The Shortlist

The Short(er) List: Staying Grounded in AEC Marketing

There's always a lot going on in the world of AEC marketing. The deadlines are real, the pressure can build, and somewhere between all of the submittal requirements, check-in meetings, task lists, and marketing production, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the details and lose sight of the bigger picture. In this episode of The Short(er) List, Becky sits down with Grace Takehara for a conversation that has nothing to do with proposal strategy and everything to do with the person behind all that planning. They talk about finding balance (even in the small moments), setting up a home office that actually feels good to sit in, and how to make space to celebrate the wins—without immediately pivoting to the next thing. Whether you're thriving, surviving, or somewhere in the middle, we're got you covered with a conversation that is practical, honest, and committed to sparking joy in your day-to-day—because you deserve it!

What it's Like to Engage with Middle of Six

Have you ever wondered what it’s actually like to work with Middle of Six? In this episode of The Shortlist, Principals Wendy Simmons and Melissa Richey answer one of the most common questions they hear from AEC firms: “How does this even work?” From the first meet-and-greet conversation to onboarding, discovery sessions, project check-ins, and final deliverables, Wendy and Melissa walk through how MO6 plugs into teams to provide strategic marketing and business development support. And in classic MO6 style, they're transparent about the challenges many firms face before bringing on extra support, including back-to-back deadlines, budget constraints, team personalities, and even the fear of letting an outside consultant see behind-the-scenes. Leave those worries behind and hear first-hand how bringing on an outside perspective can add tremendous value to your in-house team.

The Short(er) List: Bluebeam Rumble!

In this episode of The Short(er) List, we're bringing you the software debate event of the century! Becky welcomes guest and sparring partner Katy Byers for knock-out, drag-out, no holds barred throwdown over the best tool for collecting proposal feedback from technical staff. Katy is team Bluebeam. Becky is not. She is very, very not. What follows is a good-natured and delightfully passionate argument about markups, workflows, and whether Bluebeam is a powerful proposal tool or just a PDF editor that engineers love a little bit too much. Becky makes her case for Adobe Share for Review. Katy holds her ground. Neither is backing down without a fight. No proposals were harmed in the making of this episode. Please leave your feedback for the team by highlighting text, adding a comment, or typing out a note in a red squiggly cloud—we're flexible, kind of.

MacGyver Proposal Hacks

Proposal deadlines have a way of testing even the most seasoned AEC marketers. No matter how carefully a pursuit is planned, you never know when you'll have to defuse a ticking time bomb, minutes before the deadline. In this episode of The Shortlist, Wendy Simmons is joined by designers Becky Ellison and Lauren Jane Peterson to discuss the “MacGyver moments” that happen when proposal teams are racing against the clock. From InDesign crashes and corrupt exports to oversized PDFs, emergency printer fixes, and hand-assembled printed proposals, Becky and Lauren Jane share stories from the trenches along with practical troubleshooting tips that can save a submission in the final hour. They also explore strategies for making impossible amounts of content fit on the page, compressing files under strict upload limits, and knowing when to make a sacrifice to the "proposal gods" rather than missing the deadline entirely. If you’re a proposal manager, designer, or marketer who’s ever submitted with seconds to spare, this episode offers equal parts practical advice, camaraderie, and comic relief for surviving the chaos of pursuit work. CPSM CEU Credits: 0.5 | Domain: 4

The Short(er) List: We'll Do it Live!

No notes. No outline. No edits. No regrets. (Okay, maybe a few regrets.) In this episode of The Short(er) List, Becky and Kyle are going live. After deciding on the episode topic approximately four minutes before hitting record, they just ... went for it. The result? An unfiltered, unscripted, and unrehearsed conversation about one of AEC marketing's most quietly complicated relationships: the interplay between graphic designers and content writers. Listen to find out if they pull it off. No safety net and nowhere to hide—just raw, organic, and all-natural AEC marketing talk without the artificial colors, preservatives, or added sugar. Sneezes included.