Leading Growth with Strategic Execution

Doug Reed: Leading Business Growth

In spring 2023 Doug stepped aside for his successor as President and CEO of Meridian Associates, an employee owned Civil Engineering, Survey, and LIDAR mapping firm. His principal focus was leadership development, best practices understanding, and fully transitioning the firm to prosper after a difficult 5 years post-sale of the company to an ESOP and founders exit. 

Douglas Foster Reed, P.E. leads business growth by elevating employee engagement to embrace best practices. Above all, his teaching, coaching and encouragement will make powerful strategy execution second nature for firm leaders. As a result of the following leaders learn to create, careers, revenue and profit will soar.

How does Doug do this? As an example, Doug found that things at the top weren’t what they seemed. He watched too many firms:

  • Fail to reach their EBITDA goals
  • Enter new markets only to see their strategic plans backfire
  • Bring in “rainmakers” yet sales still stagnates
  • Start important initiatives whose execution stalls

Recognizing this, Doug set off to find a solution that complimented, not worked against, the natural instincts of engineers and scientists. Along the way he became educated in business methods, studied under some of the industry’s top leaders, and engrossed himself in corporate governance. As a result, this culmination of skills and knowledge positioned him to achieve growth at four times the industry average.

Strategy Execution Accomplishments

  • Bucked the trend and transformed a $15M division from a loss to over 22% profit and added 75% more backlog (while other were bleeding from the recession).
  • Managed a unit of a 135 person firm and gave his team the tools to grow the firm to 500 employees and eight offices.
  • Lead a firm to organically increase its staff 500% from 35 to 200 employees and five offices.
  • As an elected shareholder and Board Member, Doug showed the C-Suite a practical way to give investors confidence in the firm's future. After that, careers, revenue and profit soared.

Consultant and Interim Executive

Today, Doug guides strategy execution for engineering and environmental companies. As a result owners enjoy safe growth and comfortable finances. To accomplish such his engagements range from consultant to interim executive.

Leading Edge Solutions for Strategy Execution

A visionary of leading edge solutions. He is a member of the Engineering Change Lab-USA a non-profit catalyst for technological change. In addition, his career constantly embraced changing technologies to create new revenue streams and drive growth.

Expert on best practices. For instance, he a member of the American Council of Engineering Companies' Management Business Education Committees and ACECMA Leadership Education Committee. He is also active in the FLENG Society. In addition, his presentations, articles and blogs cover all of the pressing issues.

Adept at leading change. Doug published Lead A Movement: The Insider's Guide to Powerful Strategy Execution, a peer reviewed and critically acclaimed industry book. The book is available in Print, Kindle and Audio editions.

Visible. In total, Douglas has published, instructed or presented over 100 times for industry-leading trade organizations.  His prowess is partly the results of his certification by the Bob Pike School for Creative Training.

American Heritage

On a personal note, Douglas raised three children (now with three grandchildren), golfs, sails and skis.  He is a music aficionado, which is perhaps an interest he inherited from the American folk composer and his great-great-great grandfather, Stephen Foster (My Old Kentucky Home).

What do Executives say about Doug Reed?

RESULTS

Doug provided group and one on one sales training and coaching on customer relationships and sales, and a supporting CRM process. Our sales staff is exceeding their prior performance, and our digital marketing and print advertising is more effective.

Doug also supported our start-up of a laboratory business in a new geography. He quickly got to know and be valued by our staff. The tools and strategies that Doug brought to our business will be utilized by our staff to generate new business for years to come.

Ron Warila, Division Manager, Microbac Laboratories, Inc.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Doug’s proven experience in identifying and overcoming A/E business barriers, and his interactive teaching approach has been invaluable to our own strategic planning process. Doug continues to coach our staff and has become a valued partner to our management team as they lead growth with renewed vigor. 

Chris Mulleavey, PE, President/CEO, Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc.    

KNOWLEDGE

Doug clearly understands that well-meaning strategies can only be realized with thoughtful preparation for and commitment to barrier-busting support. Doug’s unique career path has enabled him to intimately connect to a broad range of employees who can and should be engaged to advance the firm.

Fred Kramer, AIA, Vice President, Northeast Buildings Division, Stantec