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By Becky Carlson | Understanding your firm’s value early can reveal growth opportunities, reduce risk, and support long-term transition planning.

By Zachary Strickland | Successful program managers anticipate risks, guide tough conversations, and create confidence amid complexity.

By Kristi Weierbach | Discretionary versus non-discretionary bonuses can quietly impact compliance, overtime costs, and overhead rates more than many AEC leaders realize.

By Mark Zweig | In the AEC business, recruiting isn’t just about finding people; it’s about becoming the kind of firm people want to join.

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

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

By Wallace Smith | Giving back is a responsibility that strengthens communities, builds better businesses, and reminds leaders their greatest impact starts beyond the blueprint.

By Gregory D. Teague | A strong culture isn’t built once – it’s nurtured daily through shared values, genuine investment in people, and lasting community impact.

By Tom Robinson | When your people understand not just what is being built, but how and why, they’re better equipped to adapt and solve problems ahead of time.

By Mark Zweig | Most AEC firms play it safe with bland marketing, but bold, consistent outreach is what actually drives results.

At this year’s Design for Freedom Summit, held at Grace Farms in New Canaan, Connecticut, leaders from across the architecture, construction, and advocacy communities gathered to confront one of the industry’s most pressing ethical imperatives: eliminating...

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

By Mark Zweig | The ability to maintain long-term relationships, both personal and professional, is one of the keys to business success.

By Emily Gaines | The words and numbers used to describe design concept, building component, and client goal form a dataset that guides decisions and improves project success.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of AE2S (Grand Forks, ND), a civil/environmental engineering consulting firm specializing in drinking water, wastewater, and water resources.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of MG2 (Seattle, WA), a global architecture, design, strategy, construction, and branding studio.

By Elizabeth Preston | Managers can unintentionally hinder their team’s writing by not providing clear standards, dedicated time, and constructive feedback.

By Jeremy Clarke | Focus your firm’s retention strategy on offering meaningful benefits that are in alignment with core human needs.

By Mark Zweig | Are your expectations for your people high enough, or are you letting everyone off the hook?

By Mark Zweig | At some point leadership has to take action and act like leaders versus just talk a good game.

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

By Eduardo Smith | For any COO to be successful in the AEC industry today, they must embrace the soft side of leadership, focusing on the people and culture as much as the numbers.

By Jennifer Haddad | When leaders combine a strong company culture with workplace flexibility and employee empathy, they can create an environment where hybrid work can thrive.

By Leisbel Lam | To integrate effective change management, identify needs, understand deeply, honor the past, mandate change, and provide a precise, optimistic roadmap forward.

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

By Mark Zweig | Leverage construction loans for AEC business real estate ownership, enhancing assets and financial health.

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

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

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

By Matt Verderamo | Talk to your employees about manipulation, get clear on your mission, and invest in marketing to transform your business from low-bid to negotiated work.

By Julia DeFrances | Professional associations offer a lot of benefits to the firms that support them, and for most firms are well worth the price of a membership.

By Mark Zweig | To have extraordinary success, you need to make an extraordinary effort and have your full attention on the business.

By Mark Zweig | Don’t forget that the real purpose of this exercise is to have something meaningful that everyone in the business can get behind.

By Liisa Andreassen | Founder of Chrisland Engineering (Lebanon, PA), a small civil engineering firm which specializes in subdivisions, land development, and municipal engineering.

By Robert Speed | If you can make your culture about the employees, you and your firm will reap the rewards over the course of your career.

By Javier Suarez | SOQs that are assembled without any direction just end up in the delete folder or the wastebasket. There’s a better way.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Principals must plan for the future, mentor younger staff, and genuinely care for their people to be good stewards of their firms.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and chairman of the board at McFarland Johnson, a national consultancy providing program management, planning, environmental, engineering, and construction phase services.

By Jane Lawler Smith | By applying various levels of rewriting, redesign, and repackaging, you can successfully bring adaptive reuse concepts into your AEC marketing realm.

By Mark Zweig | This could greatly impact your firm’s ability to grow and adapt to a changing environment.

By Julia DeFrances | Creating an engaging culture across multiple offices is a challenge that requires constant diligence.

