Search results

By Shirley Che | Improving employee experience may be the AEC industry’s most important group project.

By Steve Jarmon | AEC firms cannot afford to ignore cybersecurity leadership as digital risk grows alongside cloud platforms, data sharing, and remote work.

By Tom Godin | In AEC M&A, the real risk isn’t finding deals; it’s being unprepared to integrate them.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Strategic planning transforms vision into execution by aligning leaders, empowering employees, and funding growth with intention.

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

By Matt Cooper | Repeat clients keep AEC firms stable, but winning new work is what determines long-term growth and resilience.

By Scott Butcher | Most AEC strategic plans fail not from bad ideas, but from misalignment, weak accountability, ignored culture, and lack of execution discipline.

By Michael Sanderson | The future of professional services depends less on hours logged and more on trust, ownership, and meaningful results.

By Shannon Christiansen | As your firms grows, so does your capacity to give back, strengthening both your communities and your culture.

Zweig Group client KGD Architecture has entered into a strategic partnership with Signal Hill Equity Partners.

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

By Jeremy Clarke | Independent directors give AEC boards the objectivity, capacity, and perspective insiders can’t provide.

By Will Swearingen | Selling your firm requires early, intentional prep to maximize valuation, avoid risks, and ensure successful transition.

By Stuart McLendon | This strategy is becoming an essential tool for growth, innovation, and resilience, especially in AEC.

By Dathan Gaskill | Fractional CFOs offer flexible, expert financial guidance to help AEC firms grow, reduce risk, and improve efficiency.

By Scott D. Butcher | To succeed in disruption, AEC firms must refine client focus, target markets, and go/no-go processes.

By Nam Douglass | Firms that critically consider how best to leverage this tool today are better positioned to win the projects of tomorrow.

By Lindsay Young | Continuous investment ensures that when the market eventually slows down, your firm remains resilient and well-positioned.

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

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Dunaway (Fort Worth, TX), a leading independent multi-discipline design firm in Texas.

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

By Will Swearingen | A well-thought-out, proactive plan is essential for ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of your firm.

By Ying Liu | Employee experience plays a crucial role in maximizing strategic outcomes.

By Duane Gaugler | It’s true that mentor relationships aren’t easy to find time for, however, the potential they offer is enormous.

By Todd Hay | Adapting to smaller AEC markets requires leveraging networks, building staff-client trust, and scaling operations for sustained success.

By Gabe Lett | Enhance marketing by embracing creativity and disruption to craft surprising, memorable, and engaging campaigns.

By Elizabeth Preston | Grammar rules are useful tools, but writers should prioritize clarity and reader engagement over strict adherence to them.

By Kyle Ahern | Firms that adopt these competitive strategies will be better positioned to achieve sustained success.

By Mailena Urso | Zweig Group’s Marketing Excellence Awards showcase top creative campaigns that elevate AEC industry branding.

By Anastasia Welch | Transforming team dynamics and strategies for improved leadership skills, operations, and project implementation, leading to business success.

By Lalitha Benjaram | Committees are an efficient way for young professionals and newer employees to meet other team members and develop a strong connection to their organization.

By Alec Russell | The AEC industry is experiencing a resurgence in M&A activity, driven by strategic partnerships, technological integration, and geographic expansion.

By Ying Liu | Five essential practices you can use to actively engage board members and forge invaluable business partners.

By Stuart McLendon | The professional labor gap is an opportunity to rethink, reshape, and revitalize how we work.

By Shelby Smith | Although change can begin with one person, monumental, industry-altering change must be a cohesive, collaborative team effort.

By Kraig Kern | Shift your perspective to view your marketing team as a strategic asset that constructs the very pathways through which your business grows.

By Dawn Landry | By leaning into our self-awareness to understand diverse personalities, we can transform challenges into opportunities for growth and success.

By Alicia Kamischke | This is a versatile segment of your organization that should be tailored to best fit your company structure, strengths, weaknesses, goals, and needs.

By Tom Godin | How the military’s mission command principles can improve leadership and management in AEC firms.

By Kristin Kautz | AI assistants empower personalized and effective support that will save time and money, and enhance creativity and quality.

