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By Lauren Martin | A simple “time is of the essence” clause can transform routine schedule delays into costly legal and insurance risks.

By Steve Jarmon | AEC firms cannot afford to ignore cybersecurity leadership as digital risk grows alongside cloud platforms, data sharing, and remote work.

By Mark Zweig | Market cycles are inevitable, and firms that act before revenue drops will outperform those that wait and react.

By Wendy Travis | When partnerships are grounded in purpose and guided by care, they endure – creating better outcomes for clients and communities. 

Building Enduring AEC Firms: VHB’s Approach to Ownership, Balance, and Strategic Renewal     “An infinite arc of success requires stewardship, purpose, and a relentless focus on people.” Mike Carragher, CEO of VHB What does...

By Stuart McLendon | When economic data grows less reliable, long-term AEC planning becomes a far riskier bet.

By Mark Zweig | Succession fails when managers cling to control instead of building leaders behind them.

By Ying Liu | How to recognize the right moment for strategic growth planning and why timing matters more than most leaders think.

By Kubilay Şahinler | While attention gravitates toward AI in design, the strongest business value often emerges elsewhere.

By Sara Parkman | AEC firms that fail to invest in young professionals today will struggle to find leaders tomorrow.

By Chad Clinehens | Becoming a principal isn’t a reward for past success – it’s the start of owning responsibility for future value.

By Mark Zweig | A cautionary AEC story about control, delayed succession, and how avoiding transition can undo decades of good work.

By Nam Douglass | Operational lessons and compliance priorities for AEC firms in 2026.

The leading source of business management insights, research, and strategies tailored specifically for leaders of AEC firms.

By Daryl Simons Jr. | Technology can enhance recruiting efficiency, but human connection, trust, and judgment will always define successful hiring.

By Ying Liu | Real success depends on alignment, courage, and people ready to own the future.

By Mark Zweig | Being an employee is like running a one-client business, requiring service, marketing, relationships, and constant value creation.

The leading source of business management insights, research, and strategies tailored specifically for leaders of AEC firms.

By Scott Butcher | AEC firms use seller-doers, business developers, or both, and the best model depends on buyer preferences and firm capabilities.

By Chad Coldiron | The ability to adapt rather than resist is what separates the firms that thrive from the ones that fade.

By Mark Zweig | Leaders shape outcomes through mindset, so choose optimism, act on opportunity, and set expectations that inspire rather than limit your team.

The leading source of business management insights, research, and strategies tailored specifically for leaders of AEC firms.

By Tom Godin | When the mind and body of a business move together, worry fades and real performance begins.

By Brad Wilson | ESOP success in AEC firms depends on financial discipline, clear governance, and treating employee ownership as a lasting cultural investment.

By Mark Zweig | There are nine reasons why selling your firm to the right buyer can strengthen opportunities, stability, and growth for your people.

By Shelby Harvey | Encouraging curiosity at work turns tough questions into opportunities to build trust, share knowledge, and strengthen engagement.

By Brian Shannon | Healthy rivalries fuel collaboration and innovation, ultimately benefiting communities and strengthening the AEC industry.

By Mark Zweig | It is a basic human need to see one’s work go from start to finish, and leaders need to do more to empower their people with this perspective.

By Matt Verderamo | Our future depends on bridging generational gaps through mentorship, field experience, and modern leadership development.

By Alyssa Wagner | How to offer interns the chance to explore professionally and refine their passion into a fulfilling, long-term career.

By Stuart McLendon | This strategy is becoming an essential tool for growth, innovation, and resilience, especially in AEC.

By Dathan Gaskill | Fractional CFOs offer flexible, expert financial guidance to help AEC firms grow, reduce risk, and improve efficiency.

By Hal Rosner | Proper planning, organization, and understanding of data can mean the difference between a project’s success and failure.

By Mark Zweig | A business plan only works if leadership builds accountability, relationships, and follow-through into daily operations and culture.

By Kate Gray | Utilizing technology built around your best work can become an inspiration tool for marketing teams.

