In a meeting at the U.S. Capitol today with 21 Senators and major CEOs from several industries, ACEC President Dave Raymond encouraged lawmakers to leverage more private financing for infrastructure through Private Activity Bonds, TIFIA and similar programs.

Raymond also told Senators that building public support to increase revenues for infrastructure requires "clearly connecting proposed new investment to projects that people want, similar to how many state and local initiatives have succeeded recently. We can apply these lessons to major federal initiatives.”

Among the select group of notable business leaders participating in the meeting was AECOM Chairman/CEO John Dionisio.

The House adopted an ACEC-supported amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last week that would increase small firm participation in federal contracts. The Council is working to include similar language in the Senate version of the bill.

The amendment would allow prime contractors to count small business subcontracting at all tiers to meet federal small-firm participation goals. Current policies measure only small business participation at the prime and first-tier subcontracts. Click here to see ACEC’s letter of support.

ACEC is working to remove language from the House bill that would limit allowable employee compensation for federal contractors. The bill would retain the current $763,029 limit, but would tie future adjustments to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index and make unallowable the total compensation of the five highest compensated employees in any firm with more than $500 million in federal contracts for the previous fiscal year.

The Council also seeks to eliminate even more problematic language from the Senate version which would limit allowable compensation to $400,000.

Four leading Member Firm executives will discuss opportunities and challenges in working with private clients in commercial, industrial and energy markets at the upcoming ACEC Fall Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., October 27-30.

The CEO panel includes David Cooper, president/CEO, WSP USA; Henry Lucas, president/CEO, ECS; Kam Movassaghi, president, Fenstermaker; and Mahadev Raman, chairman, Arup Americas.

The Conference also features an expert panel on the future of transportation funding and keynote addresses by former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez, and Microsoft futurist Fred Studer.

For more information and to register, click here.

The Subcommittee for Transportation, Housing & Urban Development approved last week a 2014 transportation funding bill that meets MAP-21 targets, including $40.3 billion for highways—an increase of $550 million over current levels.

ACEC has long advocated full funding of MAP-21 and will continue working with Congressional leaders to win final passage of the legislation.

The legislation provides $8.6 billion for transit formula funds to state and local governments, consistent with MAP-21, and $1.8 billion for transit capital investment grants. The bill maintains funding for the Airport Improvement Program at $3.35 billion.

Funding for TIGER multi-modal grants and passenger rail programs would be cut significantly, as a result of General Fund spending caps imposed by the House budget.

Click here to see the bill.

In a major victory for design professional firms in Alabama, Governor Robert Bentley signed into law liability protections for a person or firm performing construction inspection services under contract with a public agency.

ACEC/Alabama sponsored the legislation, with assistance from the Minuteman Fund.

To see a copy of the law, click here.

For more information about the Minuteman Fund, click here.

ACEC is calling on members to urge their congressional delegations to oppose efforts to cap or eliminate the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.

These proposals would damage the economy by raising the cost of infrastructure projects and would reduce opportunities for engineering firms.

Click here for more information and to access a sample letter to send to your Members of Congress. For further questions, contact Katharine Mottley, ACEC director of tax & regulatory affairs.

July 9, 1:30-3:00 pm

In Louder Than Words: 10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps that Drive Results, Bob Kelleher, president/founder, Employee Engagement Group, explains the key steps necessary to sustain an engaged culture, improve business results, and maintain credibility with employees. Learn specific steps to create a culture of accountability and to motivate employees—especially those in Gen X and Gen Y.

For more information and to register, click here.

July 10, 1:30 - 3:00 pm

Project teams that struggle to effectively collaborate, communicate and make decisions often result in increased costs, schedule delays, and strained relationships.

In Sellwood Bridge: Team-Building to Drive Complex Project Delivery, Mike Baker, vice president, David Evans and Associates, Inc., will present a case study from an ongoing $308M multi-agency bridge/interchange replacement project to demonstrate how to build effective project teams and describe the dramatic benefits that can accrue.

For more information and to register, click here.

