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UPCOMING SEMINAR EXCELLENCE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT WILL BE IN BOSTON, MA ON JULY 18 Excellence in Project Management was developed to support project managers in architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms. Many architects, engineers, planners, and environmental consultants receive little or no training in project management and are expected to produce exceptional products on- time, under budget, and without errors. Yet,

many project managers are totally unequipped to produce such results. In fact, a Zweig Group survey found that almost half of firms surveyed did not provide training to their PMs and 76 percent of the firms rely on on-the-job training for their PMs. The Excellence in Project Management seminar is designed to help professionals in architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting firms become more

effective in managing projects, leading teams, and growing their firm. This one-day training course covers the critical areas every project manager should know from the unique perspective of architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firms, and is presented in tutorial and case study workshop sessions. To learn more, visit zweiggroup.com/seminars or call 800.466.6275.

CONFERENCE CALL, from page 7

results. It’s not that difficult if you can get your head around it. Measure against the plan and process and then you’ll see results. You just can’t be random about it – it has to be very specific. Don’t be a generalist. TZL: They say failure is a great teacher. What’s the big- gest lesson you’ve had to learn the hard way? SS: It has to do with retention and recruitment. My great- est disappointment was in hiring key people that were not right for their jobs. It didn’t take me much time to figure out the fit was poor, but it took me too long to make a change. This created negativity and impacted others. 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? SS: So far, we’ve mainly grown organically. I think how you grow depends on where you are in the life of the firm. A younger firm will likely be more poised for organic growth. You have to build the house with a strong foundation first and then you can think about acquiring and adding on. We’re just now getting ready. 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? SS: We’ve invested in accounting software so we can ac- cess historical data. We have different types of budgets in place for public sector and private sector. Some are hours and overhead, others are lump sums. We track budgets ev- ery month and review projects to see if we are over or under or right on target. “My greatest disappointment was in hiring key people that were not right for their jobs. It didn’t take me much time to figure out the fit was poor, but it took me too long to make a change. This created negativity and impacted others.” TZL: What’s your prediction for 2018? SS: Very strong. We have a good backlog. I always try to pre- dict what we need to do differently – geographically, service lines, etc. North Carolina has many strong opportunities for several years to come. My plan is to diversify client sectors, continue to build relationships and keep the leverage.

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? SS: The leaders need to pay attention to what’s happening. Also, to lessen the load, we’ve started hiring project man- ager assistants. These are people who can take away duties that can be easily handled by someone else – e.g., writing meeting minutes. It’s also important to encourage them to take time off or to leave early. Leadership must provide sup- port. “I’m really working to create a culture and company that’s supportive and feels like a family ... People need to feel like their work life is an extension of their personal life. It’s a very intentional mesh and mix – personal and professional. Blending that sense of sameness is important.” TZL: What is the role of entrepreneurship in your firm? SS: If people thrive on new ideas and some risk, they will love it here. We’re all about entrepreneurship. There’s lots of opportunity if you’re willing to take some risk. I’m an entre- preneur, and to me, the unknown is fun. For others, it may be scary and make them uncomfortable. I explain to leaders that they need to support new ideas. TZL: In the next couple of years, what A/E segments will heat up, and which ones will cool down? SS: I think municipal engineering will heat up – water, sew- er, broadband, more public transportation and light rail and people movers. The future will depend on transportation planning. I don’t see many areas cooling down. TZL: Measuring the effectiveness of marketing is diffi- cult to do using hard metrics for ROI. How do you evalu- ate the success/failure of your firm’s marketing efforts when results could take months, or even years, to mate- rialize? Do you track any metrics to guide your market- ing plan? SS: Here’s an example. We had a specific strategy to grow municipal work. It took about 12 to 18 months to realize

THE ZWEIG LETTER June 18, 2018, ISSUE 1253

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