TZL 1231

T R E N D L I N E S W W W . T H E Z W E I G L E T T E R . C O M J a n u a r y 1 5 , 2 0 1 8 , I s s u e 1 2 3 1

Equity value/book value

Happy New Year!

T here’s always something nice about a new year. It’s a fresh start. It’s time for a new plan. The accounting starts all over at zero. Let’s get going! Here are my thoughts: ❚ ❚ Org structure. Do you have what you need – what works best to serve your clients, maxi- mize efficiency, and provide learning oppor- tunities for your people? If not, now is a great time to make changes. Organizational struc- ture is far more critical than a lot of people working in the AEC business think it is. ❚ ❚ Key roles. Who is in what job – particularly the top jobs – is super important. We all know what it’s like to have someone in a role they aren’t geared for. The new year is a perfect time to right those wrongs. Consider moving people to new roles they are better equipped for. ❚ ❚ Hiring process. Do you have one? It should start with a method for deciding whether you have a need to hire someone or not, and go all the way through interviewing, offer, and inte- gration phases. Too many companies end up with the wrong people filling key roles. When you look at “why,” the hiring process (or lack thereof), is often the culprit. Let’s not make the same mistakes in 2018 that we made in 2017. Address the issue! ❚ ❚ Training. What skills do your people lack? What can you do to alleviate that situation? What training resources are available in-house and where do you need to go outside? Let’s get a plan together for the new year to address these deficiencies versus just complaining about them! ❚ ❚ Accounting changes. People respond to what you measure and report. Sometimes that leads to good results. Other times it can result in people doing the wrong thing for the business

“There’s always something nice about a new year. It’s a fresh start. It’s time for a new plan. The accounting starts all over at zero. Let’s get going!”

The equity value/book value of A/E firms has been on the increase since 2015, according to Zweig Group’s 2017 Valuation Survey . The value rose from 1.54 in 2015 to 1.97 in 2017. Interestingly, the previous high was in 2008, when the value was 1.75. Increased profitability over the last few years has likely allowed firms to improve their retained earnings which leads to improved equity values for firms. OPEN FOR PARTICIPATION zweiggroup.com/survey-participation/

Mark Zweig

MORE COLUMNS xz M&A INSIGHTS: Five-point improvement Page 3 xz FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Revisiting Conscious Capitalism Page 5 xz GUEST SPEAKER: Hiring a team player Page 9 xz POP MARKETING: Content is king Page 11

F I R M I N D E X CH2M.....................................................2

Dawson Van Orden.................................6

Gensler...................................................8

Geosyntec Consultants.........................12

HOK. ......................................................4

Conference call: Josh Eddy See MARK ZWEIG, page 2

Page 6

T H E V O I C E O F R E A S O N F O R A / E / P & E N V I R O N M E N TA L C O N S U L T I N G F I R M S

BUSINESS NEWS CH2M AWARDS $1 MILLION FOR ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP TO OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CH2M has made a $1 million gift for one endowed professorship in OSU’s College of Engineering. The endowment honors CH2M’s founders and their roots at OSU while investing in the future workforce promoting science, technology, engineering, and math education. “Our strong ties with CH2M are seen all over our campus, at Merryfield Hall, the CH2M HILL Alumni Center, and the CH2M HILL Auditorium in Kearney Hall,” said Scott Ashford, Kearney professor and dean of OSU’s College of Engineering, who worked at CH2M for 10 years. “These endowed funds will provide critical support for the College of Engineering’s best and brightest faculty who are leading by example through research and innovation, transformational education, and inclusivity and collaboration.” CH2M was born at OSU. In the 1930s, three students (Holly Cornell, James Howland, and T. Burke Hayes) and their civil engineering professor, Fred Merryfield, began dreaming of starting an engineering company. After completing their military service in World War II, the four men launched a consulting business in January 1946 in Corvallis, Oregon, and named the company after their initials, CH2M. In 1971, CH2M added “HILL” to its name after merging with a company founded by another former OSU student – Clair A. Hill and Associates – after 15 years of collaboration on projects in California. The combined company would provide a diverse range of environmental and engineering consulting services around the world. Decades of close connection and partnership between CH2M and OSU followed – a mutually beneficial relationship that has allowed both institutions to advance their efforts to build a better world. Many generations of OSU graduates have chosen CH2M as their

Take your advice from Mark Zweig to-go.

