PSMJ Podcasts Presents

To view this podcast go to the PSMJ's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02g8GaDWCtc Banks do it. Why not you? It may be time A/E/C firms stress test their own P&L. The current economic downturn brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic has firms facing unprecedented financial uncertainty. While many weathered the initial lockdown, there’s a great deal of doubt about future project prospects. Will there be a fast V shaped recovery? Or will the recovery be drawn out over many years in the future? While some market segments may collapse because of lack of government spending, consumer reluctance or fear, or policy missteps, what can we do? Stress testing will help you plan. Such a financial exercise allows you to easily evaluate the effects of non-labor overhead cost cutting measures, temporary salary reductions, and if need be, RIFs, in the face of reduced demand for services and potential client induced discounts. This technique will also point out ways to improve long-term profitability, as well as your firm’s valuation. Meet with Brian Flynn as he covers: •What is financial stress testing and how does it work? •How will such an exercise help forecast and plan •How can profit enhancing techniques improve resistance to a potential downturn •How best to significantly improve your long-term profitability and the value of your business About the presenter: Brian Flynn, P.E., BCEE has spent more than 40 years in the engineering and environmental industry. He was one of the original founding partners of global environmental consulting firm ERM Group and the President of ERM-Southwest in Houston, Texas.

When the economy eventually fully reopens—A/E/C firms must be ready to hit the ground running. Those who prepare well will be able to experience a business reawakening. But what will separate those firms that are ready for business to take off on day one from those firms that may never see a full return of business? Post-COVID business will most likely not be business as usual. You will not be able to just pick up where you left off. So how best to develop a plan to navigate the now and be prepared for what will come later? Use the tool you have, update your strategic plan and help your leadership. If you don’t have a plan, there was never a time when you needed one more. Join us and learn how to: •Make decisions that align with your core values •Take advantage of new opportunities •Avoid wasting time on lost causes •Be ready when everything reopens About the Presenter: Susan Israel, AIA, LEED AP, has deep expertise in architecture, strategic planning, sustainability, leadership training, and organizational change. Before joining PSMJ, she founded and led two architecture practices for over 20 years that focused on delivering high end design and architectural services. Susan began her architecture career working for Moshe Safdie, Graham Gund, Finegold Alexander, among other architecture firms. Susan holds an A.B. from Harvard College, Master of Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and attended the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston.

A candid discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on A/E/C Mergers & Acquisitions with Karl Wohler Are your ownership transition plans on hold? Are you questioning the viability of your acquisition strategy? Are you wondering how COVID-19 could impact your discussions with potential buyers? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you cannot afford to miss this FREE podcast with PSMJ Senior M&A Consultant Karl Wohler. Changing times like these can bring great opportunity for those willing to execute on bold strategies. But, this is definitely not the time for uninformed risk-taking or simply trusting your intuition. In this wide-ranging and action-oriented discussion, Karl shares: •Examples of how A/E/C mergers and acquisition transactions are coming together right now •The impact of COVID-19 on valuation and transaction structure •What you need to be doing to find quality buyers and sellers in this market •His predictions for what you can expect going into the second half of 2020 and beyond •And much more! In the podcast, we discussed finding quality M&A partners and PSMJ’s new tool for helping buyers and sellers connect faster, easier…and completely confidentially! Learn more at www.aecmatch.com.

THE WEEKLY LIVE AND ONLINE EXECUTIVE DIALOGUE A/E/C Senior Executive Briefing Hosted by PSMJ Founder and CEO Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA along with PSMJ Senior Principal David Burstein, P.E. and with these special guests: Workplace Re-Boot: A Look Inside 'Next Normal' Life at 1,400-person HKS Dan Noble | President and CEO | HKS As HKS moves into the 'next normal', this also means redefining what it means to work in an office. In our candid discussion, Dan will share the workplace implications of the COVID-19 crisis at HKS and lessons learned that are setting it on a path of discovery and innovation. Leaders of A/E/C firms large and small are sure to take away new ideas for their re-opening plans. With offices around the nation and around the world, HKS is an interdisciplinary design firm comprised of architects and interior designers as well as researchers, urban designers, nurses, anthropologists, graphic designers and more. Getting it Done: How Field-Based Teams Stay Safe and Productive Kenneth Wm. Smith | CEO | T. Baker Smith We get a lot of questions from firm leaders about the unique aspects of running a field-based firm during this crisis. We'll be talking with Kenny Smith of engineering and surveying firm T. Baker Smith about how he's tackling some of the unique safety challenges of today's environment while keeping employees engaged and clients happy. TBS is a 250-person firm that provides engineering, environmental, on/offshore surveying, marine positioning, planning, and GIS/mapping services. PLUS PSMJ's own Kalyn Burke on the show to share valuable tips for re-opening your office safely. Kalyn is certified by the World Health Organization in Public Health Preparedness for Mass Gatherings and Events. We'll also share the latest insight and data on what lies ahead to help you build back better!

