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strong for years to come. Technology is going to change how we work and we need to figure out how to bill for our value and not just hours. Our indus- try needs to elevate our value and our importance. We need to change now, and it has to be all of us collective- ly. My concern is more related to our lack of value pricing and the technolo- gy improvements that will streamline our design practices. I see these as our kryptonite and more concerning than the amount of work that is available. “Sometimes you win when you shouldn’t and sometimes you lose when you shouldn’t. It is never one thing that causes a win or a loss.” TZL: Measuring the effectiveness of marketing is difficult to do us- ing hard metrics for ROI. How do you evaluate the success/failure of your firm’s marketing efforts when results could take months, or even years, to materialize? Do you track any metrics to guide your marketing plan? BW: Marketing needs to set the table for business development and I believe that we need to look at proposal met- rics (both percentage success and mar- ket share), unsolicited opportunities, and general reputation. I believe that we will see the success when it hap- pens. Like many things in life, there is no finish line when it comes tomarket- ing. As I mentioned, we are one com- pany and do not have profit centers. Our marketing and business develop- ment efforts are treated the same way. We all pull together toward a common goal and in doing so we have had great success. We set expectations and then execute and perform. Sometimes you win when you shouldn’t and some- times you lose when you shouldn’t. It is never one thing that causes a win or a loss. We measure company success rather than marketing metrics. TZL: They say failure is a great teach- er. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve had to learn the hard way? BW: I’m constantly learning and work to be better each day. I’ve had to learn to trust my instincts. I am very much a gut guy and don’t need a lot of

information to make a decision. Busi- ness is operating much faster than in the past and when you move slowly, you miss out on opportunities. Early on, I paid too much attention to those who did things in the traditional way and not what I believed. I made some mistakes and trusted those who didn’t know what was best for WSB. I am much more focused on making deci- sions on what is best for WSB without worrying about how others view my decisions. TZL: While M&A is always an op- tion, there’s something to be said about organic growth. What are your thoughts on why and how to grow a firm? BW: We have done both but have a much higher percentage of organic growth. We are very selective in our acquisitions and are careful with cul- ture and fit when considering a pur- chase. When we are going into a new market, an acquisition can sometimes be the most effective entry. In all cas- es, once we establish a presence, we move toward organic hiring. WSB has a strong culture and reputation for how we treat our staff and the energy with which we operate, so we have had good success in attracting top talent to our company. We anticipate using both methods as we pursue growth in the future. “Our industry needs to elevate our value and our importance. We need to change now, and it has to be all of us collectively.” TZL: Do you use historical perfor- mance data or metrics to establish project billable hours and how does the type of contract play into deter- mining the project budget? BW: Both performance data and met- rics allow us to establish budgets for our projects. Most of our contracts are similar in type and those don’t re- ally impact the project budget. Our industry needs to start moving away from billable hour budgets and move toward value-based pricing. With the onset of technology improvements that can reduce design effort, we are in danger of reducing our revenues by See CONFERENCE CALL, page 8

YEAR FOUNDED: 1995 (Bret Weiss has served as WSB’s president/CEO since 2000. Under his leadership, WSB has grown and transformed from a provider of engineering services to a full-service consulting and design firm.) HEADQUARTERS: Minneapolis, MN OFFICES: 12 offices in 4 states. NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 475 (full-time, part-time, and seasonal) SERVICE OFFERINGS: ❚ ❚ Civil and municipal engineering ❚ ❚ Community planning ❚ ❚ Transportation ❚ ❚ Construction ❚ ❚ Energy ❚ ❚ Environmental ❚ ❚ GIS and asset management ❚ ❚ Landscape architecture ❚ ❚ Transportation ❚ ❚ Water WHAT’S THE WSB WAY? It’s a commitment made by all staff to each other and their clients. In their daily work, WSB staff members embody this set of staff- developed principles called the WSB Way. These principles define their culture and value system and describe how they serve each other and their clients. This program causes staff to challenge each other to be the best they can be and focuses their attention on three primary attributes: ❚ ❚ Over-the-top customer service ❚ ❚ Integrity ❚ ❚ Technical excellence

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