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

By Scott Butcher | Despite capacity challenges, AEC firms still rely on seller-doers because complex projects reward expertise at the first client interaction.

By Mark Zweig | For AEC firm owners and top managers who say they care about value but keep acting like they don’t.

  Zweig Group is the leading advisory firm for the AEC industry, providing expert guidance across the entire M&A lifecycle. With deep industry knowledge and decades of experience, we help firms navigate transactions, maximize value,...

By Morgan Stinson | Winning work in the AEC industry takes teamwork, trust, and humility to bridge gaps between marketing and technical staff.

By Tiara Marcus | Great project delivery goes beyond efficiency, blending precision, clarity, and empathy to build trust and lasting client partnerships.

By Nam Douglass | Businesses across the U.S. face increased federal scrutiny, making proactive workforce compliance essential to mitigate risk and avoid costly penalties.

    Zweig Group is the leading advisory firm for the AEC industry, providing expert guidance across the entire M&A lifecycle. With deep industry knowledge and decades of experience, we help firms navigate transactions, maximize...

    “Vernacular is what you do when you can’t afford to get it wrong.” Carley Chastain Episode Summary: This episode of The Zweig Letter Podcast, hosted by Randy Wilburn and joined by marketing co-host...

Zweig Group is the leading advisory firm for the AEC industry, providing expert guidance across the entire M&A lifecycle. With deep industry knowledge and decades of experience, we help firms navigate transactions, maximize value, and...

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Southern Steel Engineers (Lexington, SC), a firm that provides state of the art engineering and analysis for structural steel projects.

By Kyle Ahern | The Best Firms To Work For survey provides a comprehensive view of the organizational climate across the industry, highlighting achievements and areas for growth.

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...

By Liisa Andreassen | JQ, now IMEG, a team of professionals providing structural and civil engineering, geospatial and facility performance services within a diverse group of markets.

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...

By Mark Zweig | We all need new challenges, variety in our daily routines, and to see tangible results from our efforts to be fulfilled.

By Nick Voss | Adopting flexible work setups via technology is crucial for employee satisfaction – but achieving this requires addressing various logistical challenges effectively.

RTM Engineering Consultants, a national multi-disciplinary engineering consulting firm has recently merged with Alban Engineering, an MEP consulting firm based in Hunt Valley, MD. Alban Engineering specializes in mechanical, electrical, plumbing, lighting design, and sustainability...

Zweig Group announces its client JQ Engineering, an award-winning Texas-based structural and civil engineering services firm, has merged with IMEG.

By Luke Carothers | Our industry must look to places like Cairo as an example of how ambition can shape the built environment.

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...

RTM Engineering Consultants, a national multi-disciplinary engineering consulting firm has recently merged with Tanner Engineering, an electrical consulting firm based in San Diego, CA.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of UES (Orlando, FL), a privately held, rapidly growing engineering and consulting firm and No. 1 Hot Firm three years in a row.

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

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 Liisa Andreassen | Founder of Chrisland Engineering (Lebanon, PA), a small civil engineering firm which specializes in subdivisions, land development, and municipal engineering.

By Gregory Teague | Engaging with your community enriches company culture, employee development, and offers an inside advantage to local projects.

By Kevin Johns | In order to remain competitive, AEC firms need to understand and embrace new technology.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of McFarlane Architects, a dynamic architectural, planning, and interior design firm that provides innovative design solutions to its clients.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and chairman of the board at McFarland Johnson, a national consultancy providing program management, planning, environmental, engineering, and construction phase services.

By Liisa Andreassen | Managing partner of SCHRADERGROUP (Philadelphia, PA), a full-service firm that creates enhanced environments for the people who use them.

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

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 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 Kraig Kern | Real innovation is about a shift in perspective to progress forward, not the latest gadget or software.

By Mercedez Thompson | It’s worthwhile to continue conversations around what marketing is and is not and why it’s critical to your bottom line.

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at VMDO, an architectural planning and design firm that creates community-centered environments that connect people and place through design.

By Larson Design Group | E-commerce has undergone big changes in recent years, and with the effects of COVID-19 still being felt, some of those changes are accelerating or taking on new forms completely.

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

By Mark Zweig | It’s time to take a good hard look at what everyone in your business is doing for you.

By Liisa Andreassen | Managing principal of RDLR Architects (Houston, TX), a community-driven architectural firm that is recognized throughout Texas.

By Ted Grace | This is a cost-effective alternative for AEC leaders seeking to manage enterprise risk.

By Brian King | Firms with a strongly integrated multigenerational workforce will experience tremendous power and opportunity for success over the next number of years.

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal at Brenner Design (Indianapolis, IN), an award-winning, woman owned architectural firm that designs and constructs innovative buildings and interior spaces.

