9
4. CEOs should ardently desire a group of advisors – a “kitchen cabinet” – to bounce ideas off of. This is the cure for that “alone at the top” feeling. Outside directors, veterans of our industry, are the best bet. 5. The external board members should constitute a “compensation committee” of the board, to set the salary of the CEO. This should be set at a level that is fair to both the CEO and the company, and should include meaningful bonuses tied to achieving profit and revenue (and other) goals. Boards of directors with external members should meet quarterly, allocate an entire day for the board meeting, and they should include some strategic issues on the agenda. Send the agenda packets out at least two days prior to the meeting, so that members have at least two evenings to review the packet. Run the board meeting with intentionality. Pay the external members $5,000 per meeting. The profitability of the firm will increase far more than the fee paid to the external board members, the careers of the teammates will be enhanced, and the firm will rise to new heights. A comment about pursuing growth of your design firm: Some founders of design firms operate theirs as a sole proprietorship, where continuous growth is not in the program. Small design firms with a 30-50 FTE headcount can have very low turnover and very high profitability; because everyone is highly experienced in their role, and there are no new hires to
be trained. Everyone feels part of the “family.” It’s a safe place to be. Everyone works for the owner, and the profits all belong to that owner. External board members are rarely needed for that type of firm. This small-firm culture provides a nice lifestyle for that owner, but it can get particularly difficult to retain top talent, who may want an expanded career. Eventually the owner sells to an acquiring firm; and the brand and the culture get absorbed into a different entity. Alternatively, for design firm leaders who want to grow the enterprise, the firm itself must be respected and nurtured above all, for it is the firm that is the source of all prosperity for both the people who are employed within it, and for the clients it serves. The founder/owner, originally, and the CEO later, must treat the enterprise as an entity separate from him/ herself personally, and work every day to build the enterprise, causing it to grow far beyond the level of a sole proprietorship. As part of that, constituting a board of directors that includes external members (always more than one), will enhance the performance of the CEO, and therefore of the enterprise itself. If you are serious about the growth and prosperity of your design firm, build a board with external members. You don’t know everything. John McAdams is the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of McAdams, a multi-discipline civil engineering, land planning, landscape architecture, transportation and geomatics firm headquartered in Raleigh, NC. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
& Specialty Insurance Brokerage Risk Management Consulting
• Architects & Engineers • Contractors & Construction Professionals
• Law Firms •
Boston 617-328-6555
Charlotte 703-827-2277
Orlando 202-680-4507
Philadelphia 610-547-0663
Washington, DC 703-827-2277
THE ZWEIG LETTER AUGUST 25, 2025, ISSUE 1599
www.amesgough.com
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker