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By Chad Coldiron | Strong firms know what they must own internally and where outside expertise can accelerate progress.

By Gina Rodriguez | In AEC, expertise builds credibility, but engagement is what creates trust, strengthens relationships, and drives better outcomes.

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

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

By Mark Zweig | Pick and choose what you will say “yes” or “no” to wisely – and do it early and guilt-free – if you want to maintain your sanity.

By Brandon Pinkerton | People-first leadership demands balance and recognition that caring for individuals shouldn’t come at the cost of organizational purpose.

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

By Mark Zweig | Success comes from bold, consistent marketing efforts that push visibility, build trust, and attract high-quality clients.

By Matt Verderamo | Finding a mentor can provide direction, accelerate career growth, and offer valuable insights, but it requires commitment and openness.

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

By Mark Zweig | Start 2025 strong by reviewing your AEC firm’s marketing tools, including your website, email lists, signage, and more.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Firm owners need to first be intentional, vulnerable, and transparent in order to make their transition a success.

By Jeremy Clarke | Spot these devastating hires before they sabotage your team.

By Javier Suarez | Mentorship relationships are mentee-driven – so, it’s up to you to not only establish one (or more), but to make it worth your while.

By Mark Zweig | Here are some ways your CEO could be even more helpful to your company than they already are.

By Will Swearingen | By being proactive and creating spaces to learn and grow, firms can benefit from this evolving workplace landscape.

By Mark Zweig | Those who read your emails, letters, reports, social media posts, and resumes are all deciding how intelligent you are in large part from your writing.

By Leslie Jenkins | Instead of trying to impress potential clients, focus on emotional intelligence, really listening, and creating relationships built on common goals and trust.

By Javier Suarez | Successful newsletters are relevant and valuable to readers, easy to consume, actionable, and loyal to your brand.

By Kraig Kern | If you stay disciplined, empathize with your team, and commit to excellence you can meet your deadlines and ultimately win more projects.

By Leisbel Lam | We need to strive for a leadership style that is centered on emotional intelligence and finding common ground, connection, and growth within our teams.

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

By Janki DePalma | We need to examine the connection between confidence, competence, and our sense of self in the corporate world.

By Scott McNally | If you swing for the fence, remember the fans, watch for curveballs, and rally your team, your firm will be successful.

By Will Swearingen | If there are people with dominating or otherwise off-set personalities on your leadership team, it could be time for a change.

By Mark Zweig | If you want your business to be a multi-generational enterprise, you need to recognize when it’s time to step aside and pass the reins to your successor.

By Liisa Andreassen | Partner at Method Architecture (Houston, TX), a full-service architecture firm that is uniquely ego-free in its commitment to a systematic, client-focused creative process.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of DRMP, Inc. (Orlando, FL), an employee-owned, multi-discipline firm that creates innovative design solutions for infrastructure development.

By Mark Zweig | Older folks bring perspective, patience, and gratitude to your firm, so think twice before you run them off from your company.

By Mark Zweig | Just like any professional sports team, your firm is made or broken based on how effective you are at recruiting talent.

By Mark Zweig | If your business requires so much attention from you that you don’t have the overall quality of life you want, it’s time to do something different.

By Ryan Gallagher | Firms that actively work to attract these rare creatures will be best positioned to grow and prosper.

By Joseph Losaria | To succeed in building a new business line, you need to set your ego aside, believe in yourself, and trust your team with your vision.

By Mark Zweig | This isn’t easy, but it will ultimately make you more successful – not just as a business leader, but in life itself!

By Liisa Andreassen | Owner and managing principal of Arrive Architecture Group (Bedford, TX), a firm that specializes in multi-housing residences for individuals, families, and seniors.

By Mark Zweig | Only a small number of people really get the idea that building a business is not a sprint – it’s an endurance race. It is all about who can last the...

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Sasaki (Boston, MA), an interdisciplinary architecture, planning, landscape, and design firm with offices in the U.S. and China.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Lynn Engineering, a windstorm, structural, and civil engineering firm specializing in residential, commercial, and infrastructure development projects on the Texas Gulf Coast.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Garmann Miller (Minster, OH), a multi-discipline design firm that impacts communities through dedicated service and smart design.

By Mark Zweig | This is essential if you want to build a good firm of competent people who can keep the business going whether you’re there or not.

By Mark Zweig | Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are still doing what you want to do every day. Maybe now is the time to get really serious about your transition.

By Mark Zweig | The leadership abilities of you firm’s principals and managers will determine your collective success this year.

By Mark Zweig | These are some of the common elements that are often present in the most successful leadership transitions.

Managing partner at Method Architecture (Houston, TX), a firm that practices ego-free architecture, creatively solves problems, and provides unparalleled customer service.

By Mark Zweig | These six traits are most likely to lead to success and are absolute “musts” for whomever is the CEO of the firm.