By Liisa Andreassen | Senior principal at Lamar Johnson Collaborative (Chicago, IL), a full-service design and architecture firm committed to enhancing the quality of the human experience.

  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. -...

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Lord Aeck Sargent (Atlanta, GA), an architecture and design firm with a history of creating environments people want to use and preserve.

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.

Domestic Transactions: Leading multi-disciplinary firm that provides consulting, technical, scientific, and project delivery services, Jacobs (Dallas, TX), has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BlackLynx (Rockville, MD). BlackLynx is an industry leader in the...

Domestic Transactions: Erdman Anthony (Rochester, NY), a multidisciplinary engineering firm with offices across the Eastern U.S., has acquired Dwyer Engineering (Hoboken, NJ). Dwyer Engineering is a mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and refrigeration engineering firm. Link to...

By Brian King | Instead, consider regular performance discussions and an annual strategy meeting to set, implement, and evaluate goals and initiatives.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO and president of MKN (Arroyo Grande, CA), a firm specializing in water, wastewater, and water reuse engineering for public agencies.

By Mark Zweig | Seven good reasons to look at implementing a market sector-based organization structure in your firm.

Zweig Group, a full-service AEC management advisory firm, announced its client Galloway & Company, Inc. has acquired JRCA Architects, creating a dynamic alignment of knowledge and culture. Jamie Claire Kiser, Zweig Group’s managing principal, served...

By Chad Coldiron | Whatever your role is at work or in life, showing others respect is always a good way to build a great relationship.

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

By Sara Parkman | They are the senior principal and president of Genesis (Blue Bell, PA), a full service firm that delivers facilities for life-saving therapies.

By Liisa Andreassen | President at FitzGerald (Chicago, IL), a nationally recognized architecture firm with roots dating back more than 100 years.

By Matt Hoying | Young (or less experienced) engineers and designers may lack construction experience. Fast track their learning with these approaches.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Prein&Newhof (Grand Rapids, MI), a 100 percent employee-owned firm that is dedicated to thinking ahead, building lasting relationships, and crafting long-term solutions.

By Mark Zweig | Firm owners need to be thinking about and planning for the huge wave of business that’s coming just around the corner.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Lawrence Group (St. Louis, MO), an integrated design, development, and construction firm using the power of people with great ideas to bring clients’ dreams to life.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Fishbeck (Grand Rapids, MI), a firm of engineers, scientists, architects, and constructors in the business of problem solving, inspiring results, and bringing ideas to life.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of Bala Consulting Engineers (King of Prussia, PA), a multi-disciplined design firm with an environment designed for relationships to thrive and careers to flourish.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of HEAPY Engineering (Dayton, OH), a leader in sustainability, engineering, and commissioning solutions with a vision to build a more resilient and sustainable society.

Chairman and CEO of Salas O’Brien, an employee-owned firm with no corporate headquarters that provides building and facility solutions to clients across the United States.

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.

Partner at LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (New York, NY), a firm that has created innovative, yet constructible and economical structural designs since 1923.

The ways our businesses and facilities function in relation to employees and customers are bound to adjust due to COVID-19.

President and CEO Arora Engineers, Inc. (Chadds Ford, PA), a firm that meets the evolving needs of its clients through more intelligent, sustainable, infrastructure solutions.

Parametrix (Seattle, WA) has acquired Civil FX (Las Vegas, NV), a company that blends civil engineering with visualization and immersive reality. The acquisition will expand the firm’s visualization as well as augmented and virtual reality...

By Mark Zweig | Firms seem to be doing better than most anyone would have predicted when everything had to shut down in March. Why is that?

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

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

By Mark Zweig | Now is a good time to take stock of the many positive aspects of our industry to help keep yourself and your employees motivated and directed in the midst of uncertainty.

By Mark Zweig | “Profound changes are coming to our industry. As is always the case when the external market makes huge shifts, those companies that can adapt will do well.”

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

CEO of A&E Architects (Billings, MT), a firm that believes all disciplines can live together within any given project.

President and CEO of Westwood (Minneapolis, MN), a firm that’s been focused on enhancing communities with smart engineering for almost 50 years.

CEO of EDiS (Wilmington, DE), a fifth generation family-owned firm that has been thriving in the same region for more than a century.

If you want to be a great consultant, you have to step into the client’s shoes and see the world as they do.

Trust your judgement, speak up, and keep learning. Your efforts will pay dividends down the road.

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

Considering a design project in the fledgling cannabis industry? Make sure your professional liability coverage won’t go up in smoke.

President and CEO of RLG Consulting Engineers (Best Firm Structural #13 for 2018), a Dallas-based firm in business for 65 years.

Breaking into new markets isn’t easy, but it can be done if you have a long-term, coordinated plan of attack. Following 30 years as an Army Engineer officer, I went to work as a market...

