Emergency work and rush jobs

Over the last four years, fewer firms –

35 percent this year as compared to

53 percent in 2015 – are charging a

premium for emergency work and rush

jobs, according to Zweig Group’s 2018

Fee & Billing Survey. The percentage

of firms that do not charge for rush

work, now at 65 percent, has remained

steady over the last three years.

T R E N D L I N E S

F I R M I N D E X

W W W . T H E Z W E I G L E T T E R . C O M

T H E V O I C E O F R E A S O N F O R A E C F I R M S & M A N A G E M E N T C O N S U L T A N T S

COOKFOX Architects .............................8

Design Workshop .................................10

DOWL ....................................................2

Gensler ...................................................8

Ghafari ...................................................6

LJA Engineering, Inc. ..............................4

OBEC Consulting Engineers ...................2

Pickard Chilton .......................................8

Woolpert ...............................................12

Page 6

N o v e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 8 , I s s u e 1 2 7 1

Conference call: Kouhaila Hammer

See MARK ZWEIG, page 2

Mark Zweig

“I honestly feel that while

these changes may hurt a

little and annoy some of those

around me, in the long

run I will be a better person

because of them.”

Once you get to be 60, your perspective changes. If you look ahead, you know

that you have, on average, another 12 years left to live (longer if you are a woman). And that’s an average. For everyone who lives longer than 72, there’s someone who doesn’t make it to 72. That puts things into perspective. Time is limited and it’s the one thing money cannot buy.

I decided it was time to simplify. Reduce distractions. Spend my time better than I have been. Since many of our readers – owners and top-level managers in AEC firms – are about the same age as me, I thought I would share some of the changes I’m making with you:

1) I got off social media entirely. One of the best decisions I ever made. Watching my ex-wife sharing every detail of her life online when Facebook was just starting to get go-ing, I had a feeling it was a waste of time. But eventually I, too, got sucked into Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I tried LinkedIn early on but decided I didn’t like it after getting all the requests to join my network from people I had never heard of. In any case, after years of wasting loads of my time posting and react-ing to those who reacted to my posts and my reactions to their posts, I have been completely out of all social media for about four months. And I can tell you I feel like I lost a fourth job (I already have three jobs without social media). I’m more relaxed, my mental state is better, and I have more time.

2) I am selling off most of my old cars and mo-torcycles. At times I have had as many as 20

OPEN FOR PARTICIPATIONzweiggroup.com/survey-participation/

Simplification to improve focus

MORE COLUMNSxz MARKETING MATTERS: Crack the whip Page 3

xz M&A INSIGHTS: Chaos versus structure Page 9

xz GUEST SPEAKER: Here they come! Page 11

© Copyright 2018. Zweig Group.

All rights reserved. THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

2

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of each (though never at the same time). It has been a huge time drain for me. There’s always an ongoing project. Parts need to be located. Something needs fixing. Just this weekend, for example, I blew the transmission in my ‘51 Buick straight-8 powered speedster. Something always needs to be redone. Something always needs to be bought or sold. It’s just too much. And it is nothing but a huge distraction and waste of time. I think when I really look at myself having all this stuff, it has been driven in large part by my personal ego gratification – going all the way back to when I was 12 years old and had more than one bicycle at a time. I don’t need the time drain and hassle of it all

3) I am going to sell my big house on 3.8 acres with a pool and move to a condo. It’s crazy. About two thirds of every month I am there by myself wandering around a 5,000 square-foot house. It costs a small fortune in yard maintenance, pool maintenance, and utilities. Not to mention constant improvements, upkeep, and property taxes (when I pay for my youngest kids to go to private school anyway). I don’t need a 400-plus foot long driveway any more. A nice new condo close to everything will reduce my commute time and free up more of my time and mental capacity.

4) Create some phone down time. This one is especially hard for me because being ultra-responsive has been such a big part of any success I have enjoyed over the years and something everyone – clients, employees, students, family members and friends – have come to expect from me. But it has to end. I have got to stop texting and driving before I hurt someone or myself. And I have got to be better about paying attention to people and listening to them and being in the moment versus constantly being distracted. I have absolutely ruined my own ability to concentrate on anything and completely justi-fied the constant distraction that my phone provides. But I have to stop now to get back to more sanity and a better overall quality of life.

I realize many of these changes fly in the face of what I have advocated and how I have lived over the years. But only a fool doesn’t learn from their mistakes. I honestly feel that while these changes may hurt a little and annoy some of those around me, in the long run I will be a better person because of them. A better businessperson, mentor, seller, consultant, teacher, parent, friend, partner – all of those will be enhanced. Maybe I’ll even be able to once again get back to learning and developing myself versus accumulating stuff I don’t need and staying distracted with one unnecessary thing after another. Now THAT would be something!

MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

MARK ZWEIG, from page 1

TRANSACTIONSDOWL AND OBEC MERGE DOWL and OBEC Consulting Engineers have entered into a merger agreement. The move comes after more than a year of developing closer ties, and recognizing the advantages for the firms and their clients.DOWL and OBEC share similar employee-owned business models, overlapping geographies, complementary skill sets, and core values that shape their quality- and integrity-driven cultures. Together, they will bring their mix of public and private clients an expanded range of services and a deeper bench of expertise over a broader geographic area. The merger also creates expanded career opportunities for employees.“Both firms bring 50-plus years of experience to their respective markets,” said Stewart Osgood, president of DOWL. “Our clients will continue to work with the project managers they count on, but can expect to see expanded service offerings.”The combined organization totals approximately 450 people in 27 offices across Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and

Wyoming. DOWL provides environmental and land development, water/water resources, transportation, civil engineering, and geo-construction services. OBEC anticipates an active role for their transportation, inspection, survey, and environmental services, and their bridge and marine services will form a transformative new practice area for the combined company.“This is a true success story,” said Larry Fox, President of OBEC. “We started as a bridge engineering firm more than 50 years ago. Since then we’ve evolved to help public agencies solve a wide range of challenges they face. This is an exciting step in bringing our expertise to a broader region.”DOWL and OBEC are multi-disciplined consulting firms owned by senior managers from within the company. The combined firms maintain in-house expertise in environmental and land development; bridge, structural, and marine; water/water resources; transportation; civil engineering; and geo-construction. DOWL and OBEC are nearly 500 employees strong.

3

THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

Chaos. Zero strategy. Lack of metrics. Zweig Group’s just released 2018 Marketing Survey shows that while more firms than ever are embracing the use of social

media, they still don’t feel it is an effective way to market. The reason may not lie in the medium itself, but instead in the fact that many are not employing the discipline needed to make it effective.

Firms are using social media for marketing, but the frequency, consistency, and quality of the content needs to improve.

O P I N I O N

In 2018, 92 percent of survey respondents stated they had a presence on LinkedIn, 86 percent on Facebook, 54 percent on Twitter, and 28 percent on Instagram. The most frequent platform to post on is Twitter, which on average AEC firms are doing at least twice monthly. Firms are also using Facebook and Linkedin on an average bi-monthly basis – not nearly enough to even be marginally effective. On a platform like Twitter, the scrolling news feed of bite-sized information means that even weekly tweets are not going to work. They will just get lost in a mass of other information. It’s something that needs daily attention, and something almost no firms are doing.

Marketing is about relationships, and engagement is an important component of social media. A social media platform is like a huge, crowded party with music playing and drinks being served and everyone having their own conversations. The

numbers show most firms are walking into the room, shouting something random – once – and then leaving the room for a week or more. The survey found that 78 percent of firms are not

Crack the whip

ChristinaZweig Niehues

See CHRISTINA ZWEIG NIEHUES, page 4

“A social media platform is like a huge, crowded party with music playing and drinks being served and everyone having their own conversations. The numbers show most firms are walking into the room, shouting something random – once – and then leaving the room for a week or more.”

© Copyright 2018. Zweig Group.

All rights reserved. THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

4

Zweig Group’s 2018 Marketing Survey of AEC Firms is a benchmarking and advisory guide to industry firm marketing activities, budgets, marketing department organization, staffing levels, compensation, and investments in marketing systems and infrastructure.The topics covered in this comprehensive report are: z Marketing staff. Data on

marketing departments at firms of different sizes/types, along with experience, education, compensation, and expectations and sales goals for various marketing related job roles.

z Proposals and sales. A full breakdown of proposal actives and hit rates by firm type, size, location, and other factors.

z Marketing systems. Data on the prevalence of various marketing systems and data relating to their use.

z Promotion. See what most firms in the industry are doing to promote themselves, along with a full report on statistics of what is working and what is not working.

z Marketing expenditures. Data on marketing related expenses including actual figures from the previous year and budgeting for the future.

z Strategies. Data on the use and effectiveness of a variety of marketing approaches.

z Challenges. Data on what respondents feel have been marketing challenges and victories for their firms over the past year.

Visit bit.ly/2M1e88a to learn more.

actively liking photos posted by other Instagram users; 62 percent of firms are not actively re-tweeting; and 58 percent are not sharing content from other Facebook users. Only 63 percent of firms said they strategically post different kinds of content to social media in an effort to increase engagement.

When asked what kind of content generates the most engagement, 59 percent of firms said “pictures.” Ironically and unfortunately, one of the least effective forms of engagement, job postings, was one of the most common types of content published (80 percent).

