SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIC

PLANNING FOR A/E

FIRM LEADERS

E.BOOK SERIES
 E.BOOK SERIES

INTRODUCTION

Think of plan as a verbsomething

you do all the time.
Every firm has some kind of strategic plan. Some firms document
their plans, some dont. In a company led by a strong entrepreneur,
the plan may be in the owners head.

But that plan is not as effective as it could be: If it were openly

shared, everyone would know where the firm was going, and could
no doubt make a stronger contribution.

Moreover, firms often think of plan as a noun,and so are apt to

write a nice neat document, tuck it into a three-ring binder, and let
it gather dust on a bookshelfwhile they make their day-to-day
decisions and react to events with little or no thought to a long-
term direction.

Think of plan as a verb insteadsomething you do all the time,

tending to it at regular intervalsa process that never endsan
ongoing part of your proactive approach to the marketplace and to
running your business.

In this e-book, Successful Strategic Planning for A/E Firm

Leaders,youll find many specific suggestions to help you with your
strategic plan. Though we only cover a small corner of the vast
world of strategic planning, we do hope you find the information
helpful. For additional resources, please contact us at 617-965-0055
or www.psmj.com

II
 E.BOOK SERIES

TABLE OF
CONTENTS PART ONE:
WHY STRATEGIC PLANNING
What is Strategic Planning?
Q&A with John Doehring, PSMJ Executive Leader of Advisory
and Training Services
Is Strategic Planning Dead?
The Road Well-Traveled (Is One With a Map)
What Can Strategic Planning Do For You?

PART TWO:
GETTING STARTED
What a Strategic Plan Is, What Its Not
Before You Begin
8 Tips For A Better Strategic Planning Meeting
How Far Ahead Should You Plan?
Copyright 2016
by PSMJ Resources, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
PART THREE:
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by ESTABLISHING A PLAN
any means, electronic or mechanical, including The Strategic Planning Process
photocopying and recording, or by any information
storage or retrieval system without the prior written
An Outline of the Planning Process
permission of the publisher. 4 Essentials of Strategic Planning Success
How to Dust Off Your Old Plan
PSMJ Resources Inc.s material is protected by
copyright. It is illegal under Federal law to make copies
or faxes of the publication without permissioneven
for internal use. Violators risk criminal penalties and
damages up to $100,000 per offense.

PSMJ Resources, Inc. will pay a reward of up to $1,000

for actionable evidence of illegal copying or faxing.

PSMJ Resources, Inc.

P.O. Box 95190
Nonantum, MA 02495
Phone: 617-965-0055
Fax: 617-965-5152
Email: customerservice@psmj.com
www.psmj.com

1

PART ONE:
WHY STRATEGIC
PLANNING
Q&A WITH JOHN DOEHRING,
PSMJ EXECUTIVE LEADER OF
ADVISORY AND TRAINING
SERVICES
In his role of orchestrating PSMJs in-house
consulting and training efforts nationwide,
John has traveled across the country attending
PSMJ programs. Here, after spending the
last two months with the top leaders in the
industry, John shares with us his gathered
wisdomfrom whats on the minds of todays
CEOs to the biggest challenges now facing the
industry:
Q: In the past few months, youve traveled
from Boston to Santa Barbara attending
PSMJ Forums and Bootcamps. During that
time, youve spoken to dozens of the industrys
top firm leaders. What have you found to be
the top three most pressing issues on the hearts
and minds of A/E/C firm leaders todayand
why?
All firms need and benefit from
a more deliberate and strategic
approach to leading and
managing their business.
E.BOOK SERIES
A: I think the most striking theme Ive heard
recently with firm leaders (in all sorts of
discussions) is how quickly weve moved back
to the issues of executing and growing the
businessjust like it was before the recession.
Business has certainly heated up for many
firms, and with that weve returned to familiar
themeschiefly the difficulty of finding and
building a talented staff. Over the long haul
this has been a primary constraint, but we
heard less about it during the lean years.
Now the issue is back with forceprobably
exacerbated by some permanent structural
loss in both architecture and engineering
(professionals leaving the industry for good),
and some pent up frustration and demand for
change. So talent is I think clearly issue #1.
A second important issue is business
development, again a familiar challenge in the
industry, but also with some new twists today.
Most firms have too much of their current
business development acumen locked up in
too few peopleusually concentrated in just a
handful of the organizations senior leaders.
2