By Liisa Andreassen | Project director at OBMI (Miami, FL), a leading global master planning, architecture, and design firm that has been creating timeless spaces for 85 years.

By Kraig Kern | The next time you have a proposal or presentation kickoff, trust and empower your marketing team to do what they do best.

By Mark Zweig | Four things you can do to build the kind of workplace over time that good people want to stay in.

By Mark Zweig | Improving this will not only help you attract and keep good people, but it will also bring in new clients.

By Mark Zweig | If you want to be an effective leader, you must help others, build trust, and set the best example every day.

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

By Mark Zweig | A few of the reasons a great, successful firm can falter and experience a fall from grace.

By Mark Zweig | Marketing for AEC firms has come a long way in the last few decades, but we still have a number of problems that could be easily solved.

By Derek Clyburn | AEC firms and the industry as a whole should be communicating the value we provide at every level of interaction and throughout the design process.

By Mark Zweig | Where are you now in terms of billable work versus business stuff? Are you happy with the mix?

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at VMDO, an architectural planning and design firm that creates community-centered environments that connect people and place through design.

By Mark Zweig | There are so many positive aspects of this industry, and it’s important that we keep reminding ourselves and our people why this is such a great business.

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 Stephanie Warino | Improve your win rate by listening to what your clients say they want, instead of pushing the services you want to sell the most.

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

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

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Hafer (Evansville, IN), a firm that has created environments that impact people’s lives with fun, thoughtful. and inspirational design since 1978.

By Justin Smith | Training opportunities that use the best of both worlds – science and experience – will bring your firm to the next level.

By Matthew Poling | Often overlooked, the simple checklist can empower your people to coordinate more, reduce mistakes, and focus on bigger picture items.

By Liisa Andreassen | Owner of Croft, Inc. (Acworth, GA), a full-service architecture and engineering firm that serves clients nationally in many diverse markets of the public and private sectors.

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 | Not only do you need to monitor and report on the right performance metrics for your firm, but you also have to explain what these numbers mean to your people.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Firms need to devote resources toward business development and ensuring a steady stream of work for the future.

By Liisa Andreassen | Partner at //3877, a boutique design firm that’s committed to providing innovative and creative designs that enhance and enrich the lives of its clients, partners, and communities.

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 Mark Zweig | Here are 12 things you can actually change in your business that will help you win the talent war.

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 | President of raSmith (Brookfield, WI), a multi-disciplinary firm of civil engineers, structural engineers, land surveyors, development managers, landscape architects, and ecologists.

By Liisa Andreassen | Managing partner and CEO of Croy Engineering (Marietta, GA), a multidiscipline consulting engineering firm that believes in engineering the extra mile.

By Mark Zweig | How can we each achieve the lofty and satisfying position of knowing we have made a difference through our work in this business?

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 Julie Benezet | Time limits tighten focus, propel you over challenging hurdles, and maximize your chances of success.

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

By Kim Fowler | If you chip away at your organization goals one task at a time, you will begin to see the benefits.

By John Bray | Approachable steps you can take to prepare for a potential acquisition down the road, and why it’s never a bad idea to take them.

The texture of varying beliefs, values, and backgrounds inform how we see the world, and are at the very core of our ability to serve our clients and community.

Chad Surprenant, chief strategy officer and board chairman of ISG, shares his journey from being one of the company's primary shareholders to creating an ESOP and enlarging the ownership of ISG to everyone at the...

COO at Baird, Hampton and Brown, Inc. (Fort Worth, TX), a firm that is passionate about improving the landscape of its community with the utmost quality and integrity.

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.

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

CEO of Wendel (Williamsville, NY), an innovative AEC and energy efficiency firm that collaborates with clients for a holistic project approach.

To get the most return on your marketing investment dollars, leaders need to help build dynamic, collaborative relationships between principals and marketing teams.

Taking a break and letting your mind wander can bring a fresh perspective and the extra boost you need to make it through the day a happier, healthier you.

By Mark Zweig | If we truly want to elevate our people and help them achieve all they can achieve, we must help them be better communicators.

