1142

BRAND BUILDING, from page 5

about performance and o ff ering raises and promotions at that same time. O ff er raises throughout the year when deserved. Positive reinforcement is more e ff ective when o ff ered in re- sponse to the desired actions as opposed to a schedule. At the end of the day, paying at the top of the market and o ff ering promotions are the recognition that employees need. If you have built your company like a sports team and only have the right people on the team, this should be easy. “You must decide if you are going to focus on building a company around needs or around ideals. A company built on needs grows and shrinks based on the market. They tolerate poor performance and negativity because they employ people to fulfill a need.” Negativity is one of the greatest enemies of your brand, both internally and externally. Tolerating it is a big problem in the AEC industry, especially right now as the market for talent is tight. You must decide if you are going to focus on building a company around needs or around ideals. A company built on needs grows and shrinks based on the market. Th ey tolerate poor performance and negativity because they employ people to fulfill a need. Th ey lose high performers to other companies that have strong ideals and better fulfill their basic needs of control, security and recognition. A company based on ideals and focused on positivity flourishes in all markets and does a great job of providing for the pyscho-social needs of sta ff . If this article resonates with you, you have some hard decisions to make. It’s these hard things, though, that create prosperity. Good luck! CHAD CLINEHENS is Zweig Group’s executive vice president. Contact him at cclinehens@zweiggroup.com.

to remedy the situation, it is time to part ways if no improve- ments have been made. Too many firms tolerate those who ruin the team and its brand. You cannot sell a fun environ- ment to new recruits or high quality services to clients if you retain people that exude negativity. z Give your people more control. If you have appropriately dealt with the people that are negative and cannot be trusted, you should have no problem eliminating some of your poli- cies that create bureaucracy and slow down decision-making. Dependable people thrive on freedom, yet so many firms have too many processes that are designed to control people and results. Th is is especially a problem as firms grow larger. When you have the right people on the team, you should be able to trust them and therefore o ff er them more control. z Give people security. I don’t mean unconditional job secu- rity. I mean security in the sense of feeling good about the company, its direction, and their role in that direction. Have a clear vision for growth with a strong commitment to opportu- nity everywhere. Share more information with all employees using an open book management philosophy. Demand that all leaders have an ongoing, open dialogue with their people about how they are doing as a team and as individuals. Try to break free from the “once-a-year career development discus- sion” that is often aided by forms and meetings that accom- plish little. True security is gained by reasonable transparency and confidence in the future. z Recognize your people. Getting rid of negative people tells everyone else we like what you are doing and we do not like what they were doing. Taking that a step further is recogniz- ing performance and excellence as it happens. Again, resist the standard approach of talking to employees once a year “Negativity is one of the greatest enemies of your brand, both internally and externally.”

LANGAN, from page 7

DESTINATION DUBAI Globetrotting geotechnical engineer George E. Leventis spends a lot of time overseas for business. Here are his tips on how to enjoy yourself and get a little work done while traveling in the United Arab Emirates. z Best hotel: Park Hyatt, Dubai z Best breakfast: The Palace, Dubai z Best lunch: Roberto’s, Dubai z Best dinner: Zuma, Dubai z Best cup of coffee: Costa Coffee, International z Best airline for international travel: Virgin Atlantic and Emirates z Best tech for keeping in touch with family and friends: Skype and FaceTime z Best tech for travel: Virtual private network – which extends a private network across a public network z Best phone numbers: One mobile each for U.S., Europe, and UAE

Not all firms were as studious in their approach. “ Th ere are horror stories about firms that went to the Middle East, opened o ffi ces with hundreds of employees, and then the bottom fell out,” says Leventis, referencing profound events like the Arab Spring of 2010-2012. “There are horror stories about firms that went to the Middle East, opened offices with hundreds of employees, and then the bottom fell out.” Langan had boots on the ground for networking and business develop- ment, but was bringing a lot of the work back to the home o ffi ce in New York. Th e model worked well while things were slow in the United States. But the domestic market began to recover, and Langan had to change its method. For projects originating in the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf, and in central Asia, Langan increasingly found itself in London. Th e deci- sion became obvious, it just took a while to execute. “A lot of our architects and friends do work out of their London o ffi ces,” Leventis says. “Why not have our own people there.”

THE ZWEIG LETTER March 7, 2016, ISSUE 1142

Made with FlippingBook Annual report