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By Chris Catton | Recruiting is the AEC industry’s biggest challenge, yet most firms still operate without a real recruiting plan.

By Mark Zweig | The fastest way to suffocate a productive AEC firm isn’t bad projects or markets, it’s too many pointless meetings.

By Ricardo Jesus Maga Rojas | NOMA’s HBCU Professional Development Program is reshaping architecture by expanding opportunity, building networks, and investing in underrepresented talent.

By Sara Parkman | The top 2025 Marketing Excellence Award winners share how strategy, authenticity, and collaboration drive real AEC marketing impact.

By Chris Catton | Recruiting is tough, but AEC firms that master the basics gain a serious competitive advantage.

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

By Sara Grayum | By collaborating closely, marketing and business development can craft stories that will steer your firm toward success.

By Mark Zweig | There are things you can do to stay positive and prevent pessimism from ruining your ability to lead.

By Lindsay Young | AEC firms that invest in marketing and business development enjoy higher profitability, attract aligned clients, and foster top talent.

By Mark Zweig | If you want the best people, you have to sell – the company, the role, and the location – and move fast when you get a good one!

By Mark Zweig | Success in AEC hinges on guiding clients toward actions that align with their best interests.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Engaging with employees at all levels fosters respect, uncovers issues, and strengthens company culture.

By Amy Patel | Building trust through clear communication, effective management, and personal attention is crucial for successful large-scale project teams.

By Harry Hawkins | Networking’s enduring value lies in fostering genuine connections, enhancing career paths, and cultivating meaningful, human-centric relationships.

By Matt Johnson | Client managers face new challenges post-pandemic, requiring increased client contact, realistic budgeting, and managing expectations for success.

By Chris Askins | Four ways to use CAD efficiently in a small to mid-size engineering firm.

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

By Shannon Koop | A well-developed business plan gives insight into growth potential, possible disruption, and resource constraints.

By Savina Gonzalez | Our workforce has changed in the years since the pandemic, and companies need to evolve to be successful in what is now an employee’s market.

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

By Jennifer Haddad | If you can approach the situation with empathy, compassion, and an open mind, you can create a positive experience and leave the door open for future opportunities.

By Tom Godin | What stories is your firm telling, and, more importantly, how are they being received?

By Jane Lawler Smith | If it doesn’t support the mission of your firm, enhance your brand story, and provide relatable value to the recipient, it might be time to rethink spending money on it at all.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Cushing Terrell, a multidisciplinary firm that empowers creative designers to discover imaginative, responsible first-of-their-kind environments.

In this episode, Michael Hein – CEO of the HFW Companies — discusses his firm's model of merging companies while maintaining culture and how HFW has provided small firms opportunities to grow.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO and co-owner of Pape-Dawson Engineers (San Antonio, TX), the largest civil engineering firm headquartered and exclusively located in Texas.

By Justin Smith | Training is an investment with big payoffs, so do your research when determining the best fit for your firm.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Dewberry (Fairfax, VA), a nationwide planning, design, and construction firm with more than 50 locations and more than 2,000 professionals nationwide.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Galloway (Denver, CO), a firm with a streamlined process that addresses all its clients’ design needs – from architecture to civil engineering and survey.

Knowing who does what, who needs to weigh in, and who makes the final decision is critical to success.

BY RLG | Director of business development with RLG Consulting Engineers (Dallas, TX), a firm that specializes in civil, structural, survey, and forensic engineering.

By Tom Godin | Like Wheel of Fortune’s most strategic letters, there are aspects of AEC firm operations that nearly always merit attention.

By Corey Fenwick & Andrew Chakmakjian | Networking is a key part of any business – no matter the industry – because it can lead to a new job, experience, or business for your firm.

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

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of CallisonRTKL, a global firm that has created some of the world’s most successful environments for developers, retailers, investors, institutions, and public entities.

Will Swearingen, an ownership transition advisor at Zweig Group, discusses how leadership in firms big and small are planning out their next steps in the face of continued uncertainty, and how company owners can take...

By Seth Carlton | This requires more than just a clever slogan. It is a call to be focused, driven, and dedicated to a common goal.

Through collaboration, mentoring, and continued professional development, we can continue to grow and support each other, no matter what the pandemic throws at us.

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

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.

By Mark Zweig | “Being allowed to teach what I’ve learned about entrepreneurship and business to my students over my long career has been one of my greatest honors and privileges.”