Accomplishing work in the new millennium has become synonymous with Virtual Leadership. The current competitive business environment and the changing nature of work and the workforce requires effective leadership that spans the boundaries of time and space to help employees to work together—apart. Leadership of virtual teams is not the same as leadership of face-to-face, co-located teams, explains harassment, discrimination, and bullying consultant, Dr. Susan Strauss. Leading a virtual team is more difficult; it requires a dynamic interaction between technological systems and human systems that the virtual leader has to address and balance for work to be accomplished. Susan discusses the tools and techniques firm leadership needs to facilitate “working together apart” in virtual environment. In this podcast, you will learn how to: •Define essential competencies of leadership in virtual environment •Plan for four essentials for virtual teamwork •Identify best characteristics of virtual team/employee •Recognize the tips for effective virtual meetings About the Presenter: Dr. Susan Strauss is a national and international speaker, trainer, author, and consultant. Her specialty areas include management/leadership development, organization development, Discrimination, and communication, She trains and consults with virtual managers and teams. Her clients are from business, education, healthcare, law, and government organizations from both the public and private sector. She is the author of over 30 books, book chapters, and articles and has appeared on national and international TV and radio programs . She has her doctorate in organizational leadership.

This is a unique, METALCON LIVE Weekly Broadcast with clear, no BS answers to your burning questions. Ready to put the brakes on sliding sales and negativity about the economic outlook? Want to know what other metal construction industry sales pros are doing in these uncertain times to buck trends and make their numbers? Wondering how to use this down-time to prepare for the pent-up demand on the other side? Join METALCON Co-Founder, in partnership with the Metal Construction Association and CEO Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA and Rob Haddock, CEO and Founder of S-5! Metal Roof Innovations. Each Wednesday at 1:00 pm ET, these industry titans – featuring their industry guests - host this FREE online no-BS discussion of current challenges and workarounds. Find out what you need to be doing NOW to ensure your business comes out stronger when the dust settles. Register now and save your virtual "seat" for Wednesday, April 8, 2020. All you need is a computer, tablet or smart phone. This 60-minute discussion is FREE for our friends in the metal construction industry.

On March 31 , PSMJ Founder and CEO Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, appeared on The John Batchelor Show. This radio show broadcasts live from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. each weekday on 770 WABC-AM in New York City, WBNW in Boston, 630 WMAL-AM in Washington, D.C., 630 WPRO-AM in Providence. And available anywhere via live stream. Frank addresses what the A/E/C industry is facing amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Winning work in the private sector follows a relatively simple process. But public sector business success is more complex. Mary Prescott shares ideas and strategies from creating potential opportunities with public agencies to the role of the public project manager. She covers PM traits clients like, data that sheds light on how to interact with public clients, and more. In this podcast, you will learn how to: •Focus on areas to create opportunities •Approach a government agency to assist in a change or crisis •Avoid the top 3 Mistakes consultants make •Assist governments during a disruption About the Presenter: Mary Prescott has 39 years of experience leading and managing programs, projects and governmental organizational change efforts. She is a PSMJ Project Delivery Excellence instructor. She drives projects at the City of Saint Paul and during long career with the Minnesota Department of Transportation has assisted new administrations with implementing their vision, mission and objectives.

