A/E & Professional Services
FMI Quarterly. This online publication, specifically for our industry, is an excellent resource for A/E firm leaders and business developers. Access does require a simple registration. Also check out their blog. David Maister. Well-known management consultant and author whose books are a must-read for A/E firm leaders. Recently retired, but his website still has some great advice.
Trusted Advisor Associates. Website for consultant Charlie Green, who has some excellent insights on the professional services business. Click on the Resources tab to access his blog and articles.
Management Consulting News. Oriented towards management consultants, but you'll find valuable advice for A/E firm leaders and business developers. Consider subscribing to the free newsletter.
DesignIntelligence. Articles on this site offer some thought-provoking perspectives on issues affecting the design (mostly architectural) profession.
Zweig Group Blog. This well-known A/E industry consulting firm sells a lot of good content, but provides some worthwhile free perspectives through their blog.
PSMJ Resources Blog. The other heavy-hitter consulting firm in our industry also offers valuable content for a fee. The quality of their free blog has been declining but is still worth checking on occasion.
Axium 411 Blog. This blog often features the company's popular Ajera project management and accounting software for A/E firms. But it can be a good source of best practice insights for firm leaders.
Civil + Structural Engineer. This Zweig site is mostly news but offers occasional helpful insights for A/E firm leaders and business developers.
Engineering News-Record. This excellent publication is only this far down the list because much of its content is available only to subscribers.
Architectural Record. A sister publication to ENR that obviously focuses on the architecture side of the business. A key difference: More of its online content is available to nonsubscribers.
Leadership
HBR Blog Network. The Harvard Business Review has been a venerable source of management wisdom for generations. The blog gives you access to some of the same valuable insights.
Forbes. Website of what is widely considered the top business magazine. As with all content-rich sites, it's a good idea to use the search bar, or click on the Leadership channel (upper-left pull-down menu).
Aubrey Daniels International. Daniels is one of my favorite authors on the top of leadership and performance management. Check out their blog, PM eZine, and media center.
George Ambler. This blog provides a very good summary of emerging ideas and research related to leadership.
Jim Collins. The website of this best-selling author has a wealth of helpful articles, videos, and tools for corporate leaders.
CEO.com. Pulls together what they consider the best news and articles of interest to company executives. Another site you could spend hours on.
Leading Blog. A helpful compilation of leadership tips and insights drawn from various books and articles. Also check out the associated articles section of this website.
Center for Creative Leadership. CCL describes itself as a global community of leaders and offers one of the best resource websites you'll find for leaders.
Business Development
Hinge Marketing. These folks are a trusted source of information about marketing and client development in professional services (including AEC). Read their blog and download their research reports.
RAIN Group. Another must-read source like Hinge, with more focus on selling professional services. Check out their Resources tab, download their ebooks, and consider subscribing to their e-newsletter.
HubSpot. Specialists in what's known as "inbound marketing," they have a track record of dramatically improving marketing results. Check out their blogs and their excellent Marketing Library.
MarketingProfs. Still another very content-rich site for B2B business developers, with articles, research reports, podcasts, and tools. Click on the Topics tab.
Rattleback. Website of a professional services marketing firm that does a good deal of work with A/E firms. This is reflected in their thought-provoking articles and blog posts (click on Thoughts tab).
Valuable Content. My friends from across the pond specialize in content marketing and offer a good deal of insight on that topic. Read their blog and check out their free resources.
Jill Konrath. Jill provides some excellent insights for business developers through her blog, articles, and videos.
Markitecture. This is the blog of a marketing firm that focuses on the A/E industry and offers some useful strategies for developing new business in our industry.
Project Delivery
The Program Manager's Blog. My favorite among a sparse lineup of links that seem relevant to our business. Not as much content as below, but seems to be more useful.
Voices on Project Management. This is the blog for the Project Management Institute, which is certifying an increasing number of A/E project managers. A good source of project management insight.
Human Resources
Entrepreneur's Human Resources. Online HR guide oriented toward both business owners and HR professionals. Covers a wide range of topics dealing with creating a great workplace.
Evil HR Lady Blog. Not crazy about the title, but there's a great information here provided by one of the web's most popular HR bloggers.
China Gorman. This veteran HR consultant shares a lot of great advice and research in her blog in a manner that makes it readily accessible to all of us.
gThankYou! Blog. We generally do a mediocre job in this business giving recognition and positive feedback to employees. This blog focuses on the best ways to show employees the appreciation they deserve.
