1210

Gabriel

Zweig Group is social and posting every day! C O N N E C T W I T H U S

facebook.com/ ZweigGroup

twitter.com/ ZweigGroup

linkedin.com/company/ ZweigWhite

blog. ZweigGroup .com vimeo.com/ ZweigGroup

PG: We founded Environmental Partners on a concept of shared ownership with key employees. From the outset, we were committed to sharing risk and reward, and incentiviz- ing key employees to think and operate as an owner, and to stick with the company for the long haul. Heeding the ad- vice of multiple management consultants in our industry, all of whom stress the need to begin the ownership transi- tion process at least five years before you think you should, we began actively transitioning ownership about five years ago. “The industry has always been competitive, so marketing must be continuous. It cannot be underfunded in corporate budgets if management seeks to grow and diversify.” A number of critical factors come to mind when it comes to effective ownership transition: ❚ ❚ First, the company needs a shared vision of the future – one of growth, diversification, and prosperity. For us, entrepre- neurship is a vital part of that vision. ❚ ❚ You need steady growth to maintain enthusiasm and oppor- tunity for new and existing owners. ❚ ❚ Along with the steady growth, you need to be fairly profitable to provide sufficient resources to distribute to the junior part- ners, which they can then use to buy more stock. ❚ ❚ Demonstrated ability to grow and remain profitable makes for a worthy investment option for existing and prospective own- ers. In addition to attracting new owners, the existing owners should want more stock. ❚ ❚ There needs to be a broad group of owners willing to buy into the company. Ideally, that group should include both second- and third-generation owners, covering a broad age spectrum. This provides continuity and sustainability for a continuous ownership transition process well beyond the second genera- tion of owners. ❚ ❚ Owners are partners, and each of them need to believe that the other owners hold the larger company interests para- mount. TZL: How do you go about winning work? PG: Our philosophy has always been to build relationships of trust and confidence in our firm’s capabilities. This takes patience, time, and the willingness to be active in client-ori- ented professional organizations. Another key is to under- stand the client’s ongoing and upcoming needs so that you can anticipate and prepare for opportunities coming down the line. Perhaps the most important element, though, is to do your utmost to communicate with clients and be respon- sive to their pressures and concerns. Their problems need to be your problems. That means establishing partnerships with your clients. If you are truly their partner, follow-on

assignments and tasks will come along the way, and that can account for more than half of a firm’s revenues. Of course, you also need to have the senior staff resources that can win work with their expertise, and also develop and maintain client relations. That means employee retention has to be a high priority. TZL: What’s the greatest problem to overcome in the pro- posal process? PG: Learning about the opportunity as early as possible so you can develop the most comprehensive and responsive approach to the client’s issues. Being innovative and cre- ative in developing that approach often takes considerable thought and time commitment. TZL: Once you’ve won a contract, what are the “marching orders” for your PMs? PG: Listen to the client, stay on or ahead of schedule, use all company resources to develop solutions, and stay in regular communication with the client. Pay particular attention to project changes or developments that impact budgets and cost projections, and communicate these as soon as possi- ble. Avoid surprises at all costs. 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? PG: The industry has always been competitive, so market- ing must be continuous. It cannot be underfunded in cor- porate budgets if management seeks to grow and diversify. We believe our marketing efforts have contributed signifi- cantly to our growth and success, and they will continue to be a high priority. “Our philosophy has always been to build relationships of trust and confidence in our firm’s capabilities. This takes patience, time, and the willingness to be active in client-oriented professional organizations.” TZL: What has your firm done recently to upgrade its IT system? PG: This is another area that requires continuous improve- ment and upgrades – especially as a firm grows rapidly. You can’t think about keeping up with technology; you really need to stay ahead. So, for the past 10 years, we’ve used an outside firm to manage our IT system. It’s one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. Virtually every engineer and scientist has a laptop or note- book computer, and servers and software are upgraded on See CONFERENCE CALL, page 7

uly 31, 2017, ISSUE 1210

Made with FlippingBook Annual report