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By Chad Coldiron | The AEC industry is facing uncertainty, but leaders remain optimistic, practical, and focused on adapting to what comes next.

By Ying Liu | Ownership mindset starts before equity, with the clarity, trust, and responsibility people need to lead like owners.

By Mark Zweig | AEC firms that want better marketing need to sound more human, move faster, and stop hiding behind safe, forgettable messaging.

By Chad Clinehens & Steve Hake | One year of partnership has created stronger solutions, deeper collaboration, and greater momentum for the future of AEC.

By Mark Zweig | Cash flow breaks down in AEC firms when billing is delayed, collections are weak, and discipline slips across the business.

By Julia Moroney | The real AI conversation in AEC isn’t about tools or speed, it’s about preserving trust, judgment, and accountability.

By Chad Coldiron | Like a perfect double play, high-performing AEC firms rely on preparation, trust, and flawless handoffs long before pressure arrives.

By GinaRenee Autrey | AEC marketing doesn’t fail from lack of expertise – it fails when firms keep telling safe stories in increasingly noisy markets.

By Daryl Simons Jr. | Technology can enhance recruiting efficiency, but human connection, trust, and judgment will always define successful hiring.

By Kyle Ahern | A closer look reveals hiring and retention pressures demanding smarter, people-focused strategies.

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

By Janki DePalma | Recognition matters, but real growth happens when leaders value quiet progress, not just visible wins.

By Dan Schwartz | Successful M&A communication is achieved through strategy, storytelling, and staying human in the face of complexity.

By Alyssa Wagner | How to offer interns the chance to explore professionally and refine their passion into a fulfilling, long-term career.

By Chad Clinehens | Honoring the firms building the future of AEC through culture, creativity, innovation, and smart growth.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of No. 1 Hot Firm Verdantas (Tampa, FL), an integrated environmental science, engineering, and consulting firm.

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

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 Ezequiel Tovar | What qualities give founders peace of mind and the necessary trust to hand over the reins of their business?

This report details some of the biggest trends and movements regarding M&A activity in the AEC industry as of the end of Q1 2024.

By Joseph Losaria | A happy team is more productive and engaged, so make sure happiness isn’t just a personal goal but a business goal, as well.

By Tyler Suomala | If you ask great questions, you can guide yourself and your clients through a powerful process of discovery.

By Mark Zweig | To have extraordinary success, you need to make an extraordinary effort and have your full attention on the business.

By Tim Klabunde | Successful networking is all about helping others, not just leveraging relationships for personal gain.

By Mark Zweig | Firm leaders have to stay optimistic, or their ability to fully function and meet their responsibilities will be compromised.

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 Jodie Quinter | We have an opportunity to reset our company cultures in a way that recognizes adaptability, while prioritizing the ways in which our people want to work and live.

By Shirley Che | Participants of Zweig Group’s ElevateHER® movement are putting in the work to move the needle on the recruitment and retention crisis our industry faces.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | ElevateHER provides a platform for AEC professionals to effect the change they want to see in our industry.

By Kraig Kern | The next time you have a proposal or presentation kickoff, trust and empower your marketing team to do what they do best.

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 Peter Atherton | If we can establish trust, clearly communicate what winning looks like, and have a unifying mission and vision, we will never need to limit our success to any location.

By Mark Zweig | These are “the good old days,” so don’t take anything for granted and find something to enjoy in even the most mundane aspects of life.

By Mark Zweig | There are so many positive aspects of this industry, and it’s important that we keep reminding ourselves and our people why this is such a great business.

By Tangram Interiors | CEO of Tangram Interiors (Santa Fe Springs, CO), encourages leaders to be intentional about striking the right balance between remote and physical workspaces.

By Mark Zweig | There are some things you can do to “tune up” your organization structure, even if you don’t completely overhaul it.

By John Bray | How will the new infrastructure bill impact M&A activity in the AEC industry?

By Stephanie Warino | Be selective with the actions you’re recognizing and the behaviors you’re amplifying, because we’re all driving the culture bus.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Respond to your call to action, whatever it may be, and build a legacy that will leave your profession better than you found it.

