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By Adam Langley | Time is a finite resource, but by effectively managing it, you’ll contribute to your individual success and the long-term prosperity of your firm.

By Morgan Stinson | Attracting and retaining top talent in the AEC industry requires adapting to what employees value today.

By Mark Zweig | AEC firms today still struggle with the same old organizational issues that undermine clarity, accountability, and leadership.

By Josh Crawford | Our industry currently faces unique hurdles; success hinges on adopting tailored solutions combined with tried-and-true principles.

By Jennifer Nelson | With informed planning and strategic flexibility, AEC firms can continue to thrive and deliver, even in turbulent times.

By Ashley Heinnickel | Set yourself up for success, stay focused, and communicate well in order to sustain momentum in strategic plan implementation.

By Lucas Gray | Why most architecture and engineering firms overspend on design software and underinvest where it matters.

By Stuart McLendon | In uncertain waters, let strong financial leadership be your north star.

By Andrew Cushman | Publishing an article with a client strengthens relationships, enhances visibility, and fosters long-term collaboration while showcasing project success.

By Steve McAdams | A seasoned financial executive plays a pivotal role in enhancing profitability, growth, and market value.

By Tom Godin | Evaluating team dynamics is crucial for transforming organizational strategy into measurable results.

By Lindsay Young | AEC firms should prioritize a clear marketing and business development plan to avoid distractions and strategically pursue profitable, aligned clients and markets.

By Stephen Dominguez | Implementing these best practices will help your team get paid for their work and keep your project within budget and on schedule.

By Mark Zweig | These employees go through the motions without adding value, negatively impacting growth and performance across organizations.

By Sara Parkman | Compensation trends reveal critical strategies to boost employee retention and satisfaction.

By Matthew Miller | By understanding and addressing the factors that contribute to scope creep, project managers can mitigate its impact.

By Jeff Bornemiss | This investment enhances employee engagement and serves as a powerful tool for recruitment and retention.

By Will Swearingen | The latest data reveals increased billing rates, improved chargeability, and refined collections processes in AEC.

This comprehensive report offers insights into fees, billing rates, chargeability/utilization rates, project contracts, and billing practices.

By Mark Zweig | Entrepreneurial firm owners understand that marketing is an off-balance sheet long-term investment in the firm’s future.

By Ezequiel Tovar | In turbulent times, strategic capital allocation is crucial for firm survival.

By Mallory Lindgren | Improve your ability to solve complex problems and better support your colleagues and clients.

By Robert McGee | Proactive marketing anticipates industry trends, leveraging research, analytics, and simultaneous use of multiple tools for an impactful and budget-optimized campaign.

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

By Daniel Houf | Build a resilient design firm with quality work, attentive service, and a strong team for long-term success and adaptability.

By Javier Suarez | Participating in more tradeshows is not necessarily the best course of action, and you probably aren’t getting the best bang for your buck if this is your strategy.

By Tyler Suomala | If you ask great questions, you can guide yourself and your clients through a powerful process of discovery.

By Jim Bushong | What happens when decades of consistency and cost expectations in the building trades are suddenly changing in real time, based on market forces that are completely out of control?

By Mark Zweig | There are some things AEC professionals must learn about business in order to be successful.

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

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at JQ (Dallas, TX), a team of professionals providing structural and civil engineering, geospatial, and facility performance services within a diverse group of markets.

By Mark Hodges | Don’t be a victim of continuation bias; it’s time to completely change your IT strategy in the face of the ongoing cyber threat.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Zweig Group’s 2022 Marketing Excellence Award Winners have created some outstanding marketing campaigns, displaying incredible imagination and creativity.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of JMC², a civil and structural engineering firm that offers solutions for land development and building projects of various scopes and sizes.

By Mark Zweig | The payoff is a more valuable company that is healthier and provides more opportunities for its employees.

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

By Ashley Heinnickel | A rebrand is an opportunity to elevate your firm’s identity and build excitement about where you’re going.

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

By Mark Zweig | Only a small number of people really get the idea that building a business is not a sprint – it’s an endurance race. It is all about who can last the...