With any marketing method, metrics

need to be tracked and adjustments need to be made based on factors of success or failure. Unfortunately, because social media is free, many AEC firms treat it like a veritable dumpster for all things “marketing.” Without a schedule, a plan, or any measures of success, many firms are posting terrible images of unsuspecting new hires mixed in with unrelated projects, charity events, in-office parties, and even announcements about the weather. Worse yet, most firms abandon all graphic standards when it comes to social media. I’ve seen firms with five pages on the proper use of their logo have Facebook accounts with terrible quality images, 500 different fonts, 50 different clashing colors, and inconsistent graphics.

Last year, I would have advised firms to dip their toes in the water when it comes to social media. Something, after all, is better than nothing. Today I wouldn’t say the same thing. I would say this is a real marketing channel that people are paying attention to. It’s as important as almost anything else. Exercise a strategy. Have standards. Show some restraint. Stay committed to your branding. Do all these things and then tell me how effective your social media is at getting work for your firm. You might be surprised!

CHRISTINA ZWEIG NIEHUES is Zweig Group’s director of marketing. Contact her at christinaz@zweiggroup.com.

CHRISTINA ZWEIG NIEHUES, from page 3

“Without a schedule, a plan, or any measures of success, many firms are posting terrible images of unsuspecting new hires mixed in with unrelated projects, charity events, in-office parties, and even announcements about the weather.”

BUSINESS NEWSLJA ENGINEERING OPENS TWENTY-SEVENTH OFFICE IN ROUND ROCK, TEXAS LJA Engineering, Inc. has experienced a steady expansion of locations throughout Texas due to a significant demand in services. Since its founding in 1972, LJA’s mission has been to provide high quality, innovative, and cost-effective services to our clients. LJA has opened a new 10,000-square-foot, 58-person office in Round Rock, Texas, offering a comprehensive depth and breadth of services in their twenty-seventh location.“LJA’s presence has called the Austin area home since 2004, responding directly to client requests and a robust economy. With the new Round Rock location, our five full-service offices in the Central Texas region can best connect our talent and depth of resources with clients to serve their specific needs,” says Kenneth Schrock, PE, vice president of LJA.Consistently ranked locally, regionally, and nationally as a top engineering firm, LJA will locally serve Williamson, Travis, Hays, and Bexar Counties clients from the Round Rock office, as well as the firm’s existing offices in Cedar Park, south Austin, west Austin, and San Antonio. With this new location, LJA continues to provide full engineering, planning, surveying, GIS, and construction management talent

and resources from staff statewide to serve the technical needs of public and private entities in land development, rail services, midstream infrastructure, public infrastructure, public works, transportation, water resources, hydrology and hydraulics, coastal engineering, and environmental services.“We are committed to Round Rock. This office will enhance our ability to offer unique solutions and high quality services to our growing client base, positioning us to take our talent and resources wherever and whenever they are needed. LJA continues to grow our footprint, family, and brand. We look forward to building civilization and creating better lives for staff, clients, and the communities we serve,” says Calvin T. Ladner, president of LJA.The new LJA office is currently open and located at 2700 La Frontera, Suite 150, Round Rock, Texas 78681.LJA Engineering, Inc. is an employee-owned, full-service consulting engineering firm. With 27 offices across Texas and Florida, LJA offers 750 experienced civil, transportation, midstream, rail, and coastal engineers, plus hydrologists, environmental specialists, planners, landscape architects, construction managers, GIS designers, and surveyors.

THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

5

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THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

6

P R O F I L E

Conference call: Kouhaila (Ki) HammerPresident and CEO of Ghafari (Hot Firm #54 for 2017), a 550-person multi-discipline firm based in Dearborn, Michigan.

“I would describe myself as a people person and am elated to see colleagues develop into mature leaders – wheth-

er in the technical disciplines or in management,” Hammer says. “Most of my career has been fun.”

A CONVERSATION WITH KI HAMMER.

The Zweig Letter: Diversity and inclusion is lacking. What steps are you taking to address the issue?

Ki Hammer: We’ve always been diverse. Our culture is open and welcoming – it’s just who we are. It’s evident when you look around while walking through our buildings. There are 10 languages spoken here. Our mantra is to “embrace it and live it.”

TZL: Do you tie compensation to performance for your top leaders?

KH: Yes. We have a list of metrics that we use depending on the position. It’s always tied to company results first and then some of the following: division profitability, individual performance for new sales, revenue and new markets and long-term performance – annual and rolling metrics.

TZL: Do you share base salary or bonus amounts with your entire staff?

KH: We have a bonus program for the general staff. It’s dis-cretionary and bonuses are paid almost every year. Manag-er bonuses are a percentage of their salary based on perfor-mance and for staff, each manager is awarded a pool of dol-lars, predicated on certain factors, and with oversight from HR the manager decides how to distribute it.

