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ON THE MOVE DOUG BOTTORFF NAMED SHIVE-HATTERY’S IOWA CITY VICE PRESIDENT AND OFFICE DIRECTOR Shive-Hattery announced that Doug Bottorff will succeed Phil Larson as vice president and office director of its 70-person Iowa City design office. Bottorff has 23 years of service with the architecture and engineering firm and has held a variety of leadership and management roles throughout his career. “Doug has been very successful and a key leader serving the Iowa City area, and for that matter, the State of Iowa,” said President Jim Lee. “Doug has a deep understanding of our industry and has remained a strong advocate for our clients and our communities. He will be an exceptional leader for the Iowa City Office.”
Bottorff joined the firm in 1997 after graduation from the University of Iowa. In 2008, Bottorff returned to the University of Iowa and obtained his MBA degree. “Doug draws from more than 20 years of experience cultivating and deepening client relationships in the architecture and engineering industry,” says Larson. “He’s also adept at developing talent – he is surrounded by very talented architects and engineers. Doug brings the right leadership and management skills to provide success to both our clients and colleagues. He is a proven leader, so we know there will be many years of success ahead for the Iowa City office under his leadership.” “I am excited to take on this new role and
the opportunity to continue the growth of the office. I look forward to strengthening my roots in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids Corridor and the rest of the State of Iowa,” said Bottorff. “Phil and I will work closely to ensure the leadership transition is seamless both internally and externally.” Shive-Hattery is a 400-person architecture and engineering firm with offices in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. As a client-intimate consulting firm, Shive-Hattery goes beyond traditional design. With deep knowledge of each client’s business, the firm offers customized solutions and provides support as an extension of client staff. Shive-Hattery consistently ranks in the top 20 percent of architecture, engineering and construction firms for client satisfaction.
JUNE JEWELL, from page 11
4)Too many meetings. Meetings tend to multiply or run way longer than planned, especially in times when project sched- ules get extended or projects get delayed. 5)Turnover at client’s office. Turnover with your key contacts at your client’s office may require you to spend a great deal of time orienting the new client reps about the project. This is scope creep – it is unexpected and outside the scope but hard to get reimbursed for. 6)Time held too long. Your well-meaning project managers may put extra services time on hold thinking that they are waiting for eventual approval or they can bill for it later after they see if there is extra money in the budget. This is why so many firms have huge write-offs! The longer time is on hold the lower the chance of collecting it. 7)Time not tracked on time sheet. In order to bill against a change order you must track the time against it, but employ- ees don’t always fill their time sheets out correctly and the time just goes against the base contract. Each of these secret causes of scope creep can be addressed and corrected with new processes, employee education, and better communication. However, if you are not looking for it, you won’t find it. Focusing like a laser on causes for scope creep – both common and hidden – can make a huge impact on your firm’s profitability. Some of the remedies are quick fixes and can add up to several percentage increases per year. Get your team on board with working toward reducing scope creep and your firm can join the ranks of the top performing firms in the AEC industry. JUNE R. JEWELL, CPA, is a leading expert on business success in the AEC industry, and author of the best-selling book, Find the Lost Dollars: 6 Steps to Increase Profits in Architecture, Engineering, and Environmental Firms . Jewell and her team guide AEC firm leaders to reach top level industry profits by getting their employees to take ownership in their firm’s success and be financial guardians for their projects and clients. Through her extensive work with hundreds of AEC firms over the last 30 years, Jewell has discovered that the key to business success is the firm’s employees and what they do every day that either waste time and leak profits or help the firm to grow and prosper. Jewell and her team at AEC Business Solutions have developed a proven program to change employees’ mindsets and daily behaviors to increase productivity, financial performance and project success. Learn more about Jewell and her company at aecbusiness.com
business excellence, these common reasons for scope creep will continue to drive profits down right out in the open. In fact, these common causes of scope creep are actually easier to deal with because they are so common. You can put change order processes in place, teach employees how to ask for money, and work with clients closely to set better expectations up front. “When the scope of the completed work exceeds what is promised in your contract, and you don’t get more money, you pay for it. It comes straight from your profit margins and, in the end, can leave a project at a loss. You are paying your client for the privilege of working for them!” The real danger lies in the subtle everyday issues that cause scope creep that don’t get as much attention. What is so insidious about most of these secret scope creepers is that your client has nothing to do with them. Most of them are internal issues that require specific attention, focus, and training to overcome. These are the seven causes of scope creep that secretly steal your profit margins: 1)Scope not detailed enough. When it’s time to get a change order, it is critical that the scope is well defined and clearly details assumptions, inclusions, and exclusions. Without this level of detail, conflicts with clients can arise and the AEC professional is usually on the losing end of the argument. 2)Staff doesn’t know what is in the scope. If your staff has never been told what is in the scope, they may mistakenly make assumptions of their own and perform services that were not included in the contract. 3)Staff ignores scope. Believe it or not your staff may actually ignore the scope on purpose. Again, this is because of a cul- ture that focuses on quality above all else. Unfortunately, not every client has enough budget to afford the level of quality that your employees wish to deliver.
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THE ZWEIG LETTER June 10, 2019, ISSUE 1300
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