Missed THRIVE 2025? Here’s What You Need to Know

Our opening keynoter said it best: “By standing still, you’re falling behind.” We’re here to give you a bit of a push in catching up on what you missed at the AEC industry’s number-one event.

PSMJ President Gregory Hart said that Clarity means having a clear vision. Cadence is your weekly, monthly, and quarterly progress. And Courage means reaching for the sky for opportunity.

Private equity doesn’t have to be the big bad wolf. Pape-Dawson turned down many suitors before deciding that its culture matched with Palm Beach Capital, which acquired a 42% chunk. Many acquisitions and 175% growth later, it looks like more than Karma is right.

Toronto-based Turner Fleischer Principal/CEO/CFO Ellen Bensky spoke about how hiring an internal recruiter—and his being the company’s “ambassador of our culture”—was a game changer. Now he does the first-round interview process for potential candidates. By the time they get to my hiring manager, it’s a sure thing.”

Economic futurist Andrew Busch said that “challenges are opportunities. Solve a client’s problem, and you have a client for life. The challenge before you now is to be more efficient and more productive.”

Wally Hise of HDR wants you to build your own personal advisory board. These can be people you’ve worked with or gone to school with, or people from professional societies like PSMJ and civic organizations. “You want to be able to leverage your network to achieve strategic goals. And remember names,” Hise advised.

After Turner Fleischer went from 45 staff in 2008 to 230 in 2021, Principal/CFO/CEO Ellen Bensky knew something had to be done “drastically different” organizationally. That meant creating seven operation departments from Finance to Knowledge Management. “Our operation departments are actually the foundation of our studio,” said Bensky.

“For a long time, we have been sold a story about leadership,” Rashod Johnson, CEO of Ardmore Roderick, said in THRIVE’s closing keynote. “That leadership means putting ourselves last, and exhaustion is a badge of honor. Well, that model is broken. The greatest resource we have is not capital or technology or our markets, it’s ourselves. And if that resource is depleted, nothing else matters.”

In a survey of 110 people from six AEC groups, PSMJ consultants Brian Burnett and Jonathan Wilson found that coaching is the leadership style that almost half the people respond to best. The top three traits that keep Gen Z engaged? Purpose, coaching, and feedback.

“If you want to keep learning and growing, get yourself on some boards and see the challenges they face. I got a certificate in private governance which led me to giving presentations and sitting on the board of a small consulting firm. It was a mutual benefit for all involved.” — Greg Riley, president of Schaefer Construction in Cincinnati

“Markets are cyclical, so play the long game,” advised PSMJ Director Dave Burstein. “Focus not on more work but better work. The best time to call on a strategic client is when they have no work. Keep up with market trends because they are always changing.”

A 1918 study on job success for engineers found that 85% of that success focused on learning soft skills. A 2010 study of the $172 billion spent on employee training found 72% of it focused on hard skills. “Are engineers being adequately prepared in the environment they’re working in?” asked Jeff Hirst of American Insurance and Hirst Consulting.

Two of the five most dangerous blind spots in your strategic decision-making are safety bias—preferring to protect against loss vs. seeking gain—and expedience bias—preferring to act quickly. “The way to get around [safety bias] is to distance yourself from the emotion of that decision,” said Bo Newman, CFO of Cuhaci Peterson. “Imagine you’re giving advice to a friend.”