By Michael Makris | Early to mid-career professionals can overcome burnout and imposter syndrome with support from leadership, mentorship, and proactive career engagement.

By Mark Zweig | As a leader or manager, you are probably super busy and will get stuck if you cannot offload a lot of what you have to do.

By Mike Danko | Building trust is not only good business practice but essential for the long-term growth and success of your firm.

By Mark Zweig | Too many firm owners want different results and want to be more successful, yet keep doing things the same way they always have.

By Ezequiel Tovar | These common leadership mistakes hinder the growth and success of your business.

By Mark Zweig | These misleading statements often stem from naivety and perpetuate harmful conventional wisdom.

By Matt Gross | Build success by fostering strong culture, investing in people and infrastructure, prioritizing cybersecurity, and planning strategically.

By Mark Zweig | Balancing growth and profitability is essential for long-term value creation and success in AEC firm valuation strategies.

By Ezequiel Tovar | The decisions you make today will have monumental impacts on your next generation of owners tomorrow.

By Dan Houf | Building strong, long-term client relationships is essential, but navigating transitions requires trust, adaptability, and exceptional service.

By Jane Lawler Smith | Creating non-traditional peer groups allows AEC marketers to gain fresh perspectives and enhance creativity.

By Mark Zweig | We live in turbulent times, and you can never fully eliminate uncertainty – but there are several approaches you can employ to combat it.

By Dawn Landry | By leaning into our self-awareness to understand diverse personalities, we can transform challenges into opportunities for growth and success.

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 Mark Zweig | Keep the big picture in mind, and make sure you have the right outside accountants who understand more than the tax consequences of these kinds of decisions.

By Mark Zweig | Those of us in the AEC business need to do a better job educating the general populace about the benefits of smart development.

By John Butt | This strategy empowers leaders to align their teams with organizational goals, provide feedback and recognition, and foster a culture of growth.

By Mark Zweig | Exploring common questions – and their answers – from firm leaders about the buying and selling process.

By Stjepan Mikulić | This approach ensures the foundation of change is built on a solid understanding of human behavior, enabling more sustainable firm-wide implementation.

By Mark Zweig | Some of the ways entrepreneurial small firm owners create value and differentiate themselves.

By Mercedez Thompson | Proposals have adapted to a new way of reading, emphasizing concise, compelling headings to convey complex solutions and deliver winning messages.

By Jeremy Clarke | The past few years have had a lot to teach us about winning the war for talent.

By Mark Zweig | Take these steps to reduce resistance and increase the likelihood of success for any change initiative.

By Jane Lawler Smith | Elevate your marketing services by asking yourself what your firm’s request for marketing services would include and how your team would respond.

By Ezequiel Tovar | You must consider the financials before you can fully understand what it takes for a succession plan to be feasible.

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 Mark Zweig | These are the most important qualities that decide who gets to move up as firm leaders, managers, and future owners.

By Houston Matthews | If your team can keep communication at the forefront of all of your projects, you’re sure to be a success.

By Ezequiel Tovar | The four pillars of ownership transition strengthen your firm and provide a foundation for success.

By Alexis Eades | Put your interns to work and gain long-term positive benefits for yourself, your firm, and the young people who may one day be your employees.

By Dathan Gaskill | A chief financial officer provides critical financial leadership, insight, and guidance to your firm.

By Lindsay Young | Investing in marketing helps you grow, recruit employees, and gets you the projects you want to work on.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of McFarlane Architects, a dynamic architectural, planning, and interior design firm that provides innovative design solutions to its clients.

By Julia DeFrances | Trade shows and conferences are a great opportunity for your firm, but exhibiting can be a waste of time if you don’t approach it strategically.

By Lauren Martin | It’s important for design firms to understand the potential peril to all parties involved should there be a third-party beneficiary clause in any contract.

By Mitch Fortner | To be effective over the long-term for an organization, our personal ambition must be grounded in mutual respect, collaborative teamwork, and integrity.

