character is everything - the zweig letter...magazine, structure magazine, and engineering...

Benefits strategies

In Zweig Group’s recently released 2019 Best Performing Firms in the AEC Industry Report, benefit strategies were analyzed between industry norms and the highest-performing firms. Paid time off created an interesting divide while comparing these best performing firms to all other firms. Seventy-seven percent of fast growth firms and 83 percent of very high profit firms allowed their employees to take unearned PTO on credit, outpacing the industry standard of 65 percent. Additionally, these best performing firms are more likely to buy back unused PTO from their employees at the end of the fiscal year relative to the rest of the industry. Different strategies work for different firms with regards to PTO, but it’s important to continuously weigh the options as the years progress. Participate in a survey and save $320 on any Zweig Group research publication. Visit bit.ly/TZLsp to learn more.

T R E N D L I N E S

F I R M I N D E X

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

O c t o b e r 2 1 , 2 0 1 9 , I s s u e 1 3 1 7

See MARK ZWEIG, page 2

Everyone who is an owner or manager of an AEC business wants to talk about the requirements for becoming a principal, or the criteria for becoming an associate or project manager. Then there’s also the conventional wisdom that before you hire anyone you need a job description detailing the specific education, registration, and experience requirements they must have to qualify for the job.

Interestingly, you will rarely ever see anything in any of these lists or descriptions referring to the single most important attribute anyone can have who works in your organization at any level – character. Without it, no amount of coaching, training, supervision, or policies can overcome the negative aspects posed by a lack of character.

Unfortunately, a lack of character is not always evident to those of us who are making hiring, promotion, or retention decisions. While the AEC business is an exceptional industry in terms of the high quality of people who work in it, the occasional bad apple does slip in.

Here are some warning signs to look out for:

❚ Gross exaggerations and lying about stupid little stuff. Whenever I pick up on these it is a red flag. I once had someone tell me about their father who had a “‘69 Challenger with a 427 hemi.” Problem is, there was no such car. It told me the guy was a BS-er, a hunch later confirmed in the workplace. Bad character!

❚ Petty actions. When someone gets upset because another person puts the toilet paper roll on so it hangs the wrong way, or when someone borrows their stapler once and forgets to give it back, and then that person becomes obsessed with getting them back, it’s a character problem.

❚ Doing things they shouldn’t do to win a job. I’m talking about bribes, either minor or major, or even sabotaging a competitor in some way. When people do things like this you have to worry that they could take your whole company down at some point as a result of their character.

❚ Cooking the books to show better results than are there. I have seen this many times. Knowingly over-accruing revenue on a job to make their department’s P&L look better, or keeping AR on the books that they know can’t be collected, are sure signs of character deficiencies that could indicate other problems.

❚ Attempts to bury problems on projects or with clients. Knowing that a client is unhappy because the firm screwed something up, but keeping that from firm management, is worrisome. It makes you wonder what else the person is hiding. Possible character flaw.

M O R E A R T I C L E Sx❚ MICHELLE SEARS: Where is

Carmen Sandiego? Page 3

x❚ Benefits for all: Jeff Peacock Page 6

x❚ JEN WOLCHANSKY & KATE ANDRUS: People, the environment, finances Page 9

x❚ DAVID COYNE: Wherefore art thou, writers? Page 11

“People who show any signs of a lack of character must be confronted and dealt with immediately.”

Character is everything

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

Mark Zweig

Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. .....................12Halff Associates ....................................10JQ ..........................................................4Liberty Environmental, Inc. ....................12Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. ...10Mead & Hunt ........................................10MHF Design Consultants, Inc. ..............12Parametrix ..............................................6Pennoni ..................................................4The Harman Group .................................2

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All rights reserved. THE ZWEIG LETTER October 21, 2019, ISSUE 1317

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MARK ZWEIG, from page 1

ON THE MOVETHE HARMAN GROUP PROMOTES LEA COSENZA TO DIRECTOR OF NEW YORK OFFICE The Harman Group, a firm specializing in structural engineering, parking planning, and design and renovations, is proud to announce the promotion of Lea Cosenza to director of The Harman Group’s New York office. In her new role, Cosenza will be responsible for the management of ongoing New York and New Jersey projects in addition to business development in those areas. The Harmon Group’s New York office focuses on structural engineering for tall buildings, institutional, healthcare, university facilities, and large-scale mixed-use developments.Cosenza is an accomplished structural engineer, bringing more than a decade of experience to The Harman Group where she specializes in structural engineering for new buildings, expansions, overbuilds, and historic renovations. Cosenza works with clients throughout the entire structural design process, ensuring projects are built on time and within budget.“Lea has been an asset to our team for almost three years and we are proud to see her continue to grow within the firm,” said Janis Vacca, P.E., LEED AP, vice president, The Harman Group. “Lea will be instrumental as we continue to grow and expand our presence in New York and New Jersey.”Cosenza’s portfolio encompasses a variety of projects, including: a new mixed-use building with student housing and a university center

for Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey and the renovation of the University Center at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York; hospitality projects such as Cambria Hotel & Suites and a Hyatt Centric Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and residential developments consisting of Hello Broadway in New York City, New York, and Arthaus and 619 North Broad Street, both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.“I am thrilled and honored to move into this role leading our New York office,” said Lea Cosenza, Director, New York Office. “I look forward to building on The Harman Group’s extensive structural design experience with clients and projects in New York and New Jersey.”Cosenza earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in civil engineering with a structural concentration from Villanova University. Cosenza has also authored articles for such publications as Modern Steel Construction Magazine, Structure Magazine, and Engineering News-Record Magazine. She also teaches AIA courses for continued education.Founded in 1984, The Harman Group, Inc. provides structural engineering, parking planning and design and construction engineering services. The Harman Group has the unique ability to provide outstanding engineering solutions, using state of the art computational methods, building information modeling and other technology, combined with high-level, personal customer service.

❚ Too political. Obvious attempts at brown-nosing to get ahead. Shameless public flattery of the boss. While some politicking may be necessary to be successful, excessive, shameless pandering to the boss is an indication of character problems you shouldn’t ignore.

❚ Greedy. We once had a guy who worked for us who had a grossly inflated idea of his contribution to our firm’s success. He even went as far as proposing a bonus plan to the BOD that would’ve resulted in him personally getting 55 or 60 percent of the company’s profits. As is often the case, when greed rears its ugly head, it’s a tip-off to character deficiencies. And believe me, in this case it was borne out by his later actions.

❚ Blaming. The inability to ever accept responsibility and always blame their problems on someone else is not uncommon with some insecure managers and leaders, and a real indication of character issues that you have to be concerned about.

❚ Small cheats. We once had an employee who was a compulsive coupon-clipper – he was notoriously cheap. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but it spread into doing things such as charging a pizza delivered to his home to an out-of-state client’s project. We had to let him go over that one.

I’m sure I have missed something in this list, but the bottom line is pay close attention to your people. Those who show any signs of a lack of character – especially managers/leaders – must be confronted and dealt with immediately, or the cancer will quickly take hold and damage your firm.

MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at [email protected].

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THE ZWEIG LETTER October 21, 2019, ISSUE 1317

Some say recruiting is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Personally, I find it to be more like playing “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” Nowadays with unemployment being at an all-time low, Carmen is winning while we are desperate to catch up. Candidates have changed the game; they have the control and we, as employers, need to try harder than ever to promote our open positions and show people the benefit of joining our team.

These days the recruiting game is tough. The good news is that your best talent scouts might already work in your firm.

O P I N I O N

One of the important things I have learned as a recruiter in the AEC industry is that the most qualified people are within the networks of our own employees. While not everyone can be a recruiter, they can certainly be prepared to advocate for their company by embracing a few simple tips:

❚ Remember you are the expert on the subject matter. No one knows a company better than a current employee, so be prepared to share knowledge with fellow peers when they inquire about your firm. This is a pop quiz you actually know the answers to, so do not be afraid to share some background on the company or brag about exciting news or projects. When an employee is proud of where they work, it shows, and that feeling is infectious, especially when you are among peers who may be looking to make a career change.

❚ Identify the jobs that are needed. Before you go to a networking event or tradeshow, check out your company’s career site so you have a good idea of the job openings. You may know of people in your professional circle who are looking to make a career change, but you weren’t aware there was something for them at your office. There is nothing a recruiter loves more than a good referral.

Where is Carmen Sandiego?

Michelle Sears

“Your recruiters and the HR team are there to help you throughout the process. Reach out to them for guidance on the easiest ways to find your Carmen Sandiego.”

See MICHELLE SEARS, page 4



4

❚ Know the perks: benefits and the unknown “cool” factors. People look for all kinds of different benefits when they job search, and a lot of the time there are great perks about a company that don’t show up in a job posting. From medical benefits to good coffee in the breakroom, it’s important to be educated on all that your company offers, whether you take advantage of them or not. That knowledge will come in handy when people ask you, “What do you like about going to work every day?”