But business development is getting harder,
not easier, its becoming more complicated
and competitive, and the new order demands
that more of the firms principals, project
managers, and key professionals be involved
in a meaningful way. Transitioning and
transferring this business development skill
and expertise is a big issue in the longer term
sustainability of the firm, and most leaders
need to be doing more of it now, not less.
But of course as the economy improves and
business heats up the short term focus on
marketing and business development often
wanes. It shouldnt. Now is the time to invest in
creating more sales and marketing capability in
the organization.
Finally Id say that transition is on the minds
of most CEOs. Weve got a big problem in
the A/E spacelots of aging leaders without
substantive and robust transition plans.
The recession didnt help in most of these
situations, so many organizations are even
further behind schedule. Like other important
but not urgent efforts, transition planning is
hard work but extraordinarily important. All
CEOs should be working on their plans (for
what comes next) right now.
Q: Out of those issues, what would you say
is the biggest challenge the industry is now
facingfor small, mid-sized, and large firms?
A: If you can only pick one Id call it talent. But
in reality all of these issues are related. Finding
E.BOOK SERIES
top talent requires offering a competitive and
compelling job and career opportunity. To
do that a firm must have a plan and success
with growth. Without a good deal of business
development acumen spread around the
organization the firm becomes weak and
too price competitivesliding down the
commodity curve. Without robust growth
and profits the ownership transition plan
wont work, and the best of aspiring leaders
will naturally look elsewhere for their own
development.
It doesnt matter much what the size of the firm
is, the recipe for success in all of them includes
talented and motivated professionals, trained
and versed not only in project execution but
also in the fundamentals of growing and
operating the business, and all a part of longer
term leadership and ownership transition. Its
not rocket sciencejust lots and lots of hard
work.
Q: Your background is in A/E/C strategy
helping firms to plan, grow, and profit from
their success. What advice do you have for
firm leaders that are facing this distinct
challenge?
A: All firms need and benefit from a more
deliberate and strategic approach to leading
and managing their business. In my view the
number one correlator with success is passion.
Number 2 is having a worthy and compelling
plan for achieving the firms major objectives.
This is the domain of strategic business
3

There is no better place to startand no
better and more leveragable investment
in the firmthan with strategic business
planning.
E.BOOK SERIES
planningthe primary consulting work we do
at PSMJ. But theres a right way to go about the
effort, and many pitfalls to avoid along the way.
Our approach is comprehensive, data-driven,
and evidenced-based. We spend a good deal of
time assessing the current reality in the client
firm, and offering a candid view of how the
firm stacks up against the competitionand
where it should be.
Armed with this assessment, we help client
leaders to find the right balance between the
big stuff and the small stuffthat is, between
articulating the big components of mission,
vision, and business strategy, but also the
details of action planning, goals, deadlines,
responsibilities, execution, and achieving real
results. In my view there is no better place to
startand no better and more leveragable
investment in the firmthan with strategic
business planning. So thats my primary advice:
If you dont have a strategic plan, then get one,
and if you do have one then work to make it
betterright now.
Q: Is there anything unconventional or unique
that youre seeing in the industrys landscape
todayeither through challenges faced or
trends emerging?
A: Were beginning to see more and more thats
new, and I think these trends will accelerate.
Project delivery technologies like BIM are
rapidly reshaping how we work together
and whos in charge. Were doing a better job
4