By Christina Zweig Niehues | It’s important for firms in all stages of growth to invest in marketing and continue to plan for the future.

By Carol Martsolf | What better way to show top talent that you care about their futures than to invest in those futures?

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

By Mark Zweig | Stop lamenting the labor shortage and start doing what you should to find and keep the very best people in spite of it.

President and CEO of Blueline (Kirkland, WA), a firm that’s committed to building relationships, enhancing communities, and improving lives.

AUSTIN – (May 3, 2021) — STG Design, an integrated architecture, interiors, and planning firm transforming businesses through design, announced that Sandra M. Parét (AIA, IIDA) has been named Chief Executive Officer for the firm,...

By Jane Lawler Smith | Channel your inner toddler and question everything about your marketing plan to uncover what still does or doesn’t work for you, your firm, and your goals.

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

By Anne Melia & Nicolle Scheller | This addition allows technical staff to focus on their core functions and allows for a marketing process that is more collaborative, streamlined, and consistent.

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.

By Mark Zweig | When times get tough, you have two choices: You can cut expenses and eliminate all investments, or you can double down on making improvements in your business.

By Mark Zweig | Marketing starts with identifying who your target clients are. Your entire business needs to be focused on them.

By Mark Zweig | There are 10 things practically every firm in this business should do but won’t. If you try these things, your firm will be more successful.

By Mark Zweig | “Sometimes I think it is good to reflect back on all the lessons I have learned over the years. Here are a few that stand out to me.”

For many leaders, business development resides outside their core competencies and comfort zone, to their firm’s detriment.

Marketing has a role in building brands, developing strategies, winning work, and more – and the firms that invest heavily in marketing reap the rewards.

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

By Mark Zweig | For many A/E firms, it is going to take a lot of tough decisions, hard work, mental intensity, and help from everyone in the firm to get through this situation intact.

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

By combining traditional marketing tactics with unique approaches for our industry, AEC firms can get ahead of the competition, stay relevant, and win more and better contracts.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | The situation is changing quickly, but versatility and fast decision-making have become necessary.

“If you have lofty ambitions for the growth of your firm, but aren’t exactly sure of what you need to do to accomplish it, here is my best advice.”

By checking in either monthly or quarterly, you can ensure that those responsible take the time necessary to follow through on your marketing plan.

As market conditions for professional liability insurance evolve, there’s a great deal you can do to position your firm for a more favorable renewal.

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

“There is no question that after working as long as I have in the A/E industry with so many firms throughout the land, certain common undeniable truths present themselves.”

President and CEO of Falcon Engineering, a woman-owned engineering firm in Cary, North Carolina.

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

Zweig Group’s annual publication of AEC industry fees, billing rates, chargeability/utilization rates, project contracts, and billing practices, has been released. The data contained in this publication was gathered using an online survey and collected from...

There are plenty of tell-tale signs your AEC firm needs a set of third-party experts to help you achieve your goals.

Add value, share work, respond quickly, and be open about your process to get more business and increase revenue without spending more.

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 you are looking for a training program that covers all the basics, Zweig Group has what you and your team needs. Our Excellence in Project Management training program was developed to support project managers...

Giving gifts to your clients is a great show of appreciation, but make sure you know the differences between public and private entities. In the AEC business, the holiday season can be 45 very pleasant...

“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?”...

Marci D. ThompsonChief Learning Officermthompson@zweiggroup.com800.466.6275 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (January 30, 2019) – Zweig Group, a global leader in products and services for the AEC industry, announced today that Marci Thompson has joined the firm as chief...

“Right now, at the start of the new year, is a great time to be selling. Organizations of all types, public and private, have new plans and new budgets to go along with them.” Right...

President, Alta Environmental (Best Firm #4 Environmental for 2018), a 50-person firm based in Long Beach, CA. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “It’s said that people typically don’t leave companies, they leave bosses,” Kay says. “Making...

President of Pond & Company, Inc. (Best Firm Multi-discipline #19 for 2018), a 550-person firm based in Atlanta with 25 offices in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Spain. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “One of the...

Getting there is one thing, but staying there is another. Figure it out and your firm will have the world in the palm of its hand. Being “top of mind” with your clients and potential...

