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By Greg Sepeda | The best leaders resist false choices and build the capacity to operate within tension while maintaining clarity, discipline, and forward momentum.

By Tristan Harper | Construction contracts are not professional services contracts, and confusing the two creates uninsured risk for AEC firms.

By Matt Cooper | Most AEC firms stall at key growth stages where outdated people, processes, and technology can no longer support scale.

By Mark Zweig | Great planning forces hard choices, clear accountability, and alignment across the entire firm.

By Aaron Quesada | By adapting to shifting expectations, embracing innovation, and acting with integrity, firms can become indispensable partners in their clients’ growth and success.

By Steven Rushmore | As technology advances, AEC firms must embrace digital adoption to secure long-term success.

By Chad Surprenant | A one-profit-center approach encourages teamwork across offices and disciplines, minimizing silos and supporting sustainable, firm-wide growth.

By Robert Jones | Understanding the difference between FAR overhead audits and compilations helps AEC firms secure DOT contracts and avoid costly setbacks.

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

By Will Swearingen | Firms that are truly boosting profitability aren’t just raising rates; they’re reengineering how they charge.

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

By Fred Smith | AI-driven conversational interfaces offer leaders instant, data-driven insights, streamlining decision-making for enhanced efficiency and profitability.

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

This report details some of the biggest trends and movements regarding M&A activity in the AEC industry as of the end of Q2 2024.

By Jared Maxwell & Cady Sinks | AEC firms see growth opportunities amid gradual U.S. economic rebound clouded by insurer concerns over inflation, claim costs, higher risks.

By Kristin Kautz | In the rapidly evolving universe of AI, firms willing to “go big” will be at the forefront of transformation – with all of the risk and reward that implies.

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

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...

By Alec Russell | The Zweig Index reports on 11 of the AEC industry's leading firms on a monthly basis. This installment details the financial standing of NV5.

By Mike Woeber | What really changed with the federal research and development credit for 2022 tax purposes.

By Sol Sim | It is in the interest of both the project owner and contractor to critically review risks and allocate them to the party most capable of controlling them.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Campos Engineering (Dallas, TX), an MEP engineering, testing, adjusting and balancing, and commissioning firm.

By Yukari Yamahiro | Four back-to-work-archetypes to help leaders better understand what employees want and need as they return to the workplace.

By Mark Zweig | Only a small number of people really get the idea that building a business is not a sprint – it’s an endurance race. It is all about who can last the...

By Rob Hughes | With the market hardening for AEC professional liability insurance, an accurate and complete application may help keep your firm’s premium as low as possible.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Hardesty & Hanover (New York, NY), a world-renowned full-service engineering firm with more than 130 years of experience.

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

By Justin Ramirez | Nothing is as certain as death and taxes. But an owner’s retirement can be, too. If done correctly, an owner’s retirement and its benefits can be just as certain as death...

President and CEO of Ramey Kemp & Assoc. (Raleigh, NC), a transportation engineering, planning, and design firm founded in 1992.

There’s a push for architects and engineers to consider the safety of construction and maintenance workers when designing new structures.

President and CEO of Tectonic Engineering & Surveying Consultants P.C. (Hot Firm #89 for 2018), a 500-person multifaceted engineering firm based in Mountainville, NY. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Years ago we tried the sales force...

An experienced insurance advisor can help design firms find the coverage and program structure required to address their evolving needs. A new survey by Ames & Gough of 17 leading insurance companies providing A/E professional...

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...

Banish profit centers in small to midsize firms. Focus on your people by letting each do what each is best qualified to do. An engineering, architecture or planning professional services firm can be very successful...

CEO of The Thrasher Group (Hot Firm #77 for 2016), a 350-person architecture, engineering, and survey consulting firm based in Bridgeport, West Virginia. “By definition, a good project manager is someone who delivers. Period,” says...

In states that adhere to the ELD, design professionals have a strong defense against third-party claims for economic damages. Know the law in your project state. Law books are full of various “doctrines” that have...

Sustainable design is becoming a must, but you need to drill down to the roots of every project to get the most out of the process. First, full disclosure, I have never been a “climate...

A successful marketing campaign is difficult to measure using hard metrics, so don’t get caught in the quicksand of trying to quantify nebulous numbers. It’s Monday, 9 a.m., and as you get comfortable in an...

President of WestLAND Group, Inc. (Best Firm #41 Multi-discipline and Hot Firm #45 for 2017), a full-service civil engineering and land surveying firm based in Ontario, California. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “It’s important to identify...

Try employing a project management accountant to support the project manager, and watch the work and the cash flow improve. In supporting many of the firms that we work with, we find varying models of...

If improperly worded, they not only can shift significant risks, but do so in ways that leave design professionals exposed to potentially large claims. A critical component of effective risk management for design firms involves...

Even minor changes in contract language can create major liability and insurance issues for design firms, so be aware of what’s out there and act accordingly. Today’s contracts involving design firms and owners, project managers...

Several organizations have found that bringing financial management staff onto the project management team results in heaven-sent synergies. In Zweig Group’s consulting practice, we see many firms grapple with the interface between project managers and...

Have a conversation about project details and fees so you can staff them right and finish work on time, preferably below the allocated fee. On the architecture and engineering professions, we measure everything by time....

Press Release: February 22, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, AR (February 22, 2011) — Architects, engineers, project owners and others wishing to work collaboratively under a delivery method known as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) may have a found...

As the economy inches its way toward improvement, we are seeing A/E/P and environmental firms rekindling their interest in merger and acquisition activities. In fact, it’s almost a mini-boom of activity that’s occurring right now....

Jose Piranha listened to his two partners, Stephanie Straighthair and Jason Loseria, discuss how to dole out the firm’s profits in the coming year. They were sitting at their favorite table at Hugo’s, the little...

As hard as it may seem to believe, 1999 is already wrapping up. We’re into the last quarter of the year now. Over the next couple of months, many A/E/P and environmental firms will be...

There is a lot of merger and acquisition activity today. It seems like just about everybody is looking to buy or merge with someone else. We’ve never seen a higher level of interest in acquisitions....