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By Mark Zweig | The financial choices young professionals make in their first five years can put them on a completely different trajectory from their peers.

By Jon Dahl | Stronger client relationships begin when both clients and service providers understand the pressures behind each other’s decisions.

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

By Mark Zweig | Strong onboarding helps new AEC hires feel valued, useful, and confident they made the right decision.

By Mark Zweig | Non-performing partners create resentment, weaken accountability, and send dangerous signals throughout an AEC firm.

By Greg Sepeda | The best leaders resist false choices and build the capacity to operate within tension while maintaining clarity, discipline, and forward momentum.

By Mark Zweig | Early career success comes from reliability, responsiveness, humility, and a willingness to work harder.

By Jeff Adams | The real work in AEC M&A begins after closing, where integration turns a transaction into sustainable growth and value.

By Morgan Stinson | AEC firms win when purpose, not profit, drives client experience.

By Mark Zweig | Never give up, act decisively, share the numbers, and lead by example to build a stronger, more resilient firm.

By Matt Verderamo | Success in leadership comes from embracing change with courage, staying flexible, communicating openly, and continuously moving forward.

By Brandon Pinkerton | True leadership means stepping up in crisis, answering the call when no one else will, and without seeking recognition.

By Mark Zweig | In a world of constant distraction, true effectiveness comes from knowing your priorities and having the discipline to follow them.

By Mark Zweig | Calm leadership under pressure –whether in business, aviation, or racing – proves experience and composure drive effective decision-making.

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

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

By Mark Zweig | Practical career advice for new AEC graduates on landing a great job and accelerating early career success.

By Matt Verderamo | These four  steps will earn your business a steady backlog, empowering you to chase your strategic goals.

By Chad Clinehens | Firms that prioritize employee experience data see higher retention rates, improved collaboration, and greater innovation.

By Mailena Urso | The path toward success is shaped by your courage, curiosity, and resilience.

By Tom Mesk | Prioritizing personal well-being and balance enhances workplace culture, productivity, and presence while preventing burnout and endless to-do list cycles.

By Mark Zweig | Simple, intentional habits like time management, strategic investments, and effective communication can significantly enhance personal and professional success.

By Greg Sepeda | Taking time to slow down, prioritize self-care, and recharge improves productivity, mental clarity, and overall well-being.

By Brandon Pinkerton | When the time comes, the best thing you can do for yourself, your legacy, and your organization is to end the journey well.

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

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 Greg Sepeda | Seizing opportunities fosters a mindset of continuous improvement, enabling us to refine our skills and expand our horizons.

By Jason Wilson | Problem-solving unforeseen challenges in order to boost productivity and regain work-life balance when working from home.

By David Hostetter | Mentoring the next generation of professionals requires care and dedication – and it will have a profound impact on your people and firm.

By Jane Lawler Smith | Focusing on creating fans of your brand, rather than just clients, can drive deeper engagement, brand loyalty, and word-of-mouth marketing.

By Mark Zweig | Unspoken thoughts about business coaching, writing skills, phone disconnection, and more.

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

By Matt Verderamo | Prioritize building relationships with clients and potential clients to build trust, credibility, and alignment for better outcomes.

By Laura Nick | Four steps for building a strategic plan that supports a people-centric, talent-attracting culture.

By Kevin Brown | To become an employer of choice in AEC, you must prioritize getting the fundamentals right before investing in advanced employee programs.

By Mark Zweig | See how you stack up against the best in the industry – and remember, it’s never too late to change your behavior.

By Mark Zweig | This advice isn’t hard to follow; it just takes some conscious effort and a little discipline.

By Sara Karstetter | There are several questions a seller needs to be able to answer beyond just the financials.

By Mark Zweig | Reflections and lessons learned over the course of 35 years, from the founding of the company to today.

By Mark Zweig | Every entrepreneurial company should have some big, game-changing things it is working on.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Michael Graves Architecture, an innovative architecture and design company that provide services around the world for clients in multiple industries.

By Gordon Greene | If you trust your staff and have hired people with integrity, you will never need to tell someone you want them 90 percent utilized.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Verdantas (Dublin, OH), an environmental, engineering, and technical consulting company with global perspective.

By Mark Zweig | Looking back at more than 30 years in business, from the founding of the company to today.