❚ Recognize your recruiters and always have business cards. Know the names of the recruiters or human resource partners at your company. You never know when someone at a networking event will indicate that they are interested in working with you. Sometimes the conversation can be difficult to navigate, so provide them with contact information of who to reach out to and let the recruiters take it from there.

Your recruiters and the HR team are there to help you throughout the process. Reach out to them for guidance on the easiest ways to find your Carmen Sandiego.

MICHELLE SEARS is a senior recruiter at Pennoni with 11 years of recruiting experience. She can be reached at [email protected].

ON THE MOVEJQ ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INITIATIVES FOR FIRM LEADERS IN MAJOR MARKET SECTORS JQ recently announced that it has formed four major market sector initiatives in response to the firm’s growth and momentum in key architectural market sectors, according to JQ’s CEO Stephen Lucy, P.E. Each initiative is led by a veteran JQ leadership team member with primary responsibility for developing and maintaining client relationships, and identifying and positioning for project pursuits within their respective markets.“Economic indicators for Texas and the surrounding region remain very positive and that bodes well for continued growth in several of our key market sectors,” says Lucy. The firm serves commercial, K-12 and higher education, government, and healthcare clients in the architectural market. “These are markets in which JQ has deep experience, engineering expertise, and talented professionals,” says Lucy.Lucy named the following firm leaders to oversee and expand these major markets: ❚ Commercial Market Sector – Dallas,

Texas: John Hoenig, P.E., COO and partner will lead the commercial market for JQ. Hoenig is based in the firm’s downtown Dallas, Texas office where he is the COO and provides strategic and operational leadership across the firm and oversees the Buildings group and its work across the country. He joined JQ in 2000 and has 19 years of experience. JQ has completed numerous commercial projects during his tenure, including the Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas; the Joule Urban Resort in downtown Dallas, Texas; ROMCO Corporate Facility and Operations in Carrollton, Texas; and Cummins Southern Plains Maintenance Facility in Dallas, Texas, among others.

❚ Higher Education and K-12 Market Sector – Fort Worth, Texas: Carlo Taddei, P.E., LEED AP and principal will lead the higher education and K-12 market for JQ. Taddei is principal of JQ’s Fort Worth, Texas office where he is responsible for the office’s performance, client interaction, and consulting and review of projects from design to construction. He joined JQ in 2004. Since that time, JQ has completed numerous educational projects, including Amon Carter-Riverside High School renovations and additions in Fort Worth, Texas; Zachry Engineering Education Complex renovation and expansion at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas; Engineering and Computer Science West Building at The University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, Texas; Life Science Research & Engineering Building at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, Texas; and Walnut Creek Elementary School in Azle, Texas.

❚ Healthcare Market Sector – Houston, Texas: Akshai Ramakrishnan, P.E. and principal will lead the healthcare market for JQ. Ramakrishnan is principal in JQ’s Houston, Texas office and has 18 years of experience working on a wide range of projects encompassing design, construction administration, and forensics. He joined JQ in 2005. During this time, JQ has completed work on numerous healthcare projects, including Parkland Health and Hospital System – Ron J. Anderson, MD Clinical Tower in Dallas, Texas; John Peter Smith Medical Home Northeast Tarrant, Bedford, Texas; Post-Acute Medical Rehabilitation Hospital of Centennial Hills in Las Vegas, Nevada, and several micro hospitals for Embree Asset Group at multiple locations across the U.S.

❚ Government Market Sector – Dallas, Texas: Stephen Lucy, P.E. and CEO of JQ

will lead the firm’s efforts in the government market. Located in the firm’s Dallas headquarters, Lucy co-founded the office in 1994 and is responsible for the strategic growth of the firm. Lucy is a recognized leader in the AEC community and has an extensive portfolio of delivering award-winning projects using various project delivery methods for more than 30 years. He also has expertise in historic preservation and renovation projects and has worked on restoring more than 40 Texas county courthouses. Other government projects that the firm has completed include the town hall, municipal court, and library in Prosper, Texas; Hopkins County Safety Rest Stop in Cumby, Texas; Police and Public Works in Sunset Valley, Texas; and Trophy Club Public Safety Building in Trophy Club, Texas, among others.

“We believe it is the right time to align our resources to capitalize on these growing markets and to continue to expand our portfolio, staff, and market presence,” says Lucy. “We are confident in the abilities of our team and look forward to their continuing contributions.”

