Harvard Business Review should do a Case-Study on the rise and fall of APTIM
Pros
This company is about its people... people who perform the services. The people and their expertise are amazing. That is the rank-in-file technicians, craft, and engineers, etc. Not the Upper Management.
Cons
An extra layer of EVPs, VPs, and Presidents ("AECOM of the South") were brought on with $300K+ salaries and had zero idea about the house that Jim Barnhardt built. Chaos ensued and millions were spent with high dollar consultants defining "strategy" and building "marketing trees". Inevitably, long-standing employees who provide the necessary resources to win new contracts were laid off in 3 separate RIFS over six months span. Add to that a Cult-like organizational platform called The Collaborative Way (TCW) was implemented, costing millions, lining the pockets of its leader. (Seriously. Not making this up.) Marketing sends TCW company-wide videos mimicking what we all should have learned in preschool but nary a commercial contract has been won >$100 million. So much for that expensive Marketing/Proposal department. Sad ending as people expected so much more at launch.