President of Gale Associates Inc. (Best Firm #18 Multi-discipline for 2018), a 115-person consulting firm based in Weymouth, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Gale has been involved with a number of design-build procurements, primarily for...

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...

For a firm to find the transformative, positive change it’s looking for, leadership needs to be intentional and steadfast in its commitments. Management – planning, budgeting, staffing, organizing, controlling, and problem solving – helps you...

President and CEO of Morrison-Maierle (Best Firm #27 Multi-discipline for 2017), a 280-person firm based in Helena, Montana. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “It’s vital to our success,” Murphy says, referring to entrepreneurship in the firm....

Innovation demands that we think, struggle, act, and sometimes fail. A tough slog, but it has to be done. It’s a balancing act to fit innovation into the daily practice of the AEC industry. Whether...

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...

Firms are super busy, but that doesn’t mean all is well. How are profit margins, recruiting, and employee training holding up? The AEC industry is busier right now than it has been in a long...

CEO of Huckabee (Hot Firm #7 and Best Firm Architecture #3 for 2018), a 300-person architecture firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “For us, diversifying is a bad thing,” Huckabee says....

President and CEO of Larson Design Group (Best Firm #5 Geotechnical and Best Firm # 29 Multi-discipline for 2017), a 300-person firm based in Williamsport, PA. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “One person alone can’t make...

President and CEO of Tectonic Engineering & Surveying Consultants P.C. (Hot Firm #89 for 2018), a 500-person multifaceted engineering firm based in Mountainville, NY. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Years ago we tried the sales force...

CEO of SidePlate (Best Firm Structural #4 for 2018), a civil engineering firm based in Mission Viejo, California. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There is no question that organic growth is the way to go,” Gallart...

Co-founder, president and CEO of WSB (Hot Firm #34 for 2018), a 475-person, full-service consulting and design firm based in Minneapolis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Early on, I paid too much attention to those who...

President and founder of Brudis & Associates, Inc. (Hot Firm #36 and Best Firm Multi-discipline # 51 for 2016), a 90-person firm based in Baltimore. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “While I like to say we’re...

By Christina Zweig Niehues | A larger client database, higher shortlist rates, and measurable metrics. Yes, marketing is expensive, but it’s a good place to spend a bit of gold.

CEO of FRCH, a Nelson Company (Hot Firm #41 for 2016), a global design firm based in Cincinnati. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Everyone has access to the company’s financial information,” Tippmann says. “I believe this...

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

President and CEO of SEPI Engineering & Construction, Inc. (Hot Firm #74 for 2017), a 350-person firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “People need to feel like their work life is...

Non-creatives have to understand and respect what marketers do, or we run the risk of demotivating those who are critical to our success. A recent study by InSource reported that “Creative professionals are being asked...

President of Long Engineering, Inc. (Hot Firm # 24 for 2017), a 90-person land surveying and civil engineering firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Begin to identify internally if you have potential...

Founder and CEO of GATE (Hot Firm #35 for 2017), a 300-plus person oil and gas engineering consulting company based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “When clients/friends see what we post and comment to...

Principal at G2 Consulting (Hot Firm #67 for 2016), a 75-person geotechnical, geo-environmental, and construction engineering firm based in Troy, Michigan. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “As long as the clients are pleased and the revenues...

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,...

Founder and president of Gunda Corporation (#32 Hot Firm for 2017), a 60-person engineering consulting firm based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I’m not a big fan of utilization rates,” Gunda says. “I believe...

President of Burns Engineering (Hot Firm #88 for 2015), a 220-person firm based in Philadelphia. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The downside of the seller/doer model is that staff often likes the doing more than the...

Do you need shoes on your feet, a roof over your head, and food on your plate? If you don’t have a plan, start working on one! More than one-fourth of firms in the AEC...

Banish profit centers in small to midsize firms. Focus on your people by letting each do what each is best qualified to do. An engineering, architecture or planning professional services firm can be very successful...

Managing principal and president of HED, Inc. (Hot Firm #34 for 2017), a 350-person design firm with offices in Illinois, Michigan, and California. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Small changes often lead to significant results,” says...

