For nearly ten years now we have submitted our revenue data to the nationally-distributed magazine Engineering-News-Record (ENR) [a McGraw-Hill publication] in the hope and anticipation that one day we would make their Top 100 U.S. CM Firms-for Fee List. Yes, it was a real stretch in the early years but that's what dreams are made of. Each year we could only get a glimpse of how much we fell short of making the list. Some years we were catching up and some years we were slipping back. No doubt there were the doubting-Thomas' among us who just figured Papa Joe was losing it sooner than later. There were others who thought otherwise or at least offered a "whatever". Like "the little engine that could" year in and year out every January in went the submittal with all the data and other information and year in and year out every June came the news – not this year.

Well guess what? Wonders will never cease! Like "the little engine that could" we got to the top of that mountain. We finally made it. Best of all, we not only made the Top 100 List for 2008 but we hit Number 100 on the nose. Everyone will notice that! Of course there is a big spread in revenue and firm size between the top and the bottom but no matter– we succeeded. Bechtel, #1 on the List, for example, had 310 times our revenue, Harris, a direct competitor, had 6.25 times our revenue. I counted at least eight other firms on the list that we also regularly compete with.
    Written by Joe Covello