AEC firms must be diligent during design and construction to avoid becoming ‘responsible’ for worksite injuries or death. Although site safety generally is the responsibility of construction contractors and subcontractors, when injuries or deaths occur...

It seems to me that one of the keys to being a really successful design professional is figuring out what you are really good at and doing more of it. No one is good at...

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 “The best PMs create their own brand, supporters, and clients,”...

Giving your clients a say in the layout of their new healthcare space will improve that client’s processes, enhancing overall flow. Why is LEAN-based space planning so important in healthcare facilities? It’s a simple answer:...

Employee stock ownership plans are rewarding for your staff, allow for continuity, and can enhance a firm’s culture and legacy. Editor’s note: Wintrust Commercial Banking is a sponsor of the 2018 Hot Firm + A/E...

Lack of information leads to assumptions and guessing. Good and complete information at the appropriate time leads to informed decision-making. Over my 30-year career, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wide range of...

Sharing something personal about your history is a great way to connect with a selection panel – and, of course, to win work. Making a strong first impression and connecting with the selection panel are...

If your building is too cold or too hot, or if employees become sluggish in the afternoon, take a look at the building’s operating systems. Do you work in an older office building where the...

Honoring your clients’ business success above all else will enhance your firm’s reputation and bottom line – without compromising design. This is the third installment of a three-part discussion on the topic of job success,...

Autonomous vehicles are on the way, and when they arrive, parking decks will increasingly become obsolete, and will need to be repurposed. Cars that can drive themselves, using radar, LIDAR, and other imaging devices will...

The confidential information memorandum will save you a lot of hassles when and if you want to sell your firm, so have one crafted. A confidential information memorandum, also referred to as the “deal book,”...

If you’re looking around but not seeing many people like you, try Zweig Group’s new 2018 seminar, CEO Roundtable. Click here for more information. We hear it all the time: “It’s lonely at the top.”...

Every so often I have a number of disconnected thoughts for our readers, none of which merits all of my allotted space, but each of which could prove valuable. This is one of those weeks....

President of LJA Engineering (Hot Firm #2 for 2016), the largest employee-owned civil engineering firm in Houston (600-plus employees). By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Ladner has more than 35 years’ experience in civil engineering serving both...

If you make it that far in the interview process, don’t forget to show the potential client your best asset – your ability to make a human connection. A few weeks ago, your A/E team...

CEO of Wantman Group, Inc. (#5 Hot Firm and #19 Best Firm Multidiscipline for 2016), a 310-person engineering consulting firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “The easiest work is repeat...

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...

President and CEO of Ghafari, a big Michigan firm, has broadened its services, allowing it to weather tough times and maintain an era of growth. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent As president and CEO of Ghafari...

It seems like so many of us want to go back to the way things used to be. That’s why we have so much nostalgic design in automobiles and architecture, reflecting the style when cars...

Through enlightened business practices, young firm leaders are embracing a world of freedom, harmony, prosperity, and compassion. It’s energizing to be around young entrepreneurs with exciting ideas. My wife and I are honored to be...

Over the years, we have developed work styles that are not good for our physical, mental, or emotional health, but that can be changed. Taking these tips to heart can really change the health of...

Over the years, we have developed work styles that are not good for our physical, mental, or emotional health, but that can be changed. It’s not that we’re bad people, or that we aren’t working...

It seems like so many of us want to go back to the way things used to be. That’s why we have so much nostalgic design in automobiles and architecture, reflecting the style when cars...

It’s not always the employees’ fault. Improve the quality of your office, celebrate the individual, and watch your staff come alive. Workplaces across the globe are suffering through a zombie apocalypse. These zombies don’t have...

Cincinnati CEO usually operates at about 150 miles per hour, but from time to time he puts on the brakes. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent When it comes to leading, David Arends, CEO of CR Architecture...

With a focus on renewable energy and environmental conservation, and a need to improve a vast and aging infrastructure, opportunity abounds. Things are going pretty well for nearly all these days. Those downturn doldrums are...

Project needs and client needs are two different things. If you want to win more work, figure out the human side of the equation and you’ll be rewarded. AEC firms often approach proposals and interviews...

Lonnie Laffen, CEO of JLG Architects, is a Bison who likes burgers and fries, a big motor bike, but not politics. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Twenty-seven years ago, Lonnie Laffen, president and CEO of JLG...

In decline since 1950, the city is finally reversing its downward trend, and architects and engineers are taking part in the recovery. By Richard Massey Managing Editor When architect Michael Tunkey graduated from his hometown...

Being a great architect or engineer is not enough. To truly flourish, you have to have an intimate knowledge of what makes your clients tick. Your knowledge of architecture, design, engineering, and building codes, your...