Chairman and CEO of David Evans and Associates, Inc. (Hot Firm #93 for 2016), a 1,000-person engineering firm based in Portland, Oregon. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Barkouli joined DEA in 1988 as an engineer-in-training. He...

Let’s try to tell our story so that we can go above and beyond the traditional marketing that AEC firms are known for. Think about some of the most iconic advertisements of the past. Many...

A principal currently serving as president with W&M Environmental Group, LLC (Hot Firm #81 for 2016), a 50-person environmental services consulting firm based in Texas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “One thing we didn’t expect is...

President and CEO of HRP Associates, Inc. (Hot Firm #76 for 2016), a 120-person engineering consulting firm based in Farmington, Connecticut. “Big, bold, rapid changes are exciting and sometimes needed, but well planned, steady change...

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

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...

CEO of Sullivan Engineering (Hot Firm #89 for 2017), a 20-person building envelope consulting firm based in New York, New York. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We strongly reward autonomy and encourage each other to make...

President and CEO of Wade Trim (Hot Firm #76 for 2017), a 500-person multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm based in Detroit. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Organic growth is going to become more difficult as recruiting...

Take a hard look at your firm. Is your operation lean and mean, or is it bloated with perks and unneeded extras? A friend of mine, an Austin-based land use attorney, grew up listening to...

President and chairman of Garver (Best Firm Multi-discipline #2 and Hot Firm #43 for 2017), a 500-person consulting and professional services firm in North Little Rock, Arkansas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We give our employees...

President and CEO of BSB Design (#87 Hot Firm for 2017), a 180-person architectural design and development firm based in Des Moines, Iowa. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “My advice is to get on it!” says...

Successful business planning isn’t about having a crystal ball. It’s about a culture that discusses goals, actions, and results on an open and regular basis. The end of one year and the beginning of a...

President of Infrastructure, RPS (Best Firm Civil #36 for 2017), a 500-person firm based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Our limitations are people,” Abbott says. “We could do more if we could find more...

President of Fleis & VandenBrink Engineering, Inc. (Hot Firm #30 for 2017), a 200-person civil engineering firm based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Marketing is very important,” Galdes says. “We actually increased...

We’re seeing more and more multi-office A/E/P and environmental firms wrestle with this issue: should branch offices be profit centers or not? Or should some other organization units be the place where we measure profitts...

If that’s your justification for not having a marketing department, you’re either blessed with a super team of all-stars, or you’re kidding yourself. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had an architecture/engineering firm...

It’s always good to periodically take stock and ask yourself what you have recently learned. My experience – if you don’t do this – is that you are bound to repeat the same mistakes. And...

President of Environmental Partners Group, Inc. (Hot Firm #22 for 2017), a 55-person firm based in Quincy, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Their problems need to be your problems,” says Gabriel, referring to the client-firm...

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...

There’s a critical set of benchmarks you need to measure so you’ll know what works, what doesn’t, and how to be more effective. Zweig Group’s 2016 Marketing Survey found that 27 percent of A/E/P and...

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...

For multi-office firms, it’s important to monitor overhead allocations so one region doesn’t consume more than its fair share of resources. Here’s the issue: Department managers, regional managers, and office managers all question the general...

I’ve written and said it many times. AEC firms have many different paths to success. There is no ONE single formula that always works better. Nor is there one magic bullet – a single thing...

If you rely solely on what you thought you once knew to be true, you run the risk of being an obsolete relic of yesteryear. Not too long ago, when my son was a senior...

President of Passero Associates (Best Firm #5 Multidiscipline for 2016), an 85-person engineering and architecture firm based in Rochester, New York. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There’s lots of calculated risk,” Caruso says. A conversation with...

Chairman and CEO of Maser Consulting P.A. (#12 Best Firm Multidiscipline and #16 Hot Firm for 2016), a 650-person firm with 22 offices across eight states. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The most important formula for...

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...

In the A/E industry, it’s easy for PMs and firms to claim ownership of projects, but the only owners are the clients, and they always make the final call. Over the last four decades, I...