July 16, 1:30-3:00 pm

Your firm spends a great deal of time and money on marketing, yet how can you measure the results of those efforts. Are you getting your money's worth from your marketing?

In Raising Your Marketing ROI—Using Real-World Numbers to Measure and Manage Your Firm's Marketing and Business Development Activities, David Stone of Stone and Company will show you how much you should be spending on marketing, what you can expect a marketing program to do for you, what should be in your marketing plan, how to set up an effective marketing department, and how to measure results.

For more information and to register, click here.

July 18, 1:30-3:00 pm

Inspired leadership is integral to the firm's success, but too often leadership is the talent in shortest supply.

In Seven Success Secrets of Extraordinary Leaders, John Doehring demonstrates how to improve individual leadership skills and build an action plan for leading the firm to growth, profit and sustainable success.

For more information and to register, click here.

July 24, 1:30-3:00 pm

In many firms, next-in-line leaders are smart, hard-working, and capable, but are also starving for the direction they need to take on new leadership responsibilities. In Preparing Your Firm's Next "You", Mark Goodale of Morrissey Goodale, will provide the tools to prepare your next generation trail-blazers to take the reins.

Learn how to identify up-and-coming leaders, develop their skills, and get out of their way.

For more information and to register, click here.

August 1, 1:30-3:00 pm

Capital partners can help firms accelerate their growth. Learn whether this business strategy is right for your firm.

In 7 Ways a Capital Partner Can Help You Increase the Value of Your Business, Will Burnett, managing director, Owner Resource Group, will explore the pros and cons of various types of capital partners, describe what to look for in a capital partner, and set expectations.

For more information and to register, click here.

August 6, 1:30-3:00 pm

Stop waiting for the economy to improve. In The Pathway to Success, Scott Hunter, president of The Hunter Partnership Alliance, will demonstrate how firms don't need to be dependent on the economy for their success and will lay out four steps that firms can take to start building business today.

For more information, click here.

August 13, 1:30-3:00 pm

Engineering firms use design thinking every day to solve their clients' most pressing and complex design problems. In Using Design Thinking to Build Business and Break the Commodity Trap, find out how to use this core competency in your business planning.

Joseph Rei of MORF Consulting will demonstrate how firms can use design thinking to gain market share, strengthen their position with clients, and solve the ongoing problem of "engineering commoditization."

For more information and to register, click here.

August 27, 1:30-3:00 pm

What makes a few professionals highly successful communicators, but so many others not so good?

In The Ten Top Tips of Totally Terrific Communicators, John Doering unpacks simple, pragmatic, action-oriented techniques to engage, influence, and deliver to others.

For more information and to register, click here.

September 4, 1:30-3:00 pm

PowerPoint is an invaluable tool to communicate your ideas in presentations, but far too many interviews suffer from ‘Death by PowerPoint’ as presenters read from bullet point slides and interviewers doze off.

In Using PowerPoint Effectively in Presentations, David Stone of Stone & Company will show you how to use this powerful tool to create and deliver vibrant, dynamic and engaging slides that enhance your presentation and set you apart from all others.

For more information and to register, click here.

September 5, 1:30-3:00 pm

As alternative delivery methods become more popular, firms need to better understand how these processes work.

In Improving Alternative Delivery Projects from Cradle to Grave, Renee Hoekstra of Rha, will examine approaches such as scoping, value engineering, and partnering and demonstrate how to employ them on every project.

For more information and to register, click here.

September 10, 1:30-3:00 pm

In Your Clients Talked, We Listened: Top Ten Research Findings Every Firm Should Know, Ray Kogan and Cara Bobcheck of Kogan & Company present their findings from hundreds of one-on-one interviews with municipal, institutional, and private clients over the past ten years.

Learn how clients view the competitive landscape for consulting engineering and how they differentiate one from another.

For more information and to register, click here.

September 11, 1:30-3:00 pm

Innovations in business development—including cloud-based customer relationship management, the role of individual vs. firm, and blogging—are changing the way engineering services are sold.

