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By Janki DePalma | A “hell yeah” mindset helps firms move from fear-based decisions to choices grounded in clarity and strategy.

By Chris Catton | Recruiting is the AEC industry’s biggest challenge, yet most firms still operate without a real recruiting plan.

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

By Zachary Strickland | Successful program managers anticipate risks, guide tough conversations, and create confidence amid complexity.

By Stefanie Richter | Firms at the frontier of change thrive by pairing AI adoption with a culture of agility, data trust, and teams built to adapt at scale.

By Michael Sanderson | This is one of the most powerful tools we have to reduce risk, train effectively, grow sustainably, and do better work.

By Shelby Harvey | Encouraging curiosity at work turns tough questions into opportunities to build trust, share knowledge, and strengthen engagement.

By Mark Zweig | Many AEC firms claim high quality, but without consistent action those promises quickly become hollow words.

By Brandon Pinkerton | People-first leadership demands balance and recognition that caring for individuals shouldn’t come at the cost of organizational purpose.

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

By Mark Zweig | Success comes from bold, consistent marketing efforts that push visibility, build trust, and attract high-quality clients.

By Daryl Simons Jr. | How to create a stronger, more dynamic, and future-ready workplace – where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

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

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

By Javier Suarez | Companies should focus first and foremost on “doing” and then worry about “saying” what they are doing.

By Matt Gross | Build success by fostering strong culture, investing in people and infrastructure, prioritizing cybersecurity, and planning strategically.

By Mark Zweig | Non-responsiveness in professional settings can stem from various reasons but addressing it directly can improve communication.

By Mark Zweig | Flexible job descriptions with clear responsibilities, single reporting lines, and adaptable salary ranges foster employee satisfaction and avoid rigidity.

Kristin Kautz delves into the evolving landscape of AI, emphasizing its transformative potential in business and daily activities. Highlighting tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot, and Unanet's CRM integration, she illustrates how AI can enhance...

By Katherine Wilczek & Ceclia Martin-Smith | While it can be helpful to use generational trends to inform your management practices, it is most important to get to know your employees as individuals. 

By Victoria Verlezza | By implementing these strategies, you can lead virtual meetings that are more inclusive, engaging, and conducive to collaboration among participants.

By Westwood | Lessons learned and outcomes from the initial exploration through the process, and advice for firms looking to pursue an acquisition.

By Linda Schulte | Subconsultants collaborate with diverse specialists to form the best possible team for successful project outcomes.

By Mark Zweig | Take these steps to reduce resistance and increase the likelihood of success for any change initiative.

By Mark Zweig | Parenting is a lot like leadership in a business in that your behavior affects everyone and your actions determine how harshly you will be judged.

By Adam Bugielski | Burnout is a serious condition that can lead to decreased job satisfaction, productivity, and overall well-being – but there are steps you can take to prevent it.

By Matt Hoying | It’s time to give up employee evaluations and instead commit your focus to the enjoyment and fulfillment employees have with their roles in your company.

By Liisa Andreassen | Founder of Indigo River (Nyack, NY), a certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise committed to helping our society evolve together with our environment.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Transition planning takes time, and the results are gradual – but if you do it right, the rewards are endless.

By Matt Hoying | When mistakes happen, it can be difficult to look for the silver lining, but doing so and making the most of it will help your business now and in the future.

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

By Mark Zweig | People who exhibit these qualities are likely to be well-thought of by their people and, more importantly, are able to achieve goals that others deemed impossible.

By Jay Kennedy & Julie Thiel | Be thoughtful in how you approach and manage your emotions, and you will find success building and maintaining meaningful client relationships.

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.

By Liisa Andreassen | Partner at Method Architecture (Houston, TX), a full-service architecture firm that is uniquely ego-free in its commitment to a systematic, client-focused creative process.

By Will Anderson | A few reasons this is one of the safest and most rewarding industries to be in.

By Mark Zweig | Use these tactics to respond to the things that trigger you emotionally and contribute to you losing your temper.

By Will Swearingen | Problems can arise when two leaders have distinctly different philosophies about how to run a business.