employer, and many of those OSU alumni advanced into leadership positions in the company. Ralph Peterson, CH2M’s president and CEO from 1991 to 2008, began working at CH2M when he was still an OSU student. OSU faculty serve as consultants on CH2M projects, while CH2M employees return to OSU as adjunct faculty, mentoring the next generation of engineers. This gift, the CH2M HILL Professorship in Civil Engineering Fund, commemorates CH2M, its cofounders, and its positive impact on the world. The name “CH2M HILL” will live in perpetuity through this endowed professorship. The dean of the College of Engineering will appoint an endowed professor for a term of three to five years. “I will always be grateful to our founders from OSU for starting this purpose-driven company,” said Jacqueline Hinman, chairman and CEO of CH2M. “By fully engaging employees in our success, CH2M has grown from a professor and his three students in Corvallis, Oregon to an innovative, sustainable industry leader in communities we serve, providing the best opportunities for engineering students who are motivated to make a positive difference in the world.” Named faculty endowments honor and support faculty who are nationally known as scholars, educators, researchers, and leaders in their fields. These endowments enable OSU to attract and support world-class faculty who bring the university’s programs to national prominence. “This gift underscores CH2M’s continued commitment to strategically investing in the future workforce of our critical industry and supports the talent pipeline of our clients, as well,” said Ellen Sandberg, vice president of community investment and executive director of the CH2M Foundation. “We are honored to preserve CH2M’s legacy at OSU, where our company was born.”

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MARK ZWEIG, from page 1

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but the right thing to drive the numbers you’re tracking. Now is the time to fix the prob- lem – at the beginning of the new year. Otherwise, you’ll probably get yet another year with the wrong accounting. ❚ ❚ Systems. What systems need fixing? The CRM? The manpower scheduling system? The marketing lead tracking? The electronic filing? The new year is the perfect time to get a plan together to FIX some of this stuff once and for all to make everything work better. Get on it! ❚ ❚ Marketing. Website stale? Tired of the lame social media posts you see your firm mak- ing? Don’t have good lists of clients you’re targeting? All of this stuff needs to be fixed as soon as possible. New year, new marketing. The time is never better for a change. So how about it? Are you going to let everything go – “business as usual” – or are you going to make some headway on some of these old problems and create new opportunities? Now is your chance! Go to it!! MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

O P I N I O N

Five-point improvement

Successful business planning isn’t about having a crystal ball. It’s about a culture that discusses goals, actions, and results on an open and regular basis.

T he end of one year and the beginning of a new one is the season of preparation. We prepare to close out the year, report results, and then get ready to launch into a newer – and improved – version of the prior year. The business planning process can be a real headache to leaders of business units who don’t get to take a break to develop their plans while hitting various year-end deadlines. And, the business planning process can feel totally fake to the unit leader if they make the plan, then it gets changed by others around them without their buy-in, and ultimately the leader is supposed to be held accountable to goals that they didn’t set and don’t particularly believe are attainable.

Jamie Claire Kiser

To achieve success in business planning – which means not just hitting targets, but also learning from misses and wins alike – there are frequent areas for improvement that we recommend: 1)The shorter, the better. Too often, we see 50-page business plans that end up saying very little in terms of actionable concepts and big-picture ideas. A busi- ness plan should come down to what the business unit did last year, what the unit plans to do next year, what will drive next year’s performance in terms of client types, marketing/business develop-

ment efforts, and staffing/training needs, and what steps will be required to get there. And, the plan should be as short as possible to address these areas. 2)One leader of the business unit, one author of the business plan. Let leaders of respective areas develop every part of their business plan. Too often, we see budgets, hiring plans, market analysis, and other critical aspects of a business unit’s plan out- sourced to different areas of the firm – finance, HR, and marketing/business development. The leader of