There are countless ways to develop business without being a business developer, and you are most likely doing some of these things already.

By Chad Coldiron | Having a set strategy for when the internet is down will prove you are the leader you are striving to be.

Founding principal of PK Electrical (Reno, NV), a women-owned, small business electrical engineering and design firm founded in 1996.

Chris Huckabee, CEO of Huckabee and Associates, talks about how his architectural firm has learned to quickly evolve over the past few months during the pandemic.

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

Co-founder and managing partner of Shear Structural (Chamblee, GA), a 100 percent women-owned and women-managed structural engineering firm.

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.

Founder of edg (New York, NY), a technology-driven firm that leverages the power of software and equipment to deliver higher quality projects in less time.

Most of these ideas take very little money – just your time. Invest in yourself and your business and you’ll be stronger and better for it on the other side of this.

By Mark Zweig | “Profound changes are coming to our industry. As is always the case when the external market makes huge shifts, those companies that can adapt will do well.”

By Chad Clinehens | Now could be the perfect time to give yourself and the workings of your firm some much needed attention.

Managing principal of Woodblock Architecture (Portland, OR), a firm that sees each new project as an opportunity to create something awesome and build new relationships.

It can lay the foundation for a positive relationship with bosses, subordinates, and co-workers when the time comes to go the extra mile.

It’s not easy to do, but if you want lifelong clients who are also friends, you have to commit yourself to the long haul.

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

Learn from attorneys, business advisors, and other professional service providers on how to avoid commoditization in the AEC industry.

The best way to do it is one bite at a time. The same can be said of your marketing plan.

The most successful business developers spend time with their clients, so show up and give them your full attention.

By John Bray | It’s easy to send texts and emails, but to make a great and lasting impression, frequent phone calls throughout your network are essential.

“If we know recruiting and retention are the biggest challenges and our employees are telling us that training and development are the solution, isn’t the investment in a training program at your firm worth it?”...

AEC firms struggle with it, but if a firm is to thrive in the good times and the bad, a quantifiable plan of attack is essential. Marketing, business development, and sales aren’t usually the top...

The process must be deliberate and multifaceted, but don’t forget the human touch. Be yourself and enjoy finding clients that reflect your values. Recently, I had a conversation with a very busy, newly promoted division...

Tax consultancy looks at people, not just price and product, to develop new business while serving existing clients. Editor’s note: Corporate Tax Advisors, Inc. is a sponsor of the 2018 Hot Firm + A/E Industry...

Each week, The Zweig Letter features commentary from top-flight leaders of AEC firms. Here is a compilation of how they handle, and move beyond, failure. By The Zweig Letter Staff John Hiltz, president of OHM...

Planning and preparation are crucial if you want to take care of your people, take care of your clients, and get your firm back to doing business. Hurricanes, bomb-cyclones, catastrophic floods – a well-considered plan...

Social media isn’t nuclear physics, but you have to have the right voice for the right channel, otherwise you’re speaking Spanish in China. Would you walk up to someone at a cocktail party and say,...

Davis Construction (Rockville, MD), a 400-person general contracting construction firm, won first place in the Website category of Zweig Group’s 2017 Marketing Excellence Awards. Davis Construction launched a completely new website early in 2016. Stepping...

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

A successful marketing campaign is difficult to measure using hard metrics, so don’t get caught in the quicksand of trying to quantify nebulous numbers. It’s Monday, 9 a.m., and as you get comfortable in an...

President of CMTA (Hot Firm #2 for 2017), a 250-person consulting engineering firm, and a leader in net-zero energy, based in Louisville, Kentucky. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I think it’s important not to micro-manage people,”...

Success in recruiting is relational, not transactional, so keep those contacts warm and be prepared to wait for that all-star to join your team. Last year I had the privilege of watching the courting of...

When a client selects another firm, learn why and stay in touch. Who knows, you just might win the next round. Think back to your childhood. Did you play on a sports team that had...

CEO of BIG RED DOG Engineering & Consulting (Hot Firm #65 for 2017), a 105-person multi-discipline engineering firm based in Austin, Texas. By Richard Massey Managing Editor “It’s been true since day one and remains...

Davis Construction (Rockville, MD), a 400-person general contracting construction firm, won first place in the Website category of Zweig Group’s 2017 Marketing Excellence Awards. Davis Construction launched a completely new website early in 2016. Stepping...

Business planning in an AEC firm is such a critical function. It really is one of the key roles of the CEO. Yet we seem to struggle with it. Here are some of the ways...