By Mark Zweig | Doing so will help you organize your thinking, present and preserve your work, and give you more credibility with your client base.

By Liisa Andreassen | Design principal and founder of Ross Barney Architects (Chicago, IL), an architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture studio.

By Mark Zweig | For every situation that mandates disruption, there will be an equal number of situations that require maintenance of the status quo.

By John Shaw | Communication and relationships are the greatest driving forces in success or failure during a change journey.

By Phil Keil | It’s time to start building a strategy for how you will compete and stay relevant in this rapidly evolving environment.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Prairie Engineers, P.C. (Columbia, IL), a firm made up of engineers, surveyors, and scientists focused on solving problems for public and private clients.

By Mark | If your project managers did these six things consistently, your projects and your firm would be more successful.

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

By Kraig Kern | Real innovation is about a shift in perspective to progress forward, not the latest gadget or software.

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 | Give yourself a chance to get a lot done and you may be surprised at your ability to keep all those plates spinning.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | The rapidly changing economic conditions we’re experiencing are putting salary pressure on AEC firms.

By Justin Smith | Calling the ideal plays will only work for you if your team understands the role that they each play in executing.

By Mark Zweig | Business ownership can be one of the most rewarding things for any person to participate in.

By Liisa Andreassen | Founder of Trahan Architects, a global architecture firm that mobilizes artistry and innovation to develop thoughtful structures that enhance quality of life.

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 Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Psomas (Los Angeles, CA), an employee-owned firm providing engineering, environmental, construction management, and survey/geospatial services.

By Kraig Kern | Your firm’s collective strengths can and should be applied to make your new employees’ onboarding a standout experience.

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at Brenner Design (Indianapolis, IN), an award-winning, woman owned architectural firm that designs and constructs innovative buildings and interior spaces.

By Liisa Andreassen | Vice president of Morrison-Shipley Halff (Richardson, TX), a consulting firm with a passion for providing smarter solutions with a distinctly human touch.

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 Mark Zweig | What really makes people take responsibility for something and give it their all – to truly be accountable?

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 | 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 | President at MWM Design Group (Austin, TX), a firm that continues to embody its founders’ core values of personal integrity, responsibility, and service.

By Mark Zweig | Hiring people who fit in and don’t cause problems is hardly the way to be innovative and really push your business forward.

By Mark Zweig | You’ll never be able to eliminate uncertainty, but there are some things you can be sure of. Keeping these in mind will help you be ready for what lies ahead.

By Kevin Token | Anyone who touches other people’s lives, whether personally, professionally, or in their communities, can choose to make a positive impact.

By WSB | In 1959, Kennedy became the first Black woman to receive an engineering degree from a school in Texas. Here, she reflects on her more than 55 years of experience since then.

By Mark Zweig | We create much of our own good luck – and a lot of that comes down to understanding probabilities and doing things that increase our odds for success.

By Lillian Minix | The pandemic has changed the way we network, opening doors to many more opportunities than we could have imagined.

By Mark Zweig | As design professionals and business managers, this is your only real path to business sustainability and personal freedom.

By Mark Zweig | Firms that can quickly fill any opening with excellent people have a major advantage over their competition in any market.

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 Mark Zweig | If you’re trying to buy or thinking about buying another company in this business, here are a few things that may be helpful to you.

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 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 Liisa Andreassen | COO of CEC Corporation (Oklahoma City, OK), a multidiscipline firm with a focus on eliminating aging infrastructure and driving community growth through innovative design.

Through recessions and tough times, innovations explode as people are forced to slow down and think. Many are already working on the next big thing for their business. Are you?

By Mark Zweig | Best practices may be safe, but they won’t differentiate your firm. Make these changes and your firm will stand out.

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

By Phil Keil | We can learn a lot about mission and vision through the context of some of America’s founding documents.

Managing principal at Inventure Design (Houston, TX), a firm that transforms the client experience in design and architecture by creating smart, human-centered spaces.

In our current digital and remote work environment, the basic task of note taking has become enormously important.

You don’t achieve success by going solo. You need allies – your manager and your direct reports – to make the load lighter.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | With some ingenuity and proper planning, the AEC industry can adapt and thrive in any climate.

By Chad Coldiron | Prioritize the tasks on your to-do list in order of importance and how long they will take to maximize efficiency.

