JDoehring

Managing Professional Services – Simple, but Hard

Aug 1, 2011adminUncategorized

Many design and technical professionals are attracted to complexity. Engineers, scientists, architects, and consultants often seek out larger and more complex projects – and eschew the simpler ones. These professionals are invigorated by using their experience, expertise, intelligence, and creativity to attack and solve challenging problems (particularly those that others can’t readily solve). With this paradigm, design and technical professionals envision that the opposite of simple is complex. Complex is good, interesting, and necessary. Simple is simplistic, unchallenging – and boring. In contrast, experiences in the business of the firm suggest a different model. Managing a professional services firm focuses […]

AEC Leaders – Is it (Really) the Economy, Stupid?

Jun 20, 2011adminUncategorized

Yes, the economy stinks. Not for all of course, but most sectors of the US economy remain weak, uneven, and uncertain. Moreover, many economists now believe that both low growth and ongoing uncertainty could be with us – for a good long while. Ken Simonson, Chief Economist of AGC – the Associated General Contractors of America – recently characterized April’s modest rise in construction spending as “deceptively positive,” [http://news.agc.org/2011/06/01/construction-spending-figures-highlight-how-government-funding-cutbacks-are-limiting-industrys-recovery/] – pointing to weakening public sector demand and the still slow residential construction market as important underlying factors. Simonson further noted that the relatively flat construction market was “uneven” – a […]

The Extraordinary Potential of AEC Firm Business Improvement

Apr 12, 2011adminBusiness Improvement, Operations, Planning

In a recent post I asked this question: is investing in AEC firm business improvement really worth it? There I offered four of the most common objections to working on improving the organization. Today I’ll look at the first of these – the belief of some that the opportunity in their own firm is relatively small – and test whether that perspective really holds up. And even for those who don’t see the opportunity as small – it’s useful to look straight away at the numbers, and the magnitude of the opportunity at hand. Step 1: An Opportunity for One […]

Is Investing in AEC Firm Business Improvement Really Worth It?

Mar 8, 2011adminBusiness Improvement, Operations, Planning

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

Feb 7, 2011adminBusiness Improvement, Operations, Planning

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 […]

AEC Leadership Development – On a $1 a Day?

Dec 21, 2010adminBusiness Improvement, Leadership Development

OK, maybe not a dollar a day – but I’ll bet it’s less than you think. Few will argue against the importance and value of true leadership. In most all cases, effective leadership is the core of organization success. Still, many firms – particularly smaller ones – struggle with the cost of leadership – in time, effort, and dollars. But what if you could have it – strong, effective, and sustainable leadership – with a lot less investment? Interested? For the first sixteen years of my career I worked at Exxon Corporation (today Exxon Mobil). Exxon is of course a […]

AEC Leaders, Recharge for the Recovery!

Dec 21, 2010adminUncategorized

“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) […]

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

Dec 21, 2010adminBusiness 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 […]

Business Improvement for AEC Firms – The Organization Assessment

Oct 14, 2010adminBusiness Improvement, Operations, Planning

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

Sep 3, 2010adminBusiness 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 […]