Independent environmental firms are increasingly rare, but out on the East Coast, CEO Eileen Pannetier has succeeded by sticking to her small-firm roots. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent Prior to founding Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (Best Firm...

Here's another snip-it from the 2nd Edition of Successful Project Management by Ernest Burden. Many project managers are more comfortable with the technical side of the business. The marketing hat that firms are now asking...

Zweig Group has launched an all new seminar series titled “Becoming a Better Project Manager,” targeted at new and aspiring project managers in the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry. The course is presented...

Expert message Barton Associates (York, PA), a 57-person MEP engineering firm, created a marketing campaign to target their two niche markets: education and healthcare. The campaign took home fourth place in Zweig Group’s Marketing Excellence...

Design firms may have a niche to fill in this area. After all, you can do it better than a dispassionate program manager. Architects and engineers have long complained about their relationships with program managers....

Think of leadership not as a single person but as a team of individuals, each with his or her own strength and talent. For years I’ve watched firms struggle with leadership transition, particularly firms started...

If vertical or horizontal expansion (or both) is in the cards for you, approach with caution. Business has been good lately in the A/E professions. Opportunities abound, yet many firms struggle with the question of...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 19, 2011 Press Contact: Christina Zweig (479) 582-5700 direct (800) 466-6275 corporate (479) 445-7564 mobile ZweigWhite, LLC P.O. Box 1528 Fayetteville, AR 72702-1528 christinaz@zweigwhite.com www.zweigwhite.com FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 19, 2011) –Two...

By Ed Friedrichs I’ve long wondered why architects, designers, engineers, and environmental planners haven’t figured out where the action is for their clients. Almost every client I have ever worked with was an active participant...

It’s that time of year again. Time to dig out my crystal ball (I keep it in my sock drawer, in a pile of rarely worn argyles for safe keeping) so I can try to...

For years, we told principals of architecture, engineering, and planning firms that they should have a mission defining what their firms were all about. The question of “why are you in business?” is fundamental, we...

Like it or not, the world is rapidly becoming one. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. And the implications for architects, engineers, planners, and allied professions are significant. What it means, quite simply,...

As usual, this year’s Zweig Letter Hot Firm Conference & Celebration in Boston drew a great crowd. We had the typical smiling, optimistic, high-growth A/E and environmental firm principals and managers in abundance and it...

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...

It’s kind of funny. I was out visiting a firm the other day— a rapidly growing, multi-office, multi-service firm— that is apparently beating the pants off of its larger, more established competitors. I’ve seen it...

I was doing my usual deep thinking in the shower this morning, and I started wondering what I would do if I were on a flight that terrorists were hijacking. My first thoughts were about...

I was out working in my yard this weekend, cutting brush and chopping up fallen branches with my 18-horsepower trailer-mounted chipper, when one of my friends and clients dropped by. He’s an architect and was...

It just doesn’t take that much to be so much better at serving clients than the rest of the firms that do what you do. And it’s so important! Do a lousy job (or just...

“The client will hire us because we have a long-standing relationship.” Don’t get too comfortable. Many firms take existing clients for granted. And when this happens, the deterioration in service quality is almost imperceptible (in...

Call me any names you want. It won’t be the first time. But it doesn’t matter. I’m tough. I can take it. I have the power of my own convictions and conscience to get me...

Goodness, how times change. Can you imagine what your reaction would have been five, or even three years ago, if a management consultant advised you to get out of the environmental consulting business and move...

No doubt about it, all of us who are managers in an A/E/P or environmental firm have to face some tough situations from time to time. They aren’t usually “fun” decisions, or situations that give...

This week, I thought I’d dedicate my column to answering some of the recurring questions we are asked about the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry. Here goes: Should salaried people be paid for overtime? I...

Until the 69,000 firms who make up the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry wake up and start doing something different marketing-wise, we’re destined to remain a fragmented group of small firms owned by people who...

Everything you read on psychology tells you that we, as individuals, should each have a healthy self-image. It’s only common sense. Without a healthy self-image, we won’t live up to our career potential; we won’t...

A lot of firms in our business are going through some serious introspection. And if they aren’t, they probably should be. Change is occurring at an accelerating pace. Yesterday’s hot firm may be a dog...

It has been said that the only thing an A/E/P or environmental firm can do in a presentation is “not lose the job”— meaning that the selection decisions are made before presentation time, and can...

On Monday, December 20, 1993, William Edwards Deming, the 93-year-old management guru of Total Quality Management (TQM) died in his sleep. A statistician with a doctorate in Physics from Yale, Deming was credited with engineering...

One of the key determinants of any architecture, consulting engineering, or environmental consulting firm’s ability to get work at decent fees is how well “positioned” it is. Positioning means becoming established as an expert service...