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Feel like it’s all on your CEO shoulders? It does not have to be.

By Doug Reed | March 11, 2015 |

Have you considered that trusted advisers might be key to your successful career? You probably have. In fact, a survey published in Harvard Business Review in 2013, reported that nearly all CEOs say they saw value in having an adviser. But, did you do it? Probably not. Nearly 2/3 of the CEOs reported they had…

The life or death of an exit strategy

By Doug Reed | February 27, 2015 |

Over my 35 year career, I learned there is one challenge firm owners face that is most prevalent, that negatively impacts their wealth and the stability of the firm. The challenge is created by being too caught up in the day to day business. Thus, there is little thought given to exit strategies– until it…

CEOs’ top role: Get the most out of your employees

By Doug Reed | February 19, 2015 |

When talking strategic direction, we often talk in terms of the role of the CEO and what he or she must do to encourage greater productivity and alignment. We don’t focus as much on the role of the employees, although we all know we’d be nowhere without them. We understand leadership starts at the top and an effective leader encourages employees to act…

If you’re not leading with these, your company is jeopardizing success

By Doug Reed | February 16, 2015 |

As a leader, your job is to look at the big picture and, naturally, much of your attention is on essential items like growing revenue and controlling expenses. Typically, there’s less time spent strategizing on how to lead than the leading itself. But, what if you could lead your firm in a more enlightened way,…

Strategic Execution– What 4 things must you do to “make it so”?

By Doug Reed | February 7, 2015 |
what 4 things do you do to make it so

The planning process is essential to establishing broad goals, but it doesn’t just start or stop there. Next, you must execute consistently on clearly identified steps that build to the ultimate goals identified in your strategic plan. In the case study below, you’ll see innovative actions that ultimately led to the firm’s success. They include: hiring…

Must use simple tool to develop and grow your business!

By Doug Reed | January 27, 2015 |
Four things to do to grow

In a recent podcast produced by Matt Handal, author of Proposal Secrets, titled Growing A/E/C Firms with Doug Reed, I share how a unique approach centered around an accounting mechanism (the timesheet) that most of our firms use, will help firms grow even during the most challenging economy. I know because I was a consulting engineering firm…

Hire for Growth, Educate to Execute (A true story)

By Doug Reed | December 15, 2014 |

The planning process is essential to establish broad goals, but it doesn’t start or stop there. As owners, if you have an interest in growing the business, success will come a lot easier if your employees are growth minded. The way to accomplish this is to attract and hire people who have demonstrated a drive to learn,…

You don’t have to accept lower profit margins

By Doug Reed | September 16, 2014 |
Choices-random or planned?

Even though firms are reporting more revenue and RFPs, the profit on new work is lower. During a recession, pundits say that firms should invest the most in client relationships and sales during a recession, but they predicted most would not. Pundits predicated that as revenue declined within a firm’s market sector they would try to get into…

Design-build risks– solutions to participate in the new generation of projects

By Doug Reed | August 18, 2014 |

Challenge Small and medium engineering and architectural firms are having a tough time in the alternative delivery market. At a recent conference of engineering consultants, small firms (less than 50 employees) identified this as a top three area of concern. They identified that they feel compelled to participate in the market and to agree to…

For best results don’t just learn, learn right

By Doug Reed | July 26, 2014 |

As a staff engineer on the cusp of securing my professional license, my employer gave me opportunities to support new business pursuits. While I happened to be successful on the first few, I don’t give myself the credit. I give the credit to the owners and senior managers of the firm who gave me the…