By Greg Sepeda | Mastering the art of managing upward is crucial for career growth, involving understanding, aligning with, and proactively supporting superiors.

By Safa Kamangar | By applying these principles, a manager can become a source of inspiration, guidance, and stability for their team members.

By Travis White | You must attach the right structure, systems, and incentives in order to shift employee mindset.

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

By Jeremy Clarke | Job descriptions need radical simplification for authenticity, brevity, and impact in attracting top talent.

By Katherine Nanowski | Understanding and participating in government affairs can play a valuable role in a company’s business development process.

By Annie Rezac | Organizations can drive positive change and contribute to a culture that values diversity as a strategic asset by setting clear goals and consistently sharing progress.

By Laura Nick | Four steps for building a strategic plan that supports a people-centric, talent-attracting culture.

By Greg Sepeda | If you can clear out the unnecessary underbrush, you will benefit from a staff that finally can breathe, see new paths, and move your firm forward.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Firm owners must have a clear vision, build a solid culture, and celebrate achievements big and small to be good stewards.

By Kraig Kern | In our digitized age, the very tools designed to enhance communication can sometimes become barriers.

By Danielle Eisenstock | Learning takes time and effort – but the end results can be as rewarding as making your favorite meal.

By Bryan Powell | By following these steps, any organization can navigate significant change with confidence and continuity.

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

By Mark Zweig | Open-book management is about sharing financial performance data with employees to foster trust, educate, and improve the firm’s overall performance.

By Eduardo Smith | Whether you’re running a race or running a business, put these five tips into practice and you may be surprised at how far they can take you.

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

By Danielle Eisenstock | Three questions managers should begin asking themselves and their team to ensure employees are growing and enjoying the work they do.

By Ryan Belyea | Utilizing AI as a partner will increase our ability to design effectively, be creative, and capitalize on the possibilities of this technology now and in the future.

By Jane Lawler Smith | Elevate your marketing services by asking yourself what your firm’s request for marketing services would include and how your team would respond.

By Stewart Haney | This tool helps businesses become more focused, disciplined, and accountable, which ultimately leads to improved performance and profitability.

By Kraig Kern | It is essential for companies to reevaluate their meeting culture and prioritize efficiency and effectiveness for long-term success.

By Katelynn Santiago | Successful adoption requires effective communication, testing, and involvement of all potential users.

By Ying Liu | Organizations must proactively develop strategies to identify and retain top talent.

By John Watkins | Great partnership between groups inside and outside the firm don’t just happen on their own.

By Somshekhar Kundral | Developing effective problem-framing skills can help your people think outside the box, challenge assumptions, and find innovative solutions.

Zweig Group announces the release of its 2023 Policies, Procedures & Benefits Report of AEC Firms, which helps AEC leaders benchmark their firms in all areas related to benefits and compensation.

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

By Justin Smith | Successful PMs use their skills to leverage tools, motivate actions, and accomplish objectives, which is the essence of leadership.

By Kevin Bertrand | Strong connections lead to strong communications and successful outcomes, so it’s important that we listen, understand, and respond in ways that are supportive.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Prairie Engineers, P.C. (Columbia, IL), a firm made up of engineers, surveyors, and scientists focused on solving problems for public and private clients.

By Mark Zweig | The future will be here before you know it, so there is no time to delay your ownership transition planning efforts.

By Will Swearingen | If there are people with dominating or otherwise off-set personalities on your leadership team, it could be time for a change.

Erica Olsen, COO and co-founder of OnStrategy, discusses how her company combine hands-on services with customized software to design great strategies and automate the process for managing execution.

By Kollan Spradlin | A broader view of client objectives allows us to add value and, in some cases, recategorize isolated projects into stepping stones that line the path to the client’s ultimate goal.

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 Phil Keil | Strategic planning is an incredibly deep and nuanced practice that every firm needs to consider.

Zweig Group is proud to announce the winners of the 2022 Excellence in Client Experience Awards. Zweig Group and Client Savvy partnered to create this award, which recognizes firms that solicit real client feedback from...

