your best people. This condition often occurs in mature companies that aren’t growing. Their workforce is aging and costing them more every year, and they aren’t hiring less experienced people at the entry level. “Sometimes I think architects and engineers forget that they are in the consulting business. Acknowledging this fact affects every single aspect of how you should do things.” The new, 14,735 square foot single-story facility includes a variety of unique spaces, such as an instructional kitchen, to teach the visually impaired life skills and how to navigate through the world. The new building also features a central courtyard that contains multiple auditory and tactile guides including a bubbling fountain and contrasting surfaces. Ware ❚ ❚ Making your services into products makes them easier to sell. Selling intangible services is never easy. That means spending some time working to develop standard processes and work products for specific situations that you can sell. When your services become products, they are easier to describe and easier for your people to explain to your clients. And that also gives you an opportunity to clearly differentiate what you will do for the client versus what your competitors will do. ❚ ❚ Good verbal and written communication skills are essential to your success, so you cannot have people on the team who lack those skills. Consultants have to MARK ZWEIG, from page 3 BUSINESS NEWS WARE MALCOMB ANNOUNCES CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE ON BRAILLE INSTITUTE’S NEW ANAHEIM FACILITY Ware Malcomb , an award-winning international design firm, announced construction is complete on the brand new facility of the Braille Institute located at 527 North Dale Avenue in Anaheim, California. Ware Malcomb provided executive architect and interior design services for the project. Ware Malcomb’s branding studio also implemented interior and exterior signage that incorporated the Braille Institute’s new logo and brand strategy. The Braille Institute is a non-profit organization offering a broad range of free programs, classes and services for thousands of students of all ages to empower themselves to live more enriching lives with blindness and vision loss. Founded in 1919 in Los Angeles, the Braille Institute first opened its Anaheim facility in 1971, with Ware Malcomb completing various projects on their campus since that time. Having served the community for four decades, the existing buildings were demolished to make way for a new state-of-the-art facility.
be able to sell their ideas to their clients if they want their clients to implement them. Those dealing directly with the client need to be able to communicate requirements and priorities to other project team members. Those on a team need to be able to clear up any questions or issues they have with management so they do the right thing. In many cases, communication skills may be more critical than design or technical skills. ❚ ❚ Recruitment and retention must be treated as critical functions. Because you are in the consulting business and sell time and expertise, having that time and expertise to sell becomes one of your most critical organizational functions. Yet A/E firms have historically done a poor job here. They don’t have recruitment budgets. They don’t have good onboarding processes. They spend almost nothing on training. They do little beyond annual reviews and pay increases to retain people. The result of all of this is critical jobs to unfilled and we have very expensive employee turnover we shouldn’t be having. So in order to maximize your chances for success, remember you are in the consulting business. Keep these points in mind as you guide the growth and development of your business. MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com. Established in 1972, Ware Malcomb provides planning, architecture, interior design, branding, civil engineering and building measurement services to commercial real estate and corporate clients. With office locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Panama, the firm specializes in the design of commercial office, corporate, industrial, science & technology, healthcare, retail, auto, public/educational facilities and renovation projects. Ware Malcomb is recognized as a Hot Firm and Best Firm To Work For by Zweig Group. Malcomb developed exterior and interior signage to enhance and highlight the facility’s new contemporary architecture, while integrating the Braille Institute’s new logo and brand standards. “Moving all of Braille Institute’s Anaheim facilities together into one large building instead of several smaller ones has made it much easier for their patrons to navigate, and creates operational efficiencies,” said Tom Myers, regional vice president of Ware Malcomb. “The Braille Institute has been providing vital services for the visually impaired community in Southern California for 100 years, and this new space will allow them to do even more in the decades ahead,” said Mary Cheval, director, interior architecture and design of Ware Malcomb. Ware Malcomb has worked with the Braille Institute on several projects over the past 25 years.
CEO ROUNDTABLE RETREAT: APRIL 2-3, 2020 | ATLANTA, GA The CEO Roundtable Retreat is a unique opportunity for AEC firm leaders to engage and interact with industry peers to discuss current issues facing firms today, explore industry trends and next practices, and confront the biggest challenges they face leading their firms. Zweig Group’s CEO Chad Clinehens, P.E., moderates the program guiding group conversations, encouraging integration and networking, and ensuring attendees gain valuable insight, new ideas and tools – and a new network of colleagues – to foster effective leadership at their respective firms. Come prepared to discuss your biggest challenges and successes during this highly interactive session. With you in control of the subject matter, roundtable discussions strike at the heart of what you need to effect change in your organization. Past attendees of CEO Roundtable events state “there is no better forum for dialogue than with peers experiencing the same issues I am” and “the statistics provided by Zweig Group through their continual research of firms and firm leaders gives me the exact benchmarking data I need to justify change and action in my firm.” In addition to the private dinner and guided discussions, attendees are invited to participate in a Porsche Driving Experience at the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta.
To register or learn more visit bit.ly/CEOTZL or call 800.466.6275.
© Copyright 2020. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.
THE ZWEIG LETTER March 16, 2020, ISSUE 1336
Made with FlippingBook Annual report