See JAMIE CLAIRE KISER, page 4

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

BUSINESS NEWS HOK AND BREEAM USA ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO CREATE A MORE SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT BREEAM USA and HOK have signed a one-year partnership agreement that will accelerate the use of the BREEAM In-Use standard across the United States. BREEAM USA introduced BREEAM In-Use for existing buildings to the U.S. market in 2016 to provide a science-based sustainable certification and improvement solution not covered by existing green building programs. The method enables property investors, owners, managers and occupants to drive sustainable improvements through operational efficiencies and effective building management. “We recognize HOK as a market leader and are excited to be collaborating with them to bring new and affordable solutions to their

extensive USA real estate clients looking to achieve lower carbon emissions and other sustainability targets,” said Barry Giles, CEO of BREEAM USA. “HOK has demonstrated that they are experts at solving the challenges of the built environment and we’re thrilled that they appreciate the potential of BREEAM to deliver valuable results for their clients.” BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) was developed in 1990 by BRE, a leading multidisciplinary building science organization. With more than 2 million registered projects and more than 550,000 certified buildings in 70 countries, it has more certifications than any other green rating system. Based on scientific research funded by BRE, the BREEAM In- Use standard is available to every commercial

existing building no matter the size, age or condition. “We are delighted to partner with BREEAM USA to provide our clients and staff with access to BRE’s research and tools,” said Anica Landreneau, director of sustainable design at HOK. “As a firm, we look forward to implementing another rigorous green building certification program for our projects in the U.S. market.” For the past two decades, HOK has leveraged BREEAM certification to improve the performance of projects in the U.K. In 2017, the Francis Crick Institute, a 980,000-square- foot laboratory and biomedical research facility that recently opened in London, received an “Excellent” BREEAM rating.

JAMIE CLAIRE KISER, from page 3

should be established to resubmit the edited plan. This is the process where the numbers should be discussed with finance leadership and marketing should weigh in on an appropriate budget and marketing message for the focus of the year. The final plan should be shared as widely as possible – firm-wide, if we can – to get as many people as possible working hard in the same direction with a clear sense of purpose. “Using the business plan as a guideline, the rest of the areas of the company can come together to talk about what everyone can do to support the success of that unit’s plan. This only happens if we incorporate a culture of business planning into projection meetings and other internal discussions.” 5)Discuss the plan all year long. The biggest shortcoming in most business plans is that the plans are made, crafted, fine- tuned, then set aside. The plan has to be a document that we live in. Report progress against plan goals as regularly as possible, and discuss the step-by-step action items needed to achieve the results. If we aren’t on track in one area of the plan by the set target date, such as if we know we need 15 new hires to perform the work we’ve sold, we need to involve the leaders of the recruiting area to talk to them about how we stay on track. Successful business planning isn’t about having a crystal ball. It’s about a culture that discusses goals, actions, and results regularly and openly, not just once or twice a year, or – worst of all – in reviews after the year has ended and we can’t do anything to get back on track. Using the business plan as a guideline, the rest of the areas of the company can come together to talk about what everyone can do to support the success of that unit’s plan. This only happens if we incorporate a culture of business planning into projection meetings and other internal discussions. JAMIE CLAIRE KISER is Zweig Group’s director of consulting. Contact her at jkiser@zweiggroup.com.

the business unit needs to “own” the plan in every way if we hope to hold that leader accountable to the results outlined in the plan. Although an area may be outside of that leader’s wheelhouse, if we want this person to learn the skills that will eventually help them take on more responsibility, they have to learn how to think about more than their business line, and business planning is a great way to expand that skill set. 3)Set goals and metrics that support the final revenue/ profit figure. It is tempting and easy for leaders of business units to set two goals, a revenue goal and a profit goal. But there are so many targets that have to be attained in order to achieve these figures, and thoughtful business planning can be a way to get different functional areas of the firm working together to do something more comprehensive. For example, if the goal is to increase public school work for a particular market sector, identify the number of superintendents cur- rently in the CRM database, set a target number of new ad- ditions of superintendents to add each month, and report on progress to that end. This forces actions that support the ultimate goal – a revenue and profitability target – but causes a different conversation. Where do we meet these superin- tendents? What events, meetings, and conferences should we attend? What boards do we need to be on? How much will all this cost? What’s the market size of this group? “Successful business planning isn’t about having a crystal ball. It’s about a culture that discusses goals, actions, and results regularly and openly, not just once or 4)Stand behind the plan. Business plans should be presented verbally – pitched, actually – by the leader of the unit to leadership. The plan should be questioned verbally with back- and-forth discussion and suggestions made, then a deadline twice a year, or – worst of all – in reviews after the year has ended and we can’t do anything to get back on track.”

