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TRANSACT IONS THE VERTEX COMPANIES ACQUIRES XPERA INC. The Vertex Companies Inc. has acquired Xpera Inc. , a premier construction forensics, quality assurance, and real estate consultancy firm headquartered in San Diego. Xpera Group’s team is recognized as the West Coast’s most comprehensive team of construction expert witnesses, construction consultants, and strategic advisors for the built environment. Zweig Group, a full-service AEC management advisory firm, represented selling firm Xpera in this transaction. Jamie Claire Kiser, Zweig Group’s managing principal, served as the firm’s lead advisor on the engagement. “We see a great union of brands and thought leadership in the strategic combination of Xpera and Vertex,” Kiser said. “We congratulate both firms on their decision to grow together.” For Xpera Group, Vertex provides the right fit, as it is an employee-owned company that offers the expanded resources of a multi- disciplinary firm throughout its more than 25 office locations. “The cultural fit, energy, and compatibility of our
two companies coming together will certainly enhance our ability to serve our clients, expand our services, provide greater growth potential for our people, and tap resources well beyond what would otherwise have been possible,” said Ted Bumgardner, founder and chairman of Xpera Group. “By joining forces with Vertex, we see an exciting future ahead, as the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.” For Vertex, this acquisition augments its West Coast presence and expands its services in construction, forensics, and quality assurance. “We could not be more excited about the acquisition of Xpera Group,” said Bill McConnell, CEO of Vertex. “Since my first meeting with Xpera’s executive team in San Diego, it was abundantly clear that our corporate cultures are in alignment, and Xpera’s various practices will complement and expand Vertex’s core services, particularly on the West Coast. Our mutual dedication to our clients, our teammates, and our commitment to deliver first-class professional services will allow us to continue our growth journey into the future.”
Xpera Group will join Vertex’s expanding team of consultants across North America and Europe, and its clients will now have access to Vertex’s suite of specialized services. “Under the Vertex umbrella, our team will continue to bring the value our clients have come to rely on, while allowing us to expand the breadth of our services to meet additional client needs,” said Steve Grimes, president of Xpera Group. “We look forward to the many opportunities this partnership with Vertex will bring to our employees, our clients, and the AEC industry at large.” Zweig Group is the leading research, publishing, and consulting resource for the built environment. The firm provides strategy, mergers and acquisitions, business valuation, ownership transition, marketing, business development, market research, financial management, project management, recruiting and executive search services nationwide. Zweig Group’s vision is to facilitate action in pursuit of elevating individuals, firms, and thus the industry.
LEO MACLEOD, from page 11
calendar or some other way of keeping track of what you said you were going to do by when. ❚ ❚ Don’t overcommit. Instead of saying yes and then making a withdrawal somewhere else, be honest and polite. Say
legitimate project questions, saying she doesn’t have time now and that she’ll meet later. Patti gets so wrapped up in the rest of the day that she forgets to get back to staff. She chooses not to respond to an impatient client about the status of their project because she doesn’t have the answer yet, instead telling them, “I’m working on it, just wanted you to know.” She misses dinner and her kid’s soccer game, and falls asleep at her computer trying to catch up on her email. Count the withdrawals? Any deposits? Does any of this sound familiar? The universe has a perfect accounting system. We know who’s making deposits in our account and keeping their commitments and maintaining their balances and who’s not. When we don’t meet our commitments, we drop the ball, we disappoint people and they remember it. They can’t count on us, they don’t hire us, they don’t promote us, they don’t include us. Think about this the next time you say yes to any new demand on your time: to whom are you saying no? Everybody that I know is so busy with demands on their time that if something new comes along, something else needs to move off the plate. We’re just swapping out commitments. If you’re saying yes here, to whom are you saying no? Are you saying no to another client? Are you saying no to colleagues? Are you saying no to family? Friends? Or even yourself? Maybe skipping lunch, not taking a walk or exercising. It’s typical for people to burn out because they’ve prioritized other people before themselves. So what do you do about this? Here are some tips: ❚ ❚ Know your current commitments. Be aware of what you already have out there. Get it out of your head and into your
something like: ❚ ❚ I wish I could ❚ ❚ I want to be realistic about my commitments. ❚ ❚ I’m sorry ❚ ❚ Let me look at my calendar Work with folks but don’t just automatically say yes.
❚ ❚ Be realistic. Be realistic about how long something actually takes. It’s easy to plan out your day and be overly ambitious and say, “Yes, I can get all that stuff done.” Realistically, how long does it take to get things done? With interruptions and the inevitable stuff you don’t factor in, things usually take longer than you think. Factor that buffer in. ❚ ❚ Don’t drop the ball. Don’t forget about people. All it takes is a quick email, text, or phone call saying, “I’m working on it, I haven’t forgotten about you.” This is the easiest way to avoid a withdrawal. ❚ ❚ Monitor your balances. Know where you’re at. If you’ve made a withdrawal with someone, find ways to make deposits. If you’re mindful during the day of your commitments and manage how well you’re either making deposits or withdrawals, you’ll not only keep your emotional bank accounts up, but you’ll feel more at ease and get more done. LEO MACLEOD is a leadership coach in Portland, Oregon, and creator of Pocket Tools for Project Managers. Click here to view a 5-minute video on this article. He can be reached at leo@leomacleod.com.
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THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 5, 2020, ISSUE 1362
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