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By Kyle Ahern | Employee survey data reveals the hidden drivers of culture, retention, and performance in AEC firms.

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

By Kraig Kern | AEC's next competitive advantage isn't expertise; it's how fast you unlock it.

By Liam Watson | These four virtues will help you survive and thrive in all parts of daily life, both personally and professionally.

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

By Chad Coldiron | Takeaways from Zweig Group’s 2024 ElevateAEC Conference & Awards Gala.

By Earl Mott | Thoughts from both sides of this mutually beneficial relationship over the course of a career.

By Eileen Shields | Growing from a startup to nearly 100 employees, this firm thrives through agility, teamwork, and delivering high-quality solutions at the core of its business.

By Morgan Stinson | Delegation is crucial for growth, helping managers shift from doing the work themselves to empowering others effectively.

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 Janki DePalma | Late bloomers gain wisdom, resilience, and unique insights, proving there’s no fixed timeline for achievement.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of TreanorHL (Lawrence, KS), a full-service architectural firm with a purpose of creating places and experiences that make people’s lives better.

By Matt Verderamo | Three simple but impactful strategies to shift your mindset from needing more to getting rest.

By Elizabeth Preston | How do AEC industry businesses use artificial intelligence effectively and responsibly for writing?

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Kaas Wilson Architects (Bloomington, MN), an architecture and interior design firm specializing in all types of multi-family housing.

By Mark Zweig | These four components all work in concert to make buying the business more affordable and easier to fund.

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

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

By Mark Zweig | There are many factors that can create highly motivated people – some within your control as an employer and some not.

By Mark Zweig | Becoming an owner in the firm you work for means you are making a total commitment – don’t make it carelessly.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of UES (Orlando, FL), a privately held, rapidly growing engineering and consulting firm and No. 1 Hot Firm three years in a row.

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

By Mark Zweig | Firm leaders have to stay optimistic, or their ability to fully function and meet their responsibilities will be compromised.

By Justin Smith | Instead of waiting for the perfect project manager to appear, invest in developing these valuable professionals within your firm.

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

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

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

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

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 Liisa Andreassen | President and founder of ThinkForm Architects (Hopewell, NJ), a service-disabled veteran owned architecture and interior design firm specializing in “total environments.”

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at Derck & Edson (Lititz, PA), a planning and design firm that shapes the natural and built environment in innovative and functional ways.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Grace Hebert Curtis Architects, an architecture and interior design firm that is still experiencing substantial growth in size and reputation after more than 50 years.

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

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

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Mancini Duffy, a national design firm based in NYC with a 100-year-old history and tech-forward approach specializing in architecture, planning, and interior design.

By Mark Zweig | This is the time of year many of us, and many of our clients, will take a family vacation, so do what you can to step away and enjoy it.

By Mark Zweig | These are “the good old days,” so don’t take anything for granted and find something to enjoy in even the most mundane aspects of life.

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

By Will Swearingen | Succession planning requires owners and leaders to wake up and get out of their own way.

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

By Mark Zweig | Here’s what you really need to do to get more job candidates for any opening you have, increase your job offer acceptance rate, and speed up the hiring process.

By Stephen Schwind | Employee retention is a two way street, requiring trust between both the company and the employee.

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.

By Mark Zweig | In the new year, remember that we're responsible for creating our own luck. You can start by focusing on these five things.  

By Will Anderson | Five ways that inflation could be eating away at your firm’s growth and what you can do about it.

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

By Mark Zweig | If you really know your business, you can make money in any market – even one as crazy as this.

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 | Managing principal at GGLO (Seattle, WA), a firm that believes it’s both the opportunity and responsibility of design to inspire the best aspects of community.

By Liisa Andreassen | Co-owner of UMA Geotechnical Construction (Colfax, NC), an experienced design-build, geotechnical contractor with a proven record of performance in diverse soil conditions.

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

By 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 | Your ability to establish and maintain relationships over time is essential to your personal and business success in the A/E business or any business.

By Kyle Ahern | A good, standardized parental leave policy is a major benefit that can set your firm apart.

By Mark Zweig | There are many ways to show courage, and Jerry Allen showed real courage in his willingness to confront every single obstacle in his life.

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

By Jane Lawler Smith | Make sure your marketing uses fresh ingredients, is thoughtfully assembled, and temptingly delivered.

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

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Respond to your call to action, whatever it may be, and build a legacy that will leave your profession better than you found it.

