Day 1:
Tuesday, June 23, 2020

11:00 am - 11:15 am (All times ET)
A/E/C Pivot Welcome and "Zoomies" Contest Kickoff with PSMJ Founder and CEO Frank Stasiowski, FAIA

Are you all Zoomed out? Ready for GoToMeeting to go to ... well, somewhere else? Get an overview of your A/E/C Pivot agenda and learn the rules for our "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" virtual meeting story contest.

Day 2:
Wednesday, June 24, 2020

11:00 am - 11:15 am (All times ET) 
Stand and Stretch and Uh Oh, Who Said There Would Be Burpees? 

Who will go home with the "Zoomie" for most hilarious virtual meeting experience? We'll kick off day 2 with a contest update and reveal some potential winners...and squeeze in a quick COVID Lockdown workout!

Latest A/E/C Market Data
11: 15 am  - 12:00 pm
MARKET FORECAST: WHAT AND WHERE IS COMING OUT OF THE CRISIS FASTEST? 
David Burstein, Senior Principal
PSMJ Resources

Pivot to using the latest hard data to make your next mission-critical decisions

One of our industry’s top analysts and visionaries provides hard data on current A/E/C market conditions—and what they mean to ambitious, growth-oriented firms navigating a volatile economic environment battered by shifting headwinds. Learn how key market segments’ behaviors are changing, why they are doing so, and how you can take advantage of the opportunities they create. We'll use PSMJ's most recent data on proposal activity, management compensation, and staff compensation, all broken down by markets and regions to give you critical business intelligence for making confident next-step decisions.

Project Management
11:15 AM - 12:00 PM
REDESIGN YOUR KPIs TO THRIVE IN THE NEXT NORMAL
Bill Hinsley, Project Management Expert
PSMJ Resources

It's happening with or without a pandemic, so learn how you can pivot to getting exceptional project results...from anywhere 

Coming out of the COVID-19 crisis, A/E/C firms are finding that many of their most productive contributors are eager to continue working remotely. In fact, 70% of A/E/C staff, according to a recent PSMJ survey, say they prefer to work at home. So how can you reap the business rewards of this seismic shift, while minimizing the risks? In terms of collaboration, how can your team pivot from merely functional to truly exceptional? Join leading A/E/C trainer and consultant Bill Hinsley as he reveals tactical application of project management principals, techniques, and tools to remote work. Bill has trained thousands of PMs as well as served as Principal in Charge at highly successful A/E firms. He explains:

• How to achieve project outcome and client satisfaction goals using technology and metrics tailored to this new reality.
• The new policies you’ll need to put in place to manage teams and personnel remotely.
• The latest data on which KPIs are most important, and which are overblown.
• How to balance remote work demands with your need for client, PM, and subcontractor face time.

Strategic A/E/C Firm Growth Planning
12:15 pm - 1: 00 pm

HIT PAUSE BEFORE MOVING FORWARD: PREPARE FOR THE FIRM OF THE FUTURE

Kristi Weierbach, Ph.D., SPHR
Managing Director, Workforce Advisory
Stambaugh Ness

It is easy to get caught up in the here and now of urgent tasks, but that often distracts us from focusing on the future.

What will the next generation of your firm look like? The retiring of baby boomers and potential loss of knowledge and wisdom, coupled with the pressure of ever changing technology means that the way you run your firm today won’t cut it in the future. Today we find ourselves at a critical turning point, one that requires a choice to be made: embrace transformational growth or avoid it.

Having the infrastructure required to weather this disruptive storm and be positioned ahead of your competitors is critically important. Join this session where we’ll discuss the importance of having the right mindset and strategies to move your firm into the future. It’s time to pause, reimagine, and pivot in a new direction.

Financial Management
12:15 pm - 1:00 pm
CASH-FLOW STRATEGIES FOR EMERGING STRONGER THAN EVER
Jenifer Navard, CFO
Eskew + Dumez + Ripple

In volatile times, good cash flow strategies can make or break your firm. Get expert advice from an A/E/C CFO who's been here before.

Revenue and cash flow are two very different things. As A/E/C leaders move carefully out of crisis management mode and assess the months ahead, the most successful firms are laser-focused on cash flow in these uncertain times. Learn how to improve every aspect of cash flow post-COVID to ensure your firm can thrive. Your session leader is the CFO of a busy 45-member A/E/C firm that was effectively shut down for three months by Hurricane Katrina.

In this session, you learn how to think creatively and test ideas rapidly on the road to improved financial health, including:

• Why labor utilization has a poor correlation with profitability, and learn the only KPI that has a 100% correlation.
• How to permanently reduce your work-in-process and accounts receivables causing major working capital drags.
• The secret other A/E/C firms are using right now to achieve a 5.0 (or higher!) Net Direct Labor Multiplier...in any economy.