By Mark Zweig | Getting on the phone right now may be the single most important thing you can do to bring in new work.

By Mark Zweig | None of these is a panacea. All of these things do, however, have the potential to bring you new clients, opportunities, and projects.

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.

By Phil Keil | Recommendations for how your firm can adjust budgets and make smart investments of your money, your time, and your energy.

Take time each day to do things that rest your mind and body. This will help you be more creative, more productive, and a better leader.

Implementing a formal, systematic safety program will benefit you, your employees, your clients, and your greater community.

By John Bray | The value you will add and the time you will save is worth the cost almost every single time.

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

Women must stop apologizing, speak up, and stand tall if they want to be successful leaders.

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

A lot can go wrong while establishing an office in a new market, but if you find a niche and hire strategically, you can succeed.

No one wants just a job, and no one wants to live in “quiet desperation.” As leaders, we can help employees sidestep burnout.

“Entrepreneurs are not unique to the ownership group of small, privately-held companies. They can also be found working as employees in larger organizations.”

Using both sides of his brain, and with empathy, can-do man is engineering a great career in Seattle.

“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.”

It might sound a bit odd, but there’s plenty of things the C-suite can learn from stand-up comedians.

Use this seven step process to focus on project management for year-over-year improvement.

When working on a project, there are various human roadblocks that consistently clog the path to project execution.

“There’s a lot to know about your people. And we have to keep updating this information because your people are constantly changing.”

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

Portland office leader for PCS Structural Solutions believes in the legacy of engineering as a community builder.

Even if you’re at the lower rungs of the org chart, there are plenty of opportunities for meaningful acts of leadership.

A good attitude and honest effort are central to California engineer’s mission to build a meaningful career.

“If any of these situations sounds familiar – and you have tried to correct the situation by directly confronting it – it may be time to let that person go.”

When your firm hires a young person to fill a newly created position, make sure you give them the support they need to grow into their role. Starting a new job is intimidating. But starting...

“We get our greatest satisfaction from accomplishing things – yet we seem hell bent on getting to a position where we don’t DO anything that would give us that satisfaction.” I don’t know what’s wrong...

If we want to grow as people and as firms, we have to first find the fine line, and then what’s on either side of it. Choice breeds chaos, or so the saying goes. Even...

If your firm makes a sincere effort to learn, teach, develop, innovate, and improve, old and new hires alike will notice. As president of a 400-person design firm, one of my favorite activities is one-on-one...

A lot of firms say they have a great culture, but for that to be true, a firm must be intentional about implementing its core set of values. At Mead & Hunt, we say we...

It’s time to build a list that matters to you, and as you do, don’t let anything stand in your way, including skeptical friends and colleagues. With so many day-to-day responsibilities, it’s easy to postpone...

On this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, Randy Wilburn and Mark Zweig discuss building trust with your employees. Mark believes that if you want to keep good people, they need to trust you and...

What we're up to Zweig Group has launched a customized and niche Online Continuing Education portal for technical and design professionals, accessible at www.ZweigGroup.com/Zlearning. Zlearning offers a variety of one-hour training options to help the...

As great as business is right now for most AEC firms, believe it or not, there are still some out there struggling. Struggling to grow, struggling to make a profit, struggling to be successful. If...

Clients have evolved, and if you want stay connected with them, you have to learn who they are, what they want, and where you fit. Change – a simple yet loaded word, particularly these days....

“Quality” is an elusive thing. It’s like a moving target. One person’s definition of high quality could be completely different from another’s. For firms providing architecture, engineering, planning, or related services, it is really all...

This post first appeared as an article in The Zweig Letter, Issue 1223 Besides the fact that an external sale will typically provide the greatest financial return for A/E owners who want to transition out...

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...

Can strategic thinking be learned? Sure, if you know where to start and are mindful of the mileposts along the way. Halfway through a two-day strategic planning retreat, a senior leadership team member nervously pulled...

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’...

They count, and they need to be made across numerous fronts if you want to get your foot in the door with a new client. As the saying goes, first impressions count. Although much of...

If growth through M&A is part of your strategic plan, be prepared to embrace the integration process with an open mind. Last week we discussed strategic planning and how it is an integral part of...

