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P R E S I D E N T ’ S R E P O R T

As I reported in my Chairman’s welcome, 2017 was a year that ended with a bang, and the press
of work has extended into the first quarter of 2018- we are experiencing our strongest first quarter
in several years. A list of top ten revenue producers from FY17 give some insight into the projects
that kept us so busy from May to September:

J. Sterling Morton High School District 201
Cicero Elementary School District 99

Wheaton College
US Army Corps of Engineers Savanah District

Wheeling Park District

City of St Peters
Effingham Police Department

River Trails School District 26

Wentzville Fire Protection District
Lombard Park District

Getting this work done required hiring some new people. In fact, during the period from January
1 , 2017 to January 1 , 2018, we hired 20 new employees. All this new talent provides a challenge
st
st
and an opportunity. The challenge to all of us is to maintain the vast store of institutional
knowledge we’ve accumulated in order to maintain high standards of quality. New employees,
however, provide an opportunity to correct the inverted “pyramid” of junior to senior staff we’ve
observed recently as well as an opportunity for professional progress for existing staff. The
eagerness and enthusiasm of younger staff provides a shot of adrenaline to everyone and new
mid-level employees bring diverse experience and ideas.
In a recent Tiny Pulse Survey, a disappointing 33% of those surveyed responded management did
not set clear company goals- and many of those who responded negatively seemed to think our
only company goal was to be more profitable. Obviously, we need to improve our
communication of FGM’s long term goals. Particularly, when you consider about 25% of our
current staff was not working for FGM in 2015/16, during our last Strategic Planning effort, when we
articulated long term goals for 2020. So, to begin with- here they are:

We’ll know if we’re successful in achieving our Overarching Goals if by 2020 we:

• have a fully empowered next generation ready to lead the firm with confidence
and skill
• are recognized and sought after as experts and thought leaders in our practice
areas
• are recognized as a best place to work
• earn at least 30% of our net revenue from our new strategies
• earn at least 20% of our net revenue from outside of Illinois
• earn $20M net revenue by 2020