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By Scott Butcher | Across firms of all sizes and markets, several strategic priorities continue to rise to the top as leaders plan for what comes next.

By Ricardo Jesús Maga Rojas | Career growth in AEC becomes more meaningful when professionals stop chasing a single finish line and start exploring what comes next.

By Duncan Robertson | Referral incentives turn employee connections into one of your firm’s strongest recruiting tools.

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

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

By Daryl Simons Jr. & Jeremy Clarke | Rather than a liability, these candidates could offer an opportunity to uncover exceptional talent.

By Mark Zweig | Don’t turn yours into a joke by getting the wrong help and taking the wrong direction with revising your strategic plan.

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

By Eric Lannen | Internships provide real-world experience, mentorship, brand recognition, and foster long-term relationships, benefiting both students and organizations.

By Sam Graves | Effective team management involves setting clear expectations, equipping and empowering members, and fostering engagement and evaluation.

By Stuart McLendon | Facing a talent shortage exacerbated by baby boomers’ exodus from the workforce, AEC firms must innovate to succeed.

By Tom Godin | Making utilization a target in your firm could result in some undesirable behaviors.

By Mitch Fortner | As demand for our industry’s services continues to increase, the firms that listen to their employees and evolve to meet their needs will continue to grow.

By Ying Liu | Organizations must proactively develop strategies to identify and retain top talent.

By Eddie Wade | If you take time to breathe, rally your troops, get team buy-in, and consider your options, you’ll be on your way to making this a positive change.

By Mark Hodges | If you’re not taking a proactive approach to your firm’s cybersecurity, this could be the year you decide to go out of business without realizing it.

By Blake Calvert | Listen to employees, communicate strategically, embrace a growth mindset, and eliminate drama to help employees let go of negativity and thrive through change.

By Kraig Kern | Too much of a good thing can lead to a crisis for you and your staff and dissatisfaction for your clients.

By Mark Zweig | Seeing the firm you started or used to run be successful when you’re gone is one of the greatest accomplishments you can hope for.

By Will Swearingen | Problems can arise when two leaders have distinctly different philosophies about how to run a business.

By Julie Benezet | Mentors do not fight for candidates’ advancement opportunities. That is the job of champions.

By Mark Zweig | There are many ways to show courage, and Jerry Allen showed real courage in his willingness to confront every single obstacle in his life.

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.

President and CEO of BSI Engineering (Cincinnati, OH), a consulting and process design engineering firm that’s building on the past to design the future.

President and CEO of ARM Group (Hershey, PA), a science and engineering consulting firm where the entrepreneurial spirit thrives.

Winning today is about serving others and providing value. Both are good. They always were, and always will be.

Ownership transition is a complex and ever-changing problem for the majority of AEC firms. No two firms are alike – so no universal formula or methodology will work in every situation. Creators of internal ownership...

President of PES Structural Engineers (Best Firm #10 Structural for 2018), a 57-person firm based in Atlanta. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Leadership development,” Planer says, referring to his No. 1 responsibility. “We work hard to...

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...

Editor’s note: Originally published 4/25/2005 Every A/E and environmental firm experiences those inevitable departures of key employees. After the notice is turned in and the hand-wringing, self-flagellation, and/or angry statements come out from management, the...

CEO of Apex Companies, LLC (Hot Firm #41 for 2017), a 700-person environmental engineering firm based in Rockville, Maryland. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There is nothing that drives value creation for an organization more than...

CEO of HGA (a multiple Hot Firm award winner), a national, 750-person integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm based in Minneapolis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Our most successful proposals help the client visualize the journey...

As a firm grows, new people have to come on board. But if those people threaten to damage your culture and sink the ship, you can always toss them back out to sea. We tell...

Over the years, we have developed work styles that are not good for our physical, mental, or emotional health, but that can be changed. It’s not that we’re bad people, or that we aren’t working...

In our brand new podcast format, we interview Mark Zweig, CEO of Zweig Group about an article he recently wrote in The Zweig Letter about dealing with the unexpected departure of an employee. ( "When...

Years of travel have led to some rules-of-thumb that firm leaders can implement while building their companies. In the “good ol’ days” I used to fly 150,000-200,000 miles each year. Now I am down to...

Press Release: October 28, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (October 28, 2011) – To recognize philanthropic efforts and acknowledge those in the A/E industry who are making a difference for the greater good, ZweigWhite and Deltek, Inc....

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...

With the consolidation wave just starting to gain momentum in the A/E/P and environmental industry, it seemed appropriate to get into a subject that many firms in our business seem to have an ongoing problem...

Now that we are fully working ourselves into a recession frenzy (whether we needed one or not), many A/E firms will be facing some tough choices IF they want to remain as profitable as they...

Everyone who starts a company or ends up as its leader eventually starts thinking about how to get out. You may have the greatest job in the world, but life is short and most of...

Every A/E and environmental firm experiences those inevitable departures of key employees. After the notice is turned in and the hand-wringing, self-flagellation, and/or angry statements come out from management, the next question is, “Now what?”...

Hiring enough people— and the right ones— is where it’s at today. How well an A/E/P or environmental firm does this really is either an impediment (or stimulus) to growth. It impacts every area of...

It’s hard to grow if you can’t keep the people you already have working for you. Every time someone leaves you have to replace them. And it’s as hard or harder than ever— as well...

I was at a management seminar recently where I am convinced that fully 15 or 20% of the attendees were there only because their firms told them to go. And my guess is that a...

Years ago, I maintained that I would never go to a party for an employee who’s leaving the firm. Sure, there could be exceptions. Someone’s spouse gets transferred, the employee retires, or the employee is...

Durwood Ryan, CEO of Ryan, Brookhouse, and Springdale, was frustrated. He knew that Jeannie Turtlepup, his structural engineering department head, needed a raise. But he wasn’t getting any support for it from Poppy Buck, the...

What is it with some people? We have all had the opportunity (or misfortune) to work with a man or woman who finds fault with everything and pours cold water on every hot idea. These...

No! I refuse to let pop culture permeate this temple of good management! It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s Jerri, Mad Dog, Kel, or Edna who gets booted off of the island. What I...

Most of us will never get rich quick. We won’t have a single breakthrough discovery that makes us millions. We won’t win the lottery. We won’t have a rich aunt who leaves us her art...

If you consider the truly successful people you know who own and manage A/E/P or environmental firms, I think you’ll find that they think differently from everybody else. They are irreverent. They defy logic. They...

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...

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...

Believe it or not, having fun helps your pocketbook. If your people are having fun, they’ll work harder, longer, and put out better quality work. And that will make you more money. I’m convinced that...

Fred White and I just returned from the 14th annual Inc. 500 Conference and Awards Ceremony, which was held this year at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. The event is held to recognize...

A few weeks ago, I went to Colorado and gave an all-day presentation on marketing at the management retreat of a rapidly growing environmental consulting firm. I thought I’d share with our readers what it...

While waiting to catch a plane from Philadelphia to Boston the other day, I stood in line for what seemed like the longest time with a group of college students heading home for the Easter...