TZL: How many years of experience – or large enough book of business – is enough to become a principal in your firm? Are you naming principals in their 20s or 30s?

By LIISA ANDREASSENCorrespondent

“We’ve always been diverse. Our culture is open and welcoming – it’s just who we are. It’s evident when you look around while walking through our buildings. There are 10 languages spoken here.”

© Copyright 2018. Zweig Group.

All rights reserved. THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

7

YEAR FOUNDED: 1982

HEADQUARTERS: Dearborn, MI

OFFICES: 12 offices: Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Indiana, Brazil, India, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman

KI HAMMER: An accountant by background, Hammer began her career in the audit division of a major public accounting firm where she eventually advanced to the senior management level. After seven years, she joined Ghafari as CFO in 1986, and has served as the president and CEO since 2000.

NO. OF EMPLOYEES: 550

MARKETS:

z Aviation

z Commercial

z Education

z Government and institutional

z Health and wellness

z Industrial and manufacturing

z Workplace

SERVICES:

z Architecture

z Construction

z Engineering

z ICT and security

z Innovation

z Interior design

z Process engineering

z Project management consulting

CORE CULTURE: For nearly 40 years, Ghafari has harnessed new technology to create meaningful spaces. Their team members continue to learn, test, and advance new approaches that push their field forward. They deepen their culture of innovation through constant training in the latest tools. This empowers all employees to imagine and implement exciting solutions to the interesting project problems faced each day.

KH: We look for at least 10 years of ex-perience to be a principal. In fact, we just named several associates in their 30s. All were internal and had been with us for four to 10 years. We consider some of the following: interpersonal skills, abili-ty to embrace and promote change, com-mitment to the company, and technical skills combined with leadership capabili-ties.

TZL: When did you have the most fun running your firm, and what were the hallmarks of that time in your profes-sional life?

KH: My career has never been static. I enjoy what I do and bring that enthusi-asm to the table on a regular basis. I love seeing the energy around new ideas and implementation of new technologies and methodologies. I would describe myself as a people person and am elat-ed to see colleagues develop into mature leaders – whether in the technical dis-ciplines or in management. Most of my career has been fun.

TZL: In one word or phrase, what do you describe as your number one job responsibility as CEO?

KH: Caretaker.

TZL: What happens to the firm if you leave tomorrow?

KH: Deliberate succession planning has always been a priority for me. While many of us like to think we are immor-tal, the reality that something could happen to us exists. We have been dili-gent in identifying colleagues for key po-sitions in the case, for whatever reason, a vacancy happens, they would be able to assume new/additional responsibilities.

TZL: With technology reducing the time it takes to complete design work, how do you get the AEC industry to start pricing on value instead of hours?

KH: Unfortunately, a lot of work in the AEC industry has been commoditized. We have to continue to partner with our clients and educate them on the exper-tise and level of service. We have also been promoting a different delivery method – integrated project delivery.

TZL: Engineers love being engineers, but what are you doing to instill a busi-ness culture in your firm?

KH: We share key metrics with the ex-ecutives, managers, and business devel-opment people. We review our sales tar-gets, margins, and overhead on a regular schedule. I personally spend time in this area (as an accountant by background, it’s in my blood). In addition, we are for-malizing a financial education program for the associates.

TZL: The seller-doer model is very suc-cessful, but with growth you need to adapt to new models. What is your program?

KH: We have a hybrid model – seller/doer and dedicated BD people. For ex-ample, with government contracts, it’s much more a pure BD model. With ex-isting clients that have consistent work, we focus on the seller/doer model. The seller/doer can be adapted to the mar-ket. For procurement, we use BD, but for tech-making decisions, we use seller/doer.

TZL: Benefits are evolving. Are you of-fering any new ones due to the chang-ing demographic?

KH: Our benefits are robust. We’ve add-ed certain elective benefits such as ac-cident insurance and other healthcare add-ons. We work to keep the cost shar-ing below market and encourage healthy activities. For example, we participated in a weight loss challenge called, “Win by Losing” and had 25 percent participa-tion. Collectively, 680 pounds were lost over a 10-week period.

See CONFERENCE CALL, page 8

“My career has never been static. I enjoy what I do and bring that enthusiasm to the table on a regular basis. I love seeing the energy around new ideas and implementation of new technologies and methodologies.”

“Deliberate succession planning has always been a priority for me. While many of us like to think we are immortal, the reality that something could happen to us exists.”

© Copyright 2018. Zweig Group.

All rights reserved. THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

8

TZL: How are the tariffs impacting your business and that of your clients?