By Brock Hoskins | Express gratitude to those people who are important to you, and find ways to make that a regular practice in your life and throughout your company.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | AEC professionals have a choice about where they live and work, so what makes them choose their workplace?

By Kollan Spradlin | A broader view of client objectives allows us to add value and, in some cases, recategorize isolated projects into stepping stones that line the path to the client’s ultimate goal.

By Mark Zweig | Most firms in this business still struggle to get their people to do their timesheets and turn them in – but there could be a simpler way.

By Liisa Andreassen | President at Baisch Engineering (Kaukauna, WI), a consulting engineering firm that provides full-service integration engineering to industrial clients worldwide.

By Tim Spence | With a clear purpose, empowered professionals, and a drive for ongoing development, design firms can motivate all of their employees to row together.

By Tom Godin | It’s up to leadership to recognize entropic degradation in their firms and respond energetically to restore order.

By Jane Lawler Smith | Over time, evolving client needs and approaches could erode your marketing foundation. Take the time to shore up your foundation before it crumbles entirely.

By Justin Smith | Write your project goals in ink and your plan in pencil, because you’ll likely need to make some changes and adapt your plan as your project unfolds.

By Mark Zweig | You are in control of your business, and its success depends on your ability to keep a level head and keep making things happen.

By Mark Zweig | It’s time to take a good hard look at what everyone in your business is doing for you.

By Andy Chavez | Who are these private equity extraterrestrials, what do they want, and how long will they be here?

By Mark Zweig | You can’t make people do what you want, so you must get your people to realize you’re all on the same team.

By Andy Chavez | What characteristics are highly desirable to buyers in the AEC industry right now?

By Dathan Gaskill | Our industry hasn’t done a great job of managing risk comprehensively or systematically. There’s a better way.

By Jane Lawler Smith | When it comes to our clients, employees, and brand, are we competing like AEC professionals or acting like Family Feud contestants, simply guessing at answers?

By Lucas Hayden | Unanet’s inaugural AEC benchmarking study reveals the data-management practices that separate the best firms from the rest.

By Kyle Ahern | Each firm needs to find its own balance of open, consistent communication without being bothersome to employees.

By Tom Godin | These fundamentals are an important part of your firm’s healthy diet.

The Virtual ElevateAEC Conference & ElevateHER Symposium kicks off next week on September 13, 2021. This four-week long event brings over 40 speakers, and 30+ sessions for individuals in all roles in the AEC industry,...

By Lindsay Young | Investing a small amount of time and money to train employees on presentation skills could lead to millions of dollars of work for your firm.

By Abdo Kardous | How an initial leap to the Middle East jump-started success around the globe for U.S.-based Hill International.

By Stephanie Warino | The principles of Organizational Project Management can guide a firm through the steps of scaling an organization.

By Liisa Andreassen | Owner of 3-Tier Alaska (Fairbanks, AK), a firm that specializes in land surveying and civil engineering in the interior of Alaska.

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 Brian Rice | These three core strategic planning areas have unique opportunities for value depending largely on the culture of your organization.

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 | Know your purpose, intent, and philosophy of business, but be willing to change if it becomes prudent to do so.

Focus on getting stuff done and moving forward by fitting the tasks on your to-do list to either the time slot or energy you have available.

When it comes to M&A, stay flexible and remember that it takes drive, determination, and the ability to connect people and ideas to achieve remarkable results.

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

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

By Jamie Claire Kiser | In this time of constant realignment, sustain success by appreciating your stars and making space for discussion.

By Justin Ramirez | Nothing is as certain as death and taxes. But an owner’s retirement can be, too. If done correctly, an owner’s retirement and its benefits can be just as certain as death...

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.

It’s our responsibility as AEC professionals, as well as citizens, to champion solutions to problems that affect our global and local communities.

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.

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.

By Phil Keil | Understanding this is essential in your ability to grow your firm and successfully execute your strategy.