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

O P I N I O N

I ’ve previously written about a group I’ve become active with here in Reno, which has offices in many cities throughout the world. To become familiar with the organization, I recommend a visit to their website: consciouscapitalism.org/about We all like and need profits, but there’s more to doing business than the bottom line, and the A/E industry should take heed. Revisiting Conscious Capitalism

Just a portion of the group’s credo says it all: “We believe that business is good because it creates value, it is ethical because it is based on voluntary exchange, it is noble because it can elevate our existence, and it is heroic because it lifts people out of poverty and creates prosperity. Free enterprise capitalism is the most powerful system for social cooperation and human progress ever conceived. It is one of the most compelling ideas we humans have ever had. But we can aspire to even more.” The four key principles of conscious capitalism are: 1)Higher purpose. In the words of University of Virginia Darden School of Business professor and Conscious Capitalism, Inc. trustee R. Edward Free-

man, “We need red blood cells to live (the same way a business needs profits to live), but the purpose of life is more than to make red blood cells (the same way the purpose of business is more than simply to generate profits).” While making money is essential for the vitality and sustainability of a business, it is not the only or even the most important reason a business exists. Conscious businesses focus on their purpose beyond profit. We all need meaning and purpose in our lives. It is one of the things that separates us from other animals. Purpose activates us and motivates us. It moves us to get up in the morning, sustains us when times get tough, and serves as a guiding star when

Ed Friedrichs

See ED FRIEDRICHS, page 8

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

Josh

P R O F I L E

Conference call: Josh Eddy CEO of Dawson Van Orden (Hot Firm #49 for 2016), a 45-person design and engineering firm based in Houston, Texas.

By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent

“C ashflow. Period,” says Eddy, when asked about the greatest challenge presented by growth. A CONVERSATION WITH JOSH EDDY. The Zweig Letter: Firms that have principals and firm owners that lower their compensation and invest back into the firm perform better, grow quicker, and have higher valuations. How do you balance owner compensation with investment in the firm? Josh Eddy: The DVO ownership group is all in our early 40s and we are investing all the profit into the company’s growth. We believe in our vision and know that investing in the DVO team will pay off significantly more than any other investment op- tions.

TZL: How does marketing contribute to your success rate? Are you content with your market- ing efforts, or do you think you should increase/ decrease marketing? “DVO believes in setting up a high- level process and then allowing staff to help manage themselves. Setting individual and team performance metrics allows the managers to coach improvement.” JE: DVO offers a diverse range of engineering spe- cialties and marketing is an important part of ed- ucating our clients on all we offer. Marketing and

Josh Eddy, CEO, Dawson Van Orden

THE ZWEIG LETTER Janu

h Eddy

Zweig Group is social and posting every day! C O N N E C T W I T H U S

facebook.com/ ZweigGroup

twitter.com/ ZweigGroup

linkedin.com/company/ ZweigWhite

blog. ZweigGroup .com vimeo.com/ ZweigGroup

social media are also key components used to attract the right talent to fit your company culture. More proactive marketing is a key topic for our 2018 work plan. “Continuous growth is critical to building a leadership path for young engineers and designers. At DVO we promote from within first and work hard to create opportunities for all of our top performers. We recruit the best talent regardless of point of origin.” TZL: If there was one program, course, or degree pro- gram you could take or recommend before becoming a principal or owner, what would it be? JE: Understanding business is an underrated part of being a principal and owner. Most A/E firms’ principals come up through the engineering ranks and often start their own small firm. Any company that intends to grow to more than 20 staff should get outside training or coaching before they reach that point. TZL: In the event of failure, how does your firm react? JE: There is no such thing as failure at DVO, only oppor- tunities to learn and adapt so we don’t make the same mistakes again. We look at how we handle mistakes and problems as a way to execute our customer service mission. TZL: Monthly happy hours and dog friendly offices. What do today’s CEOs need to know about today’s workforce? JE: A/E firms are facing a shortage of production staff in the coming years. Hiring, along with keeping staff happy, will be key factors to success. DVO is a believer in “work hard, play hard,” and we strive to integrate that mantra into our company’s culture. For example, this past June we took part in the AIA SandCastle Competition – a fun- draising event for AIA Houston and the ArCH Foun- dation as well as one of the top five revenue generat- ing events for the city of Galveston. On the day of the event, we sculpted piles of sand and had an unforgettable time. TZL: The talent war in the A/E industry is here. What steps do you take to create the leadership pipeline need- ed to retain your top people and not lose them to other firms? JE: Continuous growth is critical to building a leadership path for young engineers and designers. At DVO we pro- mote from within first and work hard to create opportuni- ties for all of our top performers. We recruit the best tal- ent regardless of point of origin. Team members at DVO represent 18 different universities ranging from local

