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By Wendy Travis | When partnerships are grounded in purpose and guided by care, they endure – creating better outcomes for clients and communities. 

By John McGill | AI may speed up rendering and iteration in AEC, but human judgment still determines accuracy, compliance, and meaningful design innovation.

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

By Mark Zweig | Balancing growth and profitability is essential for long-term value creation and success in AEC firm valuation strategies.

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

By Mark Zweig | Effective outside directors provide expertise and valuable relationships, enhancing AEC firm success with strategic guidance and forward-focused leadership.

By Mark Zweig | Those of us in the AEC business need to do a better job educating the general populace about the benefits of smart development.

By Stjepan Mikulić | This approach ensures the foundation of change is built on a solid understanding of human behavior, enabling more sustainable firm-wide implementation.

By Adrian De la Garza | CEO of UES, an industry leader with more than six decades of experience in geotechnical engineering, materials testing, environmental consulting, and more.

By David Keith | Prioritizing diversity, evolving leadership structures, nurturing emerging leaders, and fostering a sense of ownership drives innovation and collaboration.

By Shirley Che | ElevateHER® is identifying sustainable workforce solutions to address our industry’s recruiting and retention challenges.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Michael Graves Architecture, an innovative architecture and design company that provide services around the world for clients in multiple industries.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Schaefer (Cincinnati, OH), a firm that provides all aspects of structural engineering across a broad range of projects and industries.

By Adrian De la Garza | Insights and considerations that can help you decide if you’re ready to buy another firm.

By Eric Wilson | With the right set of values and organizational alignment, you may find yourself in a positive feedback loop where shared principles guide you toward collective goals.

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

By Mitch Fortner | To be effective over the long-term for an organization, our personal ambition must be grounded in mutual respect, collaborative teamwork, and integrity.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of MKSK, a collective of planners, urban designers, and landscape architects who are passionate about the interaction between people and place.

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

By Mercedez Thompson | It’s worthwhile to continue conversations around what marketing is and is not and why it’s critical to your bottom line.

By Angelique Silvestre | Companies can still create strong team bonds by using technology to implement team building activities that foster company values, trust, and friendship among co-workers.

By Justin Smith | Write your project goals in ink and your plan in pencil, because you’ll likely need to make some changes and adapt your plan as your project unfolds.

By Josh Blair | This intriguing and fulfilling career path leads to new experiences, new opportunities, and new ways to expand your skills every day.

By Brian King | Firms with a strongly integrated multigenerational workforce will experience tremendous power and opportunity for success over the next number of years.

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

By Liisa Andreassen | President of KSA (Longview, TX), an industry leader that provides a broad range of engineering, architecture, planning, surveying, and construction management services.

President of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (Houston, TX), a civil engineering firm that delivers exceptional quality and measurable value for the nation’s infrastructure.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | This year’s cohort has picked up where last year’s group left off – taking on creative ideas to solve both historic and emerging challenges.

By Eddie Wade | Burnout is blazing through workplaces at a rapid pace and negatively impacting productivity, morale, and retention.

By Stephanie Warino | The principles of Organizational Project Management can guide a firm through the steps of scaling an organization.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Lawrence Group (St. Louis, MO), an integrated design, development, and construction firm using the power of people with great ideas to bring clients’ dreams to life.

The texture of varying beliefs, values, and backgrounds inform how we see the world, and are at the very core of our ability to serve our clients and community.

Educating yourself about these biases as well as potential strategies for mitigation can help you avoid prejudice in your decision-making.

Taking a break and letting your mind wander can bring a fresh perspective and the extra boost you need to make it through the day a happier, healthier you.

President and CEO of Integrated CM Solutions (San Antonio, TX), a program/construction management firm that’s had more than $800 million worth of projects since 2015.

Co-founder and principal at CWE (Fullerton, CA), a  civil engineering, water resources, and environmental engineering firm whose experts pledge to create a better tomorrow, today.

CEO of A&E Architects (Billings, MT), a firm that believes all disciplines can live together within any given project.

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

President and CEO of LACO (Best Firm Multi-discipline #46 for 2018), a California firm with a famously branded shirt.

Portland office leader for PCS Structural Solutions believes in the legacy of engineering as a community builder.

President and CEO of CME (Hot Firm #36 for 2018), an engineering firm headquartered in Connecticut that refuses to be affordable and mediocre. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “If we cannot grow fast enough to provide...

President, Choice One Engineering Corp. (Best Firm Civil #2 for 2018), a 45-person firm based in Dayton, Ohio. By Richard Massey Managing Editor “Work-life balance is a phrase thrown around a lot, but we believe...

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...

CEO & president of Bennett & Pless (Best Firm #11 Structural for 2018), a 50-person firm based in Atlanta, GA. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “ROI for investment in our business is far higher than any...

COO of Aguirre & Fields, LP (Best Firm Multi-discipline #27 for 2018), a 120-person engineering firm based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “If you haven’t started planning for ownership transition, you’re behind and you...

Jamie Claire, Zweig Group's director of consulting looks at valuation from a merger & acquisition perspective: EBITDA is the most common valuation metric in M&A, but I agree with Warren Buffett - “When CEOs tout...

Could it be your final act of leadership? If you are a CEO or partner and do not have it, please consider changing the scenario. The A/E/P and environmental consulting industry has many unique qualities,...

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...

How you dress and how you work send a powerful statement to everyone around you – just make sure it’s the right one. A company has a brand, and so do you. It’s called your...

President and CEO of Hargrove Engineers + Constructors, a Mobile, Alabama-based company with 1,200-teammates in 11 states. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent For Hargrove, success starts with company culture. In fact, he says, culture to a...

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...

President and CEO of Ghafari, a big Michigan firm, has broadened its services, allowing it to weather tough times and maintain an era of growth. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent As president and CEO of Ghafari...

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

And since they are, follow these eight tips to improve their effectiveness. What is a job posting? C’mon, think about it. It’s simply an advertisement. Aren’t you advertising an opening that you want to fill?...

Make your company stronger by involving marketing folks in the sales process. I recently attended a SMPS “Spring Training” one day seminar in Oklahoma. The first speaker, Carolyn Ferguson, asked several probing questions about developing...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 1001 Originally published 4/1/2013 Not all PMs are stars. Rattling their cage a bit may just help them rise. I was at our...

By Tracey Jeffers Principal, Valuation Consulting ZweigWhite I have found that the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry has many unique qualities, but one I find intriguing when compared with other industries is the longevity of...

By Tracey Jeffers Principal, Valuation Consulting ZweigWhite I recently worked on a valuation engagement for a project management firm involving minority shareholder value in a litigation. Besides the relevant financial data, one of the first...

By Mark C. Zweig What does it really take to be an effective consultant? This is a question I am constantly being asked as well as asking myself. We are all in the consulting business....

As usual, this year’s Zweig Letter Hot Firm Conference & Celebration in Boston drew a great crowd. We had the typical smiling, optimistic, high-growth A/E and environmental firm principals and managers in abundance and it...

Last Saturday morning a friend of mine, Peter Sisk, called to see if he could stop by my house on his way out of town to visit his aging parents in Hartford. He had the...

Last week, we held our first-ever conference on mergers and acquisitions, the 2003 AEC Mergers & Acquisitions Summit, at the Omni Parker House in Boston. It was a successful event with a wide range of...

The amount of BS that exists out there on management and marketing for firms in our business is beyond belief. Just check out the program from the most recent American Institute of Architects (AIA) (Washington,...

This week, I thought I’d dedicate my column to answering some of the recurring questions we are asked about the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry. Here goes: Should salaried people be paid for overtime? I...