Who’ll run your firm tomorrow?

Planning

What’s the biggest challenge facing your firm? Some recent answers I’ve heard: “staying afloat,” “getting through the summer,” and “making payroll.” A lot of AEE firms are doing just “OK” this year, while many others continue to struggle – week to week, month to month – with thin backlogs, weak utilization, and a still uncertain forecast.  Most continue cutting costs, closely managing cash, and looking hard (though not always effectively) for new work. But far too many firm leaders are over-focusing today on the short term.  Yes, stabilizing and restructuring the firm has been critical (and much needed) for short […]

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What’s the risk in your business?

Business Improvement, Operations

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 […]

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Prepare now – the recovery is coming.

Planning

Yes, the economic rebound is on the way.  Guaranteed.  But where, and when?  If you’re like most architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting (AEE) professionals, you’ve been asking and analyzing this question for some time. You’re not sure, and neither am I.  The economy is indeed recovering, but it’s slow and fragile.  Job losses have stopped, and nearly a million new jobs have been created this year (this week’s May jobs report was disappointing).  Consumer confidence is growing and has this month reached a two year high.  More business leaders are now planning for hiring and inventory ramp up across a […]

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What’s your accounting system done for you lately?

Business Improvement, Operations

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 […]

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