aecKnowledge Continuing Education

Marketing and Business Development Essentials

This course begins with a succinct and practical overview on the basics of marketing and business development, followed by a more detailed examination of the role that project managers can play in identifying new opportunities and leveraging existing relationships. Also explored in detail is how firms can differentiate themselves and come to dominate in a niche market. Other topics covered in the course include strategies for effective communication with clients, and profound and personal knowledge about how to succeed in global practice.

Risk Management Best Practices

This 60-minute Risk Management Best Practices course, featuring five attorneys from Morris Polich & Purdy, LLP, provides insights into reexamining business practices to keep up with the fast-changing world and turbulent economic climate.

This treasure trove of risk management and practice management advice covers: concepts and strategies to manage the legal risks provided by contractual indemnity agreements; legal risks pertaining to sustainable design; issues and procedures for securing payment on projects; strategies to avoid claims in process; and strategies for selecting the correct business entity for your practice. The course closes with a discussion of strategies for introducing Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) into your projects.

Navigating the COVID-19 Economy: Insights from Firm Leaders

This course is provided FREE courtesy of Strogoff Consulting and does not qualify for AIA Learning Units.

On April 22, 2020, 10 leaders from some of our nation's most respected firms shared their insights about how to effectively respond to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. This 75-minute panel discussion provides specific recommendations for your firm to put into motion.

Among the topics:
• What is the biggest challenge your firm is now facing?
• What has your firm learned about working remotely and how are clients responding?
• How do you maintain a collaborative culture and approach to projects?
• How are you keeping employees engaged?
• How are clients responding to your firm working remotely?
• If billable work declines, what staff initiatives might keep staff busy?
• How do we avoid losing another generation of architects
• How do you think this new normal might change how we operate as a profession?

Minimizing Risk During Construction Administration

This course provides design professionals with essential risk management practices to employ during the construction administration phase.

Attorney Michele L. Gamble provides targeted, practical tips to help minimize potential risks that architects, engineers and allied professionals face during this critical phase of projects. Topics include contracting, communicating, planning, documenting and increasing awareness of risks involved with construction administration. This course is especially relevant to design professionals who draft contracts, manage risks and/or provide construction administration-related services.

Pitfalls and Minefields of Specification-Writing

This course will help design firms produce higher quality specifications that respond to the increasing complexity of building projects and that minimize the adverse consequences of poorly-worded or incomplete specifications.

Course takers will develop a better understanding of and appreciation for specifications – an often-overlooked part of the Contract Documents – and learn how to craft specifications that achieve design objectives and avoid added costs, delays and disputes.

The presenter provides specific solutions to overcome common challenges design professionals face when writing design-based, performance-based, propriety or hybrid specifications.

Contract Language: The Foundation of Good Business

This 60-minute risk management course presents best practices in drafting and reviewing contracts between Owners and Design Professional.

Attorney Brian Stewart examines onerous contract clauses that design professionals regularly confront and provides targeted suggestions for negotiating more balanced clauses. Topics include essential contract clauses, pros and cons of typical compensation methods, dispute resolution options and limitations of liability protections.

Risk Control in Construction Contract Administration

This course will help design professionals better understand and respond to the growing risks entailed in providing construction contract administration (CCA).

The presenter makes a compelling case for why architects and engineers must serve as both a risk manager and a project manager, and provides an easy-to-follow approach to controlling risks in a manner that enhances service effectiveness.

Viewers will gain valuable insights into how best to identify CCA areas of vulnerability, improve their ability to develop risk averse CCA procedures, and expand their skills in persuading owners to share in the numerous risks inherent in CCA.

Financial Management: Introduction for Design Professionals

This distilled 60-minute course provides an overview of financial management for anyone involved in managing or leading an architecture, engineering or design firm. Course takers will learn basic accounting and financial management terminology and the difference between cash and accrual reporting, be able to dispel myths that keep firms from becoming more profitable, understand a Chart of Accounts and basic financial management reports, gain an overview of the financial management cycle, and set financial performance goals.

The presenters, Rena Klein, FAIA, and Steve Wintner, AIA Emeritus, consult with design professionals nationwide about financial management, and are skilled in distilling financial knowledge and concepts into bite-size pieces that position firm leaders to make strategic operational decisions.

This course dispels myths that have haunted design professionals since the days of Michelangelo.

Arbitration and Litigation: A Trial Attorney's Perspective

This 60-minute risk management course describes how and why arbitration and civil litigation are vastly different procedural mechanisms.

Attorney Samuel Muir provides a candid comparison and dispels commonly-held myths as he provides design professionals insights into how to choose between arbitration and litigation and negotiate dispute resolution clauses that protect their interests. As arbitration agreements are subject to contract interpretation, this course will help design professionals negotiate a clause that provides many of the legal protections inherent in civil litigation.

Drawing the Line: Monitoring the Contractor’s Work Plan

This course will help design professionals understand a contractor’s exclusive responsibility for planning, organizing, coordinating, and implementing the construction work, and will describe the indicators that are evident when a contractor’s work plan is executed effectively.

Course takers will develop a better understanding of the need for dialogue, and the tools to initiate and improve communication, amongst all team members, pertaining to contractor work coordination activities.

With a wry sense of humor, the presenter discusses how to review and respond to construction coordination drawings, clarifications sketches, submittals and mock-ups, and provides valuable insights that will help guide pre-installation conferences and enforce contract requirements.

Financial Management: Key Financial Performance Indicators (KPFIs)

The second course of this series takes a deeper dive into Key Financial Performance Indicators (KPFIs), which will enable anyone involved in managing or leading an architecture, engineering or design firm to track and act on key metrics. Course takers will learn how to calculate seven KPFIs and apply them to calculate net billing multipliers and hourly billing rates and quickly analyze how their firm is performing. Viewers will also learn how to develop project fee budgets and avoid common pitfalls.

The presenters, Rena Klein, FAIA, and Steve Wintner, AIA Emeritus, consult with design professionals nationwide about financial management, and are skilled in distilling financial knowledge and concepts into bite-size pieces that position firm leaders to make strategic operational decisions.

If you ever had any doubts about your firm’s Net Effective Multiplier, this course is a MUST SEE!.