services
practice management + operational insights
The worlds of design and construction are in a perennial state of change. New tools and technologies come online every day to manage the complexity of our built world. All firms, whether large or small, feel the benefits of excellence in operations. Clough + Advisory can help you align the operational side of your business for maximum effectiveness, bringing clarity — and often-needed sanity — to shape your most successful future.
Recent success stories include:
Building finance teams to be effective, well-integrated drivers of varied firms including the U.S. office of an internationally recognized architecture leader with 700-plus employees.
Guiding strategy and risk management for a large European firm currently expanding into the North American market, including consultation on legal, real estate, and commercial terms, as well as firm organization, staffing and recruitment.
Consulting to and coaching senior staff of an established East Coast practice to pursue higher fees, stronger engineering collaborators, and more aggressive financial goals to better align with their competition.
transition: leadership, ownership + talent
Architecture and engineering firms face challenges of staff retention, training and mentoring. As firms mature, questions inevitably arise around firm culture and leadership, ownership structures and — eventually — transitions to new firm leaders. Opportunities for merging or acquiring complementary practices may benefit business planning, too. Clough + Advisory helps firms to assess their in-house talent, diagnose unmet needs, and establish the best path forward. We’re also experts in firm legal structures, ownership transition planning, and firm mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Recent assignments have included:
Advising on staff transitions and new legal ownership structures for various firm types, including for a well-established architecture practice marking its 65th year.
Executive coaching and strategic guidance to new partners at multiple U.S.-based firms, large and small, with a specific focus on business development and strengthening client relationships.
Growing small marketing offices into highly effective teams, including for a multinational engineering firm growing to a 14-person cohort with coverage in six different regional markets.
firm culture, identity + key clients
In the highly competitive world of design and construction, successful firms build on a valuable, coherent set of strategies to guide all decisions for acquiring new projects. Alignment with core values and mission is key — and careful consideration of sector and geography are essential. Clough+ provides sound advisory services on growth, strategy, and diversification, and we can help you develop a robust approach to new projects and client relationships.
Recent assignments have included:
Building key client contacts for a European architecture firm with 600-plus professionals undergoing a significant global expansion.
Setting strategic direction for firm identity and culture, including for an evolving practice founded by a Pritzker Prize-winning architect firm with a global presence.
Consulting on business development and strategic teaming for clients pursuing major international projects in Europe, Korea, the Middle East, India, and North America.