If you make it that far in the interview process, don’t forget to show the potential client your best asset – your ability to make a human connection. A few weeks ago, your A/E team...

People always laugh over here at Zweig Group when I launch into a tirade about a guy who worked for us long ago. This fellow was a consultant – an engineer with an MBA –...

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...

It seems like so many of us want to go back to the way things used to be. That’s why we have so much nostalgic design in automobiles and architecture, reflecting the style when cars...

Research shows that a good onboarding program is the best way to keep the people you hire, and save a chunk of change on recruitment and training. The process of accepting a job seems much...

Make project management a cornerstone of the way your firm does business, and win more work in a competitive market. By Richard Massey Managing Editor A work in progress since 2005, the Technical Core Team...

It seems like so many of us want to go back to the way things used to be. That’s why we have so much nostalgic design in automobiles and architecture, reflecting the style when cars...

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 improving your business development skills in the AEC space "Becoming...

We got a fax the other day from a firm that wanted to cancel four seminar registrations it had sent in just a couple weeks before. Evidently, the firm had hit on hard times, had...

The subject never gets old and you can't talk about it enough. Collecting money. Architects and engineers are horrible at it! There are several reasons for this problem, including: ‎Poor self-image. If you don't think...

The act of priming your business for market increases its value, and helps you embrace an assortment of challenges and opportunities. I know what you’re thinking because I hear it all the time. “I’m not...

Bells and whistles are nice, but when it comes time to write a winning proposal, a strong, focused message is still the way to go. In recent months I have seen a number of questions...

A good communication plan is vital when things don’t go your way, so put a little thought into who’s going to do the talking when people start asking questions. Not a day goes by that...

Independent environmental firms are increasingly rare, but out on the East Coast, CEO Eileen Pannetier has succeeded by sticking to her small-firm roots. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Prior to founding Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (Best Firm...

Familiarity, loyalty, promotion, marketing investment, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation – to achieve these things you must be consistent. Disney is the world’s most powerful brand. The Brand Finance Global 500 report also ranked Lego...

You should if you want more business and enhanced services for your clients, and besides, the new generation of engineers has to have it. In 1971 the founders of our firm went to their local...

As the bumper sticker says, "Shit Happens." Unfortunately, it rarely occurs at the ideal time. Problems crop up that you didn't anticipate – health problems, a parent dies, a key employee quits, divorce, IRS audits...

The M&A process is like the dating game: there’s plenty of fish in the sea, but hauling in the big catch isn’t easy. Firms close deals every day without engaging an M&A consultant to help...

“I’m not ready to sell my business,” “I am not ready to retire,” or “business is too good right now for me to sell” are all statements you might be thinking right now, but there...

A lot of A/E/P firms complain, but in fact, they’re not really trying to grow. As an executive in residence teaching entrepreneurship in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas‎,...

Even proponents of ‘never say never’ will likely agree that these gaffes should never be committed. Though one of my favorite sayings is “never say never,” the fact is, if you work in an A/E...

Over-confidence going into a proposal or interview can create a self-fulfilling prophecy; front-runners must be sure to wow clients. We have all been there. We find out we are short-listed for that project that we...

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...

Three ideas to help you implement a successful HR recruiting program. I sit here writing this article the day after Super Bowl 49. I’m neither a Patriots nor Seahawks fan but it was an exciting...

Your job is to instill harmony between those who thrive on change and those who prefer the status quo. After working with A/E firms for about 35 years, I have come to the conclusion that...

An ode to the A/E profession, from Mark Zweig. Being in the construction and development business through Mark Zweig, Inc., and getting exposure to many other businesses and industries as a professor teaching entrepreneurship at...

These comprehensive campaigns are more than a marketing exercise. Do you roll your eyes when you hear of a firm going through a rebranding? Be honest. Certainly the concept of branding has been slow to...

A new era dawns as this company moves ahead refreshed and re-emboldened. The 15th Annual Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Event marked the announcement of a new name and complete rebranding of ZweigWhite to...

Mark Zweig expresses frustration about the mishandling of the sales process at design firms. It is a hard to manage the business development (BD) effort in the A/E and environmental consulting industry. To start with,...

Mark Zweig offers five suggestions on how to stay out of trouble and in the black. One of the greatest challenges is keeping your business profitable. It’s easiest when you’re growing. Revenue is going up...