President and CEO of Westwood (Minneapolis, MN), a firm that’s been focused on enhancing communities with smart engineering for almost 50 years.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | A good incentive compensation program needs to be carefully matched with the specific goals of your firm.

Untimely events, like the unexpected death of a firm leader, can and do happen. Is your firm ready?

Surrounding oneself with the appropriate professionals, and planning accordingly, will position your company for a successful transition to ESOP ownership.

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

“Sometimes in business you just have to do something that generates results NOW. There’s no time to waste. You need action and something good to happen. Your prosperity depends on it.”

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 24, 2019) – Zweig Group, the leading research, publishing, and advisory services resource for firms in the AEC industry, seeks partners interested in obtaining customized research data from architectural, engineering and construction...

“It’s a debate that’s been ongoing for years in our industry, thanks in no small part to the popularity of Good to Great, an academic study of huge, publicly-traded corporations and other organizations.”

By Will Swearingen | If you develop a reputation for being less than forthcoming, you could derail a critical ownership transition – and even destroy your firm.

In today’s competitive market conditions, being able to spot red flags may prove helpful in knowing when to pull out of a discussion or for negotiating a more equitable transaction.

Our success, as people and as businesses, depends on the quality and speed of our response to problems and opportunities. This play on the word responsibility is not new, but it has never been more...

 There are multiple considerations to be made when valuing a privately-held company and the assessment of the many moving parts. The valuation of privately-held firms, including those in the AEC industry, will usually involve discounting...

President and CEO of Ghafari (Hot Firm #54 for 2017), a 550-person multi-discipline firm based in Dearborn, Michigan. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I would describe myself as a people person and am elated to see...

For a firm to find the transformative, positive change it’s looking for, leadership needs to be intentional and steadfast in its commitments. Management – planning, budgeting, staffing, organizing, controlling, and problem solving – helps you...

It’s not always flattering, but hearing from those you work for and with, and acting on it, is key to improving your products and services. We’ve all become accustomed to, and maybe a little weary...

“Clients, co-workers, partners – they aren’t always completely forthright in their communications. Despite this fact, your success ultimately depends on understanding them.” If you work in an AEC firm as a leader or manager, it’s...

By Edward Friedrichs | In a time of polarization and crass tribalism, don’t forget the founding norms of respect and civility. It’ll be good for you, your firm, and your clients. 

Employee stock ownership plans are rewarding for your staff, allow for continuity, and can enhance a firm’s culture and legacy. Editor’s note: Wintrust Commercial Banking is a sponsor of the 2018 Hot Firm + A/E...

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...

By Christina Zweig Niehues | A larger client database, higher shortlist rates, and measurable metrics. Yes, marketing is expensive, but it’s a good place to spend a bit of gold.

I’ve written about it before but apparently not everyone got the message. In business today, speed is everything. Whoever is faster will be the winner. Good leaders realize this is true and act accordingly. Here...

President and CEO of SEPI Engineering & Construction, Inc. (Hot Firm #74 for 2017), a 350-person firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “People need to feel like their work life is...

Founder and CEO of GATE (Hot Firm #35 for 2017), a 300-plus person oil and gas engineering consulting company based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “When clients/friends see what we post and comment to...

The well-being of your staff cannot be sacrificed for other priorities such as production, profitability, and convenience. As the director of health and safety for an AEC firm, I often find myself asking, “What is...

Find an expert with a proven track record, someone with real-world applications of industry knowledge who is a team player, not a lone wolf. Today’s business landscape requires organizations to be increasingly dependent on the...

Shared values among staff are certainly important, but if a good fit is all you’re looking for, your firm could go stale. Editor’s note: This post first appeared on the Perkins + Will blog at...

Comprehensive Environmental, Inc. (Best Firm #1 Geotechnical, #3 Environmental, and #13 Civil for 2017), a Miami Lakes, FL, based 80-person engineering and contracting firm. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I’ve never termed any event in my...

There’s plenty of excuses as to why you won’t bring one of your rising stars to meetings with clients, and none of them are good. The best training is experiential. Take your rising stars to...

