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By Michael Sanderson | The firms that truly put people first pair high standards with genuine support instead of empty promises.

By Krysten Marshall | Growing firms need enough structure to support performance without slowing the people closest to the work.

By Rachel Gresham | Culture erodes when organizations ask people to behave one way while systems, incentives, and authority structures reward another.

By Mark Zweig | High-performing skeptics can sharpen decisions or quietly poison culture – the difference lies in how leaders engage them.

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

By Mark Zweig | This is the math that firm owners who pursue mergers and acquisitions use to create a lot of value in their businesses.

By Mark Zweig | Negative employees in AEC firms can undermine management, leading to declining morale, productivity, and company performance.

By Mark Zweig | Anyone who is a design professional and who wants to get ahead is probably going to have to learn to be a manager.

By Mark Zweig | Limited office interaction, unclear business plans, and overly structured communication can prevent employees from understanding the firm’s big picture.

By Keyan Zandy | The disruptions we’re facing today are forcing us to get creative and evolve the ways we think and work. New opportunities are in reach if we stretch for them together.

By Alexis Eades | The consequences of burnout can be detrimental, so give your mental health the care it deserves.

By Mark Zweig | If you’re not doing a good job with these, you’re losing an opportunity to further your culture and to provide meaningful motivation to your employees.

By Mercedez Thompson | Leaders must engage in burnout prevention strategies that alleviate overburdened employees, reduce the number of meetings, encourage PTO, and promote flexible hours.

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.

Managing a client’s expectations is a delicate art that requires planning, restraint, and diligence.

The World Health Organization just redefined burnout and classified it as an “Occupational Phenomenon.” So, what’s next?

“Square peg for a round hole? No thanks! My first preference is square pegs in square holes!”

For the next generation of leaders to be successful, they’ll need a mindset sculpted by strategy, new ideas, and a willingness to embrace the unknown. I routinely hear AEC firm leaders express frustration about finding...

While it is widely acknowledged that hiring people is probably the single greatest challenge faced by AEC firms today – and the problem WILL get worse and worse over the next 20 years – we...

Even if the strategic planning process turns out as hoped, it can still be an adventure with plenty of thrills and spills. Strategic planning connotes an organized, step-by-step effort. It’s true, but it’s also quite...

Now in my 36th year of this business, ‎I am still learning. Here are some quick bits of advice that have helped me over the years: Never lose your temper. Being calm is always best....

Leadership, accounting, rewards, and more contribute to an organizational culture of positivity and high morale. ​Great projects happen, and successful firms become even more so, when morale is high inside the firm. It’s one thing...

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...

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...

We’re in the middle of some tough, turbulent times. It seems like every market served by A/E/P and environmental firms is full of uncertainty. No one knows whether or not tomorrow will be harder than...

Thank God for technology! If we didn’t have the technology that we have today, there’s no way most of us who travel could keep up with the demands of work and life. For example, I...

Every single A/E or environmental firm in this country needs more people who can sell work. These people feed the rest of the firm, allow the owners to sleep at night, and are generally the...

For whatever reason— and I have seen it countless times— sometimes the work environment just goes bad. Like fruit that sits in the bowl too long, it rots, it molds, and it becomes intolerable. Just...

I know structural engineers who make over $1 million a year. I know landscape architects in larger firms who achieve a 4.22 raw labor multiplier on all the work they do. I know architects who...

Most intelligent, ambitious people working in A/E/P and environmental consulting firms aspire to be a leader some day. Whether it’s the CEO, managing partner, director of operations, or office manager job they covet varies from...