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By Ying Liu | AEC firms become stronger when leadership teams confront hard truths, define their future, and invest before circumstances force them.

By Janki DePalma | A “hell yeah” mindset helps firms move from fear-based decisions to choices grounded in clarity and strategy.

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 | For AEC firm owners and top managers who say they care about value but keep acting like they don’t.

By Steve McAdams | Lessons from M&A show that leadership, culture, and client diversity drive sustainable growth and firm value.

Architecture, engineering, environmental, and planning firm, ISG, has acquired JDAVIS, a multi-disciplinary design firm with offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

By Josh Crawford | Our industry currently faces unique hurdles; success hinges on adopting tailored solutions combined with tried-and-true principles.

By Guy Geier | These conversations challenge conventional thinking, inspire innovation, and foster collaboration.

By Ying Liu | How do you ensure your firm has both the will and the way to succeed in this increasingly competitive market?

By Alec Russell | M&A activity in the AEC industry surged in 2024, driven by private equity, regulatory investments, and strategic acquisitions.

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 Travis White | Effective corporate strategy requires defining a direction, fostering collaboration, and leveraging strengths for diversification.

By Kyle Lawson | Modern chief financial officers have evolved from controllers to multi-faceted strategic catalysts.

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

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

By Todd Perry | Be wary of spreading yourself and your services too thin; your team’s productivity and your firm's profits could begin to suffer.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Grace Hebert Curtis Architects, an architecture and interior design firm that is still experiencing substantial growth in size and reputation after more than 50 years.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of DOWL, LLC, a firm that offers a wide range of engineering services to public and private clients, from the Arctic Ocean to the Rio Grande.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Manhard Consulting (Lincolnshire, IL), a civil engineering and surveying firm serving public and private clients nationwide.

By Alexis Eades | You can work to improve retention by promoting a positive culture, giving employees autonomy and empowerment, and actively showing appreciation.

By Mark Zweig | If you feel the need to diversify your business, here are some tactics to win clients in a new market when you don’t have prior experience.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of KSA (Longview, TX), an industry leader that provides a broad range of engineering, architecture, planning, surveying, and construction management services.

By Tim Spence | There is a third option that empowers leaders at all levels, provides a foundation for growth, and offers a sound path forward.

President and CEO of Blueline (Kirkland, WA), a firm that’s committed to building relationships, enhancing communities, and improving lives.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Bala Consulting Engineers (King of Prussia, PA), a multi-disciplined design firm with an environment designed for relationships to thrive and careers to flourish.

President and CEO Arora Engineers, Inc. (Chadds Ford, PA), a firm that meets the evolving needs of its clients through more intelligent, sustainable, infrastructure solutions.

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

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.

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

When she’s not enjoying the great outdoors, Tracey Eaves is finding share value for firms that are either preparing to be acquired or are planning an internal transition.

It’s important to understand your business model and the various outside factors that can affect the execution of an ESOP transaction.

President and founder of Calibre Engineering, a national civil engineering firm based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

President of JCJ Architecture, a local, national, and global architecture, planning, and interior design firm based in Hartford, Connecticut.

When your best junior associate ‘unexpectedly’ leaves, the decision was probably in the works for a long time, you just never saw it coming.

Is your firm an investment value candidate? If you’re looking to sell, this is the level of value at which you have the most opportunity to maximize your exit.

If you don’t identify and address your firm’s problems, you could increase the measure of risk while decreasing value. There is a four-letter word floating around out there that’s probably the first that comes to...

CEO of SidePlate (Best Firm Structural #4 for 2018), a civil engineering firm based in Mission Viejo, California. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There is no question that organic growth is the way to go,” Gallart...

CEO of Woodard & Curran (Hot Firm #69 for 2018), a 1,000-person integrated engineering, science, and operations company based in Portland, ME. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Give them that opportunity and watch them soar,” McKeown...

CEO of Ware Malcomb (Hot Firm # 21 for 2017), a 440-person international design firm based in Irvine, California. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Succession planning has been an important part of our culture for more...

Founder and president of Gunda Corporation (#32 Hot Firm for 2017), a 60-person engineering consulting firm based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I’m not a big fan of utilization rates,” Gunda says. “I believe...

President and CEO of HRP Associates, Inc. (Hot Firm #76 for 2016), a 120-person engineering consulting firm based in Farmington, Connecticut. “Big, bold, rapid changes are exciting and sometimes needed, but well planned, steady change...

CEO of The Thrasher Group (Hot Firm #77 for 2016), a 350-person architecture, engineering, and survey consulting firm based in Bridgeport, West Virginia. “By definition, a good project manager is someone who delivers. Period,” says...

The confidential information memorandum will save you a lot of hassles when and if you want to sell your firm, so have one crafted. A confidential information memorandum, also referred to as the “deal book,”...

President and CEO of McAdams (Best Firm Civil #17 and Hot Firm #29 for 2017), a 180-person civil engineering firm based in Durham, North Carolina. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There are many challenges with growth,...

President of Environmental Partners Group, Inc. (Hot Firm #22 for 2017), a 55-person firm based in Quincy, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Their problems need to be your problems,” says Gabriel, referring to the client-firm...

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...

President and CEO of Hargrove Engineers + Constructors, a Mobile, Alabama-based company with 1,200-teammates in 11 states. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent For Hargrove, success starts with company culture. In fact, he says, culture to a...

If at first you don’t succeed, don’t give up. Cast your net again and chances are you’ll catch another fish. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Rob Matthews, president of Matthews Design Group, Inc. (#10 Best Firm...

HELIX CEO Michael Schwerin headed into the New Year with double-digit profits and a strong book-to-bill ratio. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent In 2001, Michael Schwerin started as an assistant environmental planning group manager with HELIX...

President and CEO of Ghafari, a big Michigan firm, has broadened its services, allowing it to weather tough times and maintain an era of growth. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent As president and CEO of Ghafari...

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...

Don’t let the current market surge allow you to become too busy or lazy to effect needed changes, and don’t underestimate the time and resources this will require. ​Have you ever been at the controls...

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...

Press Release: June 22, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 22, 2011) – The other side of the world really isn’t that far away anymore. As work dried up in the U.S. during the recession, many firms...

By Tracey D. Jeffers There is a four letter word floating around out there in the atmosphere that is likely the first formed in the mind of an investor when determining whether or not an...

This is a question that I see the majority of principals of A/E/P and environmental firms wrestling with. Should they sell their firm to a larger company, get liquid, and ready themselves for the next...

If there’s one issue that I see a lot of good A/E/P and environmental firms grappling with right now, it’s how to balance the need for high-performing individuals vs. having a cohesive team that works...

I was out working in my yard this weekend, cutting brush and chopping up fallen branches with my 18-horsepower trailer-mounted chipper, when one of my friends and clients dropped by. He’s an architect and was...