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a n k l i n

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TZL: Diversifying the portfolio is never a bad thing. What are the most recent steps you’ve taken to broaden your revenue streams? CF: If it makes sense, diversifying a portfolio is never a bad thing. If it’s directly connected with strategic direction of the firm, we would consider it. Recently, we added a capa- bility that was directly related to our airport-related work. TZL: The list of responsibilities for project managers is seemingly endless. How do you keep your PMs from burning out? And if they crash, how do you get them back out on the road, so to speak? CF: It’s a never ending struggle to keep your project manag- ers refreshed and renewed as project management respon- sibilities can be endless and overwhelming. We always try to keep the projects adequately staffed and provide the senior level support needed to resolve complex issues quickly and effectively. When a PM crashes it’s usually as a result of a combination of work-life issues, so we try to provide additional support and be flexible with schedules and assignments so that he/ she can work out any conflicts and take the time needed to recover. TZL: What is the role of entrepreneurship in your firm? CF: We encourage our employees to have an entrepreneur- ial spirit by rewarding behavior where employees take own- ership of assigned tasks. We believe our employee stock op- tion plan also motivates our employees to think and behave like entrepreneurs. “Start identifying your replacement at least five to seven years ahead of your planned exit date and begin the mentoring and guidance necessary to help that person develop the confidence to step into the role. This should be done for all key firm positions.” TZL: In the next couple of years, what A/E segments will heat up, and which ones will cool down? CF: Infrastructure improvements seem to be heating up. Regulatory activities will cool down under this administra- tion. TZL: With overhead rates declining over the last five years and utilization rates slowly climbing back up to pre-recession levels, how do you deal with time manage- ment policies for your project teams? Is it different for different clients? See CONFERENCE CALL, page 8

a good plan in p ace. Start identifying your replacement at least five to seven years ahead of your planned exit date and begin the mentoring and guidance necessary to help that person develop the confidence to step into the role. This should be done for all key firm positions. “Organic growth is cleaner and makes it easier to maintain the pure culture of the firm. However, it’s more difficult to achieve the growth targets without merging with synergistic firms to provide a more robust product or service.” TZL: Monthly happy hours and dog friendly offices. What do today’s CEOs need to know about today’s workforce? CF: Today’s workforce is comprised of many generations of people working together. And they each need to be un- derstood and dealt with according to what resonates with them. Stability, flexibility, work-life balance, upward mobili- ty – these all mean different things to different generations. TZL: Zweig Group research shows there has been a shift in business development strategies. More and more, technical staff, not marketing staff, are responsible for BD. What’s the BD formula in your firm? CF: Our technical staff is responsible for major business de- velopment as these are the people closest to our clients and potential clients and have first-hand knowledge of oppor- tunities. Our marketing staff supports our technical staff and also identifies long-term opportunities that our techni- cal staff can align the firm to pursue. 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? CF: We continually work on attracting and retaining the great people needed to maintain our leadership position. We have a formal leadership development program that we’re still honing and trying to get right. In the interim, we continue to offer our top people challenging and reward- ing assignments that push them into developing the criti- cal thinking and decision-making abilities way beyond their industry peers. We’ve also established a stock option plan for key employees and continue to benchmark our salaries, benefits, and other perks and keep them in line with the Best Firms to Work For. TZL: As you look for talent, what position do you most need to fill in the coming year and why? CF: Project managers are the key to a project’s successful ex- ecution. The difference in the outcome of a well-trained PM and a good one is big.

rch 12, 2018, ISSUE 1239

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