Spanish Lady Ana de Osorio, Countess of...

By Chad Clinehens | Now could be the perfect time to give yourself and the workings of your firm some much needed attention.

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

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

In these uncharted times, we run the risk of only thinking about the immediate and not about where we are going to be three months, six months, or a year from now.

“Getting on the phone and staying on the phone for a few days every week for the next couple months will be good for you.”

By Jamie Claire Kiser | What differentiates us now as leaders is our ability to roll with the punches and make sharp, sober decisions.

President and CEO of Ramey Kemp & Assoc. (Raleigh, NC), a transportation engineering, planning, and design firm founded in 1992.

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

“The new reality of living with the coronavirus is just getting started.”

“It will take everything we have as leaders to get our firms and ourselves through this.”

Principal at GH2 Architects (Tulsa, OK), an international architecture and design firm founded in 1973 that’s flexible, engaging, and fun.

Christina Zweig Niehues and Randy Wilburn discuss the results of Zweig Group’s ongoing AEC Industry Outlook & Response to COVID-19 Survey.

“Whether or not our businesses survive is going to be up to our response to the problem as leaders. It won’t be easy, but this, too, shall eventually pass.”

By Christina Zweig Niehues | The situation is changing quickly, but versatility and fast decision-making have become necessary.