by Pat Sweet | Aug 6, 2012 | Article, Professional Development
I had a chat with my engineering manager the other day about a problem we were having with a component we had specified for a project. We were chatting about all the options we had on the table, and at the end of that list we added “Do Nothing”. Today, I want to talk about the “Do Nothing” option, and what the difference is between the decision to do nothing and doing nothing because “that’s just the way things are”.
*** Doing Nothing
My guess is that most of my readers would think that this topic is a bit strange. Most people on this blog are probably go-getters – people who like make things happen. You probably value bold action and taking risks. That’s awesome. I like to think of myself as the same kind of person. I believe that one of the most powerful things a young engineer can do to show their abilities as a leader is to take action.
All that being said, there’s an option that many of us ignore when trying to solve a problem: doing nothing.
*** The Engineer’s Dilemma
Engineers face tough problems every day. We’re paid to come up with innovative solutions to technical problems. That’s what gets us up in the morning and keeps us going throughout the day. We ask tend to be perfectionists. After all, during school, there was always a “right” answer to the quantitative questions we were given in assignments and tests. We carry that notion of there always being a right answer with us to work after we graduate. This, I would argue, is what fuels the engineer’s dilemma.
The engineer’s dilemma, as I see it, is that we work in a world where no solution is perfect, yet we are driven to find perfect solutions. This is why engineers don’t like “doing nothing”. Invariably, the current solution to any given problem has some holes in it. It’s not perfect. And that makes an engineer’s skin crawl.
by Pat Sweet | Jul 27, 2012 | Article, Productivity
Today, I want to share with you how to prepare for site work. When you’re ready for it, site work affords a young engineer huge growth opportunities. Showing up to site unprepared, though, is bound to be a pretty miserable time.
Site work is a critically important aspect of any young engineer’s development. There’s no better way to learn a system, product, or service than through seeing it in action. This goes for major construction projects to supporting mass production of a product, to software development and everything in between. Not only do you learn a lot from seeing the fruits of your labour