FREE! Here's a handy list of free reports and data available from Zweig Group: 2017 Salary Survey of Engineering Firm Trends Download an analysis of Zweig Group’s recently released 2017 Salary Surveys of Engineering Firms,...

1. Contrary to popular belief, healthcare costs to employers are going to go down. A plethora of options exist for companies looking to reduce their out-of-pocket healthcare related expenses. Firms on the bleeding edge will...

Similar cultures and a need for an expanded footprint are the driving forces behind Hot Firm RTM’s acquisition of smaller Texas outfit. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent The two companies were in talks for a little...

Collaboration between centralized and decentralized resources is the ultimate secret weapon effecting success in any organization. To centralize or not to centralize. Is that the question? For years, leadership groups and marketing professionals across the...

Take a good hard look at your firm and what it’s saying to the world. If things appear stale, it’s because they are. Fix it or lose out. Here are ten signs it’s time to...

Being a great architect or engineer is not enough. To truly flourish, you have to have an intimate knowledge of what makes your clients tick. Your knowledge of architecture, design, engineering, and building codes, your...

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...

Spotlight Survey Finds Firms most likely to promote, engage, communicate, spy via various networks Fayetteville, AR. — May 26, 2016 — Zweig Group, the leading source of management advice and industry data for architecture, engineering,...

Sometimes, firms get lost in utilization and project profitability, and end up solving the wrong problem. People respond to what you track and report. The accounting really does matter. For example, we've helped companies dismantle...

How do you get a handle on billable hours and overhead without losing yourself in spreadsheets? Rely on the gut instincts of your department managers. I’m honored The Zweig Letter asked me to be a...

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

In the AEC marketing world, proposals are usually treated as business as usual, but I believe we need to make them personal. I will be celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary on June 1, 2016, (I...

This month, readers seek advice on topics related to social media, benchmarking, and increasing prices. WHO SHOULD FIRMS COMPARE THEMSELVES TO WHEN BENCHMARKING? Dear Christy, “We’re about to start our strategic planning process and like...

On January 5, Zweig Group released the 2016 Marketing Survey of A/E/P & Environmental Consulting Firms, its 18th iteration of the publication. The annual resource aims to help architectural, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting leaders...

Zweig Group, publisher of more than a dozen annual surveys about the most important issues in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industries, is proud to announce the opening of its first-ever Social Media Survey. “Social...

When seeking to define his or her position, a top leader should consider these 7 vital responsibilities. Because top firm leaders (CEOs, presidents, managing partners, etc.) probably have a better opportunity to define their own...

From the early responses to Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Survey, we can already see differences from last year, but there’s still time to have your data included. A lot has changed in marketing approaches, budgets,...

Harris & Associates (Concord, CA), a 200-person engineering and construction management firm, is taking home second place in the Online Marketing category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its new and improved website....

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...

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...

Diverse firms can implement rules-of-thumb to establish priorities and see results for years to come. By Andrea Bennett Managing Editor A/E/P and environmental firms have several items on their to-do lists at any given time:...

Flaws in current system can be overcome through strategic adjustments. Being a project manager in the typical A/E/P or environmental firm is rarely easy. Think about it: In most firms in this business, it is...

Successful Project Management for A/E/P and Environmental Firms, 2nd edition covers projects from inception to completion and beyond. By Andrea Bennett Managing Editor On April 30, Zweig Group will release the second edition of its...

Have a conversation about project details and fees so you can staff them right and finish work on time, preferably below the allocated fee. On the architecture and engineering professions, we measure everything by time....

The holidays are a great time for fun and creative marketing pieces. Taking home second place in Zweig Group’s 2014 Marketing Excellence Awards in the Online Marketing Category, Clark Patterson Lee (Rochester, NY), a 220-person...

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...

Mark Zweig lists some things he has learned about the A/E/P and environmental business over three decades. The end of August marked 34 full years working in the A/E/P and environmental consulting business. I have...

Are you investing in consistent, brand-building marketing activities, Mark Zweig asks. Let’s face it. Living too well can be a problem. I’m talking about eating your seed corn, spending too much, and not reinvesting in...

Consider the unexpected in your next candidate search and you’ll be that much closer to winning the war for talent. Dwight Eisenhower made a statement once that bears repeating. He said: “Plans are nothing; planning...

