Greetings from Irving, TX where I attended the latest industry conference bringing an interesting mix of economists, private equity, venture capital, insurance, accounting, legal, HR, and governance experts and business partners along with buyers and sellers and of course valuation and deal facilitators.  This is the business of architecture and engineering.  Most of it occurring off-site on the golf course, at the Tex-Mex restaurant or in the bar or patio when the wait staff has punched out for the night/morning and the only lights left are from the fireplace and the stars.

This year we heard from multiple keynote speakers that:

•the economy is OK

•hard lessons are still being learned when growth exceeds practicality … and someone has to clean up the stadium after the big game (metaphor for aggressive growth and a “business as usual” message meets with the reality that multiple acquisitions leads to  a fractured culture, disparate systems and an integration nightmare).

•the second futurist in 3 weeks of travel was almost more than I could endure.  We heard from the high-priced “meteorologist” who could be dead wrong and no one would be able to find him to call bullshit on his observations/nebulous predictions.  Watch out!  The future will be here before you know it and everything we saw on the 1962 Hannah-Barbera Jetson’s cartoon has come true.  (I guess that’s why we call our Roomba by her stage name, Rosie.)

•venture capital will likely be the gas behind disrupting the AEC (architecture/engineering/construction) space as we get better at genuine innovation.

Michael Farr, regular financial cable TV contributor, kicked things off and was his regular, solid, practical self with a no politics message and an easy path to understanding of what we do and how we might consider strategic and tactical steps in the next year.  China is no longer the force it was at and the US is still the best place to invest.  If the infrastructure spend happens, as it should, we should see another decade of good investment.  If you can get a 5-7% return on your money in the next few years…be happy with that.

What can you take away from this as a leader?

Investments, regardless of the nature, are a critical part of a thriving economy and should continue.  Not always following the pack but always following a well-formed thesis.

Innovation, nicely described as the invented ladder to pick all the apples on the tree rather than the few you can reach from the ground, is a key to future prosperity.

Intuition, where experience rests in your gut, cannot be dismissed but should be open to challenge.  Things are changing … and becoming complacent will be the death of you and your business.

Have a blessed weekend!