Could it be your final act of leadership? If you are a CEO or partner and do not have it, please consider changing the scenario. The A/E/P and environmental consulting industry has many unique qualities,...

There’s a strong case for including marketing staff post-proposal, especially if things didn’t go so well with the client. I have long told my clients that requesting a debriefing after a selection has been made...

"Client satisfaction surveys" or "client perception studies" in the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry are about a lot more than putting a quick happiness rating on a client. When conducted correctly, these surveys...

Depending on why they left – and what they did while they were gone – it might be a good idea to welcome them back into the fold. It’s not uncommon when sorting through a...

What are some of the duties and responsibilities of the typical board in an A/E firm? An excerpt from A/E Board of Directors Manual The board described below, for most A/E Firms, falls somewhere between...

‘Doing it how it has always been done’ is a recipe for failure, so try something new, like ditching the ‘max utilization’ mentality. The Achilles’ heel of the AEC industry is marketing. Many firms do...

The non-disclosure agreement is an important piece of any M&A transaction, so make sure it gives you the protections you need during and after negotiations. In the dynamic world of M&A there are a few...

It’s hard to find outstanding people to work in your AEC firm. It’s also hard to keep them working for you these days when they have so many other options. What are some things you...

Summertime is here. If you aren’t someone like me who travels all year round, odds are you’ll be going somewhere this summer. Since I’ve been doing this stuff for 37 years and been practically everywhere...

There’s no silver bullet for hiring the right people, but that shouldn’t stop you from at least building a baseline for your talent expectation. I’ve been back at Zweig Group for a little over two...

President of WestLAND Group, Inc. (Best Firm #41 Multi-discipline and Hot Firm #45 for 2017), a full-service civil engineering and land surveying firm based in Ontario, California. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “It’s important to identify...

This is the first article in a new series detailing Modern Marketing in the AEC Industry. Learn how to use the tools that will make your marketing more effective without wasting your time. The Achilles’...

What can you use in a proposal? As it turns out, if you are careful with how you include the information, quite a bit. I was recently asked about including a person’s experience with a...

There’s a critical set of benchmarks you need to measure so you’ll know what works, what doesn’t, and how to be more effective. Zweig Group’s 2016 Marketing Survey found that 27 percent of A/E/P and...

Don’t expect your PMs to be great leaders just because they are competent professionals. They need training and practice to be effective. Like peanut butter and chocolate; peas and carrots; Bert and Ernie. Project management...

President of JLG Architects (#4 Best Firm Architecture for 2016), a 110-person, employee-owned North Dakota-based firm co-founded in 1989 by Laffen. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We love organic growth but it’s dependent on developing internal...

The leading management newsletter for A/E leaders, The Zweig Letter, announced today that its site license, in which entire firms have access to the weekly publication, is available to subscribers for as little as two...

The leading management newsletter for A/E leaders, The Zweig Letter, announced today that its site license, in which entire firms have access to the weekly publication, is available to subscribers for as little as two...

Try employing a project management accountant to support the project manager, and watch the work and the cash flow improve. In supporting many of the firms that we work with, we find varying models of...

Open book management is a big card to play, but it puts everyone on your team at the table, and that’s where you want them to be. One of the trendier ideas in management consulting...

In spite of an incredibly healthy economy and high demand for AEC services throughout the land, there are still individual companies out there that are struggling financially for one reason or another. And inevitably, since...

Should you buy a firm or sell yours? That’s the question, and regardless of the answer, there’s a lot that goes into a successful merger or acquisition. In the ever-evolving AEC industry, both large and...

A revamp of global bank capital standards is on hold during the change of administration in Washington, with U.S. and European Union negotiators locked in a “fundamental disagreement” over how to stop banks gaming the...

Do whatever it takes to get your foot in the door, and then keep your foot on the gas pedal if you want to compete in a big market. Had I known in 1995 what...