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

Founding principal of Kudela & Weinheimer (Houston, TX), a landscape architecture firm that has produced beautiful, exceptionally built environments for more than 25 years.

Finding and hiring good engineers is critically important, but difficult to accomplish. Don’t be afraid to seek outside help or use assessment tools to help you along the way.

“To maximize your chances for success, remember you are in the consulting business. Keep these points in mind as you guide the growth and development of your business.”

“You would be surprised how quickly your employees get in the bandwagon when they can be part of the solution.”

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.

Good contracts can help, but timely and thorough reviews of shop drawings are, perhaps, the best defense.

A constant focus on your firm’s brand is essential. If you let it slide, you’ll send mixed, confusing messages.

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

“Being a leader means you have to keep growing and learning. We can all change. This includes you!”

In any business, there are good risks and bad risks. Find out which ones are right for you.

“How do you stack up in these seven areas? Is money being wasted? If so, take action now!”

“What causes AEC firms to fail? I have been a student of this business for 39 years now. Here’s what I have seen.”

President of Baldridge & Associates Structural Engineering, a full-service structural engineering and forensic consulting firm based in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“Square peg for a round hole? No thanks! My first preference is square pegs in square holes!”

“Every time you take off early or give yourself that perk you always wanted, you could unknowingly be demotivating someone. I’ve seen some egregious examples of this over the years.”

Considering a design project in the fledgling cannabis industry? Make sure your professional liability coverage won’t go up in smoke.

“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.”

“A lot of managers in AEC firms – design and technical people who have become managers – need to learn a few supervisory basics.”

“When it comes to branding for an AEC firm, I wouldn’t look to other AEC firms. Frankly, we make a lot of branding mistakes in this business.”

CEO and founder of Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. (Hot Firm #9 for 2018), a 700-plus person engineering and environmental due diligence consulting firm. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There’s no boundary between entry-level and senior-level...

“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...

I have said it before. I am worn out from all the talk about leadership versus management, Level 5 leadership, servant-leader leadership, and the rest of it. The “L” word – leadership – sure is...

Lack of information leads to assumptions and guessing. Good and complete information at the appropriate time leads to informed decision-making. Over my 30-year career, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wide range of...

If you request even a minute of precious time to meet with your firm’s leader, make sure you don’t waste the moment. If there is one thing I have learned growing up in an increasingly...

Honoring your clients’ business success above all else will enhance your firm’s reputation and bottom line – without compromising design. This is the third installment of a three-part discussion on the topic of job success,...

The art of business is one that is best demonstrated when the organization being managed has sustained success over a period of many years. Rarely does this happen. Surprisingly few companies ever make it to...

The true character of any firm can be determined by how it responds to adversity, and that character is usually embodied in the troubleshooter. The troubleshooter. Every A/E and environmental services firm has at least...

All of us in the A/E/P business are consultants. Sure, we are either engineers or architects or planners or surveyors or designers – but we are also consultants. I have been studying consulting firms and...

President and COO of DCI Engineers (Hot Firm #62 for 2017), a 320-person Seattle firm with offices in seven states. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Start early,” Heeringa says of ownership transition. “Make it a standard...

Do you have a job interview on the near horizon? If so, do your research, stay on topic, and don’t forget to wear a nice pair of shoes. A close architect friend of mine recently...

After 14 years of teaching entrepreneurship at The Sam M. Walton College of Business at The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, I have learned there are two paths to entrepreneurial success. The first path –...

One of the problems pretty much everyone in the A/E business has is finding enough people who can not only do their technical or design work but also can do the “business” aspects of our...

Keeping up with the latest and greatest in marketing is tough, but it’s easy to see what techniques need to be left behind. If you’re still doing the same kind of marketing you were doing...

It’s always a hot topic, and particularly so today, with all of the buying and selling going on in the AEC industry – integration of an acquired firm. Let’s look at three common questions and...

A lot of what people call “cheese” these days really isn’t. When you’re talking about Kraft Singles, or Velveeta, for example, you aren’t talking about cheese. You are instead talking about “pasteurized, processed cheese food.”...

Good old American ingenuity is what we need to save the planet, not a cumbersome set of rules and regulations. A great deal has been written, and there has been significant handwringing, about America backing...