By Patrick Schultz | Achieve resilient, sustainable operations while navigating an unprecedented global pandemic and addressing complex disruptions.

By Mitchell Shope | Leveraging reinforcement theory will connect the action to the reward and bolster your firm’s morale and cultural identity.

By Chad Clinehens | 2021 is looking to be a year of increasing freedom, control, and opportunity.

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

By Mark Zweig | What your firm becomes should be the result of a plan, of deliberate efforts. You can and should “design” your design firm.

As an accomplished speaker, consultant, trainer, and business coach, Wilburn helps professionals become better leaders, better communicators, and better people.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | With some ingenuity and proper planning, the AEC industry can adapt and thrive in any climate.

By Mark Zweig | If we care about the success of our people and our businesses, we cannot keep ignoring the importance of people skills.

By Mark Zweig | If we truly want to elevate our people and help them achieve all they can achieve, we must help them be better communicators.

Engineers of the future will solve problems and meet challenges in a different way and through technology that will continue to be dynamic.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Discarding an entire year’s worth of results may be an even greater barrier to future success than our current circumstances.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | What differentiates us now as leaders is our ability to roll with the punches and make sharp, sober decisions.

Understanding others will help you build the connections that will lead to success – in your professional and personal life.

“Whether or not our businesses survive is going to be up to our response to the problem as leaders. It won’t be easy, but this, too, shall eventually pass.”

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

“I find that using some of these other ‘screens’ can actually lead to greater success in buying.”

In this era of recycle/reuse/renew, instead of discarding boilerplate information, we should embrace it.

“People working in this industry can be sensitive. It’s so easy to turn them off – and difficult to get them going again – if you can!” The difference between making and losing money in...

President and CEO of CALYX Engineers + Consultants (Hot Firm #26 for 2018), a 224-person firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent As president and CEO of CALYX, recently acquired by NV5,...

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...

Once you get to be 60, your perspective changes. If you look ahead, you know that you have, on average, another 12 years left to live (longer if you are a woman). And that’s an...

“Clients, co-workers, partners – they aren’t always completely forthright in their communications. Despite this fact, your success ultimately depends on understanding them.” If you work in an AEC firm as a leader or manager, it’s...

  The AEC industry is known for its inward-looking professionals. When it comes to marketing your firm to the outside world, that’s not a good thing. I’m sure everyone has heard the old joke: How...

It’s time to build a list that matters to you, and as you do, don’t let anything stand in your way, including skeptical friends and colleagues. With so many day-to-day responsibilities, it’s easy to postpone...

The art of business is one that is best demonstrated when the organization being managed has sustained success over a period of many years. Rarely does this happen. Surprisingly few companies ever make it to...

Clients have evolved, and if you want stay connected with them, you have to learn who they are, what they want, and where you fit. Change – a simple yet loaded word, particularly these days....

If growth through M&A is part of your strategic plan, be prepared to embrace the integration process with an open mind. Last week we discussed strategic planning and how it is an integral part of...

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...

As with most things in life, there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to going after new work in the AEC industry. This is especially true when times are good, as they...

As the bumper sticker says, "Shit Happens." Unfortunately, it rarely occurs at the ideal time. Problems crop up that you didn't anticipate – health problems, a parent dies, a key employee quits, divorce, IRS audits...

Subscribe to The Zweig Letter for free to receive business management advice from industry experts to your inbox every week! If successful people accomplish 20 time‎s what average people do, unusually successful people accomplish 20 times what successful...

Change is a powerful force, so embrace it, learn from it, and by all means, take account of its effects and be reasonable in dealing with it. Life would be more comfortable if clichés helped....

Firm leaders often think they know what the company needs, but in reality, are looking for answers in the wrong places. I receive a lot of phone calls from firms inquiring about many of Zweig...

My husband and I had dinner one evening last week at one of our favorite local restaurants, an upscale place with a gracious staff and fantastic fare. Or, at least, we went to the restaurant...

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...

Over-confidence going into a proposal or interview can create a self-fulfilling prophecy; front-runners must be sure to wow clients. We have all been there. We find out we are short-listed for that project that we...