Some common policies display no common-sense. Mark Zweig exposes four problems and offers solutions. It’s interesting to me how so many A/E firms seem to just follow the same unwritten rules about how to pay...

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

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 987 Originally published 12/17/2012 See what more successful firms than yours are doing, straight from ZweigWhite’s surveys. We’re down to the end of...

Editorial: By Mark C. Zweig It seems to me that many – if not most – companies in our business today have given up on the idea that they can grow in this economy. Instead,...

By W. Hobson Hogan ZweigWhite Principal, Investment Banking I have represented many businesses in M&A processes and I have analyzed both great and not-so-great firms. In all of these M&A processes, I have witnessed some...

Press Release: June 29, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (June 29, 2011) – With the economic challenges that architecture, engineering, planning & environmental consulting firms have faced in recent years, effective project management skills remain a crucial...

By Julie Kyle Newsletters Editor, ZweigWhite I have many friends who are in business for themselves. As a creative type, I enjoy helping them come up with marketing ideas; it’s fun for me— designing new...

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%...

Press Release: March 28, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (March 28, 2011) – ZweigWhite’s first course in its new Project Management eLearning Inititative—“Managing Project Communications”—recently achieved approval by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), allowing course takers...

Press Release: March 15, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (March 15, 2011) — Seasoned marketing professional Debbie Frederiksen has joined ZweigWhite as Director of Marketing Consulting Services, boosting the firm’s stable of expanding consulting services to architecture,...

Debbie Frederiksen | Marketing Consultant | ZweigWhite Consulting Debbie Frederiksen’s career spans 17 years in the architecture / engineering / planning industry. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, she worked for a 10-person firm...

Press Release: February 22, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, AR (February 23, 2011) – ZweigWhite’s new eLearning courses offer easy, convenient project management (PM) training ideally suited for today’s time-pressed, on-the-go professionals in the architecture, engineering, planning and...

By Christine Brack, PMP A few weeks ago, I was talking to a client about his firm’s project management practices, its managers, and systems, and… eventually we began discussing the challenges and frustrations he was...

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

John Drinkard thinks Mark Zweig, ZweigWhite CEO, had CJMW Architecture in mind when he recently made the case for organizing firms by market sectors. CJMW, a Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based 97-person architecture, engineering, interior design, and...

Many A/E/P and environmental firms are planning on entering new markets this year. The reasons for doing so are pretty obvious— first among them being that so many markets firms are already in are down....

There are lots of firms that feel stuck in the mud today. They’re just muddling along, treading water, at a break even at best. Some owners think this is a fine position to be in....

Project management training tends to emphasize the legal and liability aspects of what we do, along with scheduling and budgeting techniques. But, there is so much more to it beyond the science of project management....

With this kind of a statement, you might assume I am either stuck in a 90s time warp, or that I have finally lost my mind. But neither is true. Yes— I know times are...

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

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

Regardless of how you feel about the results, the national, state, and local elections are now over. Yea! We can move on with our lives and get back to business. Lord knows many A/E/P and...

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...

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...

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 just got back from ZweigWhite’s 2007 A/E Marketing Now Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was our biggest and best-attended marketing conference ever! My task was to open the show with a short talk...

By Mark Zweig | If you really want to raise your effective labor multiplier, here are some things to try.

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...

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...

Driving my two-tone blue ‘59 Edsel Ranger down 71B near my house the other day, I saw a great bumper sticker. It read, “Why try to predict the future when you can create it?” That’s...

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...

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,...

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...

On the one hand, it would be easy to get negative and discouraged about the current business climate. The war efforts are dragging on with no clear end in sight. The Middle East, in general,...

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...

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...

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...

While it certainly wasn’t the case 20 or even 10 years ago, today most design and environmental firms have a business plan. Most of them are labeled “strategic plans,” though I’ll confess that I usually...

Though it happens on occasion, rarely do I work with the top management of a design or environmental firm who will come right out and say, “We don’t want to grow.” Most at least pay...