‘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...

We can always improve. Take these steps and your life as a leader will get much better. Confronting those who are not doing their jobs. This is one of the primary roles of a leader....

Fight the brain drain by reducing burnout, building resilience, and making sure employees are empowered and engaged. Most leaders of companies today recognize the importance of having engaged people at work. Yet research from the...

When you have an AEC or environmental firm – or any business, for that matter – there is always a question about how strict your policies can or should be. Generally speaking, I am not...

After 37 years of working in one industry, you eventually become aware of just about every bit of what passes for “conventional wisdom” in this business. Some of it may seem logical on the surface...

You might think a Facebook post about a stolen office stapler is cute, or that an Instagram photo of donuts in the breakroom is quaint. Think again. In my last article, we covered some tips...

CEO of Woodard & Curran (Hot Firm #80 for 2016), a 1,000-person integrated engineering, science, and operations firm based in Portland, Maine. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Live by the contract; never lose sight of it,”...

Learning from external sources can be highly beneficial, but you must also master the art of blocking out the noise and staying the course. I have to admit it: I often feel like a fraud...

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...

Social Media: What NOT to do There's a lot of advice out there about how to best use social media to market your company. We even have a social media guide just for the AEC...

The first industries to adopt a new technology are the ones that succeed. Is your firm prepared for the age of artificial intelligence? According to Zweig Group’s 2016 Financial Performance Survey, net service revenue per...

There's so much written about leadership training and developing better leaders in your AEC firm. But there's little information about how to become a better leader yourself. It's all about what you can do for...

There's so much written about leadership training and developing better leaders in your AEC firm. But there's little information about how to become a better leader yourself. It's all about what you can do for...

It seems like we have more of them ever to contend with. I’m talking about brain drains. The things that literally suck the life force out of you. When you get to be my age...

We are all a part of a very mature AEC industry. That means the market is huge but supply has long caught up with demand. When that happens, certain other things happen. These include: Clients...

If your firm is looking to marry, don’t get hung up on the ‘perfect match.’ Keep your eyes open and you might meet that special someone you didn’t expect. As consultants, we all find ourselves...

Planning regulations in Johnson City, Tennessee produced a 26-foot bun and frankfurter made of brick, and it’s the talk of the town. By Richard Massey Managing Editor Johnson City is a quaint place of 66,000...

Your firm might want to try rolling business plans with one-, three-, and 20-year projections. It’s a lot of work, but it beats starting over again and again. It is generally good business to create...

Project needs and client needs are two different things. If you want to win more work, figure out the human side of the equation and you’ll be rewarded. AEC firms often approach proposals and interviews...

Plant closures and small modular reactors are expected to define the nuclear landscape for the foreseeable future – and provide opportunities for enterprising engineers. By Richard Massey Managing Editor Though the future of U.S. nuclear...

A Q&A might be just what the doctor ordered if you want to shed new light on your career and the choices you’ve made along the way. A start-up company I’m mentoring here in Reno...

When J. Peter Devereaux joined the Detroit-based firm in 1985, there were nine employees. Today, Harley Ellis Devereaux (Hot Firm #23 for 2016) has 324 employees and has undergone a series of evolutions. After working...

Even minor changes in contract language can create major liability and insurance issues for design firms, so be aware of what’s out there and act accordingly. Today’s contracts involving design firms and owners, project managers...

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...

Now in my 36th year of this business, ‎I am still learning. Here are some quick bits of advice that have helped me over the years: Never lose your temper. Being calm is always best....

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...

For most of my career, I have defended the "new generation," i.e., those just getting out of school and starting their careers. The older people have always complained about the group coming in behind them,...

Highly profitable firms differ from others in 5 main areas; how does your organization stack up? When you see some A/E and environmental firms making record profits right now – and others still barely breaking...

Hot buttons, communication preferences, politics are just a few elements to know how – or how not – to address. It occurred to me the other day how crucial it is to really know your...

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...

Which units are performing and which are not? Do a little research; allocate your investment appropriately. I'm all for holistic thinking – always have been. I’ve seen a lot of silly (make that stupid) stuff...