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

By Amanda Hartman, Hannah Rico & Jules Ackerson | Huge organizational milestones can be reached when you step away from your day-to-day operations to evaluate your firm’s past and plan for the future.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | Your firm needs to be where conversations are happening – online.

CWE, a 40-person civil and environmental engineering firm providing public and private infrastructure services to clients throughout California, has acquired RFE Engineering, Inc. (RFE), located in the Greater Sacramento area of California. The acquisition increases CWE’s geographic...

By Liisa Andreassen | Chief people officer at HEAPY (Dayton, OH), a nationally recognized leader in sustainable and resilient engineering design.

By Andrew Schwarz | Achieve greater business success and improve employee work satisfaction by actively working toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive company.

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

ByStephanie Warino | Examining the top 10 differences between leading and average Best Firms To Work For.

By Brian King | Instead, consider regular performance discussions and an annual strategy meeting to set, implement, and evaluate goals and initiatives.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | It’s time to reevaluate every penny of our cost structures and ensure that our investments are going to our workforce.

Idaho-based neUdesign Architecture has announced its merger with Colorado-based architecture and engineering firm EVstudio. This merger will open the door to Colorado’s and Idaho’s ever growing industry for both firms and will better serve clients...

By Phil Keil | Think of strategy as a revolutionary process requiring continual iteration and agility.

By Michael Syracuse | There are many ways to connect to others and contribute to a person’s professional and personal growth.

By Stephanie Warino | To be successful, firms must find their “blue ocean” of uncontested market space.

Develop a muscle memory around follow through and follow up to get ahead in the business development game.

By Rob Hughes | Enterprise risk management provides a formal process for firms to examine their critical risks in context, and implement cost-effective risk management and risk-financing solutions.

By Brian Rice | These three core strategic planning areas have unique opportunities for value depending largely on the culture of your organization.

Evolving these relationships is a critical and too-often-overlooked key to successful project delivery and retaining satisfied clients.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Companies are adopting fluid work from home policies and people have begun migrating away from dense cities.

By Phil Keil | We can learn a lot about mission and vision through the context of some of America’s founding documents.

Grow your firm and bolster future success by training and mentoring technical staff to participate in your firm’s sales and marketing efforts.

When it comes to M&A, stay flexible and remember that it takes drive, determination, and the ability to connect people and ideas to achieve remarkable results.

By Eduardo Smith | It’s more important than ever to stay close to our clients, to understand their changing needs, and to help them achieve their business goals.

COVID-19 has pushed leaders in the design industry and beyond to develop new strategies to manage an increasingly untethered workforce.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Takeaways from a truly exceptional virtual discussion experience.

By giving employees the opportunity to own company stock, you can develop a culture in which employees have a greater stake in the company and more opportunities to reap the rewards of capital ownership. 

When firms encourage a hybrid role between business development and sales, the result is often improved collaboration throughout the firm.

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

For firm leadership, marketing may not always be top of mind. For your marketing staff, it is. Make sure they have a seat at the table.

WATCH HERE PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Zweig Group's research shows that recruiting and retention are the #1 challenges AEC firms have faced in the last few years. With a shortage of design and construction professionals - at...

ESOPs are becoming an increasingly common tool for succession planning among AEC firms.

By Phil Keil | Use careful thought and consideration when defining your firm’s value, moral, and ethical framework.

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

Thankful organizations will grow with engaged employees, loyal clients, trusted partners, and supportive communities.

Successful leaders have to be able to deliver tough messages. Use these six strategies to navigate difficult conversations.

Mid-Atlantic firm O’Donnell & Naccarato adds Indiana office through merger with Carmel-based McComas Engineering. O’Donnell & Naccarato has merged operations with structural engineering firm McComas Engineering. With four offices in the Mid-Atlantic region, this merger...

The effort to chart a new path should begin long before firm founders retire, and should be exhaustive.

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

Use this seven step process to focus on project management for year-over-year improvement.

A culture of employee empowerment will define innovative, leading organizations in the years to come.

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

If your firm uses a doer-seller business development model, empowering your team is necessary for their success and your bottom line.

Implementing a tailor-made set of processes for your tailor-made firm will increase your chances of success, regardless of the space in which you compete.

