Search results

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 Jeff Adams | The real work in AEC M&A begins after closing, where integration turns a transaction into sustainable growth and value.

By Sara Parkman | Rising Stars reveal what today’s young AEC leaders truly value in their firms.

By Srividhya Viswanathan | By prioritizing leadership, trust, and accountability, organizations can build teams that not only achieve their goals but thrive together.

By Sara Parkman | AEC firms that fail to invest in young professionals today will struggle to find leaders tomorrow.

By Ken Douglas | Enduring design firms pair creative ambition with business discipline, strategic clarity, and the courage to grow.

By Logan Neitenbach | Recruiting thrives on curiosity, trust, and purpose, because people – not processes – are the true drivers of organizational success.

By Gregory D. Teague | A strong culture isn’t built once – it’s nurtured daily through shared values, genuine investment in people, and lasting community impact.

By Brad Wilson | ESOP success in AEC firms depends on financial discipline, clear governance, and treating employee ownership as a lasting cultural investment.

By Shannon Christiansen | As your firms grows, so does your capacity to give back, strengthening both your communities and your culture.

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

By Duncan Robertson | Being able to turn challenges into lasting opportunities requires sacrifice, strategic risk, and strong teams.

By Robert Jones | Government contractors in AEC must understand and follow GAAP to meet compliance standards, secure contracts, and ensure accurate financial reporting.

By Dave Williams | Policy slack combines structure with flexibility, empowering leaders with the room to move, own decisions, and grow.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO and president of Drummond Carpenter, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business specializing in civil, environmental engineering, and applied research.

By Michelie Little | Saying yes to new opportunities led one engineer from design to construction – and to a more fulfilling career path.

By Nam Douglass | Firms that critically consider how best to leverage this tool today are better positioned to win the projects of tomorrow.

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

By Sara Parkman | The top 2025 Marketing Excellence Award winners share how strategy, authenticity, and collaboration drive real AEC marketing impact.

By Morgan Stinson | Attracting and retaining top talent in the AEC industry requires adapting to what employees value today.

By Jeremy Clarke | The key to embracing growth without giving up what made your firm great in the first place.

By Lynn Bruns | If we want to create workplaces where people thrive, innovate, and stay, we must go beyond managing to metrics.

By Ying Liu | The essential structural and tactical elements that underpin successful strategy execution in AEC.

By Chad Coldiron, Casey Shea & Stefanie Richter | High-performing firms that embrace technology solutions are seeing transformative results across their operations.

By Duane Gaugler | It’s true that mentor relationships aren’t easy to find time for, however, the potential they offer is enormous.

RTM Engineering Consultants, a national MEP, civil, and structural engineering consulting firm, has merged with Select Structural, a highly regarded structural engineering firm based in Southwest Florida. This merger brings together two firms that share...

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

By Justin Stephenson | Utilize these strategies to secure wide-reaching media coverage and build credibility, boost visibility, and attract new clients.

By Earl Mott | Thoughts from both sides of this mutually beneficial relationship over the course of a career.

By Harry Hawkins | Networking’s enduring value lies in fostering genuine connections, enhancing career paths, and cultivating meaningful, human-centric relationships.

By Kraig Kern | Shift your perspective to view your marketing team as a strategic asset that constructs the very pathways through which your business grows.

By Ying Liu | Insight into the unique challenges and opportunities often faced by CSOs in the AEC industry.

By Conrey Guy | Your mission, vision, and values make up the backbone of your firms’ identity.

By Wendi Shafran | Representation matters and cultivating a diverse pipeline of future leaders can establish a foundation for inclusive and equitable decision making.

David Bolt, president of GMB, discusses his extraordinary design career journey and creating a collaborative environment that fosters growth and embraces change.

By Eddie Wade | If you take time to breathe, rally your troops, get team buy-in, and consider your options, you’ll be on your way to making this a positive change.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of CHA Consulting (Albany, NY), an innovative, full-service engineering consulting and construction management firm.

By Ying Liu | Use this tool to uncover the macro external factors that influence your company and understand how those factors could create opportunities or threats.

Mike Woeber, CEO and co-founder of Corporate Tax Advisors (CTA), discusses how design firms can qualify for R&D tax credits and maximize their business growth to unlock potential savings. 

By Liisa Andreassen | Co-president and CEO of DB Sterlin Consultants, Inc., a 100 percent minority-owned firm comprised of professional engineers, architects, planners, and surveyors.

By Kart Vaith | Provide added value to your clients and approach every project with an emphasis on building trust and exceeding expectations.

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 Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of GRAEF (Milwaukee, WI), an international multi-discipline engineering, planning, and design firm that was founded in 1961.

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

By Jane Lawler Smith | Over time, evolving client needs and approaches could erode your marketing foundation. Take the time to shore up your foundation before it crumbles entirely.

By Rick Cloutier & Kart Vaith | By formalizing a few key integration strategies, you could effectively leverage the synergy of each new acquisition leading to sales, operations, and delivery benefits.

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 at ELEMENT (Tampa, FL), an award-winning, certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Minority Business Enterprise, consulting firm.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | This year’s Hot Firms achieved incredible success at a time of great change and uncertainty.