Using industry benchmarks can help invest with confidence. Have asked yourself how many marketing staff members your firm should really have? Firm leaders often ask us this because they are constantly hearing how they should...

If vertical or horizontal expansion (or both) is in the cards for you, approach with caution. Business has been good lately in the A/E professions. Opportunities abound, yet many firms struggle with the question of...

The motherload list of truisms that makes Mark Zweig’s blood boil. One benefit of aging has been a certain calmness that I now have that I didn’t have when I was younger. That makes each...

The seller-doer model works best for design firms and Mark Zweig shows how you can do it in your firm. 2014 is going to be the year of the seller-doer for those of us working...

Technical professionals are affected by failure too. Mark Zweig offers four examples. Many people think engineers and architects don’t really care about whether or not the company they work for is profitable. “They just want...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 989 Originally published 1/7/2013 Employ these three tactics in your selection process and you’re likely to begin seeing significant improvements in talent acquisition...

By Mark C. Zweig CEO, ZweigWhite The tough times haven’t gotten any better. If you look at the American Institute of Architects’ billing index, it goes up a little and then falls back again. Money...

By Tracey Jeffers Principal, Valuation Consulting ZweigWhite If you are involved with financial management at some level in your firm, you expect to regularly review the typical balance sheet and income statement. A smaller percentage...

Press Release: May 24, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 24, 2011) — In an era where creativity, reputation, and interconnectivity are highly desirable, more design firm leaders are turning to social media to strut their stuff,...

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...

By Mark C. Zweig Winter of 2011 in the A/E/P and environmental consulting business— it’s been a long one for many of us! And along with record cold temperatures and snowfalls in many places in...

By Mark C. Zweig I thought it might be fun to reflect back on my 30-plus years of working in this business and assemble a list of fundamental laws none of us can get around....

You know, when it comes down to it, there are really only a few different money-making models for A/E/P and environmental firms that seem to work over time. By “work,” I mean provide enough growth...

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...

Sometimes I think people in our business forget that the culture of the organization guides the behavior of its members. Sure— you can always have a bad apple who exhibits some crazy or bad behavior....

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I have a passion for this business. I have always enjoyed both doing design and being critical of design— I love seeing construction projects get built— and...

No movie was better than “Wall Street” at capturing the spirit of the go-go 80s. Michael Douglas played the role of Gordon Gekko, a charismatic “rock star” investment banker who gave a speech on the...

One would think that with the business climate being what it is for A/E and environmental firms (lower volume and less profit), that everyone would be staying on top of their accounts receivable. But, guess...

It’s pretty well accepted by most firm owners that if you want to be successful in the A/E/P or environmental business, you MUST keep the good clients you have. No one’s marketing is so good...

I cannot recall any recent editorial in The Zweig Letter that drew the amount of inquiries my piece on open book management did (Issue 774, August 11, 2008). Because there is so much interest in...

When it comes to architecture, engineering, and environmental firms, or just about any business for that matter, weird can be good. How so? Being weird means being memorable. Being memorable translates into more calls from...

I just saw a blurb in our ZweigWhite’s 2008 Marketing Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environmental Consulting Firms that stated A/E and environmental firm’s number-one marketing strategy is “relationship building.” While most people in...

Architects, engineers, planners, and allied professionals by and large have a really hard time defining exactly who they want to sell their services to. The unfortunate truth is that most will sell their services to...

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...

I can admit it. I’m a little “bah, humbug” about the upcoming holidays. I sure don’t need or want anything for myself I don’t already have. All of us in the Zweig family have so...

Human resources management has long been criticized and undervalued by top management in A/E/P and environmental firms. Evidence of this fact is pay. According to ZweigWhite’s 2007-2008 Management Compensation Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning &...

Although I have been generally getting calmer with age, I’ve found myself getting mad lately— mad at design professionals who will NOT do what they should do to build a reputation for themselves and the...

What you stand for is a little more subjective but not hard to figure out, either. Look at the heritage and culture of the firm. New ventures should be consistent with that. And again, go...

Most of us could benefit at times from a new perspective. This is especially true when you start considering the subject of business planning in A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. But a new perspective is...

