Search results

By Duncan Robertson | Referral incentives turn employee connections into one of your firm’s strongest recruiting tools.

By Matt Verderamo | Our future depends on bridging generational gaps through mentorship, field experience, and modern leadership development.

By Alan Lloyd | In a fast-paced AEC world, servant leadership empowers teams, boosts outcomes, and shapes a culture people want to join.

By Mark Zweig | These employees go through the motions without adding value, negatively impacting growth and performance across organizations.

By Mark Zweig | When you work in a crowded field full of many companies that do essentially the same thing, you can either be one of many or you can choose to stand out.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and partner at Hoefer Welker (Kansas City, MO), an interdisciplinary architecture, planning, and interior design firm.

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at JQ (Dallas, TX), a team of professionals providing structural and civil engineering, geospatial, and facility performance services within a diverse group of markets.

By Joseph Lauk | No one is “above” the work of others, and developing staff this way ensures succession within the firm will carry the values of the firm for years to come.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of DOWL, LLC, a firm that offers a wide range of engineering services to public and private clients, from the Arctic Ocean to the Rio Grande.

By Mark Zweig | If you want to be an effective leader, you must help others, build trust, and set the best example every day.

By Linda Schulte | When your team views you as a leader and not just a manager, they will work much harder and be willing to go the extra mile when necessary.

By Liisa Andreassen | CFO of Studio+ (Fort Myers, FL), an architecture and interior design firm focused on design solutions that transform lives.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Hafer (Evansville, IN), a firm that has created environments that impact people’s lives with fun, thoughtful. and inspirational design since 1978.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Raba Kistner, Inc., a firm that is committed to empowering employees to continually improve and deliver services right the first time, on time, every time.

By Liisa Andreassen | Owner of Croft, Inc. (Acworth, GA), a full-service architecture and engineering firm that serves clients nationally in many diverse markets of the public and private sectors.

By Liisa Andreassen | President at MWM Design Group (Austin, TX), a firm that continues to embody its founders’ core values of personal integrity, responsibility, and service.

By Stephen Lucy | Actively work to shape your own legacy, otherwise it will be defined by others and probably not as positive as you would want.

By Chase Miller | Managing through a virtual work environment certainly has its challenges, but it’s more important than ever to persevere and lead.

By Liisa Andreassen | COO of CEC Corporation (Oklahoma City, OK), a multidiscipline firm with a focus on eliminating aging infrastructure and driving community growth through innovative design.

Managing partner at Method Architecture (Houston, TX), a firm that practices ego-free architecture, creatively solves problems, and provides unparalleled customer service.

CEO of Wendel (Williamsville, NY), an innovative AEC and energy efficiency firm that collaborates with clients for a holistic project approach.

President and CEO of Wallace Engineering (Tulsa, OK), a structural and civil engineering consulting firm that believes in being active citizens, in both our profession and communities.

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

Exercise these 12 roles with care and you will be surprised by how many admire and understand why your firm has grown so successfully.

Effecting a real-life leadership transition takes years of planning, and the ability to dismiss entrenched perceptions and past assumptions.

A good attitude and honest effort are central to California engineer’s mission to build a meaningful career.

“Anyone who owns a business today will be better off if they accept certain ‘truths’ about their business, and business in general.” Anyone who owns a business today will be better off if they accept...

Our success, as people and as businesses, depends on the quality and speed of our response to problems and opportunities. This play on the word responsibility is not new, but it has never been more...

I have said it before. I am worn out from all the talk about leadership versus management, Level 5 leadership, servant-leader leadership, and the rest of it. The “L” word – leadership – sure is...

Founder and CEO of GATE (Hot Firm #35 for 2017), a 300-plus person oil and gas engineering consulting company based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “When clients/friends see what we post and comment to...

Listen, read between the lines, communicate, understand your style, and don’t forget to set the tone, solve the crisis, and do the right thing. There is a difference between being a manager versus being a...

We all like and need profits, but there’s more to doing business than the bottom line, and the A/E industry should take heed. I’ve previously written about a group I’ve become active with here in...

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...

Should a hardworking mom be able to ring the bell at work but also pick the kids up from daycare? You bet! Our company culture at Affinis Corp. (Best Firm #15 Civil for 2016) is...

Company leaders play an important role in making sure their people are aligned, capable, and engaged – a recipe for success. Are your employees fulfilled? If not, it may be costing you a bundle. While...

In the form of growth, profitability, and important projects, multidiscipline firm based in upstate New York is reaping the benefits of a well-executed ownership transition. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent In 1977, when Wayne Wegman joined...

When J. Peter Devereaux joined the Detroit-based firm in 1985, there were nine employees. Today, Harley Ellis Devereaux (Hot Firm #23 for 2016) has 324 employees and has undergone a series of evolutions. After working...

Don’t we all want to be part of an organization that we are thrilled to be a part of; that makes us proud? I often get chills when I think back on my early career...

While I have probably written about business planning in the pages of The Zweig Letter a dozen or more times over the years, it seems necessary to do so again. As you read this, A/E/P...

Fred White, Claire Keerl, and I just got back from the 21st annual Inc 500 Conference at the Westin Rancho Mirage Resort in beautiful Palm Springs, California, held March 27th-29th. It has been a few...

Remember the story about the emperor who had no clothes? Everyone was afraid to tell him, though, so he paraded around in the buff and made a complete fool of himself. I see the same...

Is your firm a compassionate firm? Do you choose what’s humane over what’s best financially in certain situations? And what difference does that make, anyway? Business is business. And we all know that to be...

One thing I know about smart people—they hate being treated like children. It’s insulting and demeaning. Unfortunately, we routinely see owners and managers of A/E/P and environmental firms who do just that to their employees....

I don’t mind telling our readers that it’s a great feeling to have a vehicle such as The Zweig Letter to share my thoughts so widely. Along with that comes a certain responsibility not to...

In spite of my repeated attempts to educate our readers about some of the crazy things they are doing, it takes some people a long time to catch on. Here are few examples of what...