individuals to as far away as Russia. It’s also important for people to feel connected to their communities and our com- pany vision includes “positively changing the industries where we work and live.” We strongly believe that donat- ing to local charities is a valuable step in trying to fulfill our company’s vision. TZL: The A/E market is great right now. What are you do- ing to cushion your firm in the event of a downturn? JE: DVO is constantly working to diversify across markets and locations so we are not too dependent on any one area. Using focused business development and forecasting, we workshare between teams to balance growth to offset any localized downturns. TZL: How do you deal with underperforming employees? What are your steps for removal after they have prov- en to be ineffective, or even counterproductive, to your firm? JE: DVO believes in setting up a high-level process and then allowing staff to help manage themselves. Set- ting individual and team performance metrics allows the managers to coach improvement. Low performers will have every opportunity to improve before change is required.

TZL: What’s the greatest challenge presented by growth?

JE: Cashflow. Period.

“DVO is constantly working to diversify across markets and locations so we are not too dependent on any one area. Using focused business development and forecasting, we workshare between teams to balance growth to offset any localized downturns.”

TZL: What is the role of entrepreneurship in your firm?

JE: Entrepreneurship is a key piece of each of our engineer- ing divisions and even more so in our expansion offices. We lean heavily on each of our DVO leaders to drive continuous improvement.

TZL: What’s your prediction for the next five years?

JE: A/E firms will need to adapt and balance compa- ny culture with producing client-focused work. The firms that do well will succeed and the ones that don’t will struggle.

uary 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

ED FRIEDRICHS, from page 5

you learn about how the Hub applies their principles, you’ll understand how universal the concepts are. Let’s take hiring. The Hub never hires based on a single interview, preferring two to three to gauge the cultural fit between the candidate and the company’s values. The Hub has a new hire packet with basic information. If the candidate is deemed appropriate, the hiring manager schedules application training, asks the candidate to shadow someone they’ll be working with. There’s a tutorial on coffee knowledge using a train-the-trainer format they’ve developed. The applicant learns alongside an existing employee, observing situational judgment, something we, in our professions, should spend more time on. As the Hub has grown to multiple locations, they’ve had to be more disciplined in finding great people who are passionate about coffee, and who are able to easily engage with their customers. They’ve been diligent about maintaining family values and, from a benefits standpoint, providing health coverage to all full-time employees, something that is quite rare in today’s small business work environment. They’ve been able to grow without carrying debt. I wish I could say the same about so many of our practitioners. Another unique challenge they have is the need to fully engage in a respectful fashion with their partners, the growers from whom they purchase their beans. I wish we all held that same notion of respecting the stakeholder with whom we are so dependent. “There’s the need to groom and nurture leaders, those who carry the message and meaning of the work we do to those with whom we interact. That is truly the nature of a firm that will not only be successful, but that will continue to grow. Conscious Capitalism warrants a deeper look from the A/E industry.” Architects, engineers, building officials, and contractors are interdependent, needing to develop trusting relationships with each other to deliver a great completed building. If we sustain that sort of relationship, we will receive our finest referrals from those whom we have truly treated as partners. And, of course, there’s the need to groom and nurture leaders, those who carry the message and meaning of the work we do to those with whom we interact. That is truly the nature of a firm that will not only be successful, but that will continue to grow. Conscious Capitalism warrants a deeper look from the A/E industry. ED FRIEDRICHS, FAIA, FIIDA, is a consultant with Zweig Group and the former CEO and president of Gensler. Contact him at efriedrichs@ zweiggroup.com.