Leaders of employee-friendly firms talk about recruiting, culture, and the importance of employee feedback.

By Mark Zweig | What your firm becomes should be the result of a plan, of deliberate efforts. You can and should “design” your design firm.

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.

As an accomplished speaker, consultant, trainer, and business coach, Wilburn helps professionals become better leaders, better communicators, and better people.

Learn the basics of leadership so you can decide if you’re up to the task. If you are, assess your skills and improve where you can.

“For those of you running A/E firms – if I were you, I’d focus on recruiting in 2020.”

Exercise these 12 roles with care and you will be surprised by how many admire and understand why your firm has grown so successfully.

“I used to be addicted to social media … So I stopped. Today, I still use social media, though only for business purposes.”

“This was the fourth or fifth time since 1997 that Zweig Group has done one of these events coupled with a racing school. They always get me thinking.”

President and CEO of Hitchcock Design Group (Best Firm Architecture #7 for 2018), a 35-person landscape architecture firm headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.

“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.”

Successful people will overcommit where their passion meets a purpose, where service is not a burden but a privilege.

Being relevant can be powerful, but it will require you to put down your devices and actively engage with those around you. No doubt you have been in meetings and looked around the room and...

“People working in this industry can be sensitive. It’s so easy to turn them off – and difficult to get them going again – if you can!” The difference between making and losing money in...

Ditch the ego, the fancy title, and the unnecessary rules. Instead, be the spark that inspires your team members to follow their passions. If you are a manager, you have people following your orders. If...

“So many firms in the AEC business are making transitions right now. Aging boomers in their 60s and 70s are selling down, and their chosen successors are taking the reins.” So many firms in the...

Once you get to be 60, your perspective changes. If you look ahead, you know that you have, on average, another 12 years left to live (longer if you are a woman). And that’s an...

Today’s AEC industry is experiencing significant growth, demanding that our leaders evolve and communicate far beyond the check-the-box approach. Have you ever asked yourself, “What the heck is real leadership?” This is the question that...

President and CEO of Chen Moore & Associates (Best Firm Multidiscipline #26 and Hot Firm #88 for 2018), a 70-person firm based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Even more important than a...

Now is a good time to make good on your 2018 work resolution to improve your team by turning the saboteurs into loyalists. The new year brings with it the opportunity for change, growth, and...

Talent and skill are essential, but keep a close eye on cultural fit if you want to avoid the mistake of bringing the wrong person on board. I was recently talking with a client who...

Under threat, firms solve problems when leaders commit to the right roles and the right people to inform, inquire, and act. You’ve all been there. A room full of eight, 18, or even 80 anxious...

We all need a lengthy, unadulterated turning-off of our brains. How do you start? Try taking a break from the lifelong grind. Sabbatical – rooted in the Greek word sabbatikos – the word speaks to...

President and CEO of VHB (Best Firm Civil #23 and Hot Firm #46 for 2017), a 1,400-person firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Bottom line, when it’s the right move, and when...

Subscribe to The Zweig Letter for free to receive business management advice from industry experts to your inbox every week! Live with rejection, learn from rejection, and conquer your fear of rejection. Once all that’s out of the...

Here is the full transcript of a great conversation that we had with Mark Zweig. He gave us a history lesson on AECWorkforce and the importance of an effective job board for the Design and...

Here is the full transcript of a great conversation that we had with Mark Zweig. He gave us a history lesson on AECWorkforce and the importance of an effective job board for the Design and...

President and CEO of EAPC Architects Engineers (Marketing Excellence #3 Website and #1 Holiday for 2017), a 140-person firm based in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Editor’s note: EAPC, founded in 1967, is celebrating its 50th...

For multi-office firms, it’s important to monitor overhead allocations so one region doesn’t consume more than its fair share of resources. Here’s the issue: Department managers, regional managers, and office managers all question the general...

Nancy Ruddy is a big reason why the firm she cofounded, CetraRuddy, continues to grow and evolve, and can solve complex problems. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent It all started in 1987 in the living room...

We have all heard the adage, "Hire for character and train for skills." A/E/P firms really need to "get" this idea. Most don't do it. They're focused on PE registrations and degrees and knowledge of...

Those of us in the A/E/P industry have a choice to make. Should we be adversaries or colleagues? Colleagues is the right answer. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the place of “trust” and...

Inspiration is necessary for technical/design professionals and those who manage projects to be successful. I watched an outstanding documentary recently on the life of Henry Ford. I learned a lot about him – and heard...

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...

Sometimes firm owners feign ignorance to avoid spending time, money necessary to achieve their goals. ​It’s been said before: “You can’t get what you want if you don’t know what that is.” Nowhere is that...

Despite what the pundits say, Mark Zweig believes that magnetic leaders aren’t such a bad thing. "Charisma” – some people have it and some don’t. It has been defined as a special charm or appeal...

