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T he year has dawned and as many of our clients report, it has started with a bang. Lots of work that has carried over from 2015, along with more opportunities for the firm with new proposals and new projects. New year, old ways? You decide Here are some tips to help you make positive changes for your A/E/P or environmental consulting firm in the new year.
The question stimulated a pause in the action, and the PM was able to reflect on the possibility of streamlined documentation while still maintaining rigorous standards. The PM met with the contractor. They created a more efficient set of documents, reduced the schedule, and the PM was able to go back to the client with a shorter schedule. On a fixed-fee project, that was of great value to the client. When there’s a strong degree of trust in a design-build relationship, there’s plenty of opportunities to review the process and achieve the client’s goals. CAN WE APPROACH THE PROJECT DIFFERENTLY AND CREATE GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFIT? As a managing prin- cipal of an architectural firm, our office provided a line of business that supported real estate profes- sionals, and we were doing “test fits” for potential tenants. The fees were highly competitive, and the project manager who had the client relationship of- ten complained that it was very difficult to make a See TED MAZIEJKA, page 8 “As project managers, there is often a set way of doing the work – firm-wide standards of care, of approaching tasks, of delivery in projects, and execution of effort.”
As financial managers and project managers embark on planning and executing the work, will you fall back on the old ways of approaching your business, or will you integrate new ways of thinking? Will you create energy, fresh ideas, and opportunities for new efficiencies that will translate into higher profit for the firm? Or will you remain stale? HOW CAN WE CREATE MORE PROFIT WITH THE SAME FEE? As project managers, there is often a set way of do- ing the work – firm-wide standards of care, of ap- proaching tasks, of delivery in projects, and execu- tion of effort. Are you open to transforming the work process in favor of potentially higher profit? A case in point might help illuminate this. A client did drawing tasks with an extraordinary level of documentation and detail, which chewed up the fee. The financial manager asked a simple question to the project manager and team: “Do you have to commit that level of detail on the documents or can the documentation be streamlined, and can the firm save time, money, and increase profit?” “Will you create energy, fresh ideas, and opportunities for new efficiencies that will translate into higher profit for the firm? Or will you remain stale?”
THE ZWEIG LETTER February 22, 2016, ISSUE 1140
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