Create a strategic plan that works
Your Firm is Your Wings or Your Drag
Training, education, learning, knowledge, skills, or whatever you call it. If you are a marketing coordinator, a senior manager, principal or CEO, you seek more of this. And, you like to spend your time wisely. Most of all, you want something of value out of your learning investment. Yet, time and again, you experience little…
Read MoreWho Says Only Senior Managers Can Generate Sales?
Who brings in the business in your firm? Usually it is the senior managers. Think about how strong business would be if everyone– CEO, CFO, Project Manager, and junior Engineer/Architect/Scientist– also contributed. What do each of you have in common? Each of your livelihoods are impacted by your contribution to generating revenue. You are either billable…
Read MoreWhy you should discuss business innovation before best practices
I think we can all agree that AEC leaders and their firms like to do their best. It’s the nature of those in the industry, right? So, the question is, “what is best?” Is it best in services, or best in business? Which comes first? No two firms are alike and they are guided by…
Read MoreHow to turn on a dime, seize market opportunities and maximize profits
California’s historic drought is all over the news. You can’t escape it. And, for those people and businesses affected, it’s a tragedy. Like any natural disaster, there are industries, such as engineering and energy in this case, that can benefit from them. How can your firm make a much-needed difference and grow profits? When working…
Read MoreSecrets of 7 successful companies that do some things badly
Is being bad part of your strategy? It seems counter-productive, doesn’t it? But it’s not. Successful companies know this secret and practice it so that they can be the best at their priorities. The concept of focusing on a single business model is not new. In 1995, Treacy and Wiersema wrote “The Discipline of Market Leaders.” They…
Read MoreThe life or death of an exit strategy
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…
Read MoreIf you’re not leading with these, your company is jeopardizing success
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,…
Read MoreYou don’t have to accept lower profit margins
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…
Read MoreI am 95% billable and I generate business for my company
Many professional service firms’ CEOs and managers are convinced that time spent on overhead activities detracts from the revenue of the company by lowering billability. This is one of the largest misconceptions I have seen. In both my corporate experience and with clients I applied a technique that maintained high billability and generated sales, even…
Read MoreCreating change is a top-down imperative
Those who control person’s job status, salary and recognition within the firm have ultimate control. Does this mean a CEO can order change to occur? My observations are consistent with organizational behavior theory. The answer is no, at least in the professional environment where I spent over 35 years of my career. What I have…
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