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By Robert Jones | Government contractors in AEC must understand and follow GAAP to meet compliance standards, secure contracts, and ensure accurate financial reporting.

By Mark Zweig | Practical career advice for new AEC graduates on landing a great job and accelerating early career success.

By Sara Grayum | By collaborating closely, marketing and business development can craft stories that will steer your firm toward success.

By Rennee Richardson | Embracing cross-generational collaboration in the workplace helps bridge experience, skills, and fresh perspectives.

By Kurtis John | Ignoring these areas of risk and their potential implications can have significant impacts on your success and your firm’s future.

By Greg Sepeda | Mastering the art of managing upward is crucial for career growth, involving understanding, aligning with, and proactively supporting superiors.

By Mark Zweig | These four components all work in concert to make buying the business more affordable and easier to fund.

By Janki DePalma | Recognizing this bias helps managers and company leaders create spaces where everyone can thrive. 

By Josh Nord | As we continue improving work-life balance, we need to keep asking how we can foster those growth opportunities that come through listening and proximity. 

By Mark Zweig | This is the time of year many of us, and many of our clients, will take a family vacation, so do what you can to step away and enjoy it.

By Mark Zweig | These are “the good old days,” so don’t take anything for granted and find something to enjoy in even the most mundane aspects of life.

By Mark Zweig | These five points will get you thinking differently about how you interact with potential clients in the future.

By Mark Zweig | We create much of our own good luck – and a lot of that comes down to understanding probabilities and doing things that increase our odds for success.

By Rob Hughes | Enterprise risk management provides a formal process for firms to examine their critical risks in context, and implement cost-effective risk management and risk-financing solutions.

By Mark Zweig | If you’re trying to buy or thinking about buying another company in this business, here are a few things that may be helpful to you.

By Adam Zach | Whether it’s by reading a book or going to a seminar, taking an active interest in your personal development could be the best thing for your career.

By Mark Zweig | Many people in this business will say they agree with this idea, yet the people doing the hiring rarely do it.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

President of CEI, a 20-year-old minority-owned engineering and contracting firm based in Miami Lakes, Florida.

It might sound a bit odd, but there’s plenty of things the C-suite can learn from stand-up comedians.

“We need to collect our money sooner. With dragged out collection periods, most companies don’t have the working capital they need without borrowing.”

President and CEO of Eclipse Engineering (Best Firm Structural #12 for 2018), a Montana firm that likes to have a little “phun.”

President of Ampirical (Best Firm Multi-discipline #21 for 2018), a 200-person firm on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

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...

Honoring your clients’ business success above all else will enhance your firm’s reputation and bottom line – without compromising design. This is the third installment of a three-part discussion on the topic of job success,...

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...

I have been traveling my entire professional career, and as much as I hate to admit it, that is 38 years now. I’m sure I could have flown to Mars or something with as much...

One of my theories about why A/E firms do so poorly with at-risk construction projects is we are just not equipped for the people we deal with in that “other” world. There are some bad...

David Arends, president and CEO of CR architecture + design (Hot Firm #19 for 2016), a 175-person firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Entrepreneurship is not a standard genetic of architects, so...

Alternative collection methods at this time of year, even if it’s something radical, might come in handy if you need to ‘stock the cash coffers.’ As the last quarter of 2016 draws to a close,...

ACI Boland Architects of Kansas City was betrayed by an office manager who, over a decade, funneled millions into secret bank accounts. By Richard Massey Managing Editor A long-time office manager at one of Kansas...

Understanding the nuances of a Happily Employed Job Candidate can boost your ability to hire the best people. I recently received an email from a client who was in the middle of arranging an interview...

Annual resolutions are short-term planning at best. Now that another new year is in full throttle mode, are you checking off your list of resolutions, or are you envisioning your firm’s future? Annual resolutions are...

By Mark Zweig CEO, ZweigWhite We’ve had a rough three years. And although there have been some bright spots and encouraging moments, it could get a whole lot worse. I read one gloom and doom...

I was recently interviewed for a magazine article about the residential redevelopment projects we do here in Fayetteville. In addition to figuring out why my houses sell either before we start working on them or...

With clients not in any hurry to pay their bills and banks clamping down on firms that are non-compliant with their loan covenants, now more than ever is the time to do what it takes...

As the economy gets worse, and panic sets in amongst the management of too many A/E/P and environmental firms, mistakes will be made that are difficult to recover from. I’m referring to decisions such as...

Frank Fickleheimer had to do something different. His firm, Fickleheimer Enginee-ring, did not have the operating capital it needed. Fifteen good years of solid growth and profits had left them with a lot of mouths...

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

Last week I was on the phone ordering a part for an old British motorcycle. It vibrates so much that every time I ride it something either breaks off or falls off. In any event,...

“What goes around comes around.” “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” “You reap what you sow.” “To get love, you need to give love.” These adages (and many more) all reinforce the thinking...

Every A/E/P or environmental firm finds it necessary to hire outside consultants at some point. Whether it’s simply to get tax advice or to plot out a new course for a growing firm, it’s inevitable....

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...

Let’s face it. Some clients just aren’t worth dealing with. They are too much trouble, they are dishonest, they don’t pay, they don’t do what they say they will...and the aggravation that comes from trying...

As an old car guy, I’ve learned that gauges are vastly superior to “idiot lights.” Idiot lights tell you when something has gone wrong, such as “engine hot” (it is now overheated). Gauges tell you...

Every owner in an A/E/P or environmental firm knows you can make all the paper profits you want, but unless you turn those profits into bank deposits, you have nothing. I’ve written so much about...

One thing I have learned over the years is that how good something turns out depends on the sum total of many small decisions. Most of the time, as it relates to projects, it’s not...

There may be truth to the old adage: “Ignorance is bliss.” Because the fact is, there are a lot of people, many of them at the highest levels in A/E/P and environmental firms, who are...

You’re all aware of it. The “circular theory,” otherwise known as “what goes around comes around.” It’s one of nature’s laws that seems to hold true as much as the laws of physics. If you’re...

Not much gets someone who works in an A/E/P or environmental firm more upset than unnecessary bureaucracy. I’m talking about stupid forms to fill out, channels to go through, or steps to take that don’t...

Every week, I have to come up with something relevant to say to architects, engineers, and environmental consultants who own or manage A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. That’s my job. I like it— and because...

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