every day of working across team and office
boundaries, and were going to get much better
at this in the future. Firms have come through
the recession operating leaner and more
profitably, and as a result are better positioned
to do well as the recovery strengthens. Theres
been a rapid uptick in firms investing in
their business and peopleour training and
consulting businesses at PSMJ are busy and
growing.
Of course weve got some persistent challenges
to deal withand storm clouds out on the
longer-term horizon. The war for talent,
difficult and changing customers, market
commoditization and loss of differentiation,
transition of leadership and ownership, and
longer term developments and disruptions
in our industry and society at large. Theres
a lot to say about the change and likely
transformation aheadIve written about ten
of these most significant trends in my new
book Fast Future! Ten Uber-trends Changing
Everything in Business and Our World. Overall
Im optimistic about the A/E industry and
marketsmany top firms will do very well in a
new world order. But that doesnt mean that it
will be easy for any of us.
E.BOOK SERIES
IS STRATEGIC PLANNING DEAD?
Some pundits argue that long-term enterprise
planning has lost its relevance in a world
defined by nonstop turmoil, change, and
chaos. These folks suggest that organizations
should focus on operational flexibility
and opportunismkeeping ones options
open. Others believe the future is simply
too unpredictable, and so do nothing. One
consultant I know has even characterized
strategic planning as a fad whose time has
come and gone. I disagree.
Over the years Ive worked with scores of
A/E/C firm leaders on strategy creation,
development, and implementation. And yes,
there was a pause in activity after the economic
collapse. Lots of business leaders were stunned
by the magnitude of the downturn, and
struggled for a while to stay in business.
Since then, however, these firms have pulled
themselves off the mat, pushed away the
doldrums, and returned to the road of success.
Plan timetables were revised, strategies
adjusted, and budgets recalculated. Ive been
heartened by those who, despite the tough
going, have not conceded their dreams.
5
4

Perhaps youve wondered about the relevance
and usefulness of strategic business planning
in todays crazy world? If so, consider this list
of common A/E/C organization issues, and ask
yourself if your firm wouldnt benefit from real
improvement in:
1. Vision Vision defines the firms desired
destination, and most important objectives.
Clarifying the vision helps to make sense of the
firms business opportunities and alternatives.
Few organizations succeed without a clear
sense of where theyre headed.
2. Leadership Strong consensus among
leaders is a big deal, but very challenging in
the professional services firm. Still, without it
the organization simply spins, and in tough
times a paddle faster directive just makes it
worse. Leaders cant (and shouldnt) agree on
everything, but must agree fully on pursuing
the vision together.
If youve been holding back, its
time now to rekindle, refocus, and
recommit; to dream more, and
to create anew an extraordinary
future for your firm.
E.BOOK SERIES
3. Growth The recession hasnt reduced
importance of growth, only changed for some
the amount and pace. And while it hasnt been
any easier, opportunities abound. Marketing
and business development capability, strategy,
plans, and actions are frankly more important
today, not less so.
4. Operations Many firms have toned
uptrimming staff, cutting overhead,
and improving cash flow. Still, there is
a lot more left to do to further bolster
profitability. Considerable waste remains in
project management, client relationships,
and corporate support. Attacking these
opportunities can yield extraordinary returns,
more than paying for the investment in
business planning.
5. Transition The recession has forced many
to rethink exit strategy and timing. Some
feel they must focus on shorter term growth
and survival. Others fear they wont get the
value that they want or need. But for most
organizations the primary challenge is not
ownership transition, but leadership transition.
Wholl run the firm tomorrow can be a very
difficult question; answering it well can greatly
increase the firms value. Despite this truth, too
many are still not investing enough in the next
generation.
6