Mark Zweig provides 10 tips how to treat potential new employees right. One of the things we do at ZweigWhite is a limited amount of executive search consulting. Most people don’t really understand that. They...

Coach your staff on the small things that make all the difference and follow these four tips from Mark Zweig. So much of one’s success in the architecture, engineering, planning or environmental business has nothing...

Take the time to share with new hires your wisdom about why things are the way they are and how they got that way. What happens when someone joins your firm? Do you merely sit...

Look for ideas to simplify every single thing you do and the benefits will accrue, Mark Zweig writes. For those of you not aware of it, earlier this month ZweigWhite announced the combination of two...

Being treated as a second class employee, independent of rank, is very demoralizing, Mark Zweig writes. The other day I stopped to talk with ZweigWhite’s CPA, who was meeting with our in-house accountant – a...

Six traits that will make you and your team highly successful, Mark Zweig writes. There’s no doubt in my mind that most successful people in this business didn’t get there by accident. It’s because of...

Costs add up, sometimes alarmingly, so be sure to discuss reimbursements. Everyone says they don’t want to nickel and dime their client and yet getting paid for doing work and providing service is the reality...

Stop holding so many of them and get back to work, Mark Zweig writes. We’ve got a HUGE problem in the A/E/P and environmental business. And it’s one we can solve easily. I’m talking about...

While the loss of a beloved BlackBerry device is a traumatic experience for Mark Zweig, change is inevitable. The last week brought a lot of change into my world. That included moving to a new...

Several things happen when a new person joins your firm. Don’t scare them away. This term seems to have come into popular usage among HR folks lately, referring to how a firm brings a person...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 1001 Originally published 4/1/2013 Not all PMs are stars. Rattling their cage a bit may just help them rise. I was at our...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 991 Originally published 1/21/2013 Get going on the five items Mark Zweig shares below. Marketing in the A/E/P and environmental consulting world –...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 990 Originally published 1/14/2013 (Doing the same thing but expecting a different result.) I just got asked why I came back to ZweigWhite...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 985` Originally published 12/3/2012 Mark Zweig enumerates a series of actions and credos that will help you maximize your potential. Think whatever you...

By Hobson Hogan Principal, Investment Banking There is a time in everyone’s life when you are holding onto something too tightly. I was reminded of this fact by my son on Christmas Day. Santa had...

Press Release: July 15, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 15, 2011) –With only $1000.00 in start-up capital, Mark C. Zweig started Mark Zweig & Associates on a card table in the back-room efficiency apartment of his...

I’m often asked two questions about leadership: 1. Are leaders born or made? 2. How did you become a leader? I believe everyone has the potential become a leader. Despite endless debate on the subject...

By Mark C. Zweig It’s funny how firms in our business— many of which have been around for 20, 30, 40 or more years— can get to a certain level and then start to let...

Business is starting to get better and hiring activity is restarting for many A/E/P and environmental firms that have shrunk over the last few years. That’s good news for the economy and for some of...

One of the keys to success in business— all types of business, not just the A/E/P and environmental business— is practicing common courtesies (or perhaps they should be called not-so-common courtesies?). Architects, engineers, and scientists...

This week’s focus is all about the new industry buzz term, “IPD.” For those who don’t know, IPD stands for “integrated project delivery.” You might wonder what that means (as I did the first time...

I first predicted the recession on Aug. 13, 2007, in an article in The Zweig Letter, Issue No. 724, entitled, “Many have been lulled…” (referring to the false sense of security about the economy that...

If you have a firm of any size and have been in business for any length of time, you will at some point discover one of your key people is interviewing with a competitor. You...

When things get ugly in a firm— as they tend to do when the firm’s financial status takes a downturn— you’ll often see fights break out. Some principals form factions with other principals or principal...

Although it doesn’t happen to everyone who becomes a principal in an architecture, engineering, or planning firm, it happens to many of us. What I am speaking of is the dilemma one faces when you...

Steve Tomlinson was in shock. He always took great pride in the work output of his now 80-person environmental firm, Tomlinson Consultants. But the truth was, as they grew, their quality was getting worse and...

A friend of mine who redoes old houses here in town was telling me the other day about an architect he’s been working with lately. She’s a registered architect, has her own company, and is...