Founded in 1984, JQ provides structural and civil engineering, geospatial and facility performance services throughout the United States. The firm is considered a leader in engineering design innovation and technology to support its complex, multi-state and multi-market projects.

Nationally, JQ has been recognized as a Best Firm To Work For and as a Hot Firm by Zweig Group. JQ has offices in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, and San Antonio.

MICHELLE SEARS, from page 3 “One of the important things I have learned as a recruiter in the AEC industry is that the most qualified people are within the networks of our own employees. While not everyone can be a recruiter, they can certainly be prepared to advocate for their company by embracing a few simple tips.”

mailto:msears%40pennoni.com?subject=

2019 Zweig Group Seminar Calendar

https://shop.zweiggroup.com/collections/seminars


6

P R O F I L E

Benefits for all: Jeff PeacockPresident and CEO of Parametrix, a 100 percent employee-owned engineering, planning, and environmental sciences firm based in Seattle, Washington.

Peacock joined Parametrix in 1990 as a transportation staff engineer. In 2008, he became president and CEO. Today, he’s responsible for overall company growth and profitability. He oversees company-wide operations, strategic planning, and business development activities.

“I’ve learned through the years that a simple thank you and acknowledging an employee’s commitment to our clients and company often means as much as a financial reward,” Peacock says. “That said, we don’t lose sight of making sure our employee-owners feel great about their compensation and benefits.”

A CONVERSATION WITH JEFF PEACOCK.

The Zweig Letter: What are the three to four key business performance indicators that you watch most carefully? Do you share that information with your staff?

Jeff Peacock: Our key performance indicators include

utilization, sales, backlog, and contribution margin/profit. As a 100 percent ESOP employee-owned firm we are extremely transparent and have developed a variety of systems and communication channels to enable every employee access and monitoring of their individual performance metrics in real time. We also have bi-weekly “bagel breaks” in all of our offices where office, company information, and updates are routinely shared and discussed with everyone.

TZL: How far into the future are you able to reliably predict your workload and cashflow?

JP: At a company and office level we track our backlog of executed contracted work (we don’t include on-calls until we have executed task assignments). This gives us a pretty good sense of workload forecasts and we typically target eight to nine months of backlog to feel comfortable we’ll have no problem meeting our goals. At an office level, workload is typically tracked at a much more granular

By LIISA ANDREASSENCorrespondent



7

HEADQUARTERS: Seattle, WA

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 530

YEAR FOUNDED: 1969

NUMBER OF OFFICE LOCATIONS: 14

SERVICES:

❚ Community building

❚ Cultural resources

❚ Energy

❚ Environmental

❚ Funding and grant assistance

❚ Project delivery

❚ Surveying

❚ Sustainable solutions

❚ Transportation

❚ Water

SECTORS:

❚ Industry

❚ Public agencies

❚ Teaming partners

❚ Tribes

❚ Pueblos and rancherias

THEIR PURPOSE: Helping clients and

partners create vibrant, sustainable

communities and restoring the

health of the planet for future

generations.

CORE VALUES: Integrity,

compassion, collaboration, fun,

client service, and employee

ownership.

level where every individual employee is accounted for. Projects are often confronted with change, so the workload forecasting process can be dynamic and is routinely reviewed for everyone on a weekly basis. Depending on the nature of discipline work each employee may be engaged with, we can reliably predict their workload from one month to one year. The reason for that disparity is the nature of the work. Survey assignments, for example, are often quick burn and it’s less clear what an individual may be doing in three months. On the other hand, staff working on very large projects can confidently know what they’ll be doing 12 months out. As for cash flow, we feel confident predicting income and costs by quarter, and reasonably certain about predicting it out six to nine months.

TZL: How much time do you spend working “in the business” rather than “on the business?”

JP: This ebbs and flows, but I’m generally a pretty externally focused CEO and I spend a significant amount of time with clients and partners. I enjoy working with them and our project teams on strategy at a macro and project level. I’m engaged with multiple assignments as the principal-in-charge, which helps me stay connected with project teams as things evolve. At times, my focus may be fairly intense working “on the business.” For example, I’ve been spending a lot of time over the last year working with senior staff on employee engagement planning, assisting in the development of new technologies for water and wastewater treatment and helping launch our Integrated Watershed Management initiative. I’ve also worked with leadership and our Emerging Leaders at Parametrix (LEaP program) in the development of a comprehensive approach and plan around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Whether we call it inside the business or on the business, I’m enthusiastic about our upcoming industry event focused on the Future of the Profession. Parametrix will be hosting its second “mini-conference” where our clients and partners can hear from industry experts and discuss how artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, machine learning, 5G, robotics, etc. will change our business over the next five to 10 years.