If you are a target of bitterness, here’s four tips from Mark Zweig on how to deal with it. ​On a recent flight to go see some clients in South Florida, Chad Clinehens and I...

Mark Zweig tackles the misconceptions with four examples. I started out in business at a young age, buying and selling bicycles, then motorcycles and then cars, on my Mom and Dad’s street corner. Then I...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 994 Originally published 2/11/2013 Most architects and engineers never studied how to run a business, so the issue of governance becomes increasingly complex...

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...

By Jeff Clark From a personal viewpoint, I often wondered in the past what I would say, and with such frequency, on this celebrity-glamorized and ego-centric platform called Twitter. I’m not John Mayer and if...

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...

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...

After 20 years of writing The Zweig Letter and its no-named, type-written predecessor, I feel like I know our readers. Most of you are architects, engineers, planners, and scientists. You (rightfully) consider yourselves professionals. Theoretically,...

It is not easy— finding enough leaders to fill all of the leadership needs inside your company. Some (many firm founders) might think one factor could be that most everyone in your firm probably did...

After 28 years of working in and around A/E/P and environmental firms, it is clear that there are many good firms and only a few truly great firms in this business. The “truly great” firms...

Turnover is costly. All of the human resources experts can tell you that— some could even give you the real cost of turnover for any specific position to the penny if you wanted it! Staff...

When it comes to A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, the difference in profitability and growth vs. marginal performance and no growth is very little. But that “little” difference may just be how your people feel...

Since this issue is dedicated to mergers and acquisitions in the A/E/P and environmental industry, I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned over the years about this subject. Mergers and acquisitions can work...

There’s an interesting article in the latest issue of Inc Magazine on PR firms that get paid only when they get results for their clients— results being a press mention in the local paper, a...

We held our 2004 AEC Mergers and Acquisitions Summit at the Biltmore in Coral Gables, Florida, the first week in December. The food and accommodations were great, and the meetings were a success. As someone...

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...

The fact of the matter is that design and environmental firms are not easy organizations to lead. Their cultures are fragmented. The people who work in them are all too smart, their egos too big,...

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...

George Alexandra was fed up. He was tired of always having to take a back seat to his partner, Mick Flashyman. “Just because Flashyman started the company (Godlike Architects, Inc.) didn’t mean it wouldn’t be...

It’s becoming more apparent to me every day that human resources management as we know it needs a total overhaul. Many human resources experts (staff and consultants) are perpetuating bad advice, and the typical A/E/P...

At 11:01 a.m. a few weeks back, I got an e-mail message from our switchboard operator that said Ms. So-and-so, “a principal with local architectural firm X” called. She did not want to speak to...

With times as good as they are, particularly for architecture, engineering, and building-related environmental consulting firms, it’s hard to think about failure. But there are still firms going out of business and firms on the...

From my experience, I’d say that most owners and managers of A/E/P and environmental firms have forgotten that recruiting is selling. Instead of trying to create the best impression they can on every person who...

Most of us heard it from our parents at some point in our childhood: “You can grow up to be anything you want, but be the best at it you can be.” It’s a good...

We went to Scottsdale, Arizona, on a family vacation last week. Of course, we did the usual tourist stuff. We visited Montezuma’s Castle near Sedona and rode the stagecoach at Rawhide, the quintessential tacky tourist...

One of the principals of a firm I have been acquainted with for a couple of years called the other day to tell me he had just left a board of directors’ meeting where they...

I had a revelation the other day: I don’t know of a single top manager in an A/E/P or environmental firm who is completely thrilled with every one of his or her partners, shareholders, or...

There’s truth to the old adage that “the seeds of destruction are sown along with the spoils of success.” We see it all the time, but that doesn’t make it any more palatable. I’m talking...

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...

One reason the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry is predominated by small, not-so-successful firms is that it has too many weak leaders. A firm can end up with a weak leader for many reasons. The...

We’ve all experienced the joy of doing business with a company that acts as if their people like serving you. It really is a great feeling. Most of the time, it happens with businesses like...

While 1994 was a truly great year for most architecture and engineering firms, and even for some environmental consulting firms, there were still firms in our industry that lost money. And it’s not unusual for...

Just about every A/E or environmental firm wants to grow. And there are a lot of good reasons for it. To paraphrase an old adage, “growth covers a multitude of sins.” When you are growing,...

If you listen to the “experts,” you could easily be convinced that it’s darn near impossible to successfully acquire a firm. By “successful,” I’m not just referring to getting the deal done. I’m talking about...

From time to time, architects and other design professionals all come under fire from the business types for not being sufficiently “business-minded.” And, the standard line of defense from those under attack is “I didn’t...

I’ve always been a student of human interaction. So when I hear someone say of another person in a derogatory tone, “That Wilson sure has a big ego,” I immediately ask myself “Who is this...