Effective strategic business planning creates
consensus and energy in leaders and staff
towards achieving the big stuffthe most
important (and often most difficult) objectives
of the firm. This process is not just a touchy-
feely team-building exercise, extended
operations meeting, or elaborate ruse for golf
(who needs an excuse for that)? Enterprise
planning is a deliberate and focused process,
involving structured steps, expected outcomes,
accountable leaders, and a workable action
plan.
If youve been holding back, its time now to
rekindle, refocus, and recommit; to dream
more, and to create anew an extraordinary
future for your firm. As one CEO recently
proclaimed were tired of the recession
were planning on growing again next year.
E.BOOK SERIES
THE ROAD WELL-TRAVELED
(IS ONE WITH A MAP)
A car trip without a schedule is a great analogy
of what its like to run a practice without a
Strategic Plan. Employees end up sick (and
tired), partners want to stop, and the owner
gets no sleep. Why should your firm have a
Strategic Plan? You wouldnt get in a car and
take a road trip without a map, so why run a
practice without a plan?
A Strategic Plan is a valuable tool that maps
your practices journey from present to future.
It defines new opportunities and new markets,
and it honestly addresses challenges and
opportunities in management, operations,
service delivery, sales and leadership. Without
a Strategic Plan, you end up wherever the wind
may take you.
Here are three important rules for
developing an effective Strategic Plan.
Be honest. Strategic planning, done well,
examines all of your practices functional areas
and develops plans, tactics, and strategies to
achieve long and short-term business goals. It
will fail if the participants are less than honest
with themselves and others about the firms
opportunities and challenges. Ask for honest
comments and observations, and receive them
without judgment or criticism. While all points
of view cant be reflected in a focused strategic
plan, all must be heard in order to have buy-in
to the final plan.
7

Focus on the journey, not the destination.
The value in Strategic Planning is not in
the document that you produce. It is in the
dialogue, discourse, and consensus that builds
toward the direction you are headed. Dont
spend nine months trying to write the perfect
document. Instead, spend two days mapping
out the best journey based upon a clear
destination (i.e., buy, sell, develop leadership,
add markets, add services, eliminate services,
etc.).
Define accountability. The best plan means
nothing unless there is accountability. Dont
leave the table without defining accountability
and actions for various components of the
plan. This is often difficult, but without it,
passengers along for the trip are likely get
sicksick of promises not kept and goals not
achieved.
Todays competitive firms are strategic,
thoughtful, and deliberate. Gone are the days
where winging it could get you on the right
road to your destination. Today, winging it is
likely to send you coasting down an uneven
side road, while others who have planned their
trip enjoy a road well-traveled.
E.BOOK SERIES
WHAT CAN STRATEGIC
PLANNING DO FOR YOU?
A well-managed planning process helps you run your
business in several valuable ways. It:
Lets your employee know where you want to go in
the marketplace.
Determines how you will devise and sell products
and services to reach your goals.
Helps you plan for the resources youll need in the
future.
Provides a check against making day-to-day
decisions in the heat of battle that will throw you
off your long-term course.
Involves your people in setting goals and priorities
in such a way as to win their support and act as a
motivator.
Helps create an adaptive organization that can take
advantage of unexpected changes, inside or outside
the company, without being thrown off balance.
Helps you make things happen.
Identifies contradictions between your daily
operations and your desired direction.
Helps to make you a proactive, not reactive, player
in the marketplace.
Provides a framework for continuously asking, and
answering, the key questions about who you are
and where youre going.
Clarifies the firms vision of the future, so various
members can define their own contributions and
reconcile their own goals with those of the firm.
Provides the foundation for generating specific
annual operations plans and financial plans.
8
 E.BOOK SERIES

PART TWO:
GETTING STARTED
WHAT A STRATEGIC PLAN IS,
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
WHAT ITS NOT
There are a few basic principles to keep in mind
A strategic plan is your carefully considered as you begin your planning.
written description of where your firm is going
Involve as many people as feasible in the planning
and how you will gain competitive advantage process. Youll benefit from their ideas, and theyll be
by capitalizing on the unique capabilities of excited about working toward goals they helped to
define.
your firm.
Question everything about the way you currently
do business.
It accomplishes the following:
Identifies what you bring to the marketplace Minimize the paperwork. Keep the plan as simple
to do and as easy to grasp as you can.
to provide value for clients.
Presents a specific vision of what your firm Maximize action steps.
will look like in the future.
Focus on goals you can measure.
Establishes measurable firm-wide and
operational long-term and interim goals. Follow your passion. When people share a love for
Defines the strategies that will achieve your their workand a commitment to the values by which
they operate, many strategic decisions make
goals. themselves.
Assigns responsibility and accountability for
making it happen. Watch for inconsistencies between your operations
and your stated purpose. As a top manager,
demonstrate your total commitment to following
A strategic plan is not: and supporting the on-going planning process

A budget Communicate. Share your plans and progress with

An operational plan the whole firm.