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,...

Five things that differentiate entrepreneurs from the rest of the people in the world. I was watching a show on Netflix the other night with my eight-year-old daughter. It was all about humans with superhuman...

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...

The motherload list of truisms that makes Mark Zweig’s blood boil. One benefit of aging has been a certain calmness that I now have that I didn’t have when I was younger. That makes each...

By W. Hobson Hogan Principal, Investment Banking ZweigWhite Owners often ask me when is the best time to sell their firms. It’s a common question. The answer that they are seeking typically hinges on valuation...

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 Hobson Hogan Just as the proverbial third wheel, the statement of cash flows gets summarily skipped over by management. In earnings calls, CFOs spend time talking about sustainable earnings and strong balance sheets. Where...

The first time someone suggested that I needed to have an “ice cream social” to help motivate my employees, I wanted to strangle the guy. Are you kidding me? We have professional employees. Sure— morale...

If you have a firm of any size and have been in business for any length of time, you will at some point discover one of your key people is interviewing with a competitor. You...

When things get ugly in a firm— as they tend to do when the firm’s financial status takes a downturn— you’ll often see fights break out. Some principals form factions with other principals or principal...

On the whole, A/E/P and environmental firms seem to take themselves and their marketing too seriously. Sure— many of you DO have life-and-death responsibilities attached to much of what you do. You are serious people...

I’m getting ready to start teaching a course at The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville this spring semester. It will be a class on entrepreneurship— more specifically,...

It just doesn’t matter what type of business one talks about. Whether you are a housepainter, you sell window blinds, or you are in the architecture, engineering, or environmental consulting business— ALL of your clients,...

If you listen to Tony Soprano talking to his therapist about his rage in recent episodes of “The Sopranos” on HBO, he complains about all the B.S. It just makes him mad. And when he...

Everyone in the A/E or environmental consulting business wants to turn their technical people into sellers. Not a week goes by that the desire to do this isn’t mentioned to me by someone in this...

I was talking with a client of ours the other day— a very successful founder and CEO of a mid-sized engineering, planning, and surveying firm. I asked him the typical pleasantries such as, “How are...

There’s nothing like a little quality time to do nothing but think. Just sitting in a chair or lying back in your hammock… pushing the mower… driving on a long solo drive. I relish those...

When I worked inside an A/E firm as a human resources director, I would occasionally have someone in my office telling me that they wanted to be an associate. And I have to tell you,...

Ever have one of those days where something hits you out of nowhere and it just knocks the wind out of you? It’s so demotivating. You feel like you got kicked in the stomach. These...

I just got back from the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) (Washington, DC) national convention in San Diego (held October 4-6). What a turnout! Their estimates were that they had somewhere between 1,400 and...

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...

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...

I just got back from a business planning retreat one of our Atlanta-based clients held at The Highlands Inn in Highlands, North Carolina. Highlands is an absolutely idyllic small-town setting. It’s like something from another...

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...

Fred White and I just returned from the 14th annual Inc. 500 Conference and Awards Ceremony, which was held this year at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. The event is held to recognize...

We’ve all experienced the joy of doing business with a company that acts as if their people like serving you. It really is a great feeling. Most of the time, it happens with businesses like...

I watched a movie on T.V. the other night titled “Lean on Me,” starring one of my favorite contemporary actors, Morgan Freeman. Freeman played Joe Clark, the inner-city high school principal who had one year...

A solid majority of firms who use direct mail are less than thrilled with the results. In fact, according to our newly published Marketing Survey For A/E/P and Environmental Consulting Firms, 12.5% consider this the...

As Art Linkletter observed: “Kids say the darnedest things.” The other day, my daughter Christina, who is in the first grade, said to me, “Dad, why don’t you do a commercial where you tell everyone...

Ask anyone who has risen to the top of a consulting engineering, A/E, or environmental consulting firm where are the greatest weaknesses in their staff, and they will almost always say it’s in their “soft”...

Many of our readers are already reflecting back on a year that was not so great, financially speaking. But in 1993, some firms will find this cloud really does have a silver lining. Many firms...