Setting Up To Profit The level of business acumen and education AEC professionals receive varies widely, and often we have seen even senior professionals express attitudes that do not reflect the best interests of the firm, and by extension their own careers, out of a simple misalignment or misunderstanding of project financial performance, how it impacts them, and how their team impacts it in turn. Making financial performance data available to project managers and leaders is essential, but there should also be education, training, and reinforcement of company goals with strategic incentives. Define an acceptable ROI for pursuits and a go/no go process that highlights the net profit margin rather than a projected win calculation. A target net profit margin makes profitability the goal, whereas a projected win calculation makes winning work the goal, even if it is not profitable. In examples A and B, which of these go/no go tables do you think results in a profitability discussion? Which is likely to be a go?
In this case, neither a full or letter proposal effort would result in the desired profit percentage. Perhaps augmenting the proposal assembly budget/time allocation or careful project management could extract more profit, but without consideration early on, those issues may not be effectively raised.
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