In our industry, diversity and inclusion are dawning, so seize the day by incorporating an open mindset throughout your firm.

Breaking into new markets isn’t easy, but it can be done if you have a long-term, coordinated plan of attack. Following 30 years as an Army Engineer officer, I went to work as a market...

Help your organization commit to framing diversity and inclusion in a positive light. Examine your own biases and try to be accountable. When I was in middle school, I was relentlessly bullied by a girl...

Project delivery is much more difficult than filling up the fridge at home, but there are plenty of similarities, too. Good project management that includes a thorough planning process is key to successful project delivery....

Having the ability to offer candidates participation in the ESOP may provide your company a benefit your competition cannot offer.

Pre-project analysis is critical if you want strong business development through profitable projects and happy clients. And yes, it’s a process. The Gateway Engineers, Inc. is a full-service civil engineering firm with a diverse group...

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

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...

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

What engineers need to know (but often don’t) about this critical financial tool and how it can help a firm succeed. At JBCI, one of our guiding principles is transparency. We embrace sharing relevant financial...

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

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

I was thinking about social media and what a phenomenon it is and how it is now such a big part of our culture. Even though the odds are against it, you may be someone...

Zweig Group offers plenty of opportunities for education and training, but among the crown jewels are The Principals Academy and CEO Roundtable. If you work in the AEC industry, it almost goes without saying that...

So you got the position you wanted, but that’s just the first step. You have to (help) create something bigger than yourself. Last month I wrote about my good fortune of meeting Art Gensler and...

Shared values among staff are certainly important, but if a good fit is all you’re looking for, your firm could go stale. Editor’s note: This post first appeared on the Perkins + Will blog at...

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...

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...

The Spearin Doctrine: Public owners do not shed all design risk by contracting for design-build if there are specified criteria upon which the design-builder is to rely. On government projects you may sometimes hear a...

There are a few ways to transition out of your firm. The internal transition is popular because it has great value and keeps the firm going. At some point in every A/E firm owner’s business...

To save scarce resources, provide enhanced services, and reduce costs, the trend is to look at multiples of buildings as a district with common utilities. The emphasis on water and energy conservation and enhanced security...

Now is a good time to make good on your 2018 work resolution to improve your team by turning the saboteurs into loyalists. The new year brings with it the opportunity for change, growth, and...

For many, growth means losing their beloved workplace. But think again. Growth can mean increased capabilities, not increased numbers. We talk a lot about growth here at Zweig Group. It’s a philosophy that underpins all...

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

You can leverage M&A to accelerate strategic shifts and implement your growth strategy, but there are plenty of risks along with the reward. While M&A is not a strategy in and of itself, it is...

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

The rationalization process is all about determining what is working and what is not – especially with a sharp eye to the future. Most companies are doing very well these days and the effort to...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 21, 2017) – Zweig Group just released the 2017 Principals, Partners and Owners of Architecture, Engineering, Planning and Environmental Consulting Firms Survey. For nearly 30 years, Zweig Group has surveyed the industry’s...

While the lure of them is understandable, there are probably better, more human ways of evaluating candidates before you hire them. Some people are enamored with personality tests. But despite their popularity in certain circles,...

Regardless of what else the future holds for B2B marketing, one thing is certain: Content marketing is here to stay. Marketing communications. Social media. Graphic design. Media relations. Proposals. Internal communications. Event engagement. Brand management....

If you’re looking to sell, it’s critical you attract the right buyers with a detailed yet concise overview of your firm. The M&A transaction “teaser” is the first document that a prospective buyer will review...

If your firm does not have a well-crafted system for handing out employee bonuses, you run the risk of creating the haves and the have nots. 2016 was a good year in the domestic A/E...

Succession planning is tough, but if you put a plan in place and are careful to re-evaluate as circumstances change, you can succeed. Every privately-held/family-owned business can bank on a change in ownership and a...

President and CEO of Jones|Carter (Best Firm Multidiscipline #17 and Hot Firm #18 for 2016), a 465-person engineering firm based in Houston, Texas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The board must conduct itself as a board...

President and one of the founding partners of San Diego-based Rincon Consultants, Inc. (Hot Firm #35 for 2016), a 115-person environmental planning and engineering firm. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Mike Gialketsis shares his insights on...