Hiring good people isn’t easy, and hanging onto them is just as difficult. When you find the right person, offer an excellent benefits package. By Gale Associates Inc. Best Firm #4 Multidiscipline for 2016 Recruitment...

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,...

My name is Mark. I am an addict. A phone addict. But before you sign me up for a 12-step program, I have some good reasons for my addiction. I have two businesses. Four children....

I love human resources people. Believe it or not, I was one of them once. I even authored the only hardcover book published on the topic for the A/E industry, Human Resources Management: The Complete...

Keep the inexpensive items on the table and hand them out freely, but give the good stuff only to those who seem truly interested in your firm. Costs for attending trade shows can range from...

Engineering duo publishes a report on cold-formed steel and how it can be used to make buildings more resistant to the external blast from a terrorist attack. By Richard Massey Managing Editor The Cold-Formed Steel...

Take a look at the strategic plan, the budget, and the checklist, before making the decision on whether or not to attend. Attending trade shows can be a very expensive proposition, ranging from whether your...

There’s a lot to evaluate, and measures can be severe, but if fiefdoms form, or if turnover is high, it’s time to take action. Are you frustrated because some of your teams, groups or offices...

No two M&As are alike, and the more you know about them, the better prepared you are for the unknowns. Westwood’s long-term plan includes organic growth and the strategic procurement of companies and people that...

I got a text the other day from an old client and reader who said it had been a while since I addressed the topic of how to dress around clients. Apparently he is still...

Zweig Group – publisher of more than a dozen annual surveys on the most important issues in the architectural, engineering, planning and environmental consulting industries – announces its first-ever Cell Phone & Mobile Device Survey....

Although Zweig Group's M&A Survey offers a variety of responses to the question "why are you considering an acquisition", there are, essentially, only two reasons that firms pursue inorganic growth. These reasons are to either...

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...

Architectural colleague shares new scale for assessing employees’ impact on the firm, community, world in areas of attitude, capability, performance. I’ve always been skeptical of the “performance review” style of evaluating. I believe in a...

You may have noticed that we currently have two open salary surveys, the Individual Salary Survey, and the comprehensive Salary Survey. We welcome participation in both surveys, as our data depends on survey participants like...

Six suggestions for firms seeking to work with the largest buyer of A/E and environmental services. Let’s face it: The government – be it local, state, or federal – is the biggest buyer of A/E...

Today’s competitive market – and the fact that the best employees aren't necessarily looking for a job – means your digital footprint must be big enough to reach everyone. Creating a game plan for recruiting...

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...

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....

Some firms want to stay small; here’s some advice for them, and they’re welcome to ask for more. Small firms … small businesses … entrepreneurial businesses: Are they all the same thing? No! Some firms...

Asking five questions can help competent men and women prioritize their endless workloads. When you look at those people working in A/E firms who seem to get a lot done, you find one of their...

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...

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....

Zweig Group's #1 priority is to make sure we have the best, most up-to-date, and most useful information and products. With this in mind, we decided to update our surveys and offer our clients a...

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...

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...

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?...

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...

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...

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...

The valuation of privately held firms, including those in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry, will usually involve discounting to arrive at a concluded value of the subject interest. Readers who have been through the...

By Jeremy Clarke Getting top talent is still a critical priority… even in this economic environment. How so? Well, because business needs are still evolving, and employee turnover is still an unavoidable reality. All of...

By Tracey Jeffers Principal, Valuation Consulting ZweigWhite I have found that the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry has many unique qualities, but one I find intriguing when compared with other industries is the longevity of...

By Ed Friedrichs Chairman, ZweigWhite As architects and engineers, we’re in a long-cycle business. That means we work on long duration assignments, often with extended start/stop cycles— waiting for a public hearing, an EIR to...

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...

By W. Hobson Hogan Principal, Investment Banking Our ego makes us think that we are irreplaceable; there is no way that our organizations could soldier on without us. You imagine your office falling apart the...