I was at Lowe’s the other day buying a Jacuzzi tub for a 1925 bungalow we are redoing from top to bottom to resell. While the plumbing guy ran off to get my tub, I...

Orville Honstater was starting to sweat a little for the first time in a long time. His company, Honstater & Associates, had enjoyed a long run (more than 10 years) of profitability and good, if...

Much has been written on how to be a more effective seller— lots aimed at design professionals and much more written for other industries/professions. The problem with most of this stuff is the credibility of...

When I passed the baton to Dick Ryan as our CEO three years ago, it allowed me to move on and do some other things I have always wanted to do. One of those activities...

My six month-old daughter Olive has already said her first word. It is “clock.” She says it practically every time we show her the black reproduction “Kit-Cat” clock on the wall in her bedroom. For...

Being the leader of a Zweig Letter Hot Firm isn’t for everyone. Believe me, I know plenty of these characters personally (and they are “characters!”), and while they come from many different age groups, racial...

Somewhere in the journalistic masterpiece known as USA Today during the week of July 17 is a small blurb about business ethics. It was one of their polls that they regularly take. Forgive me for...

There’s an old expression frequently heard around these parts— “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” My experience is this one really applies to the people who work in A/E/P and environmental firms. Those who ask...

Just about everyone in the A/E or environmental business thinks that they have strategies. I don’t think many really do because most people don’t even know what strategies are. “Strategies” are philosophies— your core philosophies...

Before sitting down last week for a meeting with one of our PhD students— a German fellow named Sven— we both agreed that we’d like some coffee first. I asked Sven if he wanted to...

Thankfully, just about every A/E or environmental firm does a business plan these days. I no longer have to relentlessly beat my drum here in The Zweig Letter on all the reasons to do so!...

I recently witnessed a transformation. An old-line A/E firm that had been on the decline for about four years decided they’d finally had enough. Their top management reallocated their energy and efforts to one thing—...

The year is barely underway, and I am already hearing complaints from A/E/P and environmental firm owners: It’s time to be more profitable! This will sound like a bold claim. But the truth is, I’ve...

With my work as a board member for the College of Business at Southern Illinois University, and the teaching I’m doing at the University of Arkansas this semester, I have found myself giving a lot...

I’m getting ready to start teaching a course at The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville this spring semester. It will be a class on entrepreneurship— more specifically,...

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...

Ask any expert and they will tell you that you should be doing succession planning at all levels in the organization. What is succession planning? It’s simply answering who is going to take over when...

Everyone in the A/E or environmental consulting business wants to turn their technical people into sellers. Not a week goes by that the desire to do this isn’t mentioned to me by someone in this...

Last week, I took my oldest daughter Christy (she’s a high school junior) and one of her friends on a day of college tours. We went to three schools and took the guided tour at...

I can’t tell you how many business planning meetings I have sat in on in large firms where someone comes up with the novel idea of checking all project deliverables before they go out. It’s...

Last week, we held our first-ever conference on mergers and acquisitions, the 2003 AEC Mergers & Acquisitions Summit, at the Omni Parker House in Boston. It was a successful event with a wide range of...

Turning around an A/E or environmental company that is not doing as well as it should be doing takes an artful leader (or bunch of leaders). If you take a closer look at these transformations,...

It is so valuable… being THE place to work. What I mean by THE place is the firm that everyone wants to work at. It is the cool place, the desirable place to be, the...

I had a nice woman come up to me before a talk I gave in Rochester, New York, last week. She asked me if we had ever considered doing an article on how to recognize...

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...

As management consultants to the A/E/P and environmental industry for many years, we get up close and personal with literally hundreds of firms each and every year. Many of these are very successful companies that...

Terry Mitchell, senior vice president and transportation division head for MonsterFirm, Inc., knew one thing: If the firm was going to make any real money, it was going to take a new level of top...

I read somewhere once that being in love is a mental illness. All logic goes out the window. Rationality does not prevail. The ugly can become beautiful. Suffering is tolerable. Sacrifices can be made. Walls...

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,...

“God, it smells good out here,” Bob Trunkwater thought to himself as he started out on his early evening walk around the neighborhood. Trunkwater had just recently made the decision to start his own company....

I came away from our first-ever Hot Firm conference held last week in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as impressed as I could be. Not only did our conference planning staff do a first-class job in terms of...