TZL: Artificial intelligence and machine learning are potential disruptors across all industries. Is your firm exploring how to incorporate these technologies

into providing improved services for clients?

JP: We’re not only exploring these types of technologies, we are proactively immersing ourselves in them. One example where we’ve made significant investment is in the use of augmented and virtual reality technologies in design and construction. This helps clients and stakeholders better envision the changes and understand technical engineering concepts during design to help in decision-making.

TZL: What, if anything, are you doing to protect your firm from a potential economic slowdown in the future?

JP: The Great Recession taught us a lot. Having to tighten the firm due to forces outside our control was exceptionally difficult and something we do not want to go through again. For example, we’re approaching large projects differently now. We never want to be a firm that staffs up quickly and lays staff off quickly as workload demand changes. In the past, when we were well positioned to win that type of work, we often took a very large role in staffing and managing the projects. As the recession continued to grow and clients began cutting way back on funding projects, we found ourselves over-staffed in several areas.

As we’ve become more cautious about the economy over the last year, we’ve made a conscious effort to partner with other major partners and share the work more broadly. As a result, we’re reducing our risk by taking on less of the overall project delivery responsibilities. We may well still lead the project, but we’re spreading the risk with other firms so that in the event of a slowdown, the impact will be much less for all. The key to that working, of course, is having a suite of trusted partners who share that philosophy. We’re also constantly diversifying geographies we work in and trying to keep a balance between work disciplines.

TZL: It is often said that people leave managers, not companies. What are you doing to ensure that your line leadership are great people managers?

JP: Parametrix provides annual supervisor training to newer supervisors to ensure they have the proper tools and understanding to be successful. We encourage constant communication and conduct career assessments

See BENEFITS FOR ALL, page 8



8

every six months. We also strive to acknowledge our employee’s contributions to the business and have a bonus program that managers can use throughout the year to reward outstanding performance “on the spot.” I’ve learned through the years that a simple thank you and acknowledging an employee’s commitment to our clients and company often means as much as a financial reward. That said, we don’t lose sight of making sure our employee-owners feel great about their compensation and benefits.

TZL: Does your firm work closely with any higher education institutions to gain access to the latest technology, experience, and innovation and/or recruiting to find qualified resources?

JP: We work with several universities. We have a formal internship program that often results in students returning to work at the firm for multiple years and they often find long-term employment here. We regularly participate in career fairs at local universities and colleges. Our staff is active in STEM activities, including partnerships in some innovative and exciting scholarship and formal mentoring programs within multiple states.

TZL: How often do you valuate your firm and what key metrics do you use in the process? Do you valuate using in-house staff or is it outsourced?

JP: As an ESOP, we have three internal trustees (senior employees who are not company officers) who lead the valuation process in close coordination with management and an outside valuation firm to set the share value each year. The valuator looks at a variety of company performance metrics and forecasts during the valuation process including cash, growth, the market, revenue trends, and forecasts for future years. The valuation also includes “external” factors like the overall economy and what’s happening with valuation industry trends. The overall process is exceptionally transparent, and the supporting information is shared with all employee owners at the close of the process.

TZL: Research shows that PMs are overworked, understaffed, and that many firms do not have formal training programs for PMs. What is your firm doing to support its PMs?

JP: Parametrix places an emphasis on project manager training and support. We provide formal training through [outside consultants] and we have a dedicated project delivery team to support project managers. They conduct project reviews to help identify efficiencies and share best practices with PMs. The firm also continues to invest in business management software to enhance the tools available. Parametrix recently upgraded to BST10 and through our partnership with BST, we’re collaborating on making more features available to PMs.

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

JP: We’re currently very focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. We’ve been prepping for the firmwide conversation for well over a year and earlier this year we began working with an outside consultant to help us assess

where the firm currently stands. We’re doing this through a company-wide survey where we established some baselines for developing improvement plans. These went well beyond simple statistics for measuring how diverse we are, but took a deep dive into understanding unconscious bias, micro-aggressions, privilege and its effect, and other related items. We’ve engaged our 2019 class of Leaders Emerging at Parametrix to work with the survey results and consultant to make recommendations to the firm’s leadership later this fall. These will include ideas that can be put into practice right away as part of our normal course of business as well as a clear plan to address longer-term needs.