A list of tactics
A one-time event

9

8 TIPS FOR A BETTER STRATEGIC
PLANNING MEETING
If you are considering a strategic planning
meeting, follow these eight tips to get much
more out of your meeting:
1. Bring the right people. The strategic
planning retreat should be run with a small
group of firm leaders who actively participate
in the meetingincluding a cross-section
of people from the firm, especially someone
representing the young professionals. PSMJ
recommends that the planning team be
between seven and 15 people.
2. Go off-site. Seldom can a planning retreat
be held effectively in your offices. Too many
interruptions, potential distractions, and tardy
participants make it impossible.
3. Hire a court stenographer. None of the
participants should be expected to record all
the information discussed during the meeting.
Hiring a court stenographer that can capture
the critical information will make writing your
strategic plan more effective.
E.BOOK SERIES
Use of an outside facilitator
brings an unemotional
professional that can keep your
team on track, and remove any
individual biases that could
influence your plan.
HOW FAR AHEAD SHOULD
YOU PLAN?
It used to be safe to plan for ten years into the future.
Hardly any firms do that now; the world is changing
too fast. Some firms plan five years out, some three
years, and some two.
PSMJ generally recommends a three- to five-year
planning horizon. Look at the specific markets you
serve. If your markets, your clients, or your clients
demands are changing very quickly, plan for a shorter
time. If youre in a slow-moving market, you can plan
a little further out. Regardless of the time horizon, it
is desirable to review or rework your plan every year
so you can make the mid-course corrections that will
invariably be needed.
Also, look at the specific parts of your plan. Some may
require longer time frames than others. For example,
the best time to start planning for ownership transition
is the day you set up the firm. Thats not realistic for
most people, of course. But ownership transition
planning should start at least 10 years before an owner
plans to leave the firm.
10
 E.BOOK SERIES

4. Use an outside facilitator. Use of an outside

facilitator brings an unemotional professional THE A/E/C EVENT OF THE YEAR!
that can keep your team on track, and remove

2016
any individual biases that could influence your
plan. Be certain that your facilitator knows
the design industry, and that you provide T H E A / E / C I N D U S T R Y S U M M I T
an abundance of advanced data about your
firm, its markets, its clients, and all previous
strategic planning efforts. OCTOBER 12-14, 2016
#PSMJTHRIVE
5. Dont let the facilitator write your plan.
Your team should write its own plan for greater
commitment to the outcome.

6. Title the plan DRAFT. Good strategic

plans are fluid not rigid. By labeling your
plan DRAFT, you encourage everyone to
participate and to comment on the tactics and
activities required to achieve your goals.

7. Built-in accountability. The plan is not NASHVILLE TN

a strategic plan without specific actions,
go.psmj.com/summit-2016
tactics, deadlines, and assignments given to g h
individuals by name to assure accountability.

8. Establish regular reviews. Before leaving

your planning retreat, coordinate calendars
with all participants for a minimum of four
reviews per year. Review meetings should be
brief, off-site, with nothing else on the agenda
but to review the goals and progress.