President and CEO of Payette (Boston, MA), a firm that values the close relationships it builds with its collaborators on the journey from design to reality.

By Mark Zweig | Entrepreneurs and small business owners have fundamentally different views on the opportunity each has in front of them.

By Phil Keil | Developing a legacy-building strategy requires looking within to the sources of your greatest purpose and potential.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | In this time of constant realignment, sustain success by appreciating your stars and making space for discussion.

President and CEO of Integrated CM Solutions (San Antonio, TX), a program/construction management firm that’s had more than $800 million worth of projects since 2015.

“[These tactics] can help you keep control of your business while creating a culture that leads to continued growth and success.”

“There are many ways to ‘cook the books’ so they show certain results. Here are some typical problems that we see showing up in the financial statements of A/E firms.”

Implement these tips to decrease tension and drastically increase the utility of your feedback.

As Zweig Group’s director of executive search, Chad Coldiron’s passion is connecting top talent with AEC firms.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | There’s plenty of support out there for women in the AEC industry, but the stats still have to catch up to the sentiment.

President and CEO of Eclipse Engineering (Best Firm Structural #12 for 2018), a Montana firm that likes to have a little “phun.”

By Jamie Claire Kiser | At what should be an incredibly productive and exciting time in the lives of young professionals, the AEC industry is failing to engage.

Founder and CEO of Wright Engineers (Best Firm #1 Structural for 2018), a Vegas-headquartered firm where perfection is the goal but excellence is tolerated.

We all know it does, but it’s also hard to define, hard to achieve, and if we fail in our pursuit of it, the consequences can be severe. The word “quality” seems to be constantly...

Each week, The Zweig Letter features commentary from top-flight leaders of AEC firms. Here is a compilation of how they handle, and move beyond, failure. By The Zweig Letter Staff John Hiltz, president of OHM...

Can project owners be the judge of disputes? Of course they can, especially if the contract clause allows for judicial review. We’ve heard children ask parents to explain their decisions, only to get this response:...

All of us have a story to tell, so don’t shy away from it in your professional life. It could be the key ingredient for your firm’s success. Everyone loves a good story. That’s why...

Business planning in an AEC firm is such a critical function. It really is one of the key roles of the CEO. Yet we seem to struggle with it. Here are some of the ways...

We’ve all heard about (and do) multitasking, but the real ticket is figuring out how to do one thing at a time, and do it well. Editor’s note: Perry Shea will be a speaker at...

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....

In the AEC marketing world, proposals are usually treated as business as usual, but I believe we need to make them personal. I will be celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary on June 1, 2016, (I...

Take an honest look at your client relationship and ask yourself if it’s still mutually beneficial; if it’s not, it is time to do the hard thing. In addition to working at Zweig Group, I...

These comprehensive campaigns are more than a marketing exercise. Do you roll your eyes when you hear of a firm going through a rebranding? Be honest. Certainly the concept of branding has been slow to...

Need help identifying targets for potential recruiting? The answer is in the headline. Sometimes in the recruiting world, you’ll hear the term “sourcing.” It sounds like something you would hear in the buying/procurement business, right?...

It’s your employees; Mark Zweig offers five solutions to help deal with them better. I got a call from an old friend of mine from Boston the other day. He wanted to tell me how...

By Mark C. Zweig It’s funny how firms in our business— many of which have been around for 20, 30, 40 or more years— can get to a certain level and then start to let...

Over the years of working with A/E and environmental firms, I have run into those who will try to tell you that some managers are “too intense.” It’s as if these people are saying there...

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...

With clients not in any hurry to pay their bills and banks clamping down on firms that are non-compliant with their loan covenants, now more than ever is the time to do what it takes...

Most of us could benefit at times from a new perspective. This is especially true when you start considering the subject of business planning in A/E/P and environmental consulting firms. But a new perspective is...

Air travel is at an all-time high for me. It’s always frustrating... so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to share some of my recent thoughts and observations: E-tickets. It always amazes me when I see...

We were talking in our office the other day about the “Big 6” accounting firms and their problems. One of our newest staffers just joined us from a Big 6 firm, and, believe me— those...