We actively support outside organizations that are focused on reducing barriers to higher education and launching young professionals from diverse backgrounds into STEM careers. Parametrix was also an early adopter in partnering with a key client in launching a mentor-protégé program aimed toward supporting a new Disadvantaged Business Enterprise to better understand how to do business with large, public sector clients.

TZL: A firm’s longevity is valuable. What are you doing to encourage your staff to stick around?

JP: One of the firm’s strategic plan initiatives is “Continuously Improving as a Best Place to Work.” To support this goal, the company works to ensure competitive salaries and benefits, and career growth opportunities. We go to great lengths to link our performance with being an employee-owned company, and how that performance results in everyone benefiting. This is not only financially, but in the many things we do to give back to employees (like five extra days of paid vacation in each of the last three years). We don’t have to satisfy outside investors or a few individuals who own the firm – everything we do and give back is for the benefit of all our employee-owners. Employee-owners are encouraged to think like owners and have an active voice. We conduct regular surveys and listen to our employee-owners for opportunities to improve the workplace or business. I’m proud to share that Parametrix has recently been recognized as a Best Place to Work by Oregon Business Magazine and ranked No. 3 for Best Places to Work for all large businesses in Washington State by the Seattle Business Magazine. That’s rarified air!

BENEFITS FOR ALL, from page 7

Parametrix celebrates third place win on Seattle Business Magazine’s Best Places to Work list.

9


Some people hear the word sustainability and immediately think “environment,” but that’s just a single facet of what sustainability means. Ultimately, the ability to sustain is the ability to continue. To move forward, we must always push for improvement. This concept inherent in sustainability touches every aspect of a company, not just the environmental side.

A successful sustainability plan should formalize your approach for continuous improvement and help you build on what you are already doing in three key areas.

O P I N I O N

WHY DOES SUSTAINABILITY MATTER? It is necessary for any responsible AEC company to not only reduce its negative impact, but also positively influence the world we all live in. Progress should be measured not only by profit and market share, but by a company’s impact on and enhancements to our environment and society.

At its core, sustainability is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future. If we want our company to continue to be a positive force into the future, we must focus on the environment, yes – but we also must take care of our finances, our people, and our communities. “Take care of people, do the right thing, do what makes sense” – these are words Mead & Hunt strives to live by in our work.

WHERE ARE WE NOW? WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE? A successful sustainability plan should formalize your approach for continuous improvement and help you build on what you are already doing. It should focus on three elements: people, the

People, the environment, finances

Jen Wolchansky

Kate Andrus

See JEN WOLCHANSKY & KATE ANDRUS, page 10

“Sustainability is about creating something that will last into the future. As professional engineers, planners, and architects, it is our responsibility to plan for and foster a sustainable path forward.”



10ON THE MOVEGREGORY KUHN JOINS LAN AS TRANSPORTATION MARKETING LEADER Gregory Kuhn, P.E., joins planning, engineering, and program management firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. as transportation marketing leader. In his new role, Kuhn will be responsible for strategically pursuing projects, building client relationships, and expanding the firm’s transportation practice.Kuhn worked 36 years at Halff Associates, a national consulting engineering firm, in various senior management positions. During this time, he was instrumental in helping the firm win numerous projects throughout Texas, including with notable clients such as the Texas Department of Transportation, Dallas Water Utilities, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His expertise helped

double the firm’s revenue over the last five years.“Greg has a unique understanding of both the engineering and business aspects of the civil engineering industry,” said Dev Rastogi, P.E., LAN’s vice president. “His expertise will be invaluable to our firm as we continue to grow our transportation business.”Kuhn has served the Society of American Military Engineers, locally and nationally, for several years. He is part of the SAME committee that awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors who will study engineering or the sciences. Kuhn also led SAME’s efforts to support Snowball Express and Operation Once In A Lifetime. In 2007, he was selected as a fellow by SAME, joining a select group of people who have rendered dedicated and outstanding

service to the society, military engineering, and the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.Kuhn holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Rice University and a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas.LAN is a full-service consulting firm offering planning, engineering, and program management services for the nation’s heavy civil infrastructure needs. With more than 350 employees across the United States, LAN is a national leader in the engineering industry and is consistently ranked among the “Top 100 A/E Firms” according to Engineering News-Record. LAN is a LEO A DALY company, an international architecture and engineering firm.

environment, and finances. These crucial elements may not seem connected on first inspection; however, they are each vital to the longevity of a successful AEC firm. Ultimately, any of these factors can make or break a company, and they all must be accounted for in any sustainability plan.

