3 reasons why you should become a member of AEBL.

In 2008, the Professional Services Management Association (PSMA) changed its name to the Association of AE Business Leaders (AEBL). Its membership is comprised of senior managers, principals and owners from design and consulting firms who share business expertise through national and regional CEO Roundtables, Step Up to Leadership seminars, and other information sharing events.

I started attending the AEBL roundtables in San Francisco last spring and have found it to be an amazing resource. The quality of presenters, content, and attendees is consistently top-notch. In fact, I was so impressed that Knowledge Architecture has joined AEBL as an affiliate member.

Here are three reasons why I think you should consider joining the AEBL community:

1) Diversity of attendees at roundtables and workshops

I’ve consistently seen a great mix of CEOs, COOs, CFOs, marketing and human resources directors, project managers, architects and engineers from A|E firms of all sizes at AEBL events. The cross-functional, cross-discipline discussion is what makes the roundtables so compelling. Attending the events are a great way to network with your peers, partners and competition.

Note: IT leaders have been conspicuously absent at these events. If you are an IT leader — I can’t think of a better way for you to start rounding out your general knowledge of the practice than attending AEBL events. If you manage or work with an IT leader — invite them to join you for the next event.

2) Step Up To Leadership

AEBL’s “best practices” business seminar—Step Up to Leadership – is an eight-week program designed for managers, associates, and other professionals to get current with a range of the industry’s best leadership and management practices. I’m currently working my way through the Fall 2009 program in San Francisco. The first two sessions, “Developing a Sustainable Vision” led by Matt Henry, CEO of Fehr & Peers and “Key Operational Metrics: Creating a Culture of Accountability” led by John Cowdry, Senior VP at ICF International were both excellent. 

The balance of the program will include sessions on differentiation, workplace trends, client and project leadership, firm ownership trends, and risk management. You can learn more on the AEBL website. There are still spaces open for the remaining sessions if you are interested in joining us.

3) Management roundtables and executive workshops

In addition to Step up to Leadership, AEBL runs a series of management roundtables and executive workshops through their regional chapters. Some past and upcoming topics include:

• “Marketing is not a Department!”
• “Improving your Project Control Systems”
• “WEST COAST CEO ROUNDTABLE: Mergers & Acquisitions”

Contact Kathryn Sprankle, AEBL’s executive director at kathrynsprankle@aebl.org if you want to be added to the mailing list or learn more about becoming a member.

4) Management roundtable – “Knowledge-driven Architecture: How architects and engineers can transform their practices through knowledge management”

OK, so I confess I have ulterior motives for getting you engaged with AEBL. (Hence the 4th reason.) In addition to supporting AEBL through Knowledge Architecture, I have joined AEBL’s national faculty as a subject matter expert on knowledge management. I’ll be leading a management roundtable in Seattle on October 14th (AEBL’s inaugural Seattle event) and San Francisco on November 4th.

You can attend this roundtable to explore the history and theory of knowledge management, learn simple organizational learning processes which you can implement in your firm, discuss the effectiveness of the most common software platforms in the AE industry, and hear how your peers are using Web 2.0  tools and social media in their firms.

Click here to register or learn more about the “Knowledge-driven Architecture”  management roundtable.

Interested in hosting the “Knowledge-driven Architecture”  management roundtable in your city? Please contact me at cparsons@knowledge-architecture.com.