By Stephanie Warino | The principles of Organizational Project Management can guide a firm through the steps of scaling an organization.

By Tim Spence | There is a third option that empowers leaders at all levels, provides a foundation for growth, and offers a sound path forward.

By Laura Rescorla | We must work intentionally to remove barriers and provide opportunities in our industry for people of all backgrounds.

By Stephen Lucy | In the past year, we’ve learned a great deal about how we can do better and have begun to seize opportunities created by 2020.

President and CEO of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (Northbrook, IL), a global firm that’s committed to helping clients solve, repair, and avoid problems in the built world.

President and CEO of RJN Group (Wheaton, IL), a firm that is passionate about the environment, committed to community, and devoted to the welfare of its employees.

By Jamie Claire Kiser | Despite the challenging environment, there are tremendous opportunities to be had.

Co-founder and managing partner of Shear Structural (Chamblee, GA), a 100 percent women-owned and women-managed structural engineering firm.

Exceptional brand leadership is a must for a firm to be exceptional in today’s challenging business environment.

CEO of Sambatek (Minneapolis, MN), a professional services firm with an authentic culture that promotes openness, transparency, and trust.

Leaders of employee-owned firms must focus on people, transparency, and vision to achieve long-term success.

Growth and relationship management software turn marketing into the catalyst for growth: The four best practices for winning marketing teams.

President and principal-in-charge at Taylor Design, an architecture and interior design firm headquartered in Irvine, California.

Founding principal of J2 Engineers, a multi-discipline firm looking to double its 2018 net service revenue by 2023.

Branding and growing a diverse firm while staying true to your roots is possible, but you have to know why you’re in business.

Using both sides of his brain, and with empathy, can-do man is engineering a great career in Seattle.

When the veteran transportation engineer changed lanes from the public sector to a private firm, he used his blinker and stepped on the gas.

President and CEO of Hitchcock Design Group (Best Firm Architecture #7 for 2018), a 35-person landscape architecture firm headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.

President and CEO of Kleinschmidt (Best Firm #34 Multi-Discipline for 2018), a 140-person environmental consulting firm.

Strong emotional intelligence, empathy, and the ability and capacity to engage the ‘whole person’ move teams and projects forward.

CEO of SSOE Group (Hot Firm #44 for 2018), a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management based in Toledo, Ohio. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “All key positions within the company are...

CEO and founder of Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. (Hot Firm #9 for 2018), a 700-plus person engineering and environmental due diligence consulting firm. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There’s no boundary between entry-level and senior-level...

Raise your fees to reflect value, prioritize lead generation, and delegate everything that is outside your zone of genius. Looking to grow the firm? Or maybe you have tried it before with no luck? Over...

COO of Aguirre & Fields, LP (Best Firm Multi-discipline #27 for 2018), a 120-person engineering firm based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “If you haven’t started planning for ownership transition, you’re behind and you...

President and CEO of Larson Design Group (Best Firm #5 Geotechnical and Best Firm # 29 Multi-discipline for 2017), a 300-person firm based in Williamsport, PA. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “One person alone can’t make...

Co-founder, president and CEO of WSB (Hot Firm #34 for 2018), a 475-person, full-service consulting and design firm based in Minneapolis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Early on, I paid too much attention to those who...

President and CEO of SEPI Engineering & Construction, Inc. (Hot Firm #74 for 2017), a 350-person firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “People need to feel like their work life is...

Chairman and CEO of David Evans and Associates, Inc. (Hot Firm #93 for 2016), a 1,000-person engineering firm based in Portland, Oregon. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Barkouli joined DEA in 1988 as an engineer-in-training. He...

President and chairman of Garver (Best Firm Multi-discipline #2 and Hot Firm #43 for 2017), a 500-person consulting and professional services firm in North Little Rock, Arkansas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “We give our employees...

So you’re thinking about acquiring an A/E firm? You’ve got a lot of questions to ask yourself, and you need to have honest answers. In a recent article, I wrote about how important it was...

Alabama firm looms large along the Gulf Coast, and a lot of that’s due to a laser focus on service and always starting out at the top. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Years ago, while working...

McMahon Associates celebrates its accomplishments as it moves into a new era with continued focus on staff, shareholders, and clients. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Exciting things are happening this year at McMahon Associates, Inc. (#21...

Creating a hybrid seller-doer team comprised of business development people and technical experts is a good way to win new work. As few as 25 years ago, our industry relied almost exclusively on relationships as...

In a recent article, I wrote about how important it was to prepare your firm for sale even if you are not thinking about an external ownership transition. You can read that article here. This...

Letting go is hard to do, so when the time comes for a changing of the guard, it helps if the second tier is groomed, confident, and empowered. Much of our recent work has been...

Smart investments and ability to effectively manage debt are key to success at these firms. By Christina Zweig What are fast-growth firms doing differently than their competitors in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry? We...

Ever been house hunting? No matter what you can afford, it’s never enough. Especially with the appalling things some people will do to their homes. I’m not just talking about starter homes (here in Boston,...