Is Investing in AEC Firm Business Improvement Really Worth It?

My question today:  is working on the firm – those internally-focused initiatives of planning, training, and individual and organization development – really worth the time, energy, and financial investment involved? At some level the answer is (for most all of us) yes – since few would argue that they or their firms are perfect.  That said, it’s common that leaders believe business performance improvement is both possible and worth it – while at the same being unwilling to invest in the actions required for change and improvement. There are of course many reasons – or justifications – for this lack […]

AEC Recovery – Bears and Bulls in the Early Going

As usual, economic pundits disagree on the direction and pace of the economic recovery. Still –perhaps you’ve noticed as well – fewer seem to be arguing for a decline (the so-called double dip) than before. In fact, most forecasters describe the road ahead (for the general economy) as encouraging, albeit perhaps too slow for most. In the AEC industry, future outlooks and levels of optimism remained varied. As has been the case throughout this recession, the forecast for an individual firm is highly dependent on that organization’s service capabilities, market focus, and geographic reach. A sense of cautious optimism defines […]

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

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 […]

Business Improvement for AEC Firms – The Organization Assessment

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 […]

What’s the risk in your business?

Are you following events in the Gulf of Mexico?  It’s hard to get the straight story, but no matter how you slice it, the BP blow out will have a near catastrophic impact on both the environment and economy of the gulf coast region.  And I’m an oil guy – with sixteen years notched as an oil and gas geologist, environmental manager, and business leader at Exxon Corporation. Exxon was a top notch company – with towering financial strength, global reach and breadth, world class technical prowess, and a culture of ethics, safety, quality, and teamwork.  But like many large […]

What’s your accounting system done for you lately?

This month I attended the annual Deltek Insight conference, and learned a good deal more about Vision, Deltek’s popular accounting software platform used by a significant slice of the AEE (architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting) market.  The experience has me wondering again why it’s so pervasive that organizations don’t more fully utilize the capability and functionality of their accounting systems?  A common experience:  buy the system, install it, and get it up and running with core accounting functionality, and then stop – leaving much of the power of information reporting, business analysis, client account and relationship management, and such for another […]