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By GinaRenee Autrey | Real strength is not carrying everything alone, but knowing when to pause, accept support, and let yourself heal.

By Sarah Kinard | Market shifts are inevitable, but firms that recognize them early can turn disruption into opportunity.

By Mark Zweig | Hiring your spouse can strengthen an AEC firm, but only when roles, boundaries, and accountability are clearly defined.

By Daryl Simons Jr. | As employees rethink the role of work in their lives, AEC firms must reconsider what long-term performance really requires.

By Mark Zweig | When family enters the org chart, leaders must manage perception, opportunity, and accountability with far more discipline.

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

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

By Kraig Kern | AEC firms excel at solving known problems, but creativity is what reveals the opportunities and risks no one sees.

By Chad Coldiron | Like a perfect double play, high-performing AEC firms rely on preparation, trust, and flawless handoffs long before pressure arrives.

By Janki DePalma | When we measure collaboration instead of individual wins, teams shift from rivalry to shared success.

By Mark Zweig | Annual performance reviews fail AEC firms because real leadership requires continuous feedback, not once-a-year management theater.

By Kraig Kern | When the engine stalls, take the pause to reset, refocus, and get ready for what comes next.

By Mark Zweig | If you want people to work harder, hire the ambitious, lead by example, and reward real performance.

By Duncan Robertson | Being able to turn challenges into lasting opportunities requires sacrifice, strategic risk, and strong teams.

By Chad Clinehens | Record-breaking performance, bold innovation, and a new generation of leaders are redefining what’s possible in AEC.

By Erik Stroemberg | Practical insights and recommendations for creating, communicating, and maintaining an effective AI policy.

By Michael Makris | Several of improv’s most fundamental rules are very much related to leadership and professional growth.

By Matt Cooper | These firms often rely on few clients, multitasking staff, and undocumented processes, creating volatility, inefficiency, and growth challenges.

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

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

By Stefanie Richter | High-performing AEC teams thrive on chemistry, clarity, and control – enabled by integrated systems that eliminate costly friction.

By Hugh Smith | Community outreach and engagement are foundational to the success of any project.

By Mark Zweig | It’s time to take some action inside your business; do these 10 things now to be ready for whatever lies ahead.

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 | Sparkplugs are the people in your business who make things happen – and they are essential if you want to grow beyond what you alone can ignite.

By Ezequiel Tovar | These are vital instruments for AEC companies to ensure smooth transitions and business continuity.

By Mark Zweig | Employees who decide to disengage and shift out completely do so at their own peril.

By Rolf Armstrong | This exercise empowers employees and provides clear direction, allowing leadership to let go and focus on success during periods of growth.

This report details some of the biggest trends and movements regarding M&A activity in the AEC industry as of the end of 2023.

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 Sara Karstetter | AI is a hot topic with numerous applications in AEC, though navigating the options can be overwhelming.

By Janki DePalma | When you notice feelings of resentment, take a moment to explore what that warning sign is trying to tell you before it escalates into something more.

By Janki DePalma | It’s hard to shake off the feeling of being lazy, but it’s critical that we redefine our work-rest balance to enhance well-being and productivity.

By Mark Zweig | Choosing the right partners for your business, and then keeping a good relationship with them, has always been an important subject.

By Reid Poling | As much as school can and does teach you, there are some lessons that can only be  learned “on the job.”

By Jodie Quinter | We have an opportunity to reset our company cultures in a way that recognizes adaptability, while prioritizing the ways in which our people want to work and live.

By Mark Zweig | People who exhibit these qualities are likely to be well-thought of by their people and, more importantly, are able to achieve goals that others deemed impossible.

By Mercedez Thompson | Many of the biggest obstacles AEC marketing teams face are ultimately the same – regardless of firm size.

By Mark Zweig | When used consistently, this strategy will allow you to grow faster, raise fees, shed bad clients, and ramp up your pipeline of job candidates.

By Chad Coldiron | How does a brand create a long-lasting legacy well beyond any individual contributor or even just its founders?

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

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

By Will Swearingen | When considering a transition, it’s important that you stay flexible and don’t wait until the end to plan your exit.

By Lindsay Young | Best practices for AEC firms will continue to evolve, but firms that take steps to innovate will be the ones that succeed.

By Julia DeFrances | With the right tools and some best practices, anyone can create a persuasive and compelling proposal.

By Jim Toby | Taking the time to get it right the first time will lead to faster approvals, better plans, and overall project quality.

By Matt Hoying | Getting new employees in the door is just the start – onboarding and training compel them to stay.