It’s been said many times— you have to focus if you want to succeed. Yet focus is precisely what so many design and environmental professionals lack. My theory is that architects, engineers, planners, and scientists...

Most of us know that it isn’t really hard to start an A/E or environmental firm. You don’t need a lot of capital or other resources to hang a shingle and make a run for...

I’ve often thought what it would have been like to live at the turn of the century (1900). Change must have been coming so fast— electricity, indoor plumbing, telephones, and automobiles, along with so many...

I had a lengthy conversation the other day with someone who is currently in the throes of helping his company design a new incentive compensation plan. This fellow is a smart guy. He had done...

How many times have you heard it? Someone turns in their notice to leave and the response of his or her immediate supervisor is: “We didn’t need Bob (or Sue), anyway,” or, “We were going...

With this branch office special focus issue of The Zweig Letter, I thought I’d take the opportunity to answer some of the recurring questions I get on this topic. Tough questions and even tougher answers...

One trait that I have often observed in those design and environmental professionals who are known in their field is they aren’t afraid to stand out in a crowd. Whether it’s their bowtie, their red...

Though I’ve always known it, I don’t think I’ve ever written about it— running an ethical business that is socially responsible can pay big dividends. The fact is that the more educated your clients are,...

When you’ve had the benefit of more than 26 years of working with A/E/P and environmental firms like I have, some patterns about what makes one company more successful than others clearly emerge. One of...

While there have been some “experts” who’ve made names for themselves by bashing IT and saying it is, at best, a necessary evil, I completely disagree with them. There are so many ways IT can...

When it comes to keeping clients truly satisfied and coming back year after year for every service your firm provides, most A/E/P and environmental firms have a long way to go. Creating a genuine experience...

When you talk with those folks who have really “made it” in this business, i.e., successful principals in successful A/E and environmental firms, they will usually tell you that being able to write was critical...

I got up this morning to an e-mail from one of my old clients and friends, Kit Miyamoto, CEO of Miyamoto International (Sacramento, CA), a fantastic structural engineering firm. He sent it at 4-something a.m....

There’s a lot of interest in training in A/E/P and environmental firms. But, there’s also nearly as much money and time wasted on training in these same firms. I’ve been both a provider and participant...

There’s something about the entire design and construction industry when it comes to doing projects— we just don’t spend enough time on communication. I think there are a number of reasons for this persistent state....

There are many experts on time management that I see used periodically by A/E and environmental firms. These people are brought in from the outside to help train our principals, PMs, and technical and design...

They’re making their lists. Nope— I am not talking about the Santa Clauses of the world. I am talking about your employees, and more specifically, your key employees. And the lists they are making don’t...

Every so often, I have to remind our readers of the importance of their office environments. Our own recent office rehab here in Natick, along with a trip to New York and seeing some not-so-great...

It’s one of those certainties, like death and taxes. Managers are supposed to hold those who work for them accountable to reaching certain goals or achieving certain performance metrics. It sounds good to say, “I...

Human resources people are big on job descriptions. I was never that fond of them because it seems that they can always be used against you somehow. Here are some examples: “I meet the requirements...

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,...

It’s always distasteful to compare your employees to your children. I hear firm owners do it all of the time, and I see the non-owners cringing when they do! That said, I have noticed a...

Fifty-eight-year-old Frank Gristleling was a strong leader of his firm. Other than a three-and-a-half year tour with the Navy from 1968 to 1971, Gristleling worked at Johnson, Smatters, and Tattersham (JST) since he started as...

You know what? Turnover is not always so bad. Sometimes people just don’t keep up with the firm. There are all kinds of reasons for it. Maybe they got tired. Maybe they got turned off....

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...

Last week I was on the phone ordering a part for an old British motorcycle. It vibrates so much that every time I ride it something either breaks off or falls off. In any event,...

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...

September 11, 2001— I was talking on the phone when I looked through the glass interior wall of my office out into the rest of our space and noticed people standing around a TV monitor....

It just doesn’t take that much to be so much better at serving clients than the rest of the firms that do what you do. And it’s so important! Do a lousy job (or just...

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...

Now lie in it. I’ve been a believer in the adage that you make your own luck. But that’s not just good luck, it’s bad luck, too. Make bad decisions, do the wrong thing, and...

Everyone says they’re interested in it, and there are all kinds of articles out there on the subject. How to attract and keep an outstanding workforce is clearly on the minds of many principals and...

When it comes to leadership, there are many different paths that lead to the same destination. Attila the Hun, Moses, Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Tom Peters, and even our kindergarten teachers can all be pointed to...

When it comes to staffing your A/E/P or environmental consulting firm, it’s one thing to have all of your seats filled. It’s another thing to have those seats filled with people who are motivated— motivated...

“What goes around comes around.” “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” “You reap what you sow.” “To get love, you need to give love.” These adages (and many more) all reinforce the thinking...

It seems to me that a lot of people in leadership roles in A/E/P and environmental consulting firms are just waiting around. Whether the discussion around the table is related to dealing with a non-performer,...

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....

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...

We’ve talked about it for decades, but the labor shortage in the A/E/P and environmental industries is finally here. Our clients are telling us that it’s hard to hire just about anyone. Every job takes...

Do you know how many times a day I think this? I can’t count that high! Some of what we see and hear in our work with A/E/P and environmental consulting firms is truly amazing....

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...

When you get to work with all of the different A/E/P and environmental firms that we do here at ZweigWhite & Associates, it is apparent that many firms are marching blindly ahead, doing things they...

At one of my “Managing a Growing Firm” seminars a few weeks ago, I had an attendee tell me how another attendee was handling his ownership transition program. When I asked him who was offering...

“Training.” It sounds like a good thing, right? Everybody likes training. It’s supposed to make people better at their jobs, and that’s good for them. The business news media tells us that Generation X-ers will...

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...

Although I sometimes wish I were more clever or entertaining than I am, writing about what makes A/E/P or environmental firms more successful is what you pay me to do. Occasionally I think I sound...

These are the good old days for the A/E/P and environmental consulting business. Times are good. Firms are growing. Employment offers are going out weekly, daily, and in some cases, hourly. But did you ever...

“You’re only as good as your reputation.” Somebody wise must have said that somewhere along the line! It’s certainly true. When your reputation is good, the phone rings with new work opportunities, your competitors’ staff...

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...

If you’re not worried about who is going to take over when you’re gone, you should be. The second-tier management in an A/E/P or environmental firm is every bit as important as the first. This...

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...

The experts will say “You have to learn to delegate if you are going to be an effective manager.” On this point, conventional wisdom is actually right. Delegation is critical to your ability to get...

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...

There is simply no excuse for rudeness— in the A/E/P business, or in any business for that matter. Rude people turn off, or even worse, visibly upset clients, contractors, vendors, consultants, and employees. I like...

There really is something to the notion that you do your best work when you feel good about what you are doing. This is especially true when you are under stress. Any professional working in...

I am continually reminded of the bizarre sense of risk some principals in A/E/P and environmental firms have. I am talking about the obsession so many principals seem to have about extracting as much as...

You would think that architects and engineers would pay better attention to the location of their own office space. For many firms, location analysis and site selection for office facilities is part of the work...

One of the most important milestones in the development of an A/E/P or environmental firm is the first time the company turns down work. Knowing what work to take on and what work to refuse...

Ever been house hunting? No matter what you can afford, it’s never enough. Especially with the appalling things some people will do to their homes. I’m not just talking about starter homes (here in Boston,...

We constantly get asked by principals in A/E and environmental consulting firms about what or where the next “hot markets” will be. It seems that these people have read about market life cycles in the...

With more than 40,000 architecture, engineering and environmental consulting firms in the U.S., most of which have less than 20 people, no one is going to tell me that design professionals aren’t entrepreneurial. If they...

The ability of an A/E or environmental consulting firm to quickly hire qualified people for any opening affects virtually every aspect of its management. I call it “supply-side human resources management.” If you think about...

Everyone knows the old adage: “You have to spend money to make money.” But who follows it? Take the example of two of my wife’s friends. Both are smart, educated, and come from good families...

One of the key determinants of any architecture, consulting engineering, or environmental consulting firm’s ability to get work at decent fees is how well “positioned” it is. Positioning means becoming established as an expert service...