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By Chad Coldiron | The AEC industry is facing uncertainty, but leaders remain optimistic, practical, and focused on adapting to what comes next.

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

By Mark Zweig | A cautionary AEC story about control, delayed succession, and how avoiding transition can undo decades of good work.

By Chris Catton | Having the right people on your board may be the most valuable investment you make for the future of your firm.

By Mark Zweig | Most AEC firms play it safe with bland marketing, but bold, consistent outreach is what actually drives results.

By Mark Zweig | Practical career advice for new AEC graduates on landing a great job and accelerating early career success.

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

By Morgan Stinson | Low trust in workplaces incurs a hidden cost, hindering efficiency, innovation, and collaboration.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Sunrise Engineering (Fillmore, UT), a full-service professional engineering and consulting firm that has been providing its services since 1978.

By Janki DePalma | Recognizing this bias helps managers and company leaders create spaces where everyone can thrive. 

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

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team here. Domestic Transactions:...

By Liisa Andreassen | Founder, design principal, and CEO at Snow Kreilich Architects (Minneapolis, MN), a nationally recognized, award winning architectural studio.

By Tangram Interiors | CEO of Tangram Interiors (Santa Fe Springs, CO), encourages leaders to be intentional about striking the right balance between remote and physical workspaces.

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

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

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Prein&Newhof (Grand Rapids, MI), a 100 percent employee-owned firm that is dedicated to thinking ahead, building lasting relationships, and crafting long-term solutions.

By Stephen Lucy | In the past year, we’ve learned a great deal about how we can do better and have begun to seize opportunities created by 2020.

By Sara Parkman | Improved representation improves our ability to problem-solve, to be strategic with our strengths, and to think critically and comprehensively about topics.

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

By Chad Coldiron | Practice becoming a better communicator, and you’ll build better rapport and credibility with clients, colleagues, and just about everyone else.

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

When you don’t meet your commitments, you disappoint people and they remember it. If people can’t count on you, they won’t hire or promote you.

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

By Eduardo Smith | Company culture, employee engagement, and morale are often the differentiators between common and great companies.

Communication, decentralized decision-making, and rapid assessment and implementation are key, in both disaster response and your business.

If you are within the leadership group of your company, there are times when you may need to purge your leadership team to move forward.

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.

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

Find your ‘why’ and ‘how,’ make a plan, and – with the help of a few strong mergers – achieve astronomical growth.

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...

CEO and founder of Sam Schwartz Consulting, LLC (Hot Firm #67 and Best Firm #49 Multidiscipline for 2018), a 130-person transportation planning firm based in New York City. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Ownership transitions, especially...

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...

Tribes provide compelling places for support, validation, and direction, but tribalism cannot be allowed to thwart a firm’s success. I chose psychology as a major in college because I thought it would help me understand...

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...

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...

Ditch the sleazy misconceptions. When you’re talking about how much enjoyment and pride you take in your work, and making connections, you’re selling. What sets you apart? That question is asked of all of us...

President and COO of DCI Engineers (Hot Firm #62 for 2017), a 320-person Seattle firm with offices in seven states. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Start early,” Heeringa says of ownership transition. “Make it a standard...

Architect Richard Cuebas is the co-founder and vice president of Integra Design Group, which has offices in San Juan, Santo Domingo, and Charlotte, NC. A native of Puerto Rico, Cuebas visited the island in the...

CEO and chairman of Mead & Hunt (#82 Hot Firm for 2017), a 592-person national firm offering services in planning, design, architecture, and engineering. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There is something to be said for...

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...

Nancy Ruddy is a big reason why the firm she cofounded, CetraRuddy, continues to grow and evolve, and can solve complex problems. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent It all started in 1987 in the living room...

Historic overhaul of outdated, overcrowded transit center in Manhattan is on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's to-do list. By Richard Massey Managing Editor One of the largest infrastructure projects in the United States begins in...

A few weeks ago, I wrote a short article about how important it is for firm owners to understand the value of their business. The point of the piece was to address the real threat...

Even proponents of ‘never say never’ will likely agree that these gaffes should never be committed. Though one of my favorite sayings is “never say never,” the fact is, if you work in an A/E...

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...

Hot buttons, communication preferences, politics are just a few elements to know how – or how not – to address. It occurred to me the other day how crucial it is to really know your...

Mark Zweig offers six pointers that will help resolve conflict inside the company. Professional services firms such as architecture and engineering companies are owned and run by smart people. I’ve said it before – as...

Press Release: September 1, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (September 1, 2011) – It’s hard to overcome adversity! Politics, the government, and the economy are major thorns in the side for many architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental...

You know, when it comes down to it, there are really only a few different money-making models for A/E/P and environmental firms that seem to work over time. By “work,” I mean provide enough growth...

When it comes to mergers and acquisitions of A/E and environmental firms, there’s so much misinformation out there. Common misconceptions abound, such as: You can’t sell a firm that isn’t profitable. Not true. Nearly every...

With my work as a board member for the College of Business at Southern Illinois University, and the teaching I’m doing at the University of Arkansas this semester, I have found myself giving a lot...

Every single A/E or environmental firm in this country needs more people who can sell work. These people feed the rest of the firm, allow the owners to sleep at night, and are generally the...

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...

When it comes to leadership, there are many different paths that lead to the same destination. Attila the Hun, Moses, Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Tom Peters, and even our kindergarten teachers can all be pointed to...

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

Here are some quick thoughts on a few issues: Pay or don’t buy. There have been a number of articles in the business press recently dealing with ethics issues. One that I read involved a...

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...

I CAN ADMIT IT. I haven’t always been entirely charitable to business development people in A/E/P and environmental firms. I’ve met too many of them who were too good on the golf course, too quick...

Goodness, how times change. Can you imagine what your reaction would have been five, or even three years ago, if a management consultant advised you to get out of the environmental consulting business and move...

You’re all aware of it. The “circular theory,” otherwise known as “what goes around comes around.” It’s one of nature’s laws that seems to hold true as much as the laws of physics. If you’re...

There’s a good article in the September 9, 1996, edition of The Wall Street Journal, entitled “How to Survive When I Take the Reins.” It’s in the “Manager’s Journal” section and was written by Albert...

We finally received notice a few weeks ago that Zweig White & Associates was selected for the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest-growing privately held firms in the U.S. It’s something we are certainly...

If you talked with as many people in A/E/P and environmental consulting firms as I have over the years, you would soon discover that “office politics” is a dirty term in our industry. Engineers, architects,...

There is simply no excuse for rudeness— in the A/E/P business, or in any business for that matter. Rude people turn off, or even worse, visibly upset clients, contractors, vendors, consultants, and employees. I like...

You would think that architects and engineers would pay better attention to the location of their own office space. For many firms, location analysis and site selection for office facilities is part of the work...