Here are my latest tips and tricks for improved AEC firm performance. See something that resonates? Make it happen at your firm! In so many cases, the difference between high performance and the rest of the crowd is simply a bias for doing and executing on good ideas...quickly!
See something here you want more info on or maybe even a tip that you just completely disagree with? Let me know
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: Job titles are terrible for compensation benchmarking.
In some industries, job titles provide a very clear picture of an individual’s roles and responsibilities, but not in the AEC industry. Take a popular title like “Engineer 2”. In one week alone, that individual might do Engineer 1 work, Project Manager work, and some Engineer 2 work. Want to conduct more accurate benchmarking? Use factors like degree type, years of experience, and (of course) performance for a much more accurate picture of where you may have inequities or gaps in compensation. The 2026 Compensation Benchmark Results provide a complete picture of what firms are paying across every role and firm size.
MARKETING: Today’s marketing funnel dictates tomorrow’s revenue.
Without a steady flow of new prospects entering at the top, your backlog will inevitably run dry. For AEC firm leaders, each stage of the funnel—from awareness to conversion—directly shapes the clients and revenue you’ll rely on six, twelve, or even twenty-four months from now. Ignoring the funnel today is essentially deciding to starve your firm of opportunities tomorrow. Start measuring early-stage lead flow (conversations, connections, and even website traffic) to get your arms around what might lie ahead. You get what you measure.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT: Think of knowledge as capital and invest in it.
Too many AEC firm leaders treat knowledge as a byproduct of projects. The forward-thinking leaders treat it as an asset class in and of itself. Systematically codify what your team learns (such as lessons, templates, insights, etc.) and reinvest that knowledge into proposals, delivery, and marketing. Then trade it: offer it as training, publish it as thought leadership, and leverage it as brand equity.
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GROWTH STRATEGY: First grow where you are already winning.
It can be tempting to chase growth by adding services, markets, and geographies…all at once. In reality, the fastest growth often comes from doubling down on your strongest client types and project profiles first. Beyond that, expanding in multiple dimensions (e.g. service and geography) at the same time is very risky. Instead, get focused and strategic on one growth dimension. And remember that any growth dimension must have a passionate champion to be successful.
CULTURE: One of the best employee motivators is community service.
PSMJ research consistently shows that – contrary to popular belief - compensation isn’t the primary driver of employee engagement and retention. In fact, one of the consistent themes we hear (from both employees and managers) is a desire to feel that they are doing work that matters. Employees want to see that they are having an impact in the community around them. This goes beyond the day-to-day project work and gets at a deeper mission and community involvement with the firm. Is your firm committed to having an impact on the community…through billable and non-billable work? Think it might be time to boost your community involvement efforts? You might be surprised how easy it is to gather up a group of cross-functional motivated employees to lead the development and execution of efforts to drive impact. If you're already giving back, consider entering to win our AEC Building a Better World Award, an annual celebration of firms large and small that are thinking globally but acting locally.
This is content from the PSMJ Journal, exclusive to PSMJ PRO Members. PSMJ PRO is the fastest-growing network of AEC firm leaders. Not a PRO Member? Register here