Three Conversations Every AEC Leader Should Have in Q1

By Tim Klabunde

The AEC industry runs on relationships, but too many firms start the year the same way they ended the last one: buried in deadlines, reacting to RFPs, and hoping the market will reward good intentions. It rarely does. Q1 is the only quarter where you can still shape the year instead of being dragged behind it.

If you lead an architecture, engineering, or construction firm, here are the three conversations you cannot afford to skip, unless you’re comfortable letting your competitors have them first.

1. The “What’s Really Changing?” Client Conversation

Architects often assume clients want better design. Engineers assume clients want better solutions. Contractors assume clients want better pricing. The truth is simpler: clients want partners who understand what’s changing in their world before they do.

In Q1, pick up the phone and ask your top clients one question: “What’s shifting this year that we need to be ready for?”

You’ll hear about funding delays, political pressures, staffing shortages, new regulations, and internal priorities they haven’t told anyone else yet. That information is gold — and most firms never ask for it.

If you want to be indispensable, start by being curious.

2. The “Are We Actually Aligned?” Internal Conversation

Every AEC firm has a strategic plan. Very few have strategic behavior.

Architects drift toward design excellence. Engineers drift toward technical depth. Contractors drift toward execution. None of that is wrong — but it often means your team is rowing in three different directions while you assume everyone is following the plan.

Q1 is the moment to sit down with your leadership team and ask the uncomfortable questions:

• What are we actually prioritizing?

• What keeps getting delayed?

• Who is carrying too much?

• Who is carrying too little?

• What are we pretending is fine that isn’t?

Alignment doesn’t happen because you had a retreat. It happens because you have the courage to name the gaps.

3. The “Are We Betting on the Right Market?” Reality Conversation

AEC firms love to believe the market will come back around. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn’t. The firms that thrive are the ones that stop guessing.

In Q1, take a hard look at the sectors you’re chasing.

• Architects: Are you still designing for markets that peaked five years ago?

• Engineers: Are you overinvested in sectors with shrinking capital budgets?

• Contractors: Are you chasing work where margins are evaporating?

The market is always talking. Most firms just don’t want to hear what it’s saying.

A candid conversation about market reality now prevents a year of chasing the wrong opportunities later.

The Provocative Truth

If you don’t have these three conversations in Q1, you’re not shaping the year you’re reacting to it.

Take a moment to look at your calendar.
Which of these conversations have you scheduled?
Which ones are you avoiding?

Start with the one that feels the most uncomfortable. That’s the one that will change your year.