KH: It’s still to be determined how it will affect clients. It’s still not well defined. We’re observing and waiting to see what happens.

TZL: Are you currently pursuing the R&D tax credit?

KH: Yes. It’s a fair amount of work and somewhat costly to

pursue, but it’s worth it. Pursuing it depends on the types of projects. Each company has to examine their work/needs/expertise to determine the ROI.

CONFERENCE CALL, from page 7 “Our benefits are robust. We’ve added certain elective benefits such as accident insurance and other healthcare add-ons. We work to keep the cost sharing below market and encourage healthy activities.”

BUSINESS NEWSSTRATEGIC PROPERTY PARTNERS, LLC DETAILS PLANS FOR NEW TROPHY OFFICE TOWERS IN WATER STREET TAMPA Strategic Property Partners, LLC unveiled plans for a pair of new trophy office towers within Water Street Tampa, introducing an array of work spaces, totaling approximately 1 million square feet, for companies looking to expand in and move to downtown Tampa, one of the country’s fastest-growing cities.The buildings are part of the first in a series of phases of construction at Water Street Tampa, and the first new ground-up trophy office buildings constructed in downtown Tampa in nearly 25 years. Tampa is one of the fastest growing cities in the country and with rising wages, it is also one of the top large cities for job growth the country.“Water Street Tampa’s office tenants will have premier space, with access to the city’s best hotels, an abundance of food and beverage options, expansive green spaces, and cultural and entertainment venues all situated along downtown Tampa’s beautiful waterfront,” said James Nozar, CEO of SPP. “We’re proud to introduce new office offerings that are created to suit a wide range of needs for companies of all sizes and support the region’s strong economic growth.”As with all facets of Water Street Tampa, SPP has assembled a team of world-class architects and designers to craft and create cutting-edge and highly-amenitized office towers. The buildings are also sustainably-designed and will be WELL and LEED certified, a first for the region and a benefit for potential tenants. Surrounded by over 13 acres of lushly-landscaped open spaces, the buildings will be part of the larger Water Street Tampa neighborhood, the first WELL-certified community in the world, a standard that has been developed in partnership with the International Well Building Institute.1001 Water Street will be a 20-story mixed-use building with approximately 380,000 square feet of office space, designed by COOKFOX Architects.Located at the northeast intersection of Water Street and Channelside Drive, 1001 Water Street is located adjacent to the University of

South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine, and a verdant plaza links the buildings. Designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, the plaza embraces its location within the Florida ecosystem and reveals important aspects of the region’s unique ecology while simultaneously structuring and harmonizing the public space between the adjacent buildings.True to COOKFOX Architects’ signature biophilic design – which incorporates natural materials, natural light, vegetation, nature views, and other experiences of the natural world into the modern built environment – 1001 Water Street is being designed to connect people with nature. Biophilic design reduces stress, enhances creativity and clarity of thought, improves well-being, and expedites healing. Nine double-height exterior terraces will adorn the building’s façade, making space for people to get outside during the work day and interact with nature, while expansive floor-to-ceiling windows flood the offices with abundant natural light, bringing in a bit of the outdoors even when people are inside. The building will also have an expansive rooftop terrace with event space for the tenants.With features including conference space to host large meetings and learning opportunities, flex rooms where the community can connect and host small gatherings, a private mother’s room for nursing mothers, as well as a demonstration kitchen to provide nutritional information and cooking classes, 1001 Water Street will also be home to the Water Street Tampa wellness community center, an amenity for tenants and for the neighborhood at large.400 Channelside is conceived as a gateway and catalyst for urban engagement. Designed by the global architecture, design and consulting firm Gensler, the 500,000-square-foot, 19-story tower embodies key tenants of wellness, creating an everyday experience that heightens mental and physical wellness, fluidly integrating access to the outdoors in the user’s daily activity.Accessible by two lobbies, the most notable design element of 400 Channelside will be a beautifully landscaped 30,000 square

foot sky garden that connects the building’s inhabitants to the outdoors. Perched on the fourth floor, the area offers diverse spaces for outdoor meetings, informal gatherings, events, fitness activities, interaction among tenants, or a respite area to rejuvenate. It will also be connected to other amenities including a conference center and a catering kitchen, and features an event terrace overlooking Amalie Arena’s Thunder Plaza below.Additional commercial office space is planned as part of future phases of Water Street Tampa, including a commercial campus designed by Pickard Chilton, a New-Haven based architectural studio specializing in office design.Once complete, 23,000 people will live, work, visit, and explore Water Street Tampa every day. Water Street Tampa, one of the largest active downtown real estate developments in the United States, is a multi-phased mixed-use community that will include more than nine million square feet of commercial, residential, hospitality, educational, entertainment, cultural and retail space, with the first new buildings having already broken ground.Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with 46 locations and more than 5,000 professionals networked across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and the Americas. Founded in 1965, the firm serves more than 3,500 active clients in virtually every industry. Gensler designers strive to make the places people live, work, and play more inspiring, more resilient, and more impactful.COOKFOX Architects, DPC is a New York City based architectural and interior design studio founded in 2003. COOKFOX has built a studio focused on high-performance, environmentally responsive design and is most well-known for innovative design at the highest standards of environmental performance. COOKFOX strives to create architecture that supports physical health and mental wellness. With a portfolio of diverse residential, workplace, and education projects, COOKFOX seeks to understand each project in its unique environmental, cultural, and historical context, to pursue architecture that restores, regenerates, and elevates our collective experience of the urban environment.

