Designing for tomorrow: 5 Ways firm leaders can embrace change and lead with confidence

Architecture and engineering (A&E) firms are being asked to do more than at any point in recent history, despite having less certainty. The pressures are coming from every direction: tightening margins, a workforce in generational transition, record consolidation, and technology moving faster than most organizations can absorb. The opportunity to get ahead of it is real, but so is the risk of falling behind. Here are five strategies A&E leaders can use to design for tomorrow.

1. Don’t just look backward; start leading forward

For years, the benchmark for strong firm management was a strong scorecard that showed where you stood last quarter or last year with clients. That’s still necessary, but it’s not enough anymore. The firms pulling ahead are using historical data as a launchpad for forward-looking decisions. Leveraging data and insights to not only monitor performance but also make strategic and intentional moves is creating real competitive differentiation.

Why it matters: If your planning cycle is built entirely around what already happened, you’re always reacting. In a market where backlog numbers are softening and economic signals are mixed, the window to course-correct is getting shorter. Firms that build predictive habits now will have a meaningful advantage over those still waiting for problems to arrive before addressing them.

Action tip: Audit how your leadership team actually uses data in monthly or quarterly reviews. Are you spending more time explaining the past or anticipating the future? Shift the question from “What happened last quarter?” to “What does this suggest about the next 90 days?” That alone will change the conversations you’re having and the decisions you’re making.

2. Build a workforce strategy that anticipates attrition

Hiring is still happening across the industry, but at a lower pace, and firms are facing increased turnover. The firms building real workforce resilience aren’t just focused on headcount; they’re thinking about what happens to the knowledge, relationships, and institutional expertise that walk out the door when someone leaves or retires.

The answer isn’t choosing between hiring or investing in the people you already have. It has to be both—that is, hiring the right people while you invest in and upskill your existing teams. But here’s the piece that often gets missed: Upskilling only works if people have time for it. A project manager already stretched thin on billable hours can’t meaningfully develop new skills on the side.

Why it matters: The generational transition underway in A&E is real. Senior leaders carry client relationships, technical judgment, and institutional memory that can’t be replaced with a job posting. At the same time, younger professionals are moving between firms more frequently than ever, and they’re evaluating whether a firm invests in their growth before they commit to it.

Action tip: Get deliberate about two things. First, identify where your critical institutional knowledge lives and create a structured plan to transfer it. This may include mentorship sessions, documentation, and client introduction sequences while the right people are still there. 

Second, look honestly at your project managers’ utilization targets. If there’s no room in their week for development, your upskilling investment won’t create positive returns.

3. Unlock the efficiency that’s already inside your business

A&E leaders often know that they have inefficiencies in their operations, but they don’t always know how to start to resolve them. The simplest answer is to start with the tools you already have.

Most firms are using a fraction of what their ERP or project and financial management systems can actually do. Automation capabilities, workflow features, and AI-powered functions are sitting there, unused, while teams are still completing manual steps that could be eliminated tomorrow.

Before investing in something new, it’s worth asking whether you’re fully using what you’ve already paid for. And if you’re not, what’s getting in the way?

Why it matters: Margins in A&E are under real pressure right now. Operational efficiency isn’t just about saving time. It translates directly to project profitability. Small process improvements, multiplied across hundreds of projects, add up fast. And in a market where every point of margin matters, firms that systematically eliminate friction have a structural advantage over those still running manual processes.

Action tip: Trace a single billable hour from the moment it’s completed all the way through to client payment. Map every step. You’ll almost always find handoffs that are slower than they need to be, approval steps that create delays, or visibility gaps that cause rework. Ask your project managers and financial teams one simple question: What gets in the way of doing your job well? You’ll get specific, actionable answers, and they’ll almost always map to capabilities your current systems already have.

4. Treat integration during mergers and acquisitions as a discipline, not an event

Consolidation in the A&E industry has been at record levels. Whether your firm is acquiring, being acquired, or navigating a leadership transition, how you manage integration can help you see positive returns more quickly from the acquisition. That that includes your technology strategy.

It is critical that your firm is clear on the purpose of the deal before you prioritize the integration steps. Not every acquisition has the same level of urgency. Sometimes the priority is getting teams onto shared systems quickly. Sometimes culture and belonging have to come first, with technology to follow.

Why it matters: The downstream impact of a poorly managed integration goes beyond systems and processes. It affects the people who were acquired, including their engagement, their confidence in leadership, and their decision to stay. In a challenging talent market, losing the team you just acquired because the acquisition felt like an imposition isn’t just an operational failure—it’s a strategic one.

Action tip: Before your next acquisition closes, align on four questions: What is the primary goal of this deal? What does success look like at 90 days, six months, and one year? Which teams will feel the most disruption? What is the one thing we cannot afford to get wrong? Firms that answer these questions deliberately before a closing, not after, consistently outperform those that start figuring it out once the pressure is on.

5. Use AI where it actually makes an impact

Per the Deltek Clarity A&E Industry Study, AI adoption has jumped significantly in the last year, but adoption alone doesn’t mean AI will have an impact on a given business. The firms evolving from just using AI to improving their businesses with it are asking a specific question: What problem is AI actually solving for us?

Using AI to summarize meeting notes or clean up an email draft is a start. But using it to surface insights from your project data, flag resource conflicts before they become delays, or identify billing inefficiencies is where the operational value starts to compound.

Why it matters: The next 12 to 24 months are going to separate firms that are experimenting with AI from firms that have embedded it into how they manage work. That gap will show up in margins, utilization rates, and how quickly leadership can make informed decisions. Getting ahead of it now while there’s still room to build intentionally is far better than trying to catch up later.

Action tip: Pick one operational pain point that is specific, measurable, and currently manual. Then ask whether AI functionality in your existing tools could address it before looking elsewhere. Most platforms have built significant AI capability into recent releases that firms haven’t explored yet. Start there, measure the impact, and build from a foundation of proven value rather than broad experimentation.

The through line is intentional leadership

A shift in mindset, from reactive to deliberate, connects all five of these areas. The A&E industry has always rewarded firms that do great technical work, but in this market, how you run your firm matters as much as what you design.

The leaders in this industry aren’t waiting for certainty. They’re building the systems, habits, and cultures that let them move confidently even when the path isn’t fully clear. 

To learn more about today’s current trends and how the industry is impacted, download the Deltek Clarity A&E Industry Study or visit Deltek.com.

AIA, its officers, directors, committee members, and employees, acting in their AIA capacity, and AIA’s component organizations, do not sponsor or endorse any enterprise, whether public or private, operated for profit. The use of brand names and/or any mention or listing of specific commercial products or services is solely for educational purposes and does not imply any endorsement or recommendation by AIA. Links to other websites or apps are provided solely for the convenience of the user and do not constitute endorsement or recommendation by AIA. AIA assumes no responsibility for the content or operation of third-party websites, apps, or entities.