I just got back from a 1,720-mile motorcycle trip with my wife on our new Kawasaki ZG1000 sport touring bike. It was fantastic! We went up the coast of Maine from Kennebunkport to Bar Harbor....

I’m bullish on this business. As a group of firms, we are doing better than ever. Revenue is up. Profits are up. And the projects are gratifying. It’s an ethical business. There are a lot...

Everything I need to know was not taught in kindergarten! In growing our own business and working with hundreds of firms over the years to help them grow theirs, I feel like I have learned...

I just got back from a College of Business Advisory Board meeting at my alma mater, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Thanks to the State of Illinois, I got my BS and MBA degrees...

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...

Most people would agree: Much in life works out like you expect it will. So why, if this is the case, do so many of the people running A/E/P and environmental consulting firms have such...

Raymond Stodge, managing principal of “Stodge Engineers and Architects,” was depressed. How would he get the firm’s executive committee to start taking action on the issues that had plagued the firm for years? And now...

A few of us just got back from “Racing to the Future ‘97,” a CEO get-together we sponsored in West Palm Beach, Florida. Let me tell you, it was a great experience. Having a dozen...

You spend all kinds of money to get the phone to ring and to get on qualified bidders lists. Your best technical seller-doer-closers beat the bushes for new opportunities. Your glossy quarterly newsletters are mailed...

I spoke last week at the Iowa Engineering Society’s Annual Meeting in Cedar Rapids. My topic was “The Future of the Engineering Profession: Engineers as Leaders.” But before I get into that, I want to...

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...

There’s a good article in the September 9, 1996, edition of The Wall Street Journal, entitled “How to Survive When I Take the Reins.” It’s in the “Manager’s Journal” section and was written by Albert...

I’ve been thinking a lot about change lately, probably because I have been experiencing so much of it so fast. Moves are one type of change that most people find stressful. I know— I have...

I gave a talk last week at a meeting one of our clients had for all their market sector leaders. This is a successful company that we do quite a bit of work for, and...

One of the great things about the A/E/P and environmental consulting business is that it always provides you with a challenge. Right now, many firms are feeling particularly stressed— with a higher than normal workload,...

It has been said that the only thing an A/E/P or environmental firm can do in a presentation is “not lose the job”— meaning that the selection decisions are made before presentation time, and can...

It is almost heresy in this day and age of “customer service” to say it, but in the A/E/P and environmental consulting business, the customer is not always right. In fact, many times the customer...

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not the sentimental type. But I must say— I love the people who work here. I love them because they work so hard, they never complain,...

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...

Several times in the last few months, I’ve been asked to speak on the topic of what keeps people in A/E/P and environmental firms happy and productive. The first thing I always tell folks is...

Everybody who’s anybody in the A/E/P and environmental business will tell you that teamwork is critical to the success of their firms. But aside from the occasional hiring of a smooth-talking organizational psychologist to give...

I called a friend the other day, the CFO of a 400-plus person engineering, planning, and environmental firm, and the receptionist answered the phone, “ABC Associates.” I asked to speak with “Bob Smith.” The next...

Most A/E/P and environmental consulting firm insiders would agree that we, as a group of companies, do not manage very well. I say that because if we did, we would not be an industry made...

Management people are usually critical of technical people for their lack of business knowledge. But having a business degree is no assurance you know any more than the average design or environmental consultant about how...

I watched a movie on T.V. the other night titled “Lean on Me,” starring one of my favorite contemporary actors, Morgan Freeman. Freeman played Joe Clark, the inner-city high school principal who had one year...

Road Warriors Square Off— One Monday a couple of weeks ago, I got up at 3:45 a.m. to catch a 6:00 flight from Boston’s Logan Airport, the start of a long week to come. After...

Have you seen the bumper sticker that says “Question Authority?” One thing is for sure— now’s the time to question conventional wisdom with respect to marketing A/E and environmental consulting services. Many of the experts...

Throughout my working career, I never asked for a raise. I never asked for a bigger bonus. I figured if my employers weren’t smart enough to pay me what I was worth, I’d go somewhere...

It’s the time of year when you can’t reach anyone on the telephone, when important decisions seem to be postponed, and when, as one CFO who participates in our ZWEIG 100 index remarked recently, firm-wide...

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...