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

By Jon Hanlon | AEC careers are built on continual learning, where mistakes, questions, and collaboration shape lasting skills and professional growth.

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

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

By Tom Robinson | When your people understand not just what is being built, but how and why, they’re better equipped to adapt and solve problems ahead of time.

By Marcía Alvarado | From the court to the C-suite, female athletes bring discipline, drive, and dynamic leadership to the AEC industry.

By Javier Suarez | Mentorship relationships are mentee-driven – so, it’s up to you to not only establish one (or more), but to make it worth your while.

By Ben Abelman | Can artificial intelligence offer a solution to make zoning more rational and reasonable?

By Tyler Suomala | Losing out on a bid could present you with an opportunity to turn a “not this time” into fuel for your pipeline and processes.

By Mark Zweig | Owning a firm that will be profitable and grow over time requires a longer term view and a willingness to invest in the people who generate the revenue.

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 Jacobs.

By Jim Bushong | What happens when decades of consistency and cost expectations in the building trades are suddenly changing in real time, based on market forces that are completely out of control?

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 Bowman.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Sunrise Engineering (Fillmore, UT), a full-service professional engineering and consulting firm that has been providing its services since 1978.

By Stefanos Word | Investments of time and effort need to be made with younger engineers to effectively transfer technical and communication skills and establish robust future leaders.

By Todd Perry | Early successes, failures, and significant challenges, and how a young firm navigated through them.

By Jim Toby | The quality of your projects sets your firm apart from the competition, so urge your prospective clients to look beyond the costs.

By Mark Zweig | We create much of our own good luck – and a lot of that comes down to understanding probabilities and doing things that increase our odds for success.

By Mark Zweig | Saying you want to buy another firm in this business is one thing – actually doing it is another.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of raSmith (Brookfield, WI), a multi-disciplinary firm of civil engineers, structural engineers, land surveyors, development managers, landscape architects, and ecologists.

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.

“There’s no magic in these six steps. But there will be ‘magic’ in your results if you can consistently apply them!”

It’s a daunting task, but can result in an energized, unified organization that can withstand setbacks while gaining strength. Companies with a highly engaged workforce have seen a 19.2 percent increase in operating income; highly...

Marketers for professional services firms should expect, and be prepared for, inevitable setbacks in the submittal process. I play bass in a classic rock band. We were doing a sound check at a recent gig...

Editor’s note: Originally published 4/25/2005 Every A/E and environmental firm experiences those inevitable departures of key employees. After the notice is turned in and the hand-wringing, self-flagellation, and/or angry statements come out from management, the...

Anyone who knows me knows how much I don’t like trendy business books, self-appointed life coaches, or motivational experts – for many reasons that I won’t got into here. That said, I must say I...

Surround yourself with people who will speak their truth, even when it’s hard. And then listen. You’ll see a positive impact on you and your team. There are a lot of compelling reasons to build...

Mick Gronewold, Principal, Fehr Graham Principal at Fehr Graham (Hot Firm #72 for 2016), a 170-person engineering and environmental firm based in Rockford, Illinois. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “If you ain’t falling down, you aren’t...

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...

I’ve written and said it many times. AEC firms have many different paths to success. There is no ONE single formula that always works better. Nor is there one magic bullet – a single thing...

A trio of profound shifts in the A/E/P industry has made it much more difficult for firm owners to retire. As I enter my mid-50s (never thought it would happen) I have become privy to...

Mark Zweig reflects on the passing of a friend and employee, and offers six tips about forming a winning team. A week ago Sunday, one of my best friends, and also the lead carpenter for...

Six traits that will make you and your team highly successful, Mark Zweig writes. There’s no doubt in my mind that most successful people in this business didn’t get there by accident. It’s because of...

Being the leader of a Zweig Letter Hot Firm isn’t for everyone. Believe me, I know plenty of these characters personally (and they are “characters!”), and while they come from many different age groups, racial...

Every A/E and environmental firm experiences those inevitable departures of key employees. After the notice is turned in and the hand-wringing, self-flagellation, and/or angry statements come out from management, the next question is, “Now what?”...

Regardless of your opinion of Bill Clinton (and I am sure, for the majority of A/E firm principals, it’s negative— as a group, you are 48% Republicans and only 17% Democrats!), you cannot deny one...

For whatever reason— and I have seen it countless times— sometimes the work environment just goes bad. Like fruit that sits in the bowl too long, it rots, it molds, and it becomes intolerable. Just...

I was at a management seminar recently where I am convinced that fully 15 or 20% of the attendees were there only because their firms told them to go. And my guess is that a...