In Forget (Almost) Everything You Know About Business Development, Ken Tichacek, founder/principal, Think Like Your Clients, will introduce the power of these tools and discuss the new management/leadership issues that arise from their use.

For more information and to register, click here.

September 24, 1:30-3:00 pm

How do successful firm leaders understand and interpret strategic options in an uncertain market?

In Strategic Decision-Making in Uncertain Times, Mick Morrissey, principal of Morrissey Goodale, will show how to link and leverage the clarity of vision, commitment of leadership, competency of management, and capitalization to rank your strategic options and make the best decisions for your firm.

For more information and to register, click here.

October 9, 1:30-3:00 pm

If you don't ask, you don't get! There's so much valuable information to gather from your clients, but few firms/individuals have the knowledge base and skills set to ask the right questions, of the right people, at the right time.

In Client Research: Debunking Myths and Maximizing ROI, Richard Friedman of Friedman & Partners will identify five key elements that should drive the questions you ask, and define three strategies for leveraging research in your project delivery and business development processes.

For more information and to register, click here.

October 10, 1:30-3:00 pm

Over the past 25 years, we have seen the shift in the definition of leadership from managing things to leading people. The definition is evolving again to "creativeship," which Bob Kelleher, president/founder of Employee Engagement Group, defines as the necessity to crate a sustainable culture and business model to compete and thrive in today's market.

In "Creativeship:" The Evolution from Management to Leadership to Creativeship, Kelleher will outline the benefits to firms in embracing this new leadership paradigm.

For more information and to register, click here.

October 15, 1:30-3:00 pm

Learn how to hone your presentation and communication skills in The Engineered Interview: A Civil, Structured, Electrified Approach to Winning More Business.

Susan Murphy of Murphy Motivation and Training will demonstrate how to leverage your unique experience and personality to increase business and form more successful relationships.

For more information and to register, click here.

October 22, 1:30-3:00 pm

The idea of seeking out regular, reliable and candid feedback from clients is simultaneously exciting and terrifying.

In How Can You Exceed My Expectations if You Don't Know What They Are, David Stone of Stone & Company will describe how to obtain honest client feedback and what to do with it.

For more information and to register, click here.

November 6, 1:30-3:00 pm

Properly drafted construction contract documents will reduce the contractual risk to consulting engineers and minimize the potential for exposure to costly litigation.

In It's Not Just Boilerplate: The Risk Posted By Non-Standard Construction Contract Documents, Gerald Cavaluzzi, vice president/general counsel and chief risk officer, and Kevin O'Beirne, vice president, both with Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., will demonstrate how to reduce the risk of becoming involved in a dispute or lawsuit arising from the use of non-standard construction contract documents; discuss why you should be concerned about using non-standard documents; identify provisions that commonly pose liability issues; and outline a program to limit these risks.

For more information and to register, click here.

November 12, 1:30-3:00 pm

Your primary goal in a proposal is to persuade a client that your firm is perfectly suited to the project.

In Writing and Editing Readable Proposals, David Stone of Stone & Company, will show you how to make the content of your proposal easily accessible and understood.

For more information and to register, click here.

November 19, 1:30-3:00 pm

Project risk is becoming more and more of an issue with clients. As a result, firms need to develop and consistently update a potent risk mitigation strategy.

In Reducing Overall Construction Costs through Risk Assessments and Management, Renee Hoekstra of Rha will demonstrate how to integrate risk management into your current program/project management.

For more information and to register, click here.

December 10, 1:30-3:00 pm

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.

In Critical Business Development Skills: Emotional Intelligence, David Stone of Stone & Company introduces the four elements of emotional intelligence and demonstrates how to leverage this skill in business development.

For more information and to register, click here.

The American Council of Engineering Companies
1015 15th St., NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-2605
Phone: 202-347-7474 - Fax: 202-898-0068
www.acec.org - E-mail:acec@acec.org
Alan D. Crockett, Director, Communications
Gerry Donohue, Editor/Designer