9

THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

Choice breeds chaos, or so the saying goes. Even so, choice and its inherent disruptions are essential to growth. At least that’s what I believe. And in the

context of the workplace, I think that choice is just as important as structure/process. The trick is finding the fine line between the two. To do that, we must first unpack the issue and take a good look at what’s inside.

If we want to grow as people and as firms, we have to first find the fine line, and then what’s on either side of it.

O P I N I O N

I think we have sunken into a place where we assume young professionals are just a bunch of goodie seekers, using choice to find, and indulge in, what they think will please them. In Road to Character, one of my favorite authors, David Brooks, had this to say:

“The world has provided (contemporary young people) with a super abundance of neat things to do, naturally they hunger to seize every opportunity and taste every experience … terrified of missing out on anything that looks exciting. By not renouncing any of them (contemporary young people) spread themselves thin. What’s worse (contemporary young people) turn themselves into goodie seekers … exclusively focused on self. If you live in this way you turn into a shrewd tactician making a series of cautious semi-

commitments without really surrendering to some larger purpose. You lose the ability to say 100 noes for the sake of one overwhelming and fulfilling yes.”

Admittedly, this is true of a wide swath of young professionals. We tend to see the shiny thing that is fleeting. It has no basis in an overall goal, it simply satisfies the itch that it has created. Our attraction to whatever it may be is based more out of fear of missing out than it is driven by purposeful need. But, can the same not be said about a wide swath of firms as well? Has choice turned into goodie seeking? Have you as a firm spread yourself so thin that you’re unable to focus on the one overwhelming and fulfilling yes? Does

Chaos versus structure

Brenden Sherrer

See BRENDEN SHERRER, page 10

© Copyright 2018. Zweig Group.

All rights reserved. THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

10

your firm constantly do “neat things” that do not fit into any strategy or goal? If it is done at the firm level, wouldn’t it be natural to expect it to seep into the day-to-day desires and habits of all its employees?

I oftentimes think of business as if it were a band, and the self-expression in it as the individual musicians. Because of this I can’t help but think of a recent article penned by singer/songwriter Lauryn Hill. In the article, there are two messages that are salient to this discussion – one from the artist and one from the band leader.

As a musician to a band leader, Hill said, “My approach to making music is non-traditional, possibly non-linear, and more a product of my heart, soul, and experience gained through doing, than something I was taught in a formal school setting.” There are an increasing number of young people that want to be a part of the band, but want to be a bit non-traditional, and want to engage the heart and soul through doing. Firms have to be open to the variance in humanity, and take pains not to dampen the fire that still burns to play the band’s/business’s song, just in their way.

As a band leader to her musician, Hill said, “No matter how incredible the musicians who play with me are, MY name is on the marquee. The expectation to make it all come together is on me. The risk and the financial losses are on me. Hence, MY VIBE, though not the only consideration, is the priority. Few people actually know what this road is

like, but many want to judge and comment, having never done it.”

Today’s young professionals must understand the risks – professionally, personally, and financially – that leaders take, and appreciate the multitude of things pulling at their attention that have long-term, and potentially negative, effects on many people. Every crusade a young professional might wage is not important to senior leaders, a fact a young, autonomous professional must accept.

We all want to be our truest selves, both in our personal and professional lives. The battle for balance is ongoing – choice versus process, chaos versus structure. We need a bit of all of it to grow, as individuals and as firms.

BRENDEN SHERRER is a consultant with Zweig Group’s M&A services. He can be reached at bsherrer@zweiggroup.com.

BRENDEN SHERRER, from page 9

“Today’s young professionals must understand the risks – professionally, personally, and financially – that leaders take, and appreciate the multitude of things pulling at their attention that have long-term, and potentially negative, effects on many people.”

