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FOCUS ON OTHERS, from page 7
Also, we’re investing heavily in career development and education at KSA, but I believe our program benefits all the participants, including our internal instructors. If you look at the organization as a whole, the idea of investing in career development of the next generation benefits everyone. Those of us in the boomer generation cannot do this on our own. We need one another to be successful. TZL: Since you’ve been president, what’s the one thing you are most proud of implementing or changing within the firm? Why? MF: I’m not solely responsible for any of the changes that we’ve implemented at KSA over the last six years, but rather we’ve made some major changes as a unified team. I really cannot limit it to just one change. The first is our company mission: “We Build People Who Build the Future.” I love that focus and I think it directly addresses one of the greatest challenges in our industry today – recruiting and retention. Another change that our employees have welcomed is the move to become an open- book management firm. We embrace transparency and this paradigm really fits our company culture. Third, we migrated from a geography-based, organizational structure to a matrix structure that creates a stronger internal focus on our clients. This change really helped us to overcome a problem with organizational silos and made KSA more competitive in the marketplace. And finally, I’m very proud of our career development program, KSA University. It’s a robust and unique program that I believe demonstrates our commitment to our company’s mission. “It’s a mistake to try to model a company around what other companies are doing. The key is to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace and have the right people in place to sell and provide the service.” TZL: Who are you admiring right now in the AEC industry? Where do you see thought leadership and excellence? MF: I’m in my second year of being part of an AEC CEO mastermind program. A few of us from around the country meet once a month via Zoom. The meeting starts with a hot industry topic presentation by our facilitator and then each of us has an allocated amount of time to bring up topics for group discussion. I’ve come to admire and respect each of those leaders. On a broader basis, if you look at our industry overall, I have a tremendous admiration for everyone who does project and client management well. If you think about it, that is where the magic happens in our business. Our projects are incredibly consequential and typically very visible. Delivering high quality projects that exceed the expectations of our clients and the public requires an extraordinary amount of effort, skill, leadership, and dedication. And finally, I would encourage everyone to listen to Ellen
Construction of a new wastewater treatment plant designed by KSA in Bastrop, Texas.
Bensky with Turner Fleischer Architects in Toronto. I believe she has a revolutionary understanding of how to help the next generation of employees in the AEC industry to thrive. The academy that they created within their firm helped to inspire KSA University. TZL: Have you had a particular mentor who has guided you – in school, in your career, or in general? Who were they and how did they help? MF: When I graduated from Texas A&M in 1984, I was fortunate to have multiple role models at KSA. But, if I had to name just one, it would be Joncie Young, P.E., who was KSA’s president for 20 years before I became president. I’ve learned more about business, life, and people in general from him than just about anyone. It didn’t happen through a formal mentorship program, but by just working alongside each other over a long period of time. TZL: They say failure is a great teacher. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve had to learn the hard way? MF: When I first became president, my vision was to increase the diversity of our services and the markets that we work in. I pushed to make that happen too quickly, and we invested corporate resources in some areas where we couldn’t seem to gain traction. We lost a good bit of money trying to do things that we couldn’t sell. Lesson learned? It’s a mistake to try to model a company around what other companies are doing. The key is to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace and have the right people in place to sell and provide the service. Just because there’s a lot of work in a certain market doesn’t mean that your firm can be positioned to win it or do it. Develop and exploit your own company’s competitive advantages in the marketplace. If you are very successful in a few markets, market saturation can be easier and more profitable than market diversification. We’ve proven that over the last three to four years. Another lesson learned through that experience is the value of strategic planning and involving as many people as you can in the process. We developed a very good strategic plan about three years ago, and we’re seeing much fruit from those efforts.
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THE ZWEIG LETTER DECEMBER 6, 2021, ISSUE 1419
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