by Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” If you were a kid growing up in the 1970s, you heard this question in a series of commercials in which a boy queried a cow, fox, turtle, and owl. While the […]
Author Archives: Tom Traina
By Craig G. Malesic, PE, LC, PMP In our recent blog post about Lighting Trends, Thomas Schubert and I shared that lighting control systems are becoming very complex, the “why” is too often being ignored, end-users don’t understand the controls, and the lighting is often not properly commissioned. However, since ever-changing building and energy codes are […]
By Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM Note: this blog post originally appeared as a LinkedIn Article as “Proposals: Red Flags and Dirty Tricks.” If you’ve spent any amount of time creating proposals, then you’ve undoubtedly seen all sorts of questionable behavior by proposal requestors. Sure, they send out an RFP (or post it online), […]
By Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM In previous posts within the Seller-Doer Tools series, we looked at several techniques that involve limited personal interaction with prospects and clients – content marketing, which takes many forms including blogs, and social media, which is a way to connect with prospects online and create a “virtual network.” We […]
By Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM What are the current economic conditions within the architecture, engineering, and construction industry? How are the market sectors and geographic regions performing? There are quite a few indicators that track the health of the industry, and we’ve gathered many of the major metrics in one place to make your […]
by Craig G. Malesic, LC, PMP, EIT Note: This is the first installment of an occasional series, Weird MEP History, which deals with interesting and sometimes strange facts and tidbits throughout the history of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. We all know what a “Water Fountain” looks like, Right? We call them Water Fountains, Drinking Fountains, […]
by Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM I’ve been a member of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) for more than 25 years, and in that time I’ve contributed more than a dozen articles (solo or with co-authors) to Marketer, The Journal of the Society for Marketing Professional Services. Below you’ll find my latest article, […]
by Tom Traina, MBA, CSM There is much discussion regarding waste and inefficiency in the construction of a building, yet most A/E/C firms struggle to find the same level of efficiency improvements realized in the manufacturing sector over the past two decades. I believe a major challenge holding the industry back is the ever-changing roster […]
By Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM You’ve probably heard the one about the company that got so busy working on projects that they stopped doing business development. And why not? Their phone just kept ringing with new opportunities. But then the phone stopped ringing – that was okay, it seemed, because there was still work […]
By Scott D. Butcher, FSMPS, CPSM If you’re like most people, your To-Do List is a mile long. You have no problem adding to it, but it can take forever to remove something from it! Sound like anyone you know? Perhaps someone you’ve seen in the mirror? What does that mean for your personal […]