Principal and CEO of Enovate, a WBE/DBE/SBE firm that serves as a prime contractor as well as a subcontractor on city, state, and federal public agency and private projects.

By Mark Zweig | “My good friend of more than 25 years, Jack Portman passed away suddenly on the morning of August 28.”

President and senior principal of ICON Architecture (Boston, MA), a women-owned, SOMBDA certified firm that’s staffed over 50 percent by women.

By Mark Zweig | Many owners fail to understand how much value they can create in their companies if they make the right decisions.

By Jamie Claire Kiser & Christina Zweig Niehues | ElevateHer has been a call to action to work together, and the reaction to this inclusive approach has been powerful.

By Phil Keil | Developing a legacy-building strategy requires looking within to the sources of your greatest purpose and potential.

Ownership transition can be an eight to 10 year process, so start early, educate yourself, define your goals, and keep an open dialogue with your employees.

Principal at GH2 Architects (Tulsa, OK), an international architecture and design firm founded in 1973 that’s flexible, engaging, and fun.

We must inspire, include, empower, and educate all genders, races, and ages to look past biases and change the cultural norms that have shaped and still affect our industry.

Managing a client’s expectations is a delicate art that requires planning, restraint, and diligence.

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.

By Phil Keil | If you’re struggling to build a productive team, it might be time to take a long look in the mirror.

Don’t put your wins and losses into the magical hands of fortune. It’s better to look at your career as a product of your own actions.

CEO of Caldwell Associates, a firm that’s not afraid to fail, and that’s strong enough to pick up and keep going.

Montrose Environmental Group (Irvine, CA) acquired Emerging Compounds Treatment Technologies (ECT2) (Portland, ME) from its parent company Haley & Aldrich (Burlington, MA). ECT2 is a leader in cutting-edge solutions that mitigate the impact of emerging...

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

When new partners buy out old ones, you have to outline specific duties before assigning leadership roles, among other considerations.

President of PDC Engineers (Best Firm Multidiscipline #45 for 2018), a 100-person firm headquartered in Fairbanks, Alaska.

“Years ago, I worked for an A/E firm in Memphis by the name of Pickering, Wooten, Smith and Weiss. My boss was Don Smith and my mentor was Irving Weiss. Both of them taught me...

When the veteran transportation engineer changed lanes from the public sector to a private firm, he used his blinker and stepped on the gas.

Raise your fees to reflect value, prioritize lead generation, and delegate everything that is outside your zone of genius. Looking to grow the firm? Or maybe you have tried it before with no luck? Over...

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

As hot as merger and acquisition activity in the A/E industry is – and it is hot (we probably get two or three calls/inquiries/RFPs a day now) – internal transition – selling from employees/owners to...

CEO of Apex Companies, LLC (Hot Firm #41 for 2017), a 700-person environmental engineering firm based in Rockville, Maryland. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There is nothing that drives value creation for an organization more than...

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,...

Get out of your comfort zone, take a risk, and jump at opportunities even if you don’t know where they will lead. As I approached my three-year anniversary at Zweig Group, I sat and reflected...

The highest performing teams across all organizations have identifiable characteristics – great role clarity, tough love, and solid performance standards. Just like the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, great teams do not happen...

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

President and CEO of Pennoni (Hot Firm #48 for 2016), a 1,250-person engineering firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “One recommendation for leadership in a firm is a better working knowledge in...

Transparency, training, and feedback are all important, but so is remembering that people don’t live to work, they work to live. In recent TZL articles you’ve heard my thoughts about sharing the company’s financial results...

Depending on why they left – and what they did while they were gone – it might be a good idea to welcome them back into the fold. It’s not uncommon when sorting through a...

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,”...

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

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

As a coach, your choices can impact the fate of your team members, so take pains to put the right people in the right places. I didn’t grow up in a very sports-centric family. We...

Assignments, attitudes, and acknowledgment – if you take care of the Big Three, your marketing people will do great things. I have been an A/E industry marketer since the early 1980s. In those 30-plus years,...

(HOUSTON, TX – July 28, 2017) WGI is pleased to announce that Jacob Gonzalez, PE joined the firm’s Parking Solutions Division in its new partner, Carl Walker, a division of WGI. Jacob, as Vice President-Parking...

CEO of Coffman Engineers (#62 Hot Firm for 2016), a 400-person virtual, multi-discipline firm with offices across the West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Outside members can act like guests at...

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,”...