BUSINESS NEWSDESIGN WORKSHOP WINS THREE NATIONAL ASLA AWARDS: FIRM HONORED WITH 17 ASLA NATIONAL AWARDS, SINCE 2006 Design Workshop is honored to receive three ASLA Awards in the following categories: z The Landmark Award: “From Weapons

to Wildlife: The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Management Plan” – This plan served as the driving vision in the conversion of a 17,000-acre Superfund site into one of our nation’s largest urban wildlife refuges. Addressing pressing land use issues of the early 21st century – conservation, habitat protection and management, pollution control, cleanup and reuse, public use, recreation, environmental education, and sustainable development – the CMP conceptualized a pioneering approach to dynamic, novel ecosystems where restoration would harbor living ecologies while simultaneously providing recreational opportunities. Demonstrating the role landscape architecture may play in complex, contaminated lands, the CMP represented a model for how public and private partnerships can assist with the large-scale remediation of decommissioned military sites into public wildlife reserves.

z Award of Excellence in Analysis & Planning: “A Colorado Legacy: I-25 Conservation Corridor Master Plan” – This critical 17-mile

stretch of Interstate 25 lies undeveloped following the implementation of the I-25 Conservation Corridor Master Plan, the result of a strong strategic vision coupled with unprecedented cooperation among conservation organizations, government entities, and private landowners. The Conservation Fund, in collaboration with Design Workshop, initiated a strategy to engage residents and government officials in conserving open lands to forever protect scenic vistas, water quality, wildlife, clean air, and recreational opportunities along the corridor. Devised to offer solutions to the surrounding uncontrolled sprawl, the plan leveraged unique planning methods and limited development strategies to achieve what had been previously considered impossible: preservation of more than 100,000 acres of open space along Colorado’s Front Range.

z Honor Award in Communication: “VanPlay: Plan to Play” – How does a parks and recreation department recast itself as a relevant brand that can successfully face the next century of change? Seeking a vision beyond the typical ‘blue and green’ parks motif, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation challenged the design team to craft a brand to spark the public’s curiosity in the first system-wide master plan in more than 25 years. Curlers to coyotes roam and recreate in Vancouver’s network of

1,300 hectares of parkland, 28 kilometers of seawall and 175 neighborhood facilities. The resulting brand draws from this energy to forge a vibrant identity agile enough to represent the breadth of exceptional and progressive services offered-from mahjong to warming stations for the homeless. VanPlay, the re-envisioned brand, garnered more than 1 million digital impressions in its first six months and is helping the city create a framework for inclusivity and welcome in the face of challenges that range from sea level rise, aging infrastructure and rising social inequality.

“In every project, it is our goal to help our clients achieve their environmental, economic, aesthetic, and community-based objectives. In doing so, we hope to advance the profession and continually improve upon previous work. It is humbling to have our work recognized by our peers and to know in some way we are leaving a legacy for future generations,” said Kurt Culbertson, CEO and chairman of Design Workshop.Founded in 1969, Design Workshop is an internationally-renown landscape architecture, urban design, planning and strategic services firm with eight offices in the U.S. and projects spanning the globe. The firm has been recognized with more than 350 prestigious awards for its work in new communities, urban centers, resorts, public parks and residences.

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THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

A common blood sport at leadership team meetings these days begins with, “WHAT do we do with these bleeping millennials?!!” For many years, millennials, born

between 1981 and 1996 to baby boomer parents, were seen as different versions of the leaders’ children. They were, after all, children.

Approximately 10,000 baby boomers will retire every day over the next decade. By 2030, millennials will comprise three-quarters of the U.S. workforce.

O P I N I O N

They are no longer children. In fact, they have occupied the workforce for more than 16 years. Baby boomers now find themselves wondering how to develop the rising force of millennials as they vie for leadership roles.

THE RISING FORCE. Approximately 10,000 baby boom-ers will retire every day over the next decade. By 2030, millennials will comprise three-quarters of the U.S. workforce. With 78 million members, their expanding influence cannot be ignored. In view of this trend, companies are grappling with how to accelerate their leadership development and address generational priorities.

Millennials grew up in the hyperconnected world of the internet. They invented social media, giving individuals unprecedented power to share

information, offer opinions, and solicit support for favorite causes. They also, to the chagrin of their elders, demand authority to make decisions that affect them.

With such assertiveness, how do you transition

Here they come!

Julie Benezet

GUEST SPEAKER

See JULIE BENEZET, page 12

“How do you transition millennials into leadership roles in organizations where traditional lines of authority, years in service, and deferential communication have guided leadership behaviors and choices?”

© Copyright 2018. Zweig Group.

All rights reserved. THE ZWEIG LETTER November 5, 2018, ISSUE 1271

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millennials into leadership roles in organizations where traditional lines of authority, years in service, and deferential communication have guided leadership behaviors and choices?