Using these three categories, a sustainability plan should define your baseline, or existing conditions. Defining existing conditions allows you to see exactly where you are and compare it to where you’d like to be. Identifying any disparity will allow you to create a definitive plan for closing the gap.

Mead & Hunt’s recent sustainability plan followed these steps. Our plan focuses on energy, waste, and water practices at our offices, our strategic planning and employee ownership program, and our social programs that help those within our company and our broader communities as well. This baseline directly informed our 2019 sustainability goals to:

❚ Increase participation in our community service programs

❚ Reduce the waste we send to the landfill

❚ Continue to invest in new technologies and innovation that support our work and our industry

❚ Support our clients in integrating sustainable planning and practices into their organizations

Supporting our clients also includes addressing changing conditions, including climate change and its potential impacts on our company, clients, and industry.

SUSTAINABILITY’S NEVER FINISHED Launching a plan is only the beginning – the hallmark of any good sustainability plan is continual improvement. To this end, Mead & Hunt has committed to updating our sustainability plan every year to account for new goals and new priority actions. This will create a cycle of continuous improvement into the future.

Sustainability is about creating something that will last into the future. As professional engineers, planners, and architects, it is our responsibility to plan for and foster a sustainable path forward. This means taking a holistic approach to sustainability that views a company as contingent on the people and communities around it, not separate from them. An effective sustainability plan will help us provide resilient, responsible solutions that will better our communities for generations to come.

JEN WOLCHANSKY, AICP, ENV SP, is a senior environmental planner and project manager focusing on NEPA and sustainability at Mead & Hunt. Jen has planning experience across the board having worked with transportation, urban planning, and aviation. Contact her at [email protected].

KATE ANDRUS, AICP and LEED Green Associate, is a senior environmental planner and project manager focusing on sustainability and environmental planning at Mead & Hunt. She brings a multifaceted approach to environmental and planning projects, drawing on her strong background in science, science policy, and writing. Contact her at [email protected].

JEN WOLCHANSKY & KATE ANDRUS, from page 9

“Some people hear the word sustainability and immediately think ‘environment,’ but that’s just a single facet of what sustainability means. Ultimately, the ability to sustain is the ability to continue. To move forward, we must always push for improvement.”

WRITE FOR THE ZWEIG LETTERHave some advice for your peers in the AEC industry? Contact Sara Parkman at [email protected] for the chance to be featured in The Zweig Letter.

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You may not be thinking much of it at the moment, but what you and I are doing right now is rather atypical. I’m a scientist who’s writing from scratch – and much more impressively, you’re taking the time to read about a topic that isn’t strictly technical in content. I point this out only because those of us in the professional practice of science and engineering are not exactly known for our wellspring of communication skills. And let’s face it, we’ve chosen to pursue fields which involve the analysis of problems that aren’t easily communicated in common narrative prose.

Sadly, fewer and fewer of us are interested in developing writing, speaking, or other communication skills as a significant professional goal.

O P I N I O N

Unfortunately, this often leaves us in neglect of three very important audiences: our clients, the related industries with which we must collaborate, and the public in general. To all of these, we must be able to show the value in what we do, or we risk lessening our impact toward the greater good. Despite the emergence of multiple new technologies which have turned the nature of communications on its head over the past 20 years, there is still an absolute need for someone, somewhere, to make sense of what we do and put it down in writing for others to understand.

Sadly, fewer and fewer of us are interested

in developing writing, speaking, or other communication skills as a significant professional goal.

At the university level, the lack of focus on communications is already plainly evident. Most science and engineering graduates report having had little to no writing experience at all in college. Perhaps most distressingly, many will cite their lack of interest in communications as one of the reasons they chose their field of study. But this is precisely the opposite of what our profession

Where art thou, writers?

David Coyne

See DAVID COYNE, page 10



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needs. Given the increasing complexity of our disciplines, we require professionals who can face an audience and clearly relate the need for technical solutions to our society’s greatest challenges. If those people fail to appear, we need not ponder such a scenario for too long to see its potential danger. So, how can we as AEC firm owners, managers, and mentors work to correct this?

❚ Find strengths and adapt. Your top field technician who can’t write a coherent sentence at age 30 isn’t going to become a gifted author anytime soon, so don’t kill yourself trying. Instead, find how he or she can shine in another way. Perhaps they’re effective verbally in front of a crowd, or in smaller networking environments where they can discuss project concepts comfortably. Even social media in its various forms can prove a productive environment for those who might describe themselves as communication-challenged.