we stray off course. Conscious businesses provide us with this sense of meaning and purpose. By focusing on its deeper purpose, a conscious business in- spires, engages, and energizes its stakeholders. Employees, customers, and others trust and even love companies that have an inspiring purpose. “Architects, engineers, building officials and contractors are interdependent, needing to develop trusting relationships with each other to deliver a great completed building. If we sustain that sort of relationship, we will receive our finest referrals from those whom we have truly treated as partners.” 2)Stakeholder. Pioneering naturalist John Muir observed, “When you tug at a single thing in nature, you find it attached to the rest of the world.” Such is the case with business, which is an intricate and interconnected web of relationships. Unlike some businesses that believe they only exist to maxi- mize return on investment for their shareholders, conscious businesses focus on their whole business ecosystem, creating and optimizing value for their stakeholders, understanding that strong and engaged stakeholders lead to a healthy, sus- tainable, resilient business. They recognize that, without employees, customers, suppli- ers, funders, supportive communities, and a life-sustaining ecosystem, there is no business. Conscious business is a win-win-win proposition, which includes a healthy return to shareholders. 3)Leadership. Robert Greenleaf, author of Servant Leader- ship , observed that, “Good leaders must first become good servants.” Conscious leaders focus on “we,” rather than “me.” They inspire, foster transformation, and bring out the best in those around them. They understand that their role is to serve the purpose of the organization, to support the people within the organization, and to create value for the organization’s stakeholders. They recognize the integral role of culture and purposefully culti- vate a conscious culture of trust and care. 4)Culture. “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” Famed manage- ment guru Peter Drucker didn’t mince words, and he knew how to identify and articulate the keys to success in business. Culture is the embodied values, principles, and practices un- derlying the social fabric of a business, which permeates its actions and connects the stakeholders to each other and to the company’s purpose, people, and processes. A conscious culture fosters love and care and builds trust between a company’s team members and its other stakehold- ers. Conscious culture is an energizing and unifying force that truly brings a conscious business to life. One of the entities here in Reno which lives and breathes the tenets of Conscious Capitalism is Hub Coffee Roasters. The business may seem like it’s a long way from the architecture and engineering professions, but I think when

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

O P I N I O N

Hiring a team player

I was recently talking with a client who was agitated that she had just made a bad hire. It wasn’t that this new person was inexperienced or unskilled; he was smart and capable, like he’d been in the interview. But he was quickly proving to be a lousy teammate – ego-driven, secretive, selfish, and unproductively competitive. Talent and skill are essential, but keep a close eye on cultural fit if you want to avoid the mistake of bringing the wrong person on board.

❚ ❚ 55 times more likely to have very well-defined goals for the team ❚ ❚ 106 times more likely to give each other tough feed- back We call the best teams “Loyalist Teams” because every member is loyal to one another, the team goals, and the organizational goals. Individuals “We call the best teams ‘Loyalist Teams’ because every member is loyal to one another, the team goals, and the organizational goals.”

Rebecca Teasdale GUEST SPEAKER

Great teams are built intentionally. People often think that the best teams come together by some combination of good luck and good timing, but the truth is a much more deliberate story. We studied thousands of teams in dozens of industries and found that the highest performing teams always had similar traits and characteristics. The individuals on these teams chose to be great team players. When compared to the least functional teams, the best teams were: ❚ ❚ 47 times more likely to work hard to build and main- tain trust ❚ ❚ 50 times more likely to openly discuss conflict when it arose

See REBECCA TEASDALE, page 12

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

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THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

O P I N I O N

Content is king

Only after the content is the best it can be should you worry about packaging the information. Otherwise, the information is pretty but empty.

I s a picture worth 1,000 words? Yes. Are we visual learners? Yes. Are we enticed when a document looks great and has a nice layout? Yes. Do people judge books by their covers? Of course, but they shouldn’t! Let’s say you see a movie poster that blows your mind, inspiring you to see the movie right then and there. Let’s also say the movie was picture-perfect, with astonishing cinematography, impeccable set designs, and costumes “to die for.” There’s one little catch: The story was horrible, boring, and full of crater-sized plot holes. Would you say you liked the movie and recommend others to go to the theater? Probably not.

Javier Suarez POP MARKETING

The same can be said about proposals, especially in this era of InDesign addicts. The new normal is that submittals look amazing; some even resemble magazines. Fun! This is all great and extremely important, but not at the expense of one simple thing: Content. There are a million reasons why this has become an issue in A/E firms in the last decade, so let’s discuss a few of them. ❚ ❚ Increased competition. Once the industry bounced back after the recession, a new trend started

emerging where big firms started pursuing smaller jobs. Now, there can be 20 submittals for an oppor- tunity that in the past attracted only a fraction of those proposals. Naturally, this increased competi- tion resulted in firms going after more and more projects. Some marketing departments shifted their priorities and started functioning like pseudo production lines, cranking out documents one after another. This method sacrifices content creation,