David Arends, president and CEO of CR architecture + design (Hot Firm #19 for 2016), a 175-person firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Entrepreneurship is not a standard genetic of architects, so...

Keep your accounts receivable on a short leash if you want your collection period to shrink, and your bank statement to grow. How does a growth oriented company in our industry manage the balance between...

Open book management is a big card to play, but it puts everyone on your team at the table, and that’s where you want them to be. One of the trendier ideas in management consulting...

CEO of HGA (a multiple Hot Firm award winner), a national, 750-person integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm based in Minneapolis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Our most successful proposals help the client visualize the journey...

🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day 🍀 It's Your Lucky Day to Save some Green! To celebrate all things GREEN, from the environment to cash, Zweig Group is having an Irish 🇮🇪 Flash | Save some...

Casual leader of engineering firm is doing what he wants to do, surrounding himself with smart people, and getting the job done. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent After 20 years of working for someone else, David...

Working with millennials was a hot topic at the recent Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference. Most researchers define the millennial generation as those born anywhere between 1982 and 2004 (although some sources end...

Office amenities are shifting from a focus on whimsy to a focus on meaning, and that adds up to improved productivity and increased profitability. As someone who designs workplace environments, it’s fascinating to participate in...

Your entire staff can sell the firm, and don’t forget, there’s no such thing as a completely internal role that doesn’t affect the brand. When it comes to business development, professional service firms typically have...

Architect Mike Reynolds, founder and owner of an unconventional design-build company, uses recycled materials to construct a sustainable enterprise. By Richard Massey Managing Editor Mike Reynolds, the founder of Earthship Biotecture, rose from obscurity outside...

Arbitrary or unduly bureaucratic rules demotivate employees, impose unnecessary constraints, and can even spark an office rebellion. Years ago, I started work at a new office where I had two administrative assistants supporting me. One...

Lonnie Laffen, CEO of JLG Architects, is a Bison who likes burgers and fries, a big motor bike, but not politics. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Twenty-seven years ago, Lonnie Laffen, president and CEO of JLG...

Blame is a form of punishment that rarely works, and removing it from a firm’s environment will increase productivity and collaboration. Would you rather have an employee change her behavior, become more motivated, or make...

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...

It happens to all of us at some point. Maybe we have even done it ourselves. What I am talking about‎ is when a key person quits unexpectedly – they jump ship. It could be...

With college debt at an all-time high and expected to increase, now’s the time to think about adding loan reduction as a benefit. Recruiting great talent takes skill, a little bit of luck, and some...

My extensive observations on the AEC business tell me that the only training most of us do is catch-as-catch-can, luck-based training. There's no structure or thought or meaningful budget applied to it in most companies...

Take a look at the strategic plan, the budget, and the checklist, before making the decision on whether or not to attend. Attending trade shows can be a very expensive proposition, ranging from whether your...

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...

Troublemakers within a firm can do a lot of damage, especially if they are tolerated. Every firm has these people to some degree. The naysayers, the skeptics, and the gossips. These people are holding back...

In work and in life, our past experiences, relationships, and the information we consume contribute to our outcomes. You know – in life, or in business – things pretty much happen as you expect them...

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

Firm leaders would be wise to reflect on current happenings in industry and to prepare for what’s next. When you’re lucky enough to survive to a “certain age,” you suddenly become aware of “certain things.”...

Strategic cooperation among competitors can result in big gains for each firm and better projects for clients. I hadn’t heard of “coopetition” – a contraction of cooperation and competition – for a while, but it...

Show paints difference between risk-takers and everyone else. Mark Zweig shares some additional food for thought. Watching “Shark Tank” episodes back-to-back last night was a great case study in the differences between entrepreneurs and most...

It’s lonely at the top and hard to find someone who will listen and provide useful advice, Mark Zweig writes. It’s been said before that it’s lonely at the top. There’s a lot of truth...

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

Mark Zweig contrasts five examples of individuals best avoided. It has been said before that you “can tell a lot about someone by the company they keep.” It is such a true statement! Successful people...

Mark Zweig offers 13 lucky suggestions on how to be closer to your clients. How you manage your clients is a big part of success in the A/E or environmental consulting business. And these skills...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 994 Originally published 2/11/2013 Twitter is riddled with management experts. Mark Zweig dispels them all. I spend a little time every day on...

In 2013, use the lessons learned in 2012 to have a better year – propelled by a slight breeze. Like many readers of The Zweig Letter, I’ve been working to refine the ZweigWhite business plan...

