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2017 Hot Firm/Best Firm snapshot Hot Firms show tremendous growth, and Best Firms clearly preparing for the future. P R O F I L E
By RICHARD MASSEY Managing Editor T he top 25 Hot Firms this year showed the industry what it means to grow. On average, the Top 25 grew by 129 percent in terms of three-year percentage growth, and by more than $43 million in terms of dollar growth. While the Top 25 were clearly ahead of all the other firms, those that ap- peared on the list from 26 through 100 had nothing of which to be ashamed. Firms in the lower quar- tile, for example, still grew by an av- erage of 51 percent, and had a dol- lar growth of nearly $9 million. Not bad for firms on the “bottom” of the list. In regards to the Best Firms, the re- sults were gleaned from surveys of more than 11,300 people in the A/E industry, from C-suite executives down to administrative staff. Of note is the percentage of Best Firms – 40 percent – that offer tu- ition reimbursements for business school. Engineering and architecture are one thing, but running a business is another. The Best Firms “get” this dynamic, and through tuition reim- bursements, are clearly grooming the next generation of leaders. Another standout in the survey re- sults was the number of firms that use open-book management on a regular basis. Of the firms sur- veyed, nearly 21 percent said they share financial information with the entire firm on a monthly ba- sis. But this is not markedly high- er than the number of firms that don’t, at 18.4 percent. Firms that conduct open-book management say the process instills vision up and down the organization chart, giv- ing employees at every level the in- formation they need to help the firm succeed.
THE ZWEIG LETTER August 21, 2017, ISSUE 1213
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