Sounds like a straight-forward question, but it’s not. There are multiple metrics that can be used to determine a firm’s value. What’s the firm worth? I hear that question more than any other, from buyers...

As a firm grows, new people have to come on board. But if those people threaten to damage your culture and sink the ship, you can always toss them back out to sea. We tell...

Sounds like a straight-forward question, but it’s not. There are multiple metrics that can be used to determine a firm’s value. What’s the firm worth? I hear that question more than any other, from buyers...

Over the years, we have developed work styles that are not good for our physical, mental, or emotional health, but that can be changed. Taking these tips to heart can really change the health of...

When recruiting big talent, don’t let little details in the benefits package get in the way of making a winning offer. I’m amazed at the need that exists out there for great talent. Firms in...

Even if the strategic planning process turns out as hoped, it can still be an adventure with plenty of thrills and spills. Strategic planning connotes an organized, step-by-step effort. It’s true, but it’s also quite...

In the form of growth, profitability, and important projects, multidiscipline firm based in upstate New York is reaping the benefits of a well-executed ownership transition. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent In 1977, when Wayne Wegman joined...

You have to keep your firm moving if you hope to stay ahead of the competition, and if you want your firm to age gracefully. If you’ve ever spent any time at the beach, you...

No two M&As are alike, and the more you know about them, the better prepared you are for the unknowns. Westwood’s long-term plan includes organic growth and the strategic procurement of companies and people that...

End-of-year bonuses and evaluations are obsolete. Try monthly or quarterly perks for your staff. It's clear to me that A/E firms are all in a huge rut when it comes to how they pay their...

Here are some tips to get the most out of your strategic plan and realize your firm’s aspirational goals. How much does a strategic plan cost? If you hire a consultant, pull your senior-leadership away...

Although Zweig Group's M&A Survey offers a variety of responses to the question "why are you considering an acquisition", there are, essentially, only two reasons that firms pursue inorganic growth. These reasons are to either...

The successful management of architectural and engineering projects in today's challenging environment is something of a science that has been evolving over the centuries. Project management has existed in some form for thousands of years,...

In my line of work, I talk "big picture" about modeling acquisition outcomes and the pros and cons of stock swaps. But anyone who has worked in the M&A business long enough will be the...

Architectural colleague shares new scale for assessing employees’ impact on the firm, community, world in areas of attitude, capability, performance. I’ve always been skeptical of the “performance review” style of evaluating. I believe in a...

Maser Consulting P.A. (Red Bank, NJ), a 500-person multidiscipline engineering consulting firm, is the fourth place winner in the External Newsletter category of Zweig Group’s 2015 Marketing Excellence Awards for its new brochure package. Due...

Take an honest look at your client relationship and ask yourself if it’s still mutually beneficial; if it’s not, it is time to do the hard thing. In addition to working at Zweig Group, I...

This is part one of a two-part series on the acquisition process, written by Jamie Claire Kiser, Director of M&A Services, and Ryan Renard, Financial Analyst/Consultant. Part one focuses on the search phase of an...

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

A/E/P and environmental firms have tons to juggle, but ensuring that your company is finding the best candidates to fill openings should top the list. Recruitment is important to the health of a company, and,...

Niche positions sometimes require out-of-the-box thinking, increased diligence, and willingness to pivot in order to fill them. Finding the best and brightest people to work at your firm may require you to think outside the...

The manager-producer dilemma and how it can affect your course. I am reflecting on the month of January as I write this. I was in the office for one business day and on the road...

Take the time to share with new hires your wisdom about why things are the way they are and how they got that way. What happens when someone joins your firm? Do you merely sit...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 999 Originally published 3/18/2013 The pillars of a successful company can be distilled into two words. A client recently asked me to make...

By W. Hobson Hogan Principal, ZweigWhite Consulting In today’s environment, many firms believe that they must become more diversified and larger to compete. In most cases, firms turn to mergers and acquisitions as a way...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 991 Originally published 1/28/2013 When the sky is a different color on the other side, the likelihood of coming to an agreement is...

