AEC Websites that Recruit and Retain Talent

AEC Websites that Recruit and Retain Talent

Sites Featured in Presentation or Admired

Architecture or Landscape
https://www.sasaki.com/
https://www.som.com/
https://coarchitects.com/
https://www.rios.com/
https://hga.com/
https://populous.com/
https://www.kpf.com/
https://www.bsbdesign.com/
https://waremalcomb.com/
https://raptstudio.com/
https://www.bnim.com/
https://www.seradesign.com/
https://mithun.com/
https://www.hdrinc.com/

Engineering or Environmental
https://www.arup.com/
https://ascent.inc/
https://www.stantec.com/en
https://ascent.inc/
https://www.arcadis.com/
https://www.wsp.com
https://www.burnsmcd.com/
https://www.burohappold.com/
http://www.aecom.com
https://www.umci.com/
https://psomas.com/
https://www.rmconsult.com/
https://www.stantec.com/en

Contracting
https://www.bergelectric.com/
https://www.sellen.com/
https://www.dpr.com/
https://www.pcl.com/
https://www.scbuildersinc.com/

 


Slide Deck Presentation

View, or download from Slideshare

 


Presentation Colophon
Hardware: Apple Macbook Pro, Keyspan PR-EZ1 wireless presenter
Software: Apple Keynote using dissolve, cube, and magic move transitions
Typography: Adobe Garamond Pro and Trade Gothic from Adobe Fonts

AEC Websites That Win Work

AEC Websites That Win Work

Sites Featured in Presentation or Admired

Architecture or Landscape
https://www.sasaki.com/
https://www.som.com/
https://coarchitects.com/
https://www.rios.com/
https://hga.com/
https://populous.com/
https://www.kpf.com/
https://www.bsbdesign.com/
https://waremalcomb.com/
https://raptstudio.com/
https://www.bnim.com/
https://www.seradesign.com/

Engineering or Environmental
https://www.arup.com/
https://www.stantec.com/en
https://ascent.inc/
https://www.arcadis.com/
https://www.wsp.com
https://www.burnsmcd.com/
https://www.burohappold.com/
http://www.aecom.com
https://www.umci.com/

Contracting
https://www.bergelectric.com/
https://www.sellen.com/
https://www.dpr.com/
https://www.pcl.com/

 

 


Slide Deck Presentation

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PDF Handout with story outline template
Click here to download
Story outline template


Presentation Colophon
Hardware: Apple Macbook Pro, Keyspan PR-EZ1 wireless presenter
Software: Apple Keynote using dissolve, cube, and magic move transitions
Typography: Adobe Garamond Pro and Trade Gothic from Adobe Fonts

3 Stories AEC Marketers Must Master

3 Stories AEC Marketers Must Master

Resources for SMPS Amplify 2024 Attendees

Books on Story
Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
What Great Salespeople Do by Bosworth and Zoldan
Tell To Win by Peter Guber
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink
Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath
Resonate by Nancy Duarte
The Story Factor by Annette Simmons
Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull (Pixar Founder)


TED Talks on Story
How Great Leaders Inspire Action (start with why) by Simon Sinek
Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown
The Clues to a Great Story by Andrew Stanton (Pixar)
The Power of Storytelling to Change the World by Dave Lieber
The Power of Story by David Lecours


Storytelling Inspiration
TED.com
Pecha-Kucha.org
StoryCorps.org
Toastmasters.org
ThisAmericanLife.org
TheMoth.org
RadioLab.org
One-Story.com
Serial Podcast
99percentinvisible.org
Get Mortified


Slide Deck from David’s SMPS Amplify 2024 Salt Lake City Presentation

 


PDF Handout with story outline template
Click here to download
Story outline template


Presentation Colophon
Hardware: Apple Macbook Pro, Keyspan PR-EZ1 wireless presenter
Software: Apple Keynote using dissolve, cube, and magic move transitions
Typography: Adobe Garamond Pro and Trade Gothic from Adobe Fonts

Culture Design for HRC

Culture Design for HRC

This presentation was delivered at SMPS Heartland Regional Conference in April 2024 in Indianapolis, IN.

Presentation Description
Culture isn’t something you have, it’s something you do. Join David Lecours, brand, and culture expert, to learn why Marketing needs to design your firm’s culture. Hint: attracting great clients and talent is just the beginning. Then, David will share how to proactively design a flourishing culture. This will include best practices of A/E/C firms using culture as a compelling differentiator. As Peter Drucker said, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” YUM!

Culture
What is it?
Why does it matter?
Who (in your firm) owns it?