Business Development
1:15 pm - 2:00 pm
POST-COVID BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT  BOOSTERS
Bobby Darnell, Principal
Construction Markets Consultants, Inc 

Pivot away from a tired old A/E/C business development plan and pump your pipeline with strategies that work now. 

How will you adjust your business development practices to achieve sustainable growth in the next phase of the recovery? Step one is knowing where you stand NOW. Step two is setting an action plan for making crucial adjustments, implementing them, and assessing the impact. Join Business Development, Marketing and CRM guru Bobby Darnell as he takes a merciless look at seven critical areas of your firm’s current BD strategy. You’ll apply his Business Development Plan Self-Audit tool (included with registration) to pinpoint your marketing activities that will be completely ineffective in the new landscape and maps out how you’ll rethink your top 10 backlog-boosting priorities.  Leave with proven strategies for:

• Finding the balance between ‘Shark’ marketing (outbound) and ‘Spider’ marketing (inbound).
• Challenging how it’s always been done with soft approach techniques that deliver results.
• Automated business development techniques perfect for the post-COVID crisis and pre-ALL CLEAR environment.
• Demystifying two of the biggest areas of opportunity, Social Media and CRM.

Business Development
1:15 pm - 2:00 pm
CRISIS CONSULTING THROUGH BUDGET TURMOIL
Mary Prescott, Program Coordinator, City of St. Paul and former Fiscal and Administrative Services Manager, Minnesota Department of Transportation

Pivot to public sector clients: Forge relationships with state and municipal agencies that deliver win-win

Key decision and policy makers at state DOTs and municipal public works agencies are facing rapid and disruptive change due to the COVID-19 crisis, new administrators, program revisions, sudden funding reductions, and more. While they may try to develop solutions internally, A/E/C principals and consultants can capitalize on this upheaval by collaborating with agency leaders and sharing proven best-practices for meeting new objectives. Learn, from a former state DOT official, how to deftly position your firm as a valued partner in public agency change management as we emerge from the crisis by knowing the right things to do, when to do them, and how to avoid catastrophic overreach. You learn:

• How to successfully approach and help new government administrators facing budget woes and shifting priorities.
• Data on what government agencies say are consultants’ best traits and worst mistakes.
• How to be thought of as “there to help” and not “there to make money” during this crisis.
• How to recognize when a government agency needs an outside eye; extra horsepower; specialized skills, or to be a safe zone.

Talent Management
2:15 pm - 3:00 pm
WIN FROM ANYWHERE: DISTRIBUTED TEAM LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES IN THE POST-COVID A/E/C WORKPLACE
Justin Smith, P.E., Principal
Start 2 Rise, LLC

There's a new project management dynamic emerging from the crisis -- don't get left out!

The WFH and WFA shift to which many A/E/C firms and their teams have had to adjust on the fly is revealing rising stars – and exposing leaders who struggle in non-standard structures. A new PM productivity dynamic is emerging that makes a strong case for distributed leadership – if you know how to leverage the key principals. In this session, you get tactical best practices for leading distributed teams and completing profitable work in a distributed format. You learn:

• The types of personalities, skill profiles, and approaches that are empirically proven to be most successful in distributed teams.
• How to re-imagine the Project Management role, from one that manages the Iron Triangle of Scope, Cost, and Schedule, to one that focuses on successfully leading teams working predominantly in a distributed format.
• How to develop the skills in your rising stars that best map to success in this new format.
• The latest data on leading distributed teams, and case studies for successes and missteps firms have experienced while transitioning to this model.

3:00 pm - 3:15 pm
DAY ONE WRAP-UP

Leadership Development
2:15 pm - 3:00 pm
ADD EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TO YOUR SKILLS TOOLBOX AND MASTER CRISIS LEADERSHIP
Clay Kirkland
Wisdom & Creativity Consulting

Get more from your team  and retain your rockstars through thick and thin!

What's the one skill that separates good A/E/C executives from the truly exceptional in times of crisis? Business management research has proven it's emotional intelligence, with data showing that those who master empathy perform more than 40 percent higher in coaching, engaging others, and business decision-making when faced with negative external forces and market volatility. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership, researchers found that managers who master E.I. are measurably better performers, getting more out of direct reports and increasing retention of top employees. To help you better lead your team though the COVID crisis and into what's next, Clay Kirkland, a certified Emotional Intelligence Coach and Consultant, provides you with an action plan for increasing your own EQ and delivering a significant bottom-line impact. You learn simple ways to tweak your self-perception, self-expression, empathy, decision-making, and stress management patterns to truly excel as an A/E/C firm leader.

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
SUMMIT WRAP-UP AND THE BIG REVEAL OF OUR 2020 "ZOOMIE" AWARD WINNERS!

NOTE: All sessions and speakers subject to change.