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PROFILE
Building a winning team: Kevin Johnson President of TPD, Inc. (Pottstown, PA), a consulting engineering firm specializing in transportation engineering and related environmental and construction services.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
T PD, Inc., a transportation engineering firm, is no stranger to winning the Zweig Group’s Best Firm to Work For Award and its president, Kevin Johnson, mostly attributes that to company culture. He describes his leadership style as well as company culture as collaborative. He says that for most everything he does, he learned through playing team sports and believes that teamwork is a requirement, not just a buzzword. If you want to know how TPD operates, Johnson says to watch a replay of a timeout during the Jay Wright era at Villanova which led to three Final Four appearances and two NCAA championships from 2016 to 2022. “Jay always gathered his assistants together to discuss and seek input on strategy prior to talking to the team during every timeout,” he says. “He also sought input from the players. Both his direct reports (the assistant coaches) and their direct reports (the players) knew they could provide their thoughts and honest feedback on his ideas.”
The same input is not only sought, but freely offered at TPD. Its culture is one where people know they can openly express their opinions without fear of failure and are acknowledged for making what are often great recommendations. This culture creates an environment where mentoring is expected and supported, leading to an extraordinarily talented and motivated staff. And, Johnson knows from experience that if you have a great culture, people will want to return to work for you even if they have left for perceived greener pastures or because of a reduction in force (RIF). LESSONS LEARNED; RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES MET. For example, he shares that during the Great Recession, TPD resisted a RIF for too long due to some beliefs that the cost of training these great staff members who would be part of the RIF would now be a sunk cost, never to be recouped when they went to work for other firms. However, after TPD regained its financial footing and was able to start hiring again, more
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THE ZWEIG LETTER AUGUST 25, 2025, ISSUE 1599
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