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

Press Release: Sept. 9, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Sept. 9, 2011) – In recognition of exceptional marketing efforts of architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms in the United States and Canada, ZweigWhite announces the winners...

By Christine Brack Principal, Business Planning Consulting ZweigWhite Our industry is not immune to buzzwords. In fact, there are several dozen tossed around at any given moment. Value proposition has been around for a while....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 7, 2011 Press Contact: Christina Zweig (479) 582-5700 direct (800) 466-6275 corporate (479) 445-7564 mobile ZweigWhite, LLC P.O. Box 1528 Fayetteville, AR 72702-1528 christinaz@zweigwhite.com www.zweigwhite.com FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (July 7, 2011) –...

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

Press Release: 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...

1. Buy-Side Representation ZWEIGWHITE has been focused on business management services, research and information for architecture, engineering and environmental consulting firms since 1988. As such, we are uniquely qualified to find the right business(es) to...

By Christine Brack, PMP, ZweigWhite A CEC of Metropolitan Washington invited me to present a session on Effective Communication in February to their emerging leaders and other distinguished constituents. Good techniques and best practices are...

Press Release: January 20, 2011 The 2011 The Zweig Letter Marketing Excellence Awards will recognize the most innovative and effective marketing strategies in the architecture, engineering, planning, construction and environmental consulting industry. The competition will...

With clients not in any hurry to pay their bills and banks clamping down on firms that are non-compliant with their loan covenants, now more than ever is the time to do what it takes...

More and more design and environmental firms are adding outsiders to their Boards of Directors. There are many reasons for doing so but that’s not the point of this article. Instead, what I want to...

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

Thankfully, just about every A/E or environmental firm does a business plan these days. I no longer have to relentlessly beat my drum here in The Zweig Letter on all the reasons to do so!...

The year is barely underway, and I am already hearing complaints from A/E/P and environmental firm owners: It’s time to be more profitable! This will sound like a bold claim. But the truth is, I’ve...

When I first got out of graduate school with my MBA back in 1980, I went to work for a consulting/recruiting firm in St. Louis that specialized in serving the construction and real estate development...

I can’t tell you how many business planning meetings I have sat in on in large firms where someone comes up with the novel idea of checking all project deliverables before they go out. It’s...

In the nineties, executive coaching became a popular management fad, particularly outside of the A/E/P and environmental industry. So while budget cutbacks in Fortune 500 and high-tech companies have eliminated a lot of these expenditures,...

Robert stompeas felt good. he felt really good. There was a heck of a lot of satisfaction that came from having a great year when so many other firms were having a lousy one. Nautso-Lethargi...

In some previous articles we’ve talked about principals who are too involved and wreak havoc on budgets and schedules due to their last minute involvement on projects. But there’s another problem, and it may be...

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...

While we’re big believers in building a brand name for your firm through a variety of means so your phone rings off the hook with new opportunities, we also know that somebody has to eventually...

Believe it or not, some people don’t like the term “human resources management.” They think it diminishes individuals in some way, and by referring to “human resources” we might as well be talking about “natural...

The recent acquisition of Woodward-Clyde Group (Denver, CO) by URS Corporation (San Francisco, CA) is just one big deal among many, many other smaller deals that are going on weekly in the A/E/P and environmental...

From my experience, I’d say that most owners and managers of A/E/P and environmental firms have forgotten that recruiting is selling. Instead of trying to create the best impression they can on every person who...

Every once in awhile I feel compelled to unload a few disconnected thoughts that might be of value to our readers. This is one of those times: Company cars: When it comes to picking company...

Sometimes I think the owners and managers of A/E and environmental firms need a strong dose of realism. We seem to want to bury our heads in the sand to avoid the obvious, or wish...

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not the sentimental type. But I must say— I love the people who work here. I love them because they work so hard, they never complain,...

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...

On Monday, December 20, 1993, William Edwards Deming, the 93-year-old management guru of Total Quality Management (TQM) died in his sleep. A statistician with a doctorate in Physics from Yale, Deming was credited with engineering...

TQM (Total Quality Management) for A/E/P firms is nothing more than a fad. I’d be willing to bet right here and now that in two or three years, you won’t hear anything about it. TQM...