Five good reasons

Jul 30, 2018

Come to the 2018 Hot Firm + A/E Industry Awards Conference in Dallas this September 20-21, and bring your colleagues with you!

People are understandably reluctant to leave the office and their clients to attend a conference, something that may at worst seem a waste of time, and at best, just another annoyance. But each year, those who attend Zweig Group’s Hot Firm + A/E Industry Awards Conference give us feedback that’s more enthusiastic than it was the year before, and return home to their firms with fresh ideas, new friends, and renewed motivation to innovate and grow.

While it is tempting to believe that all we need is right there on our phones and computers, the reality is that Hot Firm 2018 will have a value that can only be delivered by a live, face-to-face event.

  1. An educational experience. Zweig Group has been creating, delivering, expanding, and evolving the most valuable and relevant educational content focused on the AEC industry for decades. And during Hot Firm, it all comes together at the right time and the right environment. The industry’s best practices, sector experts and opinion leaders, innovative learning tools in a more conducive and stimulating environment – we’ve developed an educational program that promises to surpass all others. Some of the featured speakers include Christopher Parsons with Knowledge Architects, and Jay Steinfeld, the CEO and founder of Blinds.com. This year we’re hosting a pre-conference workshop on Wednesday, September 19, about Building a Personal Brand with special guest speaker Steve Thomas, of This Old House fame, and Zweig Group Principal and Marketing Director Christina Zweig Niehues. The break-out and small-group sessions will include a panel on alternatives to ownership transition, innovative technology applications, and developing your social media skills, just to name a few. Of course, the formal agenda reflects only a portion of the education that occurs at Hot Firm. Opportunities to learn from one another abound throughout the course of the event.
  2. A networking experience. Indeed, there is nothing more valuable than human connections, and this conference is all about meeting people, interacting with, learning from, and sharing what we know with our peers. Over the 20 years of its existence, Hot Firm has refined the perfect mix of structure and spontaneity, work and play. The 2018 agenda has never been richer in content, but it’s equally conducive to the social intermingling that reminds us that we aren’t alone in this industry or on this earth, but rather exist to live, work, and co-create with others. New to this year’s event is the option to purchase a VIP Table for Eight. What better way to network than alongside co-workers who have contributed to your success?
  3. A business-building experience. Despite all the talk about disruption and innovation, it is easier than ever to be mired in the status quo. That all changes at Hot Firm, where attendees are exposed to the strategies and tactics that have led to the extraordinary success of conference award-winners across all categories of marketing, culture, and business growth. In addition to the unique opportunity to glean from the industry’s best, attendees are introduced to new resources, tools, suppliers and vendors that can transform and stimulate growth in profitability and client satisfaction.
  4. A fun experience. All work and no play makes the AEC industry a dull place! Dallas abounds with opportunities for first-class sports and entertainment, such as our VIP Concierge Guest Program. Or save your seat on the party bus Friday to our pre-awards outing at Top Golf. Along with lots of serious topics to be tackled, Hot Firm is a great party. It’s remarkable how good food and drink not only elevates the mood – which we all need once in a while just for its own sake – but opens us up to new ways to elevate our business.
  5. A peak experience. Abraham Maslow and other psychologists characterize these “moments of highest fulfillment and self-actualization” as the most important events in our lives, and Hot Firm aspires to nothing less. When we step back and consider all the contributions the AEC industry has made to the quality of human life on the planet, we at Zweig Group embrace our responsibility to reflect that meaning in powerful words, images and experiences. Hot Firm will launch a series of new initiatives designed to elevate the stature and image of this fabulous industry; a campaign that not only informs and communicates, but also inspires and motivates. It has never been a better or more exhilarating time for our profession, and we pledge to use our unique standing as the industry’s leading educational resource to deliver an experience of integration and joy.

Find out all the details regarding this year’s Hot Firm + A/E Industry Awards Conference here.

Melissa Swann is the events manager at Zweig Group. She can be reached at mswann@zweiggroup.com.

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About Zweig Group

Zweig Group, three times on the Inc. 500/5000 list, is the industry leader and premiere authority in AEC firm management and marketing, the go-to source for data and research, and the leading provider of customized learning and training. Zweig Group exists to help AEC firms succeed in a complicated and challenging marketplace through services that include: Mergers & Acquisitions, Strategic Planning, Valuation, Executive Search, Board of Director Services, Ownership Transition, Marketing & Branding, and Business Development Training. The firm has offices in Dallas and Fayetteville, Arkansas.