11

PART THREE:
ESTABLISHING
A PLAN
STEPS IN THE STRATEGIC
PLANNING PROCESS
Step 1Where Are We Now
This step is important because you cannot
develop a coherent strategy for the future until
everyone has an accurate understanding of the
present. In small firms, this step is relatively
easy; every principal can easily see the current
state of the firm. However, as firms grow, key
managers become more removed from parts
of the company that they are not directly
responsible for.
Step 2What Do We Want to Become?
Most design firm employees have no clue
as to the direction of the company they are
working for. This is sometimes a result of the
company leaders not knowing their direction
and sometimes because of the leaders inability
to articulate their vision. In this step, the firms
leaders select a specific target date (usually
three to five years in the future) and develop
a detailed description of the kind of company
they want to have by that date. This is not a
forecast of what the leaders believe will occur,
it is a vision of what they want the future to be.
E.BOOK SERIES
You cannot develop a coherent
strategy for the future until
everyone has an accurate
understanding of the present.
This vision should answer the following kinds
of strategic questions:
What markets will you serve?
In what proportions?
At what office locations?
With how many people?
How much revenue?
How profitable?
What ownership structure?
Under what kind of leadership?
The answers to the above questions must be
quantitative. For example, if you are a multi-
office firm, identify how many people you want
to have at each office and, if possible, what
types of people they will be.
12

When you have completed your vision
statement, ask these questions to assess how
well you have developed it:
Is it specific?
How rigid is it? Is flexibility included?
Is it a bold idea of where a firm wants to go?
Is there a clear message to employees?
Is it exciting and compellingfor your 2. Decide who should be involved in the planning
employee and owner?
Are the architects of this strategy going to be 3. Hire an outside facilitator.
there long enough to get the rewards or pay
the consequences?
Of course, the vision statement must be in
synch with market realities. This requires
some market research in the form of client
interviews, official projections, and published
market forecasts. It also needs to be in synch
with what your employees wantif you want
their help in achieving the vision.
Step 3What Will We Do to Get There?
Once you have figured out (1) what kind of
company you are now and (2) what kind of
company you want to become, the next step is
to develop a set of strategies that will begin you
down the desired path.
E.BOOK SERIES
AN OUTLINE OF THE
PLANNING PROCESS
Set aside the time to take the following basic steps.
1. Compile current status information from
managers,employees, and/or clients.
retreat.
4. Schedule two to three days off-site, where you can
work uninterrupted.
5. Before the meeting, have each participant answer,
in writing, strategic planning questions.
6. Hold your meeting; devise your preliminary
strategy.
7. Write the plan.
8. Finalize the plan.
9. Communicate it to everyone in the firm.
10. Schedule quarterly sessions during the next year for
progresschecks and adjustments.
11. After a year, schedule another retreat to repeat the
process.
13

These strategies must include:
Specific activities and deliverables
The person with overall responsibility for Following are some observations and
each (even though it may involve multiple suggestions for how to take a collaborative
other people)
The target date for completion
Step 4How Will We Ensure It Really
Happens?
Many otherwise excellent strategic plans have
failed because they lacked this step. There must
be a defined process for finalizing the plan,
communicating it to the troops and following
up on the action items.
This step should include a series of regularly
scheduled meetings(usually held monthly or
quarterly) in which each person responsible
for an action item presents the implementation
status of that item to his/her colleagues. And
if someone repeatedly fails to meet his/her
commitments, the task should be formally
abandoned or given to someone else who will
do it. This approach imposes considerable
accountability to the assignments as a result of
peer pressure.
E.BOOK SERIES
4 ESSENTIALS OF STRATEGIC
PLANNING SUCCESS
approach to get the most out of your firms next
strategic planning session.
1. Seek broad input. Be honest; much of our
planning is done in a vacuum. By that I mean
that there are a few senior-level people setting
the direction and making decisions on behalf of
the group. Sure, they ask for and receive input,
but how much of that is incorporated into the
final plan? Another fact is that when presenting
a strategy, those decision makers employ the
tell and sell technique to inform others why
this is the best course of action.
During the next planning session, outline your
approach and then solicit input from others
in the form of open-ended questions. What
did we miss in our analysis? What are other
firms doing in this market space? Would
you buy stock in a company that is moving in
this direction? To receive objective feedback,
ask people who are not engrossed in the daily
execution of your business. Seek advice from
someone in another division, a Board member,
or an outside consultant, if you have to.
14

