MANAGEMENT
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Maintaining consistent profitability Robert Peake, Principal of Management for Design says scaling a design or engineering business is an exercise in deploying a finite resource (people’s time) against infinite potential (client solutions)
The main asset of a design or engineering business is the knowledge and skills of its people. Similar to the projects they deliver, the development and management of resources becomes increasingly complex as the business grows. It’s often said that project-based businesses become difficult to manage when all decision makers can’t fit around a conference table. In reality, scaling a design or engineering business is an exercise in deploying a finite resource (people’s time) against infinite potential (client solutions). The strategies used to manage the business aspect of this conundrum will ultimately impact growth and profitability regardless of business
size or whether the entire management team can fit in the same room. To ensure profitable growth by improving the use of resources and gaining tighter control of finances and performance, businesses need to consider the following:
1. Leverage How is the business structured in terms of the ratio between directors/principals and other client-facing employees? In design and engineering businesses in particular, business leaders are often client facing, specifically because it is their talent that is the face of a major project. To manage the spread >>>
ACANews SEPTEMBER 2020
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