By Christine Brack Principal, Business Planning Consulting Many firms are glad to be leaving 2011 behind and are casting a warmer, more positive outlook to the New Year. Other firms claim they enjoyed moderate success...

By Ed Friedrichs Chairman, ZweigWhite As architects and engineers, we’re in a long-cycle business. That means we work on long duration assignments, often with extended start/stop cycles— waiting for a public hearing, an EIR to...

By Ed Friedrichs Chairman, ZweigWhite A good friend and business associate, Kit Miyamoto (CEO of Miyamoto International, a structural engineering firm based in California) recently sent me a reference to a one-minute video by John...

Press Release: May 2, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 2, 2011) – Industry leader Daniel A. Cuoco will become the editor of Structural Engineer (formerly Structural Engineering & Design), effective June 1, 2011. The magazine is...

Press Release: January 27, 2011 ZweigWhite is now accepting entries for The Zweig Letter 2011 Hot Firm List, the industry’s search for the fastest-growing architecture, engineering, planning, environmental and multidisciplinary consulting firms in the U.S....

It’s that time of year again. Time to dig out my crystal ball (I keep it in my sock drawer, in a pile of rarely worn argyles for safe keeping) so I can try to...

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

If you look at why most A/E firms just sort of muddle along, and yet a few are growing by leaps and bounds, you’ll find the “secret ingredient” in the growing firms’ recipe is often...

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

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...

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...

It’s time to call an end to something that there are entirely too many of in A/E/P and environmental firms everywhere— lazy marketing directors. I am talking about those marketing directors who do very little...

When it comes to predicting the future of a successful A/E or environmental enterprise of any sort, what’s more important— the market conditions, the passion of the individuals leading it, or the unity of those...

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...

Years ago, I coined a term called “supply-side human resources management.” The basic theory of supply-side human resources management goes something like this: If an A/E or environmental firm invests heavily in its recruitment function,...

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...

Davis Grey was the new man at the top of Frinklemore-Datuna Associates. He had been hired by Charlie Datuna a couple years ago with an understanding that at some point, Davis would be in Charlie’s...

It’s popular to say that everyone in the firm needs to be able to sell the firm’s services. Heck, I’ve even said it myself at times. The problem is that not everyone can sell. It’s...

Right now may be the best time ever to go out and buy another firm. People are depressed, their sense of optimism is considerably dimmer, and many A/E/P and environmental firms are performing accordingly. That...

Everyone in our country seems to be worried about terrorists. Undoubtedly, there are some good reasons to be concerned. But maybe the trouble is even closer to home— like in your own firm. We find...

The utilization data of A/E/P and environmental firms over the last several years pretty much proves that if you keep everyone overloaded you can’t help but be profitable. That’s easily accomplished in a heated market...

Friday afternoon finally rolled around. Joe Jetson gathered up everything he needed to work at home over the weekend and tossed it all into his briefcase. This was the worst week Joe could remember in...

One of the best benefits of working at ZweigWhite is the free food and drink we get. We give everyone whatever they want as long as you can store it in a cabinet or a...

I have never been big on “business is a game” analogies. The people I have met over the years who’ve used this analogy never seemed to exemplify the kind of values that I think you...

Let’s face it. In business, as in life, things don’t always go the way you want. There will be problems that you can anticipate, and there will be problems that you never expected. Either way,...

Is your firm a compassionate firm? Do you choose what’s humane over what’s best financially in certain situations? And what difference does that make, anyway? Business is business. And we all know that to be...

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...

“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...

The idea came to me at 3:50 p.m. on Sunday, January 2, 2000. It was a balmy afternoon here in the Boston area— temperatures in the 60s, sunny and bright. I took out my wife’s...

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...

This week, you get three topics for the price of one. What makes for value? An article in the February 21 edition of The Boston Globe under the headline “Internet ad company stock gains 57%...

The headline for this week’s editorial sounds like the title of a bad country and western song, but there’s a lot of truth in it. Maybe it’s human nature, but we don’t seem to appreciate...

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

I was thinking about what holds people back from being a success in this industry because I wanted to give you all some good advice to kick off the new year. Then it dawned on...

Did you ever notice how some companies muddle along while others seem to keep advancing? What allows some firms to make so much more progress and to get so much more accomplished than others? It’s...

A/E/P and environmental consulting firms have a huge problem when it comes to retaining their best and brightest people. It’s not unusual for us to get a consulting project with a new client, and to...

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...

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...