TZL 1298

TZL: Describe the challenges you en- countered in building your manage- ment team over the lifetime of your leadership? Have you ever terminat- ed or demoted long-time leaders as the firm grew? How did you handle it? JF: Eclipse is a small engineering firm. The challenge is in asking a good engineer to do something that she/he has no for- mal training in, experience in, or, in many cases, no desire to do. You have this cra- zy scenario where your best engineers are assigned to a management position (re- member the Peter principle?). It’s per- ceived as a promotion and we usually get (and expect) a pay raise even though we’re doing a job that we’re less qualified to do. We often under deliver while reducing the amount of time we’re spending at what we are paid to do. It’s a major hurdle to growth. We are a relatively young compa- ny. To this point, we have handled it so far by encouraging large doses of self-study to refine our skill sets; and putting a lot of onus on each employee to manage them- selves. TZL: In one word or phrase, what do you describe as your number one job re- sponsibility as CEO? JF: Advocate. TZL: What happens to the firm if you leave tomorrow? JF: Our CFO, Rolf Armstrong and I work very closely and discuss all strategic deci- sions. He is more than equipped to handle all my responsibilities until a new CFO or CEO is selected. TZL: With technology reducing the time it takes to complete design work, how do you get the AEC industry to start pricing on value instead of hours? JF: I’m not convinced that technology has reduced the time it takes to complete de- sign work. I recently reviewed a calcula- tion package that was 95 pages. I’ve seen old-timers complete this same work by hand in three pages. That’s 92 pages of calculations that added no value. To get paid for more value, we need to first de- liver more value. TZL: If the worker shortage continues, do you see wages increasing to encour- age more talent to enter the AEC space, or will technology be used to counter the reduced work force? JF: It’s likely to be a combination. I See JESSE FORTUNE, page 8

My point is this: when we identify an em- ployee who fits just right into our organi- zation, we find no value in making them wait around for 20 years to consider own- ership. Everyone is on their own journey and sometimes that journey takes a little longer, but it makes zero sense to me to eliminate someone because they are not old enough. “We developed niches and dug for opportunities to add value for our clients which ultimately grew our company during a very difficult economic period.” TZL: Internal transition is expensive. How do you “sell” this investment op- portunity to your next generation of principals? How do you prepare them for the next step? JF: A long history of strong financial per- formance balanced with a culture of mu- tual respect sells itself. In addition to tra- ditional mentoring and professional con- tinuing education, we have an internal program called Leadership Eclipse. This is an evolving program and it currently has modules in: 1) Accounting 2) Financial management 3) Sales and marketing 4) Legal and insurance In addition to this, we send them to a two- day boot camp for AEC principals. TZL: When did you have the most fun running your firm, and what were the hallmarks of that time in your profes- sional life? JF: Every stage is fun for different rea- sons. Our response to the financial crisis of 2008 is something I’m very proud of. Our business, like many others, was hit very hard. We had to let go of some very talented employees. Those of us who were left, took significant pay-cuts. We saw many of our close friends out of work or worse. Our team responded with incred- ible grit. We developed niches and dug for opportunities to add value for our cli- ents which ultimately grew our compa- ny during a very difficult economic peri- od. It was and continues to be a defining moment for our current leadership and company.

YEAR FOUNDED: 1998 HEADQUARTERS: Missoula, MT NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 35 OFFICE LOCATIONS: Missoula and Whitefish in MT, Portland and Bend in OR, and Spokane, WA. SPECIALTIES: ❚ ❚ Structural design ❚ ❚ Concrete ❚ ❚ Steel ❚ ❚ Wood ❚ ❚ Timber ❚ ❚ Consulting ❚ ❚ Masonry ❚ ❚ FRP

❚ ❚ Aluminum ❚ ❚ AutoCAD ❚ ❚ Drafting ❚ ❚ Building permits ❚ ❚ Construction drawings ❚ ❚ Seismic anchorage ❚ ❚ AutoCAD LT ❚ ❚ Material handling SECTORS:

❚ ❚ Commercial ❚ ❚ Educational ❚ ❚ Green design ❚ ❚ Log and timber ❚ ❚ Public sector ❚ ❚ Residential ❚ ❚ Seismic ❚ ❚ Wind CORE VALUES: ❚ ❚ Energy – passionate, positive, can-do-attitude ❚ ❚ Communication – be responsive and accessible to our clients and colleagues ❚ ❚ Legacy – passing the torch to the next generation ❚ ❚ Integrated – many offices, one company ❚ ❚ “Phun” – have a little … with style ❚ ❚ Sensitivity – maintain mutual trust, respect, and openness ❚ ❚ Elasticity – be flexible and embrace change; pursue a healthy work-life balance

ay 27, 2019, ISSUE 1298

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