BRINGING UP MILLENNIAL LEADERS. Here are some ideas to em-brace and optimize millennial leadership development:

1) Cultivate the art of listening. Developing talent starts with understanding what motivates people. That means effective communication. It’s one thing to hear, it’s another to listen without prejudicial filters. Everyone is influenced in what they hear by their needs, experiences, and fears.

Younger generation members don’t buy the argument that leadership roles require years of experience. That upsets cur-rent leaders. It dampens their hearing, cutting them off from promising ideas offered by fast-moving, information-hungry millennials. Millennials want their opinions heard. Leaders who ignore them discourage emerging talent. They can also find their refusal to listen described in unflattering terms throughout social media.

No doubt, the rules of interaction have changed. While the older workers have worked in chain of command cultures where leaders ruled the day, millennials prize engagement at all levels. It can lead to healthy, albeit sometimes painful, dia-logue. It also generates information, learning, and fresh ideas.

2) Don’t assume they don’t care about business results. Today’s leaders often assume business results don’t matter to millennials, much less leading the charge to achieve them. In reality, results do interest millennials, given the right condi-tions.

Knowing what an organization wants to achieve is a critical driver of results. In a 2017 Partners in Leadership Workplace Accountability Study, 85 percent of more than 40,000 par-ticipants across all ages could not answer that question for their organizations. Millennials particularly want to know the “why” behind an organization’s priorities to make sense of what they do. Engaging them requires winning buy-in for company initiatives, allowing them to view their participation as a personal choice.

3) Start ceding territory. Millennials want to be hands-on, col-laborative, and involved. They value openness, transparency, and a say in decision-making. These priorities threaten lead-ers accustomed to protecting their turf, selectively involving younger workers or limiting information to maintain control.

Leadership development involves a phased transfer of con-trol. For executives who over-identify with their leadership roles, that can be challenging. They equate surrendering au-thority with a loss of power and identity. To rediscover who they are as people rather than leaders is important to leader-ship transition. In the meantime, failure to start an orderly transfer of authority can impair the emergence of new lead-ers, and the best candidates might leave.

4) Accelerate sharing the wisdom of experience. In a culture biased toward youth and instant gratification, older genera-tions underestimate the importance of experience. Living through multiple project blow-ups, unhappy clients, and dys-functional behavior is a great teacher. Too often, in an effort to move on, they forget what those experiences taught them.

Current leaders have much to share, as long as they don’t sound like parents when they do so. Emerging leadership pro-grams that focus on building experience with cross-function-alized “action learning” have been shown to enjoy a high rate of retention and promotions. They also reinforce the idea that experience has not lost its value.

Millennials will eventually lead the business world. Seeing their emergence as an opportunity to learn and evolve will benefit not just them, but all generations.

JULIE BENEZET spent 25 years in law and business, and for the past 16 years has coached and consulted with executives from virtually every industry. She earned her stripes for leading in the discomfort and excitement of the new as Amazon’s first global real estate executive. She is an award-winning author of The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There Is None and The Journal of Not Knowing. She can be reached at juliebenezet.com.

JULIE BENEZET, from page 11

“Millennials grew up in the hyperconnected world of the internet. They invented social media, giving individuals unprecedented power to share information, offer opinions, and solicit support for favorite causes. They also, to the chagrin of their elders, demand authority to make decisions that affect them.”

BUSINESS NEWSUSACE NAMES WOOLPERT TO $49M AEG MAPPING CONTRACT Woolpert was selected for a $49 million shared capacity contract for architecture and engineering services to provide survey and mapping for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division, Mobile District. This contract will support civil, military, and interagency programs within the Mobile District and South Atlantic Division’s Area of Operation.Woolpert Vice President and National Security Market Practice Leader Darius Hensley said the firm was awarded a prime contract and will serve on the teams of other awarded firms to deliver geospatial mapping services

for the U.S. military around the world. This contract continues Woolpert’s long-standing relationship with the USACE.“We’ve been working with the Mobile District for many years and have developed a good, strong relationship,” Hensley said. “There’s a lot of trust and responsiveness on both sides. If there’s an issue, they can pick up the phone and we can resolve it quickly.”Woolpert is the fastest growing architecture, engineering, and geospatial firm in the country, delivering value to clients in all 50 states and around the world by strategically blending innovative design and engineering excellence with leading-edge technology and geospatial

applications. With a dynamic research and development department, Woolpert works with inventive business partners such as Google and Esri; operates a fleet of planes, sensors, and unmanned aircraft systems; and continually pushes industry boundaries by working with advanced water technologies, asset management, BIM, and sustainable design. The firm supports a mission to help its clients progress and become more progressive. For more than 100 years and with 26 offices across the U.S., Woolpert serves federal, state and local governments; private and public companies and universities; energy and transportation departments; and the U.S. Armed Forces.