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dArends

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TZL: Once you’ve won a contract, what are the “marching orders” for your PMs? DA: Follow protocol. When I see a project going sideways it’s always because one of the steps in our protocol was not fol- lowed. We need to solidify the contract, define the scope of the project, set the budget, ensure we have right resources, etc. Sometimes people forget about that stuff. TZL: How does marketing contribute to your success rate? Are you content with your marketing efforts, or do you think you should increase/decrease marketing? DA: If you ask 10 people what marketing is, you’re going to get 10 different answers. For me, marketing is linear and it has to be in this order: 1)Call marketing. Brand building; clearly defining who we are. 2)Relationship development. This won’t be successful if num- ber one hasn’t been achieved. You’re never going to be suc- cessful if you just chase RFPs. 3)Project focus. If number one and number two happen, proj- ects will follow. Marketing is achieved through all the usual channels – so- cial media, marketing collateral, etc. Our linear marketing works for us. TZL: What has your firm done recently to upgrade its IT system? DA: I have no idea. I just write the checks. No … really … we’re continually investing in video conferencing technol- ogy, Revit, and rotate our work stations out every three years. “We stalk clients before they stalk us. What do I mean by that? I mean that we research everything we can about clients we want to approach about new work. We are then in a position to meet them and have a meaningful conversation about working together.” TZL: What’s the best way to recruit and retain top talent in a tight labor market? DA: Recruitment and retention is somewhat of a mess in our industry. I recently read that 88 percent of the employ- able workforce in the U.S. does not love their job. Out of that 88 percent, 30 percent have their resumes on the street. Seventy percent of the same group would be flattered if ap- proached by another company. As a result we have hired two in-house recruiters. They drink our Kool-Aid and are See CONFERENCE CALL, page 8

requires that we have one since we are a C-corp. As a re- sult, we have two boards – one inside and one outside – and they each have different functions. The inside board is more a matter of ratification. The outside board is the one that drives me. It’s made of people who have no specific interest in the company. It’s a non-voting board and everyone comes from a different industry – none are from our field. A third- party helps us to select the members and they are brought on to help in three key areas: 1) Fast growth 2) Marketing excellence 3) Operating excellence We’ve had an outside board for eight years now and it’s hugely valuable. “I prefer to reward people through compensation and benefits and most of the time people want that. When you tell them what ownership really entails, they’re usually like, ‘No, I don’t think that’s for me.’” TZL: Is there a secret to effective ownership transition? DA: No. There’s no secret. There are so many variables – size of firm, services, etc. I’m a big fan of the “less is more” con- cept. I’m in a position where I am 100 percent owner and I don’t believe that ownership should be given to just anyone simply because they do a good job. You really need to un- derstand what ownership means. I prefer to reward people through compensation and benefits and most of the time people want that. When you tell them what ownership re- ally entails, they’re usually like, “No, I don’t think that’s for me.” TZL: How do you go about winning work? DA: We’re fortunate enough that 80 percent of our revenue is from existing clients. We don’t chase projects, we work on developing potential client relationships first. We stalk cli- ents before they stalk us. What do I mean by that? I mean that we research everything we can about clients we want to approach about new work. We are then in a position to meet them and have a meaningful conversation about working together. TZL: What’s the greatest problem to overcome in the pro- posal process? DA: Fully understanding the deliverable and being respect- ful of client requests. Often, we need to help them more clearly define their needs. Sometimes they are not sure of the questions they need to ask.

une 3, 2017, ISSUE 1203

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