AEC Leaders, Recharge for the Recovery!

Uncategorized

“Hello?  Are you there?” You’re right in the middle of a really important call – with your best client or a gigantic prospect – and … nothing.  Your cell phone dies – battery dead.  There you sit – in the car, on a plane, at the park – and out of luck.  No connection …no juice … no deal.  Sound familiar? Is this the road you’re planning for your business as well? Certainly not intentionally, but perhaps inadvertently so.  Like many today you’re probably running nonstop and working as hard as ever – just to keep the firm (and yourself) […]

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“All right, what do we got here?” AEC Organizational Assessment

Business Improvement, Operations, Planning

Here’s a thought:  AEC principals can learn a lot about business improvement and effective firm management from television crime shows.  Sound crazy? My wife Megan loves these shows – the police ‘procedurals.’ Most use a familiar structure – a victim in the opening frames, arrival of the lead investigator, and the obligatory question: “all right, what do we got here?”  Queue the music, run the title shot, and cut.  A perfect set up of context, background, and preliminary hypothesis.  It’s fast paced, exciting, and entertaining – and nicely packaged up before the first commercials. Don’t you wish your business was […]

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Business Improvement for AEC Firms – The Organization Assessment

Business Improvement, Operations, Planning

Here’s a thought:  AEC principals can learn a lot about business improvement and effective firm management from television crime shows.  Sound crazy? My wife Megan loves these shows – the police ‘procedurals.’ Most use a familiar structure – a victim in the opening frames, arrival of the lead investigator, and the obligatory question: “all right, what do we got here?”  Queue the music, run the title shot, and cut.  A perfect set up of context, background, and preliminary hypothesis.  It’s fast paced, exciting, and entertaining – and nicely packaged up before the first commercials. Don’t you wish your business was […]

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Let’s Talk! Communications and Business Improvement in the AE Firm

Business Improvement

Question:  how’s the communication going in your firm today? I’d say not well enough – and without knowing anything about you.  A safe  bet, for three reasons: 1) almost all AE firms and their leaders get by with way too little (and too ineffective) communication, 2) the recession has shifted the “story” in many companies from ‘good’ to ‘bad’ (or at least ‘not as good’), and 3) there’s frankly no such thing as too much communication. But if you’re at all like me, the last thing you want is to have someone “harping” on the importance of good communication. Instead […]

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