Press Release: July 12, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 12, 2011) – Confused about integrated project delivery (IPD) and building information modeling (BIM)? As little three letter acronyms and similar concepts, it is easy to use...

Press Release: June 14, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 14, 2011) – Firms in the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting arena appear to be investing in design process-enabling technologies that will help them face the...

By Jeff Clark | Principal, Managing Director of Investment Banking, ZweigWhite Do you like CEOs who promote their business relentlessly? Do you think Steve Jobs did a good job with his public speaking over the...

By Mark C. Zweig What does it really take to be an effective consultant? This is a question I am constantly being asked as well as asking myself. We are all in the consulting business....

Press Release: March 16, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (March 16, 2011) — The design-bid-build delivery method may still rule the construction industry, but it is quickly loosing favor. In the March 14 issue of The Zweig...

By Mark C. Zweig There is a lot of interest in buying and selling firms these days. We are even having six seminars/conferences on M&A this year. Our investment banking group at ZweigWhite has never...

Press Release: February 8, 2011 Increasing regulation and a new focus on efficiency are turning the water market into one of the hottest commodities for engineering firms, The Zweig Letter discovers. A reinvigorated focus on...

Press Release: February 5, 2011 How firms value their enterprises has far-reaching implications that impact both the firms and their shareholders on a financial, organizational and cultural level and is, according to ZweigWhite Valuation Consultant...

I have worked on a lot of presentations over the last 30 years— and helped sell everything from seismic retrofitting for the Golden Gate Bridge to a three-day design charette. Along the way, I have...

Over the years of working with A/E and environmental firms, I have run into those who will try to tell you that some managers are “too intense.” It’s as if these people are saying there...

If you aren’t worried about your banking relationship right now, you are deluding yourself. Besides the fact that we have already had firms in our business— large firms— put out of business by their banks,...

While I have probably written about business planning in the pages of The Zweig Letter a dozen or more times over the years, it seems necessary to do so again. As you read this, A/E/P...

Yes— tough times are upon us. But that doesn’t mean any one firm can’t fight back and do well in spite of a weaker market. Marketing is a big factor in how well any one...

  It seems like hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear from a reader with a question or two about organizational structure. I thought perhaps I should put together a list of some...

For years, we told principals of architecture, engineering, and planning firms that they should have a mission defining what their firms were all about. The question of “why are you in business?” is fundamental, we...

If you examine any business— a restaurant, a car dealership, or an A/E/P/environmental firm— they all seem to benefit from active leadership. Likewise, they all tend to suffer from a lack of it. I would...

Now that A/E/P and environmental consulting firms have been doing business plans regularly for the past 10 or 15 years, it may be time to beef them up a bit. The old platitudes, goals, and...

Here’s something I have observed in many different A/E and environmental firms around the country— certain employees who act as if they don’t understand how critical it is for them to be responsive. This one...

For each of the past five years since we created The Zweig Letter Hot Firm List, there have always been readers out there who write in to ask why we are so obsessed with growth...

I think a lot of smart, motivated, capable people working in A/E and environmental firms often get the idea that if they don’t start their own companies they have somehow sold themselves short. This is...

Right now may be the best time ever to go out and buy another firm. People are depressed, their sense of optimism is considerably dimmer, and many A/E/P and environmental firms are performing accordingly. That...

As you get your A/E/P or environmental firm ready for 2003, you may be patting yourselves on the back. The fact is that while overall, 2002 was not as good as 2001, a lot of...

I’m seeing a lot of firms following a program of short-term profit-maximization right now. It’s easy to understand. Industry profits are down as the results from our 2002 Financial Performance Survey of A/E/P & Environmental...

Jose Piranha listened to his two partners, Stephanie Straighthair and Jason Loseria, discuss how to dole out the firm’s profits in the coming year. They were sitting at their favorite table at Hugo’s, the little...

Sometimes it’s amazing how little things change, huh? The challenges of implementing change, the myth of the dual career path, the hassles of poorly performing principals, the confusion resulting from messy office environments, why firms...

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...