Try employing a project management accountant to support the project manager, and watch the work and the cash flow improve. In supporting many of the firms that we work with, we find varying models of...

In the first episode of the new TZL Podcast Life Hacker series, Randy Wilburn and Sanjay Jenkins run through some of the tech tools and “hacks” that make their lives and their work easier. The...

As social media continues to change, so too does the way it affects the A/E industry. Stay in touch with the times or get left behind. Architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms appear to...

The holiday season always motivates us to give back, but a company-wide campaign can provide for charity where and when it’s needed most – locally and all year long. I really like this quote from...

Empty slogans and tired jargon don’t do the trick. To be a great leader you have to make a personal connection with members of your team. I’ve attended a lot of leadership courses over the...

Mentorships are supposed to be two-way streets, so when you consider your program, make sure you make the right connections. The mentoring partnership is an agreement between two people to share experiences and expertise to...

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...

New Recruitment and Retention Survey sheds light on key issues in finding, hiring, and keeping the best talent in the design industry. One thing I enjoy about working here at Zweig Group is that we...

SlideShare is an easy and inexpensive way to present information to your target audience in a visually appealing manner. SlideShare is a web-based service that gives AEC firms the ability to infuse a powerful visual...

Take the last few months of 2015 to assess your clients and marketing. Although 2015 won’t be over until the last day of December, September always feels like the start of something new. With the...

There are a few basic traits that differentiate firms that make money from those that scrape by. Chad Clinehens and I were talking in the office yesterday about why some firms we work with make...

There are plenty of consultants out there who offer M&A consulting services, but there’s only one Zweig Group. We are a small team of professionals dedicated to finding the best candidates for deals in the...

Here's another snip-it from the 2nd Edition of Successful Project Management by Ernest Burden. Many project managers are more comfortable with the technical side of the business. The marketing hat that firms are now asking...

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...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 986 Originally published 12/10/2012 They are essential to this business. Mark Zweig offers five pointers. Regardless of their value to your business, the...

Check out the similarities. It’s a chase. There’s anticipation of a meeting, a presentation of your value proposition, and a general nervous excitement that comes from both making sales calls and being in the dating...

Press Release: July 19, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 19, 2011) – Leaders in the design industry are overwhelmingly using smartphones with email and web capabilities to stay in constant contact. They define that connectivity as...

By Ed Friedrichs In a fascinating recent book, Fred Reichheld asks The Ultimate Question (also the title of the book), “On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to refer __________ (fill...

When business starts hurting, employee morale suffers immediately. Employees who are laid off can become disgruntled, and the ones remaining start wondering if they’re next out the door, which often degenerates into an awful work...

I was in a board meeting recently with a quality, old-line engineering/architecture/consulting firm where one of the primary topics was business development. We spent several hours talking about it and how they are changing their...

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...

As a founder of a twice-named Inc. 500 fastest-growing, privately-held firm and researcher and consultant to the A/E/P and environmental industry for many years, I learned long ago that one path to being more successful...

If you examine any business— a restaurant, a car dealership, or an A/E/P/environmental firm— they all seem to benefit from active leadership. Likewise, they all tend to suffer from a lack of it. I would...

Thank God for technology! If we didn’t have the technology that we have today, there’s no way most of us who travel could keep up with the demands of work and life. For example, I...

When you are young, you do things just because you want to. “Fun” is an important part of your life. Too many people forget that when they get older, however. The responsibilities grow and grow,...

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...

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...

Whenever I see people get all upset about some trivial detail in their lives or their work, I find it distressing. Life is so much easier if you spend appropriate amounts of mental and emotional...

Call me any names you want. It won’t be the first time. But it doesn’t matter. I’m tough. I can take it. I have the power of my own convictions and conscience to get me...

There are lots of different success formulas for A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. It’s always interesting to me when one of our consultants discovers that a company we are working with is successful in spite...

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...

If I could give only one caution to principals of A/E/P and environmental firms, it would not be “grow slowly so you don’t over-expand and outstrip your managerial capabilities.” Nor would it be “watch every...

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...

Good professionals have a lot in common— no matter what their profession. Take my six year-old’s kindergarten teacher, Ms. Donohoe. Many of the professionals working in design and environmental consulting firms could learn a thing...

Ask anyone who has risen to the top of a consulting engineering, A/E, or environmental consulting firm where are the greatest weaknesses in their staff, and they will almost always say it’s in their “soft”...