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F R O M T H E F O U N D E R
If you truly want “best practices” for your firm, you need to look for real innovation versus following the pack. Who says best practices really are best?
“B est practices” is one of these frequently used terms we (“we” being those of us who talk about the business of AEC firms) frequently use without thinking about it. I’m 100 percent sure I have done it myself hundreds, if not thousands of times. These best practices refer to matters such as billing and collection, recruiting, marketing and business development, organization structure, employee training and development, compensation and benefits, and many other critical areas.
Mark Zweig
It makes sense. Who wouldn’t want to do everything in their firm in whatever is the generally accepted best way to do it?
like ours, differentiation is crucial to breaking out from the competition. You have to be differentiated from the other firms so clients select you and pay you a better fee for whatever it is you do. You have to be differentiated from other firms when it comes to being able to recruit and retain the very best staff. You have to be differentiated when it comes to how you do the work your firm does so you can be more efficient. Differentiation, i.e., uniqueness, is crucial. And finding that differentiation takes innovation, not following. Before we go any further, let’s also acknowledge
There’s only one problem with this idea. And it’s a biggie. If one accepts the notion that we work in a huge, crowded, fragmented industry that is made up of 100,000 firms or more (and that is just counting architecture, engineering, planning, and allied companies – not the broader definition of the industry that includes millions of construction contracting and subcontracting companies), is being like everyone else the best way to make YOUR firm successful? When you have a business in a mature industry
See MARK ZWEIG, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 11, 2021, ISSUE 1412
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