By Brittney Odom & Eduardo Smith | In today’s fast-paced and mostly remote work environments, the processes described on paper often don’t resemble the way work is actually conducted.

By Callum Roxborough | Five ways to develop company culture and how taking these steps can improve your firm’s work environment and your business.

By Mark Zweig | While there are no doubt some costs associated with making a brand for your firm, a lot of it just boils down to a little work and some discipline.

By Mark Hirschi | Mentoring remains the most effective mode of knowledge transfer from older professionals to younger generations.

By Keyan Zandy | There are a lot of heroes in our companies, but some are less noticeable. Their successes are quieter and less dramatic, but no less valuable.

By Jake Voorhees | Whether it be remote flexibility considerations, how firms make strategic growth decisions, or hiring tactics in general, engineering workplace culture is changed forever.

By Allyson McDonald & Megan Chang | Matching your communication style to the needs of those you’re communicating with will ensure your message is received.

By Chad Coldiron | Over the last 12 months, firms have been forced to rapidly adjust how they approach many workplace strategies – including recruitment strategies.

By Patrick Schultz | Achieve resilient, sustainable operations while navigating an unprecedented global pandemic and addressing complex disruptions.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and founder of PaleoWest, a heritage consulting firm that guides clients’ projects through regulatory challenges posed by prehistoric, historic, and paleontological resources.

By Mitchell Shope | Leveraging reinforcement theory will connect the action to the reward and bolster your firm’s morale and cultural identity.

By Mark Zweig | Things are real messy right now, but we can all get safely to our destinations if we keep our cool.

By Phil Keil | Decentralization of structure within our firms allows for a more agile, adaptable, and unified organization.

Contract disclaimers reflect the reality that estimating is an art, not a science – and that design professionals cannot guarantee or warrant the actual costs of construction.

Positively impact your firm’s retention rates by turning abstract ideas into actionable goals.

By John Bray | Bringing work to your firm right now could be the difference between coming out of the pandemic stronger on the other side or getting left behind.

Educating yourself about these biases as well as potential strategies for mitigation can help you avoid prejudice in your decision-making.

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

By Mark Zweig | Now is a good time to take stock of the many positive aspects of our industry to help keep yourself and your employees motivated and directed in the midst of uncertainty.

President and CEO of Wallace Engineering (Tulsa, OK), a structural and civil engineering consulting firm that believes in being active citizens, in both our profession and communities.

“Satisfaction with the status quo leads to complacency. Complacency is the enemy of motivation.”

In these uncharted times, we run the risk of only thinking about the immediate and not about where we are going to be three months, six months, or a year from now.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | What differentiates us now as leaders is our ability to roll with the punches and make sharp, sober decisions.

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.

To maximize outputs and outcomes, leaders need to become great managers of managers and together create “great jobs.”

“Social media is a virtual world. It’s a false world. Spend more time in the real world and less time on your individual PR program, and encourage your staff to do the same.”

By Phil Keil | Have a purpose and commit to mastery and excellence and you will find happiness both personally and professionally.

Unless you put yourself out there as perfect, courts will typically hold you to the standard of reasonable care if you make a mistake.

By Phil Keil | People need something to rally behind. Identifying a mission for your firm is more than just a box to check when creating a strategic plan.

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

On the surface everything might appear to be fine, but back at their office, the consulting engineers might be telling the (painful) truth.

It’s a daunting task, but can result in an energized, unified organization that can withstand setbacks while gaining strength. Companies with a highly engaged workforce have seen a 19.2 percent increase in operating income; highly...

Leading through accountability takes a willingness to do a better job at recognizing challenges and accepting feedback toward positive change. Have you ever worked with someone who can’t perform their basic job functions? Have you...

In the absence of extraordinary situations, the courts will rely on the contract’s terms, not the Impossibility of Performance Doctrine. My wife and I visited St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome a few years ago. A...

When creating your strategic plan, don’t forget that transformative ideas might be buried deep within your organization, so be inclusive with your staff. I recently overheard a CEO of a large AEC firm say, “We...

It seems to me that one of the keys to being a really successful design professional is figuring out what you are really good at and doing more of it. No one is good at...

You lament the commoditization of your services, but are you doing anything to differentiate your firm, and in turn, earn better fees? We have all had the experience of standing with a group of our...

Do you want to make 2018 a great year of growth and prosperity? Pay attention to, and act upon, a four-point plan to get the best out of your firm. To prepare for a successful...

You might think about ditching the fancy slideshow in favor of something much more engaging and authentic – the story of your firm and its people! We’ve all been there; the highly anticipated meeting with...