Durwood Ryan, CEO of Ryan, Brookhouse, and Springdale, was frustrated. He knew that Jeannie Turtlepup, his structural engineering department head, needed a raise. But he wasn’t getting any support for it from Poppy Buck, the...

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...

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...

Schweitzer, Rosenblatt, Tunick, and McBlarsky had just ended one heck of a run. The 250-person E/A firm had grown from 40 people to 250 over the past five years. And while it was undeniably exciting,...

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

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...

Is all business planning necessarily strategic planning? That was the topic of a lively discussion among some of our most successful management consulting folks a few weeks back— whether or not to lump all business...

We talk a lot about marketing in The Zweig Letter. And we’ll continue doing so until we think all our readers have gotten the message about what it takes to really start using the knowledge...

Say “strategy” to an architect, engineer, planner, or scientist and you are bound to get a negative reaction. These folks have been through all of the strategic planning meetings conducted by the management consultant of...

With the tight market labor, Gen-X employee turnover, inefficiency from internal competition, and record backlogs of project work to be completed, it may be time to take a hard look at your compensation policies and...

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...

“Process marketing” is a term you’ll see a lot of in The Zweig Letter. Heck, we even have a supplemental, stand-alone Process Marketing Advisor devoted entirely to the subject! The reason is that process marketing...

The longer I have been involved with management of A/E/P and environmental firms the more convinced I am that the whole key to success lies in thinking long term. The sooner one comes to this...

It’s always interesting to me when I encounter people who don’t think you can get rich (that’s right, I said “rich”) in this business. But before we get started, please let me clarify. “Rich” to...

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...

I just came back from a management retreat with a client we first worked for a couple of years back. They are what I would call a mid-sized firm in a large metro area. And...

Although I don’t consider myself a member (honorary or otherwise) of the morality police, the latest presidential scandal got me thinking about morality and ethics. I’ll limit my political commentary to one statement: I think...

“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...

One thing I have learned over the years is that how good something turns out depends on the sum total of many small decisions. Most of the time, as it relates to projects, it’s not...

My daughter pointed out a great bumper sticker to me last weekend. It said “Stop Global Whining.” It got me thinking. With the state of the economy right now, it’s hard to understand how anyone...

We’re seeing more and more multi-office A/E/P and environmental firms wrestle with this issue: should branch offices be profit centers or not? Or should some other organization units be the place where we measure profits...

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...

Scott Adams, the creator of comic strip “Dilbert” and author of the best-seller “The Dilbert Principle,” is clearly familiar with the absurd, idiotic stuff some companies do in the name of “better management.” In fact,...

It seems that our readers in A/E/P and environmental firms can’t get enough on project management. No one out there appears content with how he or she is handling it. Although my treatise a few...

We work for the owners and top managers of a lot of different A/E/P and environmental firms. While all those companies and their managers are different, they share one thing— they’re not happy with project...

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...

A lot of firms in our business are going through some serious introspection. And if they aren’t, they probably should be. Change is occurring at an accelerating pace. Yesterday’s hot firm may be a dog...

Because marketing really is “where it’s at” for firms in this business, it’s hard for me to keep from writing about it. You see, an A/E/P or environmental consulting firm can solve just about any...

Every firm in this industry must do four things to survive— sell work, do work, bill for work, and get paid for work. That’s it. If you ask me, architects, engineers, and environmental consultants (along...

I have tremendous respect for any A/E/P or environmental firm that has learned to successfully manage a network of satellite or branch offices. It's not easy. There's no question that having multiple offices greatly complicates...

Conventional wisdom (CW) isn’t always so “wise.” Let’s take a look at some of the wisdom frequently heard in the halls and conference rooms of A/E and environmental consulting firms: The company will be profitable...

Contrary to what pop management “guru” Tom Peters may say, no architecture, consulting engineering or environmental consulting firm really “thrives on chaos.” Some companies may do well temporarily, but not many are able to “reinvent...

We’re convinced that 1993 is going to be a good year for the A/E and environmental consulting industry. No matter how bad the last few years have been, every single firm has the potential to...

This is the time of year many firms do their budgeting. Unfortunately, many of them make the budgeting process far more difficult than it has to be. Small firms may not know where to start...