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ON THE MOVE SASAKI HIRES ALEXANDRA LEE AS THE FIRST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE HIDEO SASAKI FOUNDATION AND CURATOR OF NEW INCUBATOR In a move that underscores Sasaki ’s drive to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems through design, the firm has hired Alexandra Lee as executive director of its nonprofit Hideo Sasaki Foundation. Lee, formerly executive director of the Kendall Square Association, will guide the foundation in a new direction. The foundation, created in 2000 after founder Hideo Sasaki’s passing, has most notably supported academic programs at the Boston Architectural College and research grants at the Society for College and University Planning through the Perry Chapman Prize. With Lee, the organization will establish a more expansive research agenda and seek new partners to drive innovation. One facet of this effort includes the launch of the new Sasaki Incubator, one of the first of its kind within the design industry, at the firm’s Watertown headquarters. “Having Alexandra Lee as executive director of the foundation shows our commitment to expanding the sort of research, partnerships, and thought leadership initiatives that will help create a more sustainable future for our communities,” said James Miner, managing principal, Sasaki. “The foundation will bring together committed and inquisitive partners to help solve societal challenges, such as sea level rise; affordable housing; public health; and, transit equity.”

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The foundation’s renewed mission and vision also includes bringing more diversity into the design profession. The board of directors believes that design can lead impact on the world if designers more regularly reach across the traditional boundaries of practice, academia, and industry to partner with others who want to solve collective problems through coordinated effort. “The opportunity to lead this initiative that honors Hideo Sasaki’s legacy of collaboration and creativity resonates deeply with me,” said Lee. “I’m passionate about bringing people together and through an entrepreneurial, research- driven approach, I aim to build partnerships, and connect with the design and startup communities to make meaningful impacts.” Lee will curate the Sasaki Incubator, a 5,000-square-foot co-working space that will bring like-minded nonprofits, institutions, organizations, and individuals together, offering the opportunity to partner with Sasaki to test new ideas, tools, and technology on projects to drive innovative solutions across industries. For more than 60 years, Sasaki has brought together the best of architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, planning, urban design, civil engineering, graphic design, place branding, and data science to shape the places in which we live. Today Sasaki is a diverse practice of 270 professionals who share a singular passion for creating spaces and places around the world that prove human potential.

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1200 North College Ave. Fayetteville, AR 72703 Mark Zweig | Publisher mzweig@zweiggroup.com Richard Massey | Managing Editor rmassey@zweiggroup.com Christina Zweig | Contributing Editor christinaz@zweiggroup.com Sara Parkman | Editor and Designer sparkman@zweiggroup.com Liisa Andreassen | Correspondent landreassen@zweiggroup.com

MARK ZWEIG, from page 1

out diving into the details of it. There is wide variance here. And whether the money is taken out as excess salaries, excess bonuses, or excess distributions – while it may affect the income statement – doesn’t ultimately matter. Too much is flowing out. 3)The firm doesn’t spend enough money on marketing. Such a common problem. Whenever you first start talking about marketing in these companies the first question that comes up is, “How much do other firms spend on marketing?” This is the WRONG question! Who cares? They may be smaller, older, or have different target clients. Not to mention the fact that most companies in this business are 15- to 20-person outfits. Half are smaller than that! So why compare yourself to them. Plus, you have a problem. Your firm isn’t profitable. Top-line revenue growth is probably the antidote to that. Spend more on marketing. And don’t kid yourself that “word-of-mouth” is the best marketing. You won’t ever get word-of-mouth unless you actually work with clients. 4)The firm does not have good accounting information. I’m not just talking about an “accurate” P&L statement. There is so much more to accounting than that. Accurate and timely project reports are crucial. Understanding where all your overhead dollars are go- ing is essential. Having good cash flow forecasting is required. I could go on and on but can assure you that we see accounting as a problem in nearly every lack of profitability scenario we encounter in an AEC firm. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but if you aren’t as profitable as you think you should be, these are the first four places I would look to diagnose the problem. Because the fact is, this industry has never done better. With average profitability of firms in the range of nearly 14 percent and return on equity of almost 50 percent, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be doing well. MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

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THE ZWEIG LETTER November 27, 2017, ISSUE 1225

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