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ON THE MOVE JAY MARTIN JOINS TLC ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS Jay Martin, PE, LEED AP BD+C, CEM has joined TLC Engineering Solutions as a shareholder and managing partner of the firm’s Dallas office. With extensive mechanical engineering and project management experience, Martin will be leading projects in multiple markets, further developing the firm’s Texas portfolio. His demonstrated leadership and strong communication skills build on the existing office talent and commitment of delivering extreme service for TLC clients. Gary Krueger, PE, LEED AP BD+C, CM, Vice President/Executive Director of TLC’s Melbourne and Dallas operations welcomed
Jay stating, “Jay embodies the strengths of TLC; combining his well-developed technical capabilities with an inherent understanding of our clients’ primary needs and priorities. We are extremely excited and confident that Jay will help propel TLC and our clients in the Dallas/Fort Worth market regionally and nationally.” Martin is a graduate of Texas Christian University. TLC is an award-winning, nationally ranked consulting engineering firm serving healthcare, education, transportation, government and commercial markets across the United States and around the world.
TLC provides exceptional MEP, fire protection, life safety, technology, structural engineering, energy and sustainability consulting and building commissioning, as well as theatre/ venue and acoustical consulting services. Founded in 1955 in Orlando, Florida, the firm has 14 locations and has consistently earned Zweig’s Hot Firm recognition for consistent growth, as well as Best Firms to Work For recognition. Projects engineered by TLC have earned recognition from local, regional, and national industry groups and publications for design, efficiency, and function.
MARK ZWEIG, from page 9
5)Be careful with any real estate your company or your principals own. This is not something I have previously addressed in these pages, but it’s crucial. I remember some clients of ours who lost everything (or came darn close to it) in the early ‘90s because they didn’t understand the risks of owning income-generating properties (like their office buildings). When the firm is growing and establishing new performance records every day, and office rents and real estate values are going up and up, and you see how much money your developer clients are making, it’s easy to rationalize why you should own your own building or buildings. It is, after all, a classic small business wealth- building strategy. But when investment properties are financed with three- to five-year notes (even though the payments are based on a 15, 20, or even 25 year amortization schedule), those loans have to be renewed every three to five years. If there’s a big loan on the property and the value goes down, you will either have to kick in more cash to have sufficient equity, or the bank may have to foreclose. That means you could be making all of your payments on time and still lose your building or other investment property! Don’t think this can’t happen. We had a New England-based environmental consulting firm client that we had to quickly find a buyer for because they maxed out their credit line at the same time that six of their office buildings that their principals owned were devalued by a real estate crash. We had days to find a buyer for their business and real estate, and were very lucky to do so, or they all would have lost everything because they personally guaranteed the loans. 6)Keep politics out of your company. We are too polarized. Don’t add to it in the office because you feel so strongly about the righteousness of your political opinions. Do not try to get your employees to sign petitions or strong arm them to contribute to any cause or candidate. It’s very dangerous. I worked at a firm in the mid-‘80s where a principal posted a petition to “draft” a particular individual they were high on to run for president. It got a lot of people upset who did not like that particular individual because they felt obligated to sign or face negative repercussions from that principal. I was one of them. Not good. People quit over it. So, there you have my thoughts for this morning. Hang on tight. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. But we can all get safely to our destinations if we keep our cool. MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.
blind optimist – I’m not advocating naivety or ignorance. But if you, as the captain of the ship cannot remain calm and “on duty,” how can you expect anyone who works for you to be any other way themselves? You can’t. 2)Plan plan plan. Plans A, B, and C are all needed. Contingency plans and “what if ” scenarios need to be mapped out for a wide variety of different situations. Remaining calm – having a plan – and “pre-thinking” your responses before various situations present themselves are hallmarks of great leaders. There is always something you can do (to make things better). Figure out how you will deal with whatever comes up when you are not under the gun. You will make better decisions if you do. “Hang on tight. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. But we can all get safely to our destinations if we keep our cool.” 3)Project confidence inside and outside of the company. No one wants to work for a leader who isn’t calm or who doesn’t have a plan. Likewise, people expect their leaders to project confidence that the firm will be able to not just survive, but actually grow and prosper in the future. This may either seem impossible to do, or it may seem too elementary to you. But believe me, I have seen many cases of leaders in this business who lose their confidence as they go into survival mode. When that happens, it is a cancer that can be hard to contain. 4)Be creative in your projects. Let’s face it COVID-19 – or some other thing like it – isn’t going to go away. The need for heathy environments in the places we live, work, shop, make things, go to school, and recreate are going to be top of mind for a long time to come. Likewise, all manner of security and anti-terrorism measures will be looming issues for the foreseeable future for all types of infrastructure and facilities. Even if your clients aren’t asking you to think about these things, you should be thinking about them and addressing them in every single thing you do. Show you are looking out for your clients’ real needs even if they don’t know what those are. Be the people they can count on to protect them and their employees, clients, customers, and physical assets. You may win over some of these clients for life if you can succeed in doing so.
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THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 18, 2021, ISSUE 1375
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