See JAVIER SUAREZ, page 12

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

REBECCA TEASDALE, from page 9

and inviting documents. Once they gain more experience, they participate in strategic discussions and decision-making processes. ❚ ❚ Software availability. At the risk of sounding like a dino- saur, the younger generation was raised on Photoshop and are usually savvy with desktop publishing tools. These software packages are relatively easy to learn and make all the sense in the world to use them to develop proposals. These are some of the reasons why the industry is seeing so many “pretty” proposals, but with awful content. If there is one vital rule, it should be that content is king. Only after you’ve made the content the best it can be should you worry about packaging the information. Remember that just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Renowned content marketer Andrew Davis said: “Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.” I am all for delivering proposals that are visually stimulating, inviting to look at and fun, but not at the expense of content. JAVIER SUAREZ is the central marketing and sales support manager with Geosyntec Consultants. Contact him at jsuarez@geosyntec.com. “If there is one vital rule, it should be that content is king. Only after you’ve made the content the best it can be should you worry about packaging the information. Remember that just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” REBECCA TEASDALE is a partner at The Trispective Group and the co-author with Audrey Epstein, Linda Adams and Abby Curnow-Chavez of The Loyalist Team: How Trust, Candor, and Authenticity Create Great Organizations . For more information, please visit, trispectivegroup.com. All team members are responsible for the team culture so it’s important to find the right person and, once they’re on board, to help them adjust and learn the rules of the road. Every aspect of building and maintaining a great team has to be done thoughtfully and with great intention. Same for hiring. And if it’s done right, there are no surprises and the new lineup will be able to continue creating the same extraordinary results as the original lineup. ❚ ❚ Don’t settle. Trauma for both the team and the new-hire can be avoided by taking the time to get the best person on board. The odds of remediating a wrong-fit candidate are low. At best, you may spend a lot of time integrating a skeptical new hire with your Loyalist Team practices. for the interview but this team is not for me.” It’s better to know this before they land on your team. ❚ ❚ Probe for a Loyalist Team mindset. Asking open-ended questions can get at a candidate’s beliefs about teams. For example: “Tell me about a time a teammate let you down and how you handled it?” Or, “Talk about your best and worst team experiences.” Or, “Share a time when you were a part of a team that was struggling to perform. What role did you play and how did you handle it?” ❚ ❚ Listen for “I” versus “we.” One clue about a candidate’s mindset will come through in how they talk about their team experiences. All “I” responses may be a red flag.

work to ensure each other’s success as much as they work to ensure their own. High-performance teams create operating norms that explain how members of the team will treat each other. And team members hold each other accountable to maintain those norms. “All team members are responsible for the team culture so it’s important to find the right person and, once they’re on board, to help them adjust and learn the rules of the road.” When it comes to adding a new person to the crew, these teams make decisions just as deliberately. Like all teams, they hire for experience and skill but they also pay the same attention to cultural fit, saving the pain that comes down the road when the wrong candidate comes on board. Here are a few tips for ensuring your new hire is the right fit for your Loyalist Team: ❚ ❚ Include team members in the interview process. To en- sure a great fit, invite your team into the selection process. Get clear ahead of time on what “right fit” means and give your team accountability for deciding who is the best fit for your team’s chemistry. ❚ ❚ Share the team’s operating norms. Setting expectations for team behaviors before a candidate is hired gives them a chance to opt out. There’s no harm in them saying, “Thanks

JAVIER SUAREZ, from page 11

quality checks, and technical reviews to complete and deliver documents on time and that are compliant to the proposed requirements. ❚ ❚ Relaxed go/no-go decisions. A common mistake made by firms struggling to find new work is to go after everything that even remotely resembles their experience and the ser- vices they offer. Making poor go/no-go decisions is a surefire way to take your hit ratio in a downward spiral and, in turn, increasing the marketing professional’s level of frustration. Working on doomed submittals is listed as one of the main culprits of burnout in our industry. Marketing A/E services is a stressful undertaking and when you sprinkle that with un- winnable pursuits, professionals take note and start looking elsewhere. ❚ ❚ Inexperienced marketers. More and more mid-level mar- keters leave the industry due to burning out, usually caused by working on an insane number of concurrent proposals and limited engagement in decision making processes. As firms struggle to attract new talent, more inexperienced market- ers are filling the void. Naturally, as they begin their careers their focus, especially in proposals, is to package attractive “The new normal is that submittals look amazing; some even resemble magazines. Fun! This is all great and extremely important, but not at the expense of one simple thing: Content.”

THE ZWEIG LETTER January 15, 2018, ISSUE 1231

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