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O P I N I O N
Profit centers? Meh
Banish profit centers in small to midsize firms. Focus on your people by letting each do what each is best qualified to do.
A n engineering, architecture or planning professional services firm can be very successful – maybe more successful – if it maintains a “one company” philosophy without multiple profit centers or a chief financial officer. The key priority should be to stay focused on people – employees, clients, teaming partners, our communities – and not measuring things that don’t matter.
Raj Sheth GUEST SPEAKER
Do we have a CFO? Yes, but not in the traditional sense. The traditional role of a CFO is to review financial statements to gain a perspective on past performance to forecast the future. The “An engineering, architecture or planning professional services firm can be very successful – maybe more successful – if it maintains a ‘one company’ philosophy without multiple profit centers or a chief financial officer.”
Over the past 20 years, Mead & Hunt’s revenues increased from $10 million to nearly $110 million by using a “one company” business model and culture. We’ve grown from two civil engineering offices in Wisconsin to more than 30 offices in 20 states with very diverse service lines in multiple markets. Not only has Mead & Hunt been profitable every year despite economic upturns and downturns, but we have typically exceeded annual industry averages. Throughout this financial success and fast-paced growth, our employee turnover rate is less than 7 percent and we are regularly named a “best place to work.” How? There is a lot at play, but two significant elements are: no high-powered, profit-driven CFO and no profit centers. Small to midsize companies (most companies in our industry are small to midsize) should function better using this model.
See RAJ SHETH, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER April 16, 2018, ISSUE 1244
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