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8 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? EL: Being strategic in the selection of the incoming work- flow and preferred clients. We have been more selective with the clients and project size that we pursue to prevent burning out PMs on low profit projects or clients that are unappreciative of our work. We are also continually ramp- ing up the employee workforce in an attempt to match workload and staff resources. If they crash, we try to be con- siderate of their situation, redistribute work or have senior management temporarily fill in to get through workload bubbles. TZL: What is the role of entrepreneurship in your firm? EL: Our company was founded through an entrepreneur- ial process and the founding owner is still in place so she understands new ideas and creative approaches to building a business. We encourage innovative thinking and ways to expand our business and services. We try to incorporate nu- merous levels of skills and background experience in our de- cision making processes. We are also willing to incorporate changes to our procedures to obtain and evaluate a fresh ap- proach from younger staff. TZL: In the next couple of years, what A/E segments will heat up, and which ones will cool down? EL: Heat up: ❚ ❚ Transportation “We are pretty risk averse and to acquire or merge with a company could bring substantial risks that we tend to avoid. We feel that organic growth promotes a strong team mentality and a culture where employees feel secure and can grow with the company.” CONFERENCE CALL, from page 7

evaluate the success/failure of your firm’s marketing ef- forts when results could take months, or even years, to materialize? Do you track any metrics to guide your mar- keting plan? EL: We analyze items as a team/company effort and don’t see a need to track it individually because of the reasons cited above. Multiple people play a part with their involve- ment in the successful pursuit and the lines are rarely clear. We measure marketing effectiveness by the growth and profitability of our firm, both of which are very high. TZL: The last few years have been good for the A/E indus- try. Is there a downturn in the forecast, and if so, when and to what severity? EL: Approximately 70 percent of our work is in the public sector and the majority of our private work is for institu- tional clients. Because of this, we weathered the Great Re- cession pretty well and are always aware that a recession of some magnitude could happen at any time. It would not be surprising to have a slowdown in the next three to five years. TZL: While M&A is always an option, there’s something to be said about organic growth. What are your thoughts on why and how to grow a firm? EL: We have always been an organic growth company and we have been stronger for that. We are pretty risk averse and to acquire or merge with a company could bring substantial risks that we tend to avoid. We feel that organic growth pro- motes a strong team mentality and a culture where employ- ees feel secure and can grow with the company. TZL: Do you use historical performance data or metrics to establish project billable hours and how does the type of contract play into determining the project budget? EL: It depends on the client and the services offered. It is easier to utilize for surveying and transportation. It is more difficult on the land development/private sector side due to a number of unknowns and regulatory influence. It is more common to assess the client, scope of work, and feel for the maximum fee that will be acceptable. “All of our business development efforts use personnel that have technical backgrounds. This typically occurs at the project manager level and above. It is a part of the many hats that they wear.” TZL: What’s your prediction for 2018? EL: We feel that it is going to be a strong year for LONG. As certain large projects wind down, we are ramping up on other projects. Our pipeline is strong with large scale, long term projects and public clients so we are quite optimistic about 2018.

❚ ❚ Surveying ❚ ❚ Healthcare ❚ ❚ Affordable housing ❚ ❚ Senior housing Cool down: ❚ ❚ Stand-alone retail ❚ ❚ Franchises

TZL: Measuring the effectiveness of marketing is dif- ficult to do using hard metrics for ROI. How do you

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THE ZWEIG LETTER June 11, 2018, ISSUE 1252

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