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By Mark Zweig | Non-performing partners create resentment, weaken accountability, and send dangerous signals throughout an AEC firm.

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

By Mark Zweig | Strong leaders address underperformance directly, clearly, and quickly before it damages culture, client relationships, and team morale.

By Rachel Gresham | Culture erodes when organizations ask people to behave one way while systems, incentives, and authority structures reward another.

By Jeremy Clarke | Micromanagement is hated, but accountability often wears that label when underperformance finally meets real leadership attention.

By Morgan Stinson | Lessons from The Bear show AEC leaders the value of purpose, process, development, and treating every client like a VIP.

By Jeremy Clarke | Handle hidden tension before it blows – eroding trust, culture, and leadership credibility.

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

By Kyle Ahern | Managers who build trust empower employees to be more receptive to feedback and more motivated to improve.

By Mark Zweig | You don’t have to be a genius to figure out what you are doing to demotivate people; you just have to stop doing whatever it is now!

By Mark Zweig | Work should be an integral part of life, so why do so many people working in AEC firms clearly not feel that way?

By Jeremy Clarke | Use these four common sense pillars to build your firm’s compensation strategy.

By Janki DePalma | When you notice feelings of resentment, take a moment to explore what that warning sign is trying to tell you before it escalates into something more.

By Mark Zweig | There are many factors that can create highly motivated people – some within your control as an employer and some not.

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

By Mark Zweig | Know the pros and cons of both, and don’t kid yourself about the ramifications of either insisting everyone be there or allowing people to work remotely.

By Julia DeFrances | Creating an engaging culture across multiple offices is a challenge that requires constant diligence.

By Mark Zweig | You can’t make people do what you want, so you must get your people to realize you’re all on the same team.

By Mark Zweig | There are many ways to show courage, and Jerry Allen showed real courage in his willingness to confront every single obstacle in his life.

By Mark Zweig | When people are demotivated they become negative and cynical, and can pollute the attitudes of their co-workers. And if they’re really demotivated, they may quit.

Changing your mindset and discarding your assumptions allows you to start a dialogue to improve performance, relationships, and model the type of leadership that you want to see in others.

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

In recently revising our own policy manual here at Zweig Group, it became apparent to us that we cannot have a policy that addresses every single thing that someone in our employ could do (or...

After just two years, they want to be the CEO. Molding the go-getters (early on) is crucial if you don’t want them to leave for better opportunities at another firm. OK, two years might be...

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...

Some people think of it as a four-letter word, but when accountability is backstopped by reasonable policies, it can make your business better. If there is one issue that I have heard repeatedly in working...

Fight the brain drain by reducing burnout, building resilience, and making sure employees are empowered and engaged. Most leaders of companies today recognize the importance of having engaged people at work. Yet research from the...

Handle the difficult conversations by knowing who you are, learning about other people, and knowing what’s needed to win. This time he went too far. Milo, your senior engineer, will not budge on his code...

Anyone who knows me can tell you I’m about as “New Age” as the 1930 Model A Ford sitting in my garage awaiting its flathead V-8 transplant. That said, there really is something to the...

It’s time for a quick review of what firm leaders should – and should not – be doing. There are a lot of people with the “principal” title in A/E of environmental firms. But I...

Friendships are not only good for the soul, their good for business, so make as many of them as you can if you want your firm to prosper. Personal engagement with clients determines so much...

If a firm wants to succeed at a high level, it must keep a keen eye on the documents, and have an ear for what the client needs. It’s my experience that too many firms...

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...

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,...

If you are a target of bitterness, here’s four tips from Mark Zweig on how to deal with it. ​On a recent flight to go see some clients in South Florida, Chad Clinehens and I...

Press Release: August 15, 2011 Time to love thy neighbor or raise the draw bridge? A/E/P Experts have mixed feelings on when to share information and if it’s always beneficial. FAYETTEVILLE, AR (August 9, 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...

With the consolidation wave just starting to gain momentum in the A/E/P and environmental industry, it seemed appropriate to get into a subject that many firms in our business seem to have an ongoing problem...

As someone who has worked, studied, and written about this business for 28 years now, I thought today is as good as any day to share some of what I’ve learned. Here it goes: What...

After 28 years of working in and around A/E/P and environmental firms, it is clear that there are many good firms and only a few truly great firms in this business. The “truly great” firms...

There’s an old expression frequently heard around these parts— “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” My experience is this one really applies to the people who work in A/E/P and environmental firms. Those who ask...

I was talking with a woman recently who started her own design firm a couple years ago. Her passion for her work and her business was fantastic. She thought about it/planned/worked every waking hour. She...

We held our 2004 AEC Mergers and Acquisitions Summit at the Biltmore in Coral Gables, Florida, the first week in December. The food and accommodations were great, and the meetings were a success. As someone...

It seems to me that I am running into a greater number of pissed off people working in client organizations as of late. Maybe it’s the winter blues. Or maybe it’s war threat induced economic...

Buying and absorbing another enterprise into your own is never easy. A/E/P and environmental consulting firms may be especially difficult as they have very few assets. Aside from a good (or bad) name, some computers...

Ask a CEO or managing partner of the typical A/E/P or environmental firm what keeps him or her up at night and you know what you’ll hear? It probably won’t be “selling work” or “getting...

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...

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,...

I would be surprised if more than one of our readers hasn’t said to themselves recently, “We really ought to be thinking about what we’ll do if things slow down.” Well get ready folks, it’s...

I spend more of my billable time helping A/E/P and environmental consulting firms with their business planning than anything else. Most firm owners want to do more with their businesses, to be more successful. But...

Anyone who studies human behavior in business organizations can tell you that confidence is a critical quality for leaders to have. This certainly applies to A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. When the leader is confident,...

If you’re anything like me, you hate to fire people. It’s at the top of my “least desirable activities” list, above even performance appraisals, collection calls, cold calls, and dental extractions. Most halfway-decent folks feel...

Let me tell you a little story about two managers. Both head divisions for the same large, international engineering and environmental company. By most any standard, one of the two, who we’ll call “Jed,” is...