How to Design a Magnetic Culture
Values
Benefits
Language
Stories
Rituals
Artifacts

Slide Deck
View or download from Slideshare

Digital Culture Tools
Donut – Slack integration for team building and
Bonusly – peer-to-peer recognition and spot bonuses in a public feed
Movespring – a fitness tracker program for firm wellness

Books on Culture
The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
Culture Built My Brand by Mark Miller & Ted Vaughn
Art’s Principles by Arthur Gensler
Remote by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull

Books on Story
What Great Salespeople Do: The Science of Selling Through Emotional Connection and the Power of Story by Mike Bosworth, Ben Zoldan
Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell the Best Stories Will Rule the Future by Jonah Sachs
The Story Factor by Annette Simmons
Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story by Peter Guber
resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences by Nancy Duarte
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Dan and Chip Heath
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Dan Pink

Slide Deck Colophon
Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch M1
Presented using Apple Keynote software
Typography: Adobe Garamond Pro and Trade Gothic Next LT Pro
Royalty-Free Photography: Pexels.com
Wireless Slide Advancer: Keyspan Easy Presenter PR-EZ1

Thank You
All the volunteers for SMPS-HRC 2024
Emily Castillo at LecoursDesign
Gerry Jue at BAMO
Carrol Conway at Hoerr Schaudt
Tim Stone and Keith Kelly at Kelly & Stone Architects
Evan Ross at WSP
Nicole La at Teecom
Andrea Story at R&M
Beth Shimogawa at Coffman
Christy Ryan and Curtis Alling at Ascent
Grant Kirkpatrick, Duan Tran, and Joyce Lopez at KAA

Your Email Signature Matters to Millions

Your Email Signature Matters to Millions

You probably don’t think of your email signature as a valuable brand asset. But you should, and here’s why.

According to the Email Stats Report by the Radicati Group, the average employee sends:
36 emails per day = 10,000 emails sent per year

If your firm has 100 employees, that’s 1 million annual brand impressions. Not just random impressions, your emails arrive targeted to clients, vendors, teaming partners, and potential employees.

Consider improving email signatures across your firm beyond an obligatory formality. Email signatures are the most prolific brand touchpoint you own.

To help you, I’ll identify common email signature mistakes. Then, I’ll share how to create a powerful email signature that enhances your firm’s reputation.

Common Email Signature Mistakes

1) Inconsistency
Email signatures aren’t the place for personal expression. You don’t allow each employee to craft their own version of your logo, so don’t allow it with email signatures. All your brand touchpoints should speak in a consistent, professional voice.

Avoid a variety of fonts (unless you are writing a ransom letter)
Avoid too many colors (we love rainbows too, but not in emails)
Avoid too much variety in size, bold, and italic (if you emphasize everything, then nothing stands out)

2) Images
Avoid including company logos, social media icons, project photos, and charity logos. Images in email signatures can flag your email as “spam,” sending it directly to the Junk folder. Plus, it is annoyingly difficult for email recipients to decipher your intended attachment files from your email signature image attachments.

3) Including Your Email Address
If someone receives an email from you, by default, they now have your email address. Including it in your email signature is redundant. If they want to reply to your email, guess what, they will hit “reply” within their email software.

4) Inspiration Quotes or Sacred Spiritual Passages
Don’t impose your personal beliefs in a professional setting.

5) Legal Disclaimers
You know the ones, similar to seen on faxes circa 1989, stating “this email is only intended for the recipient…blah, blah, blah” Since these have become so banal, nobody reads them. As a result, they become ineffective within a legal setting.

 

How To Create Your Firm’s Email Signature

Be respectful of your reader’s time and visual landscape by making your email signature as concise as possible.

What you might include:
Your Name
Your Pronouns
Title (only if informative and consistent with your firm’s culture)
Firm Name
Phone Number
Website URL (only if different from your name@URL.com)
One Variable Link That Changes Monthly (recent blog post, project case study, speech, or primary social media channel)

Here is my email signature:

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
David W. Lecours
Principal | LecoursDesign
phone 760.500.8818
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Recently Designed Website:
psomas.com
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

I recommend using grey, or a quiet color, to distinguish between the email signature and the body of the email. I also use the dotted lines to separate the signature from the body.

Use only keyboard elements, not images, to create typographic rules within your email signature. Typography rules, aka borders, can be created by repeating glyphs like these:
+ + + + + + + + +
>>>>>>>>>
///////////////
^^^^^^^^^
* * * * * * * * *
= = = = = = =
o o o o o o
. . . . . . . . .

For consistency across your firm, create a master template of your new email signature. Then copy and paste it into an email sent to your IT department, or each employee, for implementation. Obviously, each employee should replace your individual contact information with their own.

More more detail on How To Create an Email Signature, check out our coding partner Noble Intent’s post here.

Your Reputation is at Stake

Your firm’s reputation is the sum of all experiences a person has with your brand. Since email signatures make millions of impressions, show that you care about your reader with a simple, consistent and well crafted email signature.

True, email signatures aren’t your most glamorous brand touchpoint. But, as Orrin Woodward says, “Success is the exponential effect of little things done consistently over time.” (Just don’t use this inspirational quote in your email signature.)

* A / E / C = Architecture, Engineering, & Construction (but you already knew that)
© LecoursDesign 2023