2. Listen actively. When you ask for feedback,
you should listen. But consider a different
tactic here. In many cases planning is done
with other business groups, offices, or regions.
While others are presenting, remain engaged
in the discussion rather than checking email
on your smart phone or taking a call that can
wait. You want to listen for synergies with your
strategy, and instances where you can leverage
capabilities or relationships of another group
for the benefit of the whole corporation.
3. Re-package when necessary. In one of our
firms recent planning meetings, another group
presented an analysis based on the fact that
many of our core capabilities could be applied
to help us penetrate new markets. For instance,
the mining industry uses a lot of services
that we providepermitting, GIS, and water
treatment, to name a few. We have a lot of
experience and information that can be easily
packaged to meet the needs of these clients
without reinventing the wheel or making a
huge investment.
E.BOOK SERIES
One of the most important
aspects of planning is simple,
yet often overlooked. That is,
dedicate resources to keep what
you already have.
4. Protect existing assets. One of the most
important aspects of planning is simple, yet
often overlooked. That is, dedicate resources
to keep what you already have. After all, the
investment of past years yielded clients and
markets that have paid the bills. Devote some
quality time to discuss how to take market
share in your core businesses. Then put a plan
in place to retain and grow existing clients.
Planning typically takes place at the start of
a new quarter or new year, or when there is a
significant event, such as change in leadership.
Make the most of these opportunities to give
and receive input that will result in greater
return for your firm.
15

HOW TO DUST OFF YOUR
OLD PLAN
When was the last time you looked at your
strategic and business plans?Have you been
flying by the seat of your pants, reacting
to changing economic conditions as they
develop? Is your backlog below par? Are
projects dwindling?
If you fall into the above situations, now is
the time to do some serious thinking and
planning.
Look for new ideas. Have you engaged your
young staff? They have lots of good ideas, so sit
back and listen.
Is everyone pulling their weight? Maybe its
time to replace the non-performers with those
who are willing to grab onto the rope with two
hands.
Get away from the office for a day. Bring key
staff together, buy them lunch. Bring plenty of
newsprint pads and roll up your sleeves. No
idea is a bad idea.
Get staff involved. A staff that is involved
buys in and supports the plan. Try it, you will
be surprised.
E.BOOK SERIES
Do what you say you will do. Dont give lip
service to the process. The boss needs to lead,
support, demonstrate enthusiasm and carry
the flag. Staff will follow.
Get the marketing department to think
out of the box. Old ways and good ol boy
techniques need to be re-thought. Remember
every dollar spent on marketing is critical and
results count.
Make good decisions and stick by them.
Rules apply to everyone from the boss down to
the staff.
Find ways to become more efficient with the
tools and staff you have. Your procedures and
policy books should not be cast in concrete.
Above all, develop a realistic plan with
achievable and measurable goals. No pie
in the sky planning. These are serious times
demanding serious planning.
Your plan must be flexible and not collect
dust sitting on your bookshelf. Keep staff
apprised of your firms progress and change if
you have to.
Just remember: Be proactive! Change, tweak,
and altar your plan as current conditions
warrant.
16
 ABOUT PSMJ
Over 40 years of helping
A/E/C firms achieve
business success.

PSMJ Resources, Inc. is the worlds leading

WHAT authority, publisher, and consultant on
the effective management of architecture,
ARE YOUR engineering, and construction firms.
With offices in the United States as well as
BIGGEST the United Kingdom and Australia, PSMJ
offers over 150 titles in book, audio, and video

STRATEGIC format.

PLANNING In addition, the company publishes several

monthly periodicals and delivers dozens of

CHALLENGES? seminars, roundtables, conferences, webinars,

and in-house training sessions every year for
A/E/C professionals around the world.
PSMJs sought-after consulting expertise
Speak with one of our covers a range of critical business areas such
Strategic Planning experts as strategic planning, project management,
valuation, succession planning, and mergers &
acquisitions.

PSMJ is also active within the community,

utilizing our resources and the contacts at our
fingertips within the A/E/C Industry to help
those in need.