The A/E/C industry has been talking about the emergence of the virtual office for what seems like decades. Is the day finally near at hand? Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA, president of PSMJ Resources, thinks so. “Technology, the need for flexibility and the allure of low overhead will result in an explosion of new virtual design firms,” Stasiowski writes in his new book, Impact 2030: Disruptions in the Design Industry for the Next 10 Years. “With technology making it ever more seamless to work together even when physically far apart, at a much lower cost and greater convenience, virtual firms make too much sense not to become mainstream by 2030.” REMOTE NOW One firm that may be at the leading edge of the movement is Boston-based H+O Structural Engineering. Rens F. Hayes IV, P.E., one of the firm’s principals, says, “We leverage remote employees to help scale our production resources. This opens up our potential talent pool to the entire U.S. rather than just Boston or Denver,” where the firm’s two offices are located. “Everything we do lives in the cloud; we literally do not have one server in Boston,” Hayes notes. Forty percent of the Boston office’s computing power is provided by remote employees, he says, adding: “Weekly virtual meetings are held through a web-based conference solution such as Zoom Meetings. Internal collaboration also happens over one-on-one screen shares. With today’s remote desktop technology, there is virtually no lag with Revit, Bluebeam and our engineering software.” Remote employees often begin working for H+O on a part-time basis. According to Hayes, there’s less risk for the candidate because they don’t have to re-locate or make other life-altering decisions. That also benefits the firm, because it typically means the new employee can start work immediately. This approach acts as a trial phase for both parties. H+O only hires experienced personnel, usually those who have taken (or are about to take) the PE exam. With that kind of experience, remote employees can be productive on break-out tasks to support project managers, according to Jeremiah O’Neill, another of the firm’s principals; however, it’s difficult for them to take project accountability given their part-time availability. “Remote employees can function as if they were sitting in our office,” O’Neill says. “However, it’s important to balance remote and on-site office personnel, to make sure we have the appropriate staff local to the project for in-person meetings and site visits.” O’Neill suggests that excellent onboarding, training and design process documentation are critical to making the concept work. Just as important is the human side of the equation. “When you’re working remotely, it’s easy to feel isolated,” he says. The firm uses Slack to keep remote employees engaged with the rest of the team, and an annual holiday get-together helps build the office culture and strengthen internal relationships. Commitment from the entire staff is key to seamless collaboration. “Everyone from management on down has bought into the concept,” Hayes adds. “It’s just how we do business.”

In today’s fast-paced and technology-driven world, architecture and engineering (A/E) firms run on key performance indicators (KPIs). These are the early indicators of trouble and the benchmarks for success. But, it is far too easy to drown in meaningless KPIs and too many A/E firms are wasting time and money measuring the wrong metrics! This is PSMJ’s first-ever benchmarking presentation dedicated entirely to Canadian A/E firms! Greg Hart takes you through the financial and operational KPIs that drive success in top-performing A/E firms – what to measure, when to worry, and how to steer clear of trouble. These easy-to-measure (and difficult to manipulate) metrics cover growth, overhead, labor utilization, profitability, and more. In fact, many of the KPIs covered in this webinar are the metrics that determine PSMJ’s Circle of Excellence every year. Members of the Circle of Excellence represent the top 20% of participants in PSMJ’s A/E Financial Performance Benchmark Survey based on 13 key metrics. In this engaging presentation, you learn: • The financial and operational KPIs you need to be measuring. • The right (and wrong) ways to benchmark your firm’s performance. • How to turn benchmarking data into strategic action to get ahead of potential problems. • KPI and Canadian industry trends that will impact your firm. • And much more! Learn more today! Go to www.psmj.com/survey-participation About the Presenter: As a Senior Consultant with PSMJ, Greg is passionate about helping architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) firm leaders strengthen their businesses to create lasting value. Greg has personally worked with hundreds of A/E/C firms over the past 13+ years. Outside of his consulting work, Greg plays a key role in PSMJ’s market research and industry intelligence programs. He advises on the development of the company’s annual Benchmark Survey Reports as well as PSMJ’s popular Quarterly Market Forecast. To view the webinar, go here: https://go.psmj.com/webinar-canada-benchmarking?utm_campaign=Survey%20Participation&utm_content=118320076&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&hss_channel=tw-54925136