❚ Encourage originality. We all tend to rely heavily on templates and boilerplate, and for good reason. They wrap our methods and findings into efficient, consistent deliverables. However, adhering strictly to boilerplate over time risks stifling the development of critical analytical writing skills.

To counteract this “template syndrome,” find opportunities in which your staff can be challenged to explain difficult concepts through narrative or even graphical means. Even if it’s just a low-stress internal discussion, you may discover some unexpected natural talents.

❚ Reading is still fundamental. Remember how I congratulated you at the onset for reading this article? OK, that was cheap. But it had a point: professionals who continue to read and remain willing to learn are, unsurprisingly, the best communicators. They appreciate and understand the value of new and useful information, and tend to acquire more advanced skills, such as presentation sequence and narrative simplification, that make our disciplines palatable to others.

❚ Keep it personal. There is no more important means of stewardship in our industry than the ability to engage with a stakeholder and conduct a professional, productive conversation. How are you cultivating this skill in your staff? Something as simple as a weekly project progress report to their peers can develop this ability in a junior staffer. Low-stakes client interactions, such as phone calls in which good news is to be offered, can be delegated to employees who need practice in conveying technical concepts to a non-technical person.

Although the means will continue to evolve, the need for effective communicators in the AEC industries will remain of utmost importance, and we truly must meet this challenge. Those that can make meaningful connections, turn heads, and inspire audiences will emerge as the successful leaders of our fields for generations to come.

DAVID COYNE is a principal and the COO of Liberty Environmental, Inc., which provides environmental consulting and engineering services to clients across the United States. Coyne can be reached at [email protected].

DAVID COYNE, from page 9

“Despite the emergence of multiple new technologies which have turned the nature of communications on its head over the past 20 years, there is still an absolute need for someone, somewhere, to make sense of what we do and put it down in writing for others to understand.”

TRANSACTIONSGPI ACQUIRES NEW HAMPSHIRE FIRM MHF DESIGN CONSULTANTS, INC. Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. has announced the acquisition of MHF Design Consultants, Inc., a 24-person civil engineering and surveying firm, located in Salem, New Hampshire. The MHF engineers and surveyors join our multi-discipline engineering team of more than 1,500 professionals that have been providing professional engineering services throughout the United States for over 50 years.MHF’s staff provide a comprehensive range of civil engineering and land surveying services relative to understanding the land and environment as a means of achieving development of the highest quality.“MHF’s experience allows GPI to continue to grow geographically while providing diversification in the depth of services that we provide in New England,” said GPI’s Executive Vice President, and manager of the New England operations, Tim Letton, P.E.MHF Principal Engineer, Frank Monteiro, P.E. said, “This merger brings additional depth and strength to MHF’s ability to serve our clients and continue our long-term relationships.”

“As this transition of ownership occurs, very little will change on a day-to-day basis. Our exceptional staff of engineers, licensed surveyors, and designers – who are truly the backbone of this enterprise – will continue to provide their expertise,” said MHF Principal Engineer Mark Gross, P.E. “I have every confidence that this transition into the GPI family will be successful and will allow us to grow both individually and as a company and continue to provide excellence in civil engineering surveying and land development services.”Gross and Monteiro will join the GPI Senior Management Team, where Mark’s role will become GPI New England’s Director of Land Development – Permitting and Frank’s role will be Director of Land Development – Engineering. Heather Monticup, P.E., GPI New England’s current Director of Land Development will become Director of Land Development – Traffic. Monticup, Gross, and Monteiro will continue to work together on their joint projects, to ensure projects are getting delivered with the same coordinated effort and high quality as they always have. Reporting directly to the branch manager, the new Land

Development group and overall combined resources of the New England Branch will allow us to better service our current and future clients on their land development projects.“GPI and MHF share the same philosophy fostering an employee focused culture, with a focus on action and results. This approach yields a successful work product from which employees and clients alike benefit,” said GPI President/CEO Christer Ericsson, P.E. “In the end, it’s all about developing the staff to produce high-quality projects that earn the support of clients, meeting their goals, while having fun doing it. We are looking forward to having MHF join GPI which has successfully grown over the years through the right balance of organic growth and strategic acquisitions.”Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. is nationally ranked in the Engineering News Record as one of the Top 60 design firms. With a staff of more than 1,500 professionals, GPI’s wide-ranging resources allow the firm to handle projects for both public and private sector clients varying in size and complexity.
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