The Shortlist
Episodes
101 episodes
10 Years of Middle of Six
As The Shortlist celebrates its 100th episode and Middle of Six marks 10 years in business, Wendy Simmons sits down with Melissa Richey, Grace Takehara, Becky Ellison, and producer Kyle Davis to reflect on the moments that made both possible. F...
The Short(er) List: How to Get the Most out of Microsoft
Not every client or firm lives in InDesign. And sometimes, for whatever reason, you're not able to use the Adobe Creative Suite programs, but still have to produce a presentable product. It may not be ideal, but it's going to be okay.In ...
AI in AEC
AI has moved from an experimental playground to an everyday reality, and AEC firms are figuring out how to use it responsibly and effectively. On this episode of The Shortlist, Wendy Simmons, Becky Ellison, and Hana Kaneko explore how ...
The Short(er) List: Better Home Offices
In the era of remote and hybrid work, your home office is either working for you or against you. And if you're reading this from your couch with a laptop balanced on a throw pillow—you might be ready for some improvements to your situation....
The Marketers!
What type of AEC marketer are you? Are you the Eagle Eye, catching every compliance detail? The Octopus, juggling a dozen priorities at once? The Cheerleader, keeping your team motivated? Or maybe the MacGyver; the marketer who always finds a w...
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 over...
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?...
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 propos...
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 Shor...
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, ...
Project Management Tips for the Busy Marketer
Strong project management isn’t just for the construction jobsite—it’s a critical skill for every AEC marketer. In this episode of The Shortlist, Wendy Simmons is joined by Melissa Richey and Lauren Jane Peterson to explore how marketers natura...
The Short(er) List: The 10 Unoriginal Words and Phrases You Should Stop Overusing
On this episode of The Short(er) List, we're leveraging innovative and collaborative solutions to provide comprehensive expertise that's both strategic and sustainable. And we're passionate about it, too.If that introduction sounds both ...
Mural: Sticky Notes but Better
Collaboration is at the heart of how the team at Middle of Six works—and being fully remote means finding tools that keep ideas flowing and groups aligned. In this episode of The Shortlist, MO6ers Kyle Davis and Lauren Jane Peterson share the i...
The Short(er) List: ASMR for AEC Marketers
Close your eyes. Breathe. Relax your shoulders. The RFP document is only five pages long. The Project Manager won't be on vacation during the interview. The entire team agrees on the deadline for content. There is no page limit. No one cares ab...
Failing Forward: Analyzing Losses to Grow from Them
Losing a pursuit is never fun but it can be one of the most valuable opportunities for growth. In this episode of The Shortlist, Wendy Simmons is joined by Melissa Richey and Katy Byers to talk about what it really means to “fail forward” and h...
The Short(er) List: Asking Strategic RFP Questions
Most firms treat RFP questions as a formality—a quick clarification before the real work begins. But what if the questions you ask (and how you ask them) could actually give you the answers you want? In this episode of The Short(er)...
RFP Roast
In the AEC industry, RFPs and RFQs are a fact of life—but that doesn’t mean we can’t vent about the quirks that make RFPs unnecessarily challenging. From overly detailed questions squeezed into tight page limits to unclear addenda, Monday due d...
The Short(er) List: Adobe Share for Review
In this episode, Becky and Melissa spotlight one of the most underrated gems in the proposal world: Adobe Share for Review—the live-PDF reviewing tool that keeps your team organized without derailing your sanity. Between enthusiastic SFR praise...
Business Development for Everyone
Business development (BD) can feel like a job reserved for firm leaders or dedicated rainmakers, but in reality, it touches everyone in the AEC industry. In this conversation, Wendy Simmons sits down with Middle of Six Senior Marketing Strategi...
The Short(er) List: Oops! All AI
For this hilarious episode of The Short(er) List, we let AI take the driver’s seat. We had it write the script, so we figured—why stop there? Here is the episode summary, pasted straight from the robot:Here you go — a fun, friendly, slig...
Getting a Grip on Your Business (or Department) with Traction
What does it take to run a successful business? In this episode of The Shortlist, Wendy Simmons and Melissa Richey unpack one of their most-referenced books: Traction by Gino Wickman.They explore how the Entrepreneurial Operating System ...
The Short(er) List: InDesign Books
In this delightfully chaotic, laugh-filled bonus episode of The Short(er) List, we dive deeper into a hot topic in proposal document creation: InDesign Books. Designers Becky Ellison and Lauren Jane Peterson unpack when and why to use them, sha...
Anniversary Campaigns
Are you ready to celebrate? A well-executed anniversary campaign isn't just about looking back, it's about celebrating your success and reinforcing your relevance in the present. In this episode of The Shortlist, Wendy Simmons, Lauren Jane Pete...
The Short(er) List: Welcome to the Short(er) List!
Welcome to the very first minisode of The Short(er) List, our new spinoff series where Shortlist favorite Becky Ellison takes all the too‑silly, too‑real, too-extra conversations that don’t fit in the regular Shortlist episodes, and se...
InDesign Rumble, Part 2
Season 5 of The Shortlist kicks off with a fan-favorite: InDesign Rumble (Part 2). Wendy Simmons, Becky Ellison, and Lauren Jane Peterson continue their spirited conversation on how AEC marketers actually use Adobe InDesign, workarounds and all...