Welcome to the March 2009 Bonus Edition of AEC Managing Partner Newsletter

Dedicated to helping architects and engineers earn the profits they deserve for their creative efforts 

 In this Issue:

1. Top Twelve List -- Steps your firm should take after staff reductions

2. Incentive Compensation and Bonus Survey -- Your chance to participate

3. How to make measurable progress on your most negelcted goals

4. Upcoming Events

Top Twelve Steps to Take after the Layoff -- Part 1

Staff reductions have become commonplace once again in our industry.  The steps you take after those staff reductions are critical to the future success of your firm.

1. Reassure the Staff

The remaining staff is understandably upset and angry that their co-workers have been let go.  Of course they are also relieved that it didn't happen to them.  What they need right now is some reassurance that the reductions were not made with malice -- but with an eye towards preserving jobs and the company for the long-term.  Younger staff who have experienced nothing but good times will need special attention

2. Ask Employees for Cost Saving Ideas

When business is good overhead expenses tend to grow and fly under the radar of accountability. Your staff knows where the money is being wasted -- so ask for their help.  You might be surprised at their ideas and the sacrifices they are willing to make.

3. Change the Voicemail

Make sure to immediately change the voicemail password of all terminated employees.  On more than one occasion I have connected to voice-mails that said something along the lines of "I can't take your call because I have been laid-off".  Sometimes the voice mail was not that polite.  Don't let this happen to you.

4. Cancel the Cell Phone

If your employees have company cell phones, be sure to get them returned and cancel the plan.  Even if there is a termination fee you will generally save money in the long run by cancelling

5. Sell/Donate or Recycle

I am not sure if there is a market for used smart phones but if there is you can try to sell them.  In the alternative they can be donated to a worthy cause or a t least recycled.  Don't let them sit there gathering dust.

6. Handle the Paperwork

Be sure to handle all of the paperwork immediately.  Whether it is responding to an unemployment insurance claim, COBRA insurance do it quickly and accurately.  The departing employees have enough stress dealing being out of work.  Do your best to make the transition as easy as possible.

To be continued next issue&..

Are you tired of paying $445 for industry benchmark surveys? 

If you are tired of paying outrageous prices for A/E industry benchmarking surveys, you are not alone.  My commitment is to produce surveys that equal or exceed competing surveys in every way.  There will be charts, tables, graphs and narrative that will allow you to benchmark your company against your competition.  The survey results will be presented in a way that will allow you to immediately zero-in on areas of your company that need the most attention.

You are invited to participate in the surveys - and reap the rewards!

Your Reward for Participating

1. Entry into a drawing for a $500 American Express Gift Card.  All Survey respondents who complete and return the survey by the due date of April 15, 2009 will be entered into a drawing for a $500 American Express Gift Card.

2. All survey participants are entitled to receive a copy of the benchmark survey results for only $49.  The final survey results will be priced at $225 for non-participants.  The order form enclosed with the survey.  This discount is over $175 off the AEC Management List price of $225 and almost $400 off the Zweig White or PSMJ list price.

Download the Survey  http://www.aecmanagementsolutions.com/public/202.cfm

How to Make Measurable Progress Toward Your Most-Neglected Goals

by Michael Masterson

To Master Plan your new life, you must begin with long-term goals that correspond to your core values. From that good start, you must establish yearly and monthly objectives. Based on those objectives, you create weekly and daily task lists. Doing all that will help greatly. But if you want to really change your life, you have to learn how to prioritize.

I didn't always know how to prioritize. For much of my business career, I relied on goal setting and task lists and was happy with the results. But when I turned 50 and started writing for Early to Rise, I began to read how other business leaders achieved their goals. And that's when I discovered what a huge difference prioritizing can make.

The most important lesson I learned came from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. In that book, Covey presents a technique for prioritizing that impressed me greatly and soon became a central part of my planning process.

Divide your tasks, Covey says, into four categories:

• Not important and not urgent
• Not important but urgent
• Important but not urgent
• Important and urgent

In the "not important and not urgent" category, you would put such things as:

• Catching up on office gossip
• Shopping online for personal items
• Answering unimportant phone calls
• Responding to unimportant e-mails

In the "not important but urgent" category, you would include:

• Returning phone calls from pesky salespeople
• Making last-minute preparations for an office party
• Attending a required meeting that doesn't help your career
• Planning for a meeting that doesn't matter

In the "important and urgent" category, you might list:

• Making last-minute preparations for an important meeting with the boss
• Making last-minute sales calls to key clients
• Solving unexpected problems

And, finally, in the "important but not urgent" category, you might include:

• Learning how to write better
• Learning how to speak better
• Learning how to think better
• Working on your novel
• Getting down to a healthy weight

When you break up tasks into these four categories, it's easy to see that you should give no priority at all to "not important and not urgent" tasks. In fact &. 

http://www.aecmanagementsolutions.com/public/206.cfm  read the rest of this article

Upcoming Events

Texas Council of Engineering Companies  September 11, 2009

Herb Cannon will be speaking at the Texas Council of Engineering Companies Leadership Forum for the 7^th consecutive year.

Axium Users Conference October 22-24, 2009

Herb Cannon will be speaking at the Axium User Conference for the 4^th consecutive year.  Details will become available soon.

Want to Reprint an Article from AEC Managing Partner?

As a publisher of a print or web-based publication, you are hereby granted the right to reprint any article contained in this newsletter with the following provisions

1) The words "By Herbert M. Cannon" must be included immediately following the article title.

2) The following "resource box" is included following or preceding each article.

Herbert M. Cannon, President of AEC Management Solutions, Inc. and Publisher of AEC Managing Partner Newsletter, is a management consultant, seminar provider and speaker exclusive to the A/E Industry. He is available to speak at company meetings and conferences. For more information contact Herb via e-mail hcannon@aecmanagementsolutions.com. Or visit his website at www.aecmanagementsolutions.com

3) You quickly notify us of any publication, either in print or on the Internet. Notification may be made via e-mail at hcannon@aecmanagementsolutions.com

4) You send us a hard copy of any printed publication in which one Herb's articles appear. Printed issues may be sent to 183 Higgins Road Matawan, NJ 07747

I am looking for guest writers for my monthly newsletter. I you have an idea for an article, please send an e-mail to hcannon@aecmanagementsolutions.com

I hope to see everyone at one of my seminars or speaking engagements.

Regards,
Herbert M. Cannon
Herbert M. Cannon

hcannon@aecmanagementsolutions.com