I’ve spent a lot of time interviewing AEC firm leaders lately. Some are running relatively small boutique firms. Others are leading organizations with thousands of employees and billions of dollars in revenue. Their markets, structures, and growth strategies differ significantly, but when I ask what they want from marketing, I keep hearing the same things.

I’ve spent a lot of time in pitch rehearsals lately. And there is a moment that happens in almost every one of them. We have done the strategy work. We know what the client cares about. We know where the competition is strong. We know what our team has to prove.

I am in a strange season of life right now. At the time I am writing this, my son will be moving out of our house to go to college in less than two weeks.

Many of you know by now that I wrote a book. I wrote it because I believe there is a systemic issue in the AEC industry that we need to resolve if we want marketing to become more effective, more respected, and more connected to growth.

AEC marketing has a funny way of making smart people feel like they are constantly behind.

There are a few moments in life that quietly remind you that the world is changing whether you’re ready or not.

If you have been in the AEC industry long enough, you start to recognize the rhythm of the year.

I’ve started to write a book more times than I can count. Every few years, I would open a blank document and think, “This is it.”

It’s January. That means the calendars are wiped clean, the KPIs are freshly minted, and somewhere, your principals are saying the same thing they say every year:

If you’ve been anywhere near my house lately, you’ve heard Mariah Carey on loop. It’s December 2025, and my son—now a high school senior—is rehearsing for his final holiday show at the dance studio he’s been part of since he was six. It’s tradition that they close every show with that song. And this year, it’s hitting differently.