John Dilbertson left the Dilbertson & Terry board meeting shaking his head. How many times did they have to reconsider the issue of principal compensation, particularly base pay? It seemed like it never ended. One...

When I worked inside an A/E firm as a human resources director, I would occasionally have someone in my office telling me that they wanted to be an associate. And I have to tell you,...

Start talking about marketing these days, and eventually the conversation will get around to positioning. We use that term— positioning— constantly ourselves here at ZweigWhite. In simple terms, it means making your firm the expert...

Want to get some new jobs? Need them fast? If so, you aren’t alone. We have seen a number of our consulting clients and readers of The Zweig Letter face major reductions in their workload...

Ever have one of those days where something hits you out of nowhere and it just knocks the wind out of you? It’s so demotivating. You feel like you got kicked in the stomach. These...

If, like many firms, you have deferred maintenance on your marketing program because you’ve been too busy and it’s been too easy to get work, you might want to think about doing a marketing tune-up....

With 2001 now underway, I want to share some lessons I have learned in the last few years with our readers. These are each important issues related to your success as individuals and as firms....

Is your firm a compassionate firm? Do you choose what’s humane over what’s best financially in certain situations? And what difference does that make, anyway? Business is business. And we all know that to be...

My 80 year-old parents just came up from Kirkwood, Missouri, for a short visit. As is always the case, my dad and I eventually got around to talking about business. I don’t know anyone who...

Exit stage left. If you are like most of our readers, you are probably a CEO, managing partner, president, chairperson, majority stockholder, or major shareholder in the A/E/P and environmental consulting firm you work in....

One thing I know about smart people—they hate being treated like children. It’s insulting and demeaning. Unfortunately, we routinely see owners and managers of A/E/P and environmental firms who do just that to their employees....

“These are the good old days,” as Carly Simon used to sing. I’m talking about the current period of prosperity for just about everyone in the A/E/P and environmental businesses. Firms are making record profits....

If you ask me, a good deal of success in work (and in life) comes from doing what you need to do every day. If you can’t get done what should have been done today,...

Leadership is one of those subjects that, if you really want to be good at it, tends to lead to a more philosophical approach toward work and life. It’s conventional wisdom in our business that...

I would say that most readers of The Zweig Letter work in firms that export themselves beyond their immediate local area. Although not everyone gets on a plane every week, some travel is required to...

“Process marketing” is a term you’ll see a lot of in The Zweig Letter. Heck, we even have a supplemental, stand-alone Process Marketing Advisor devoted entirely to the subject! The reason is that process marketing...

Summer’s here. Our local swimming hole— “Farm Pond”— in the town I live in (Sherborn, Mass., pop. 4,300) is also a social gathering spot. Late in the afternoon and on weekends you’ll see all of...

I have said before that I think most project management training is ineffective. But that doesn’t help the majority of our readers— owners and managers of firms who depend on having good enough project management...

Opportunity is all around us. A lot of how successful you are depends on how you see things. The fact is, most A/E/P or environmental firms could do a better job cashing in on assets...

We just got back from the 15th Annual Inc. 500 Conference and Award Ceremony held in Philadelphia. Zweig White & Associates made it onto Inc. magazine’s list of 500 fastest-growing privately held firms for the...

The long anticipated, talked about, and dreaded shortage of qualified people is here. Ask principals in most firms, and they will tell you that it’s very difficult right now to find staff— particularly engineers, geologists,...

In seven years at XYZ Engineers, Bill Jones had become one of the firm’s most dependable project managers. Bill’s jobs always made money, and his clients loved him. Unfortunately, XYZ had gone through three bad...

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...

What differentiates a “hot” firm from a “not-so-hot” one? In our experience, virtually all successful, marketing-driven A/E/P or environmental consulting firms are doing something that the mediocre firms are not. They’re developing a marketing process....

Too many people are unhappy— unhappy with the way we’re running our country and unhappy with the way we’re running our firms. The presidential elections to be held on November 3rd and the issues facing...