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ON THE MOVE AMES & GOUGH APPOINTS BRIAN C. LYNCH AS A SENIOR BROKER Ames & Gough , a leading insurance broker and risk management con- sultant specializing in serving design profes- sionals, law firms, associations/nonprofits, and other professional service organizations, announced the appointment of Brian C. Lynch as a senior broker. He is based in the firm’s McLean, Virginia office. Lynch, who has more than seven years of in- surance industry experience, will be part of the Ames & Gough client service team, providing insurance placement, renewal planning, car-

rier negotiations, and related client support services. “Brian joins us at a time when Ames & Gough is continuing to see steady growth in all areas of our business,” said Dan Knise, president and chief executive officer, Ames & Gough. “His experience in insurance placement and client service is a good fit with our brokerage operation as we continue to build on our cli- ent-focused capabilities and resources. We’re pleased to welcome Brian to our team and look forward to his contributions to our clients’ success.”

Before joining Ames & Gough, Lynch was a vice president with Boston Insurance Broker- age, Inc., where he worked with a variety of property and casualty insurance companies on behalf of the firm’s clients. He began his ca- reer in insurance in 2009 as a managing pro- ducer, property and caasualty with Paul Peters Insurance Agency, Inc. in Falmouth, Massa- chusetts. Prior to relocating to the Washing- ton, D.C. area, he had been a member of the Boston Young Professionals, Cape Cod Young Professionals, and Falmouth Chamber of Commerce. Lynch earned a B.A. in broadcast communications from Elon University.

SCOTT JOHNSTON, from page 9

they’ll get the project done on time and within budget. If you couldn’t do that, you wouldn’t be at the interview. They want to know how. Think of it as a venture capital pitch. You may have big plans for how your invention is going to change the world. But the people choosing where to invest are going to want to know the details for every step of the way. Even if you have a home run in your portfolio, the investors are going to want to know how you’re going to do it this time. If you’re not sure how to describe your “how,” think back to your toughest, most successful project. Now pick up the phone and ask the people you worked with what they saw in your methods that stood out in their eyes. Better yet, use an impartial third party to ask the questions. You’ll get the straight dope right from the horse’s mouth. 4)Realize it’s not about you. Well, it is – but that’s not how project managers often think. Everything a PM does ensures the success of the project. But project managers often de- scribe what they do in a vacuum, and to the selection panel it all sounds the same. Connect what you do with how it con- tributes to the success of the project by adding so that . “We have regular meetings with all stakeholders ... so that we can make decisions once and move forward together.” “We send cost estimate updates every Friday at noon ... so that everyone is working from the same numbers.” “Collaboration is integral to the design process but it’s how we do it that gives the team authorship,” says Ty Miller, project manager at Integrus Architecture . “Everyone will tell the client they’ll get the project done on time and within budget. If you couldn’t do that, you wouldn’t be at the interview. They want to know how.” Make a commitment. In the competitive interview environment, AEC project managers must not only convey their expertise but must also come across as someone who the panel wants to work with. After all, as one selection member put it, “We’re getting married to these people for three years!” Follow these four tips and you’ll not only win the project, but you’ll “live happily ever after.” SCOTT JOHNSTON is a principal strategist and facilitator at Johnston Training Group. He can be reached at scott@jtgroup.com.

The best introductions connect something authentic about the PM to one of the client or project needs. What led you to become a project manager? How can you relate a personal or professional anecdote to a critical issue confronting the selec- tion panel? Find something and lead with it, and be the PM they remember. The PM on one of our winning teams for an engineering project began this way: “I took the lawn mower apart when I was 5 years old. My mother was upset because I couldn’t put it back together again. But by the time I was 8, I could take it apart and reassemble it. I have been putting – and keep- ing – complicated things together ever since. As your project manager …” “In the competitive interview environment, AEC project managers must not only convey their expertise but must also come across as someone who the panel wants to work with.” 2)Show you approach situations with foresight, not hind- sight. Project managers often use language that is reactive – which is normal since they put out fires on a regular basis. But in front of a selection panel, reactive language positions you as someone who rushes from three-alarm blazes to false alarms. You want to be confidently and proactively leading the charge and seeing what’s over the horizon before anyone else. Reactive: “The funding was delayed so we had to come up with a plan for a one-year pause in the project.” The difference in language is subtle but critical. Proactive: “When we saw that the funding was delayed, we implemented the plan we had prepared ‘just in case’…” Anytime you’re telling a story about how you reacted to something, make sure you don’t come across as “flatfooted.” You didn’t “have to” do anything – you were prepared and ex- ecuted the strategy. 3)Be the man or woman with a plan. Selection panels tell us that project managers often describe themselves in terms of accomplishments. But that doesn’t tell them what it’s like to work together day in, day out. Everyone will tell the client

THE ZWEIG LETTER February 6, 2017, ISSUE 1186

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