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OPINION
From risk to reward
Being able to turn challenges into lasting opportunities requires sacrifice, strategic risk, and strong teams.
G rowth requires sacrifice, risk, and a well-thought-out plan. Whether it’s investing in yourself to gain more knowledge, a professional certification, or a better position in the firm, this type of personal growth requires sacrificing time, money, and energy. When looking at firm growth plans, many are considered “stretch” goals that take a team or leadership group outside of their comfort zone. Growth often doesn’t happen when we’re comfortable, rather it takes smart, risky steps to grow in a healthy and successful way.
Duncan Robertson, CPSM
You may be wondering, why take a risk if what you’re currently doing is working? There has never been a time with as much change, technology advancement, and shifting across the industry as there is right now. Just because something worked at your firm in 2018, doesn’t mean that seven years later the same project, process, or tactic is going to be equally as successful today. Now is the time to take risks that are going to facilitate healthy growth and establish a foundation for the firm to build off of for the next decade. AI’S GROWING ROLE. According to BST Global’s AI + Data Report, 77% of AEC respondents believe AI will transform their business, but 33% reported that their AI strategy is
not aligned with their overall business strategy. These statistics are a telling sign that AI has already arrived and AEC firms have recognized the importance, however many haven’t figured out how to utilize it to benefit their people. Shankar Kalyana, a senior vice president at Stantec, one of the world’s largest AEC firms, stated, “If we can harness AI and data, there’s so much promise, but we must be mindful of how employees do the work. People and processes come first; technology is subservient. That is the real shift – use AI to empower humans, not replace them.”
See DUNCAN ROBERTSON , page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 13, 2025, ISSUE 1605
ELEVATE THE INDUSTRY®
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