Customer relationship management has changed over the decades, but some things have remained the same: currency, correctness, consistency, and completeness. Walkmen were all the rage, cell phones were the size of eggplants, and Whitney Houston’s...

Eroding profitability. Never good. Never fun. The result is less and less money to go around. I’m not going to talk about the obvious things such as labor costs that are too high, overly lavish...

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

You don’t want to lose sight of your current business, but fostering ideas and innovation with your staff is increasingly essential. Achieving the seemingly impossible could be one way to sum up several epic sporting...

What can I do for you today? As it turns out, perhaps not a whole lot, but in a crunch, a little can go a long way. It’s a simple enough question. But how often...

Company leaders play an important role in making sure their people are aligned, capable, and engaged – a recipe for success. Are your employees fulfilled? If not, it may be costing you a bundle. While...

The decision to pursue an M&A growth strategy can benefit your firm, but it helps to know what you’re doing on the front end. At our annual Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference in...

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...

Do you have a vision for the future of your firm? It’s a must, so climb out from behind the day-to-day, engage your team, and chart your course. Any quick online search will bring up...

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...

At $746 million, the EPA’s lowball price tag for cleaning up the Portland Harbor Superfund site is ‘wishful thinking,’ according to one important critic. By Richard Massey Managing Editor The Environmental Protection Agency recently released...

Complex redevelopment of a blighted area prompts team to be creative across the board – design, personnel, technology, and funding. While having a glass of wine with colleagues from New York, we reflected on the...

As good as business is in the AEC world – and believe me, it’s really good for most everyone right now – we are seeing a lot of companies developing profitability problems. It’s pretty simple:...

If a firm wants to succeed at a high level, it must keep a keen eye on the documents, and have an ear for what the client needs. It’s my experience that too many firms...

Today’s workforce is multigenerational, so those with experience and seniority must learn to understand, and teach, younger colleagues. I was born in 1944, a couple of years before the Baby Boom. But my values and...

Dear Christy, I have a son who is in engineering school. I'd really like to have him join our firm and eventually succeed me in running this business. How do you suggest I make that...

We’re each leaving a trail behind us – our reputations and our effect on the world – as industry leaders, we should focus on making those as pleasant as possible. If you have a leadership...

Though harder to apply and evaluate, assessments of interpersonal skills can promote team performance and increase morale. I have had a number of discussions lately about how to measure performance. The people I’ve spoken with,...

Quantitative and qualitative data provide industry leaders with valuable information for making decisions. One of the distinctions of companies that do well over the long-haul, versus those who enjoy only a limited period of growth...

Build a better, more sustainable company with these suggestions from Mark Zweig. 2015 is shaping up to be a FANTASTIC year for firms in this business. It’s really fun to see how many firms are...

Mark Zweig offers two examples of divisive attitudes, and how to fix them. It kills me how some people working in our client companies forget that they are all working for one firm. These people...

But let’s just be clear – no one really enjoys working in a maddening environment. I was working with an engineering firm two weeks ago and we were discussing ways to improve operations. They had...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 998 Originally published 3/11/2013 Three lessons the design industry can learn from a successful auto dealership. I feel fortunate to be a consultant...

PM Perspectives: Project re-planning This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 990 Originally published 1/14/2013 Even with a solid plan, some projects will just require a new start. One of...

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...

Press Release: October 7, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (October 7, 2011) – It’s impossible for a firm to be successful without great employees, and to have great employees, a firm has to be an excellent place...

By Mark C. Zweig CEO, ZweigWhite Some could argue that human resources management has taken a blow in the past three or four years with such a soft economy. Many employers have probably felt they...

Press Release: May 10, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, AR (May 10, 2011) — Up one day, down the next. The volatile economy means many firms are no longer able to rely on a static budget. Almost 37%...

By Mark C. Zweig We have come a long way in the A/E/P business over the last 30 years. Not only is it OK to market to clients, we even have computers on every desk...

A “gloom and doom” economic outlook is still seen by many in the A/E and environmental business, even after the recent pronouncement that the recession officially ended in June 2009. This offers opportunities— as well...

Let’s face it. People will come AND go. And they don’t always leave (voluntarily or otherwise) at the best time. Sometimes it really hurts! A critical client relationship may be injured or lost by a...

Breaking into new markets— you won’t find many more interesting (or timely) topics for those who run A/E and environmental consulting firms today. So many companies are either already attempting to or plotting to break...

Too many leaders of firms in our business (and others) screw up their companies when they forget what the business is. It is one living system— a whole— not a collection of disconnected parts. That...

With this week’s special focus on information technology, I thought I would take the time to sound off on a number of different technology-related topics. BlackBerries: I still think they are the greatest. I am...

You take a look at any really successful person— whether they are in the A/E/P or environmental business or some other business— and I will show you someone who knows how to build good personal...

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...

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...

Mitchellene Terrence was the 42-year-old director of human resources for Wright, Skidmore, and Johnson, a top-line A/E/P firm in Los Angeles. She was proud to be there. Graduating with a BS degree in 1986 from...

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...

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!...

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...

I was talking with a woman recently who started her own design firm a couple years ago. Her passion for her work and her business was fantastic. She thought about it/planned/worked every waking hour. She...

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...

A recent article in Fast Company magazine focused on Despair, Inc., the makers of calendars and posters that poke fun at those motivational posters from companies like Successories and others. The fact that Despair, Inc....

I should be reading now, sitting here in my tight blue “pleather” Northwest Airlines seat on my umpteenth flight this month. But I’m not. Instead, I just wasted a half hour on “Brick Breaker,” a...

The folks at Deltek Systems, Inc. (Herndon, VA) have always claimed their market for software and consulting services was “project-driven businesses.” The truth is, the first time I heard that, I was skeptical. I wasn’t...

I was surprised to see in our latest 2004 Principals, Partners & Owners Survey of A/E/P & Environmental Consulting Firms that the balancing of work and personal life issue was barely on the radar screen...

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

My theory is that no firm is completely happy with how it handles project management. There are always problems. And one of the common complaints heard is, “We don’t have enough good project managers.” While...

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...

It’s kind of funny. I was out visiting a firm the other day— a rapidly growing, multi-office, multi-service firm— that is apparently beating the pants off of its larger, more established competitors. I’ve seen it...

There’s nothing like a little quality time to do nothing but think. Just sitting in a chair or lying back in your hammock… pushing the mower… driving on a long solo drive. I relish those...

Many firms are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that they don’t know how much to spend on marketing. On the one hand, it’s harder than ever to get work, there’s downward fee pressure resulting...

It seems to me that I am running into a greater number of pissed off people working in client organizations as of late. Maybe it’s the winter blues. Or maybe it’s war threat induced economic...

Mike Fruitwood, seven months into the job of COO of his firm, shook his head. “How are we ever going to build this company if we can’t get our act together on scheduling?” he wondered...

Remember the story about the emperor who had no clothes? Everyone was afraid to tell him, though, so he paraded around in the buff and made a complete fool of himself. I see the same...

“You can lead a horse to water, but first, you’ve got to have a horse,” is one of the homilies my old friend Mike Latas of ) used to use all the time. I don’t...

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...

Having a hard time keeping your staff? Are your new graduates working a year or two and then moving on? Are your mid-level folks, just below principal, moving on before you move them up? If...

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

You want to know something that drives me crazy— right up the wall? It’s all of the darn committees that A/E/P and environmental firms keep creating for one reason after another. Most of the time...

In my travels around the country working with A/E/P and environmental firms large and small I have come to the awareness of just how important it is to have a positive employee culture. It may...

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...

Let’s face it. Some clients just aren’t worth dealing with. They are too much trouble, they are dishonest, they don’t pay, they don’t do what they say they will...and the aggravation that comes from trying...

Here are 10 things about the A/E/P and environmental consulting business that they don’t teach you in college. The best clients get crapped on. I hate to say it, but sometimes we treat our best...

No doubt about it, all of us who are managers in an A/E/P or environmental firm have to face some tough situations from time to time. They aren’t usually “fun” decisions, or situations that give...

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...

From all we see and hear through our “catbird seat” at ZW&A, it seems to me that many of the professionals out there in our industry have forgotten what their role is in the building...

Client-driven organization structures for A/E/P and environmental consulting firms are built around serving particular client types. Sure— it’s a popular management trend right now to be “client directed,” or “client centered.” But don’t think these...

I have yet to see an A/E/P or environmental consulting firm with a utopian project management system— one where every single job goes exactly the way it’s supposed to in every way. One of my...

It is widely accepted that any well-managed A/E/P or environmental consulting firm should monitor and report on the profitability of the projects it undertakes. Pick up practically any management newsletter, or look in the practice...

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...

Let me tell you a little story about two managers. Both head divisions for the same large, international engineering and environmental company. By most any standard, one of the two, who we’ll call “Jed,” is...

As someone with a business orientation and education who started competing at a young age, competition is something I’ve always been interested in. I take pride in being a pretty competitive guy— one who likes...

It has come to our attention that a number of our readers are flying high right now. Business is great, you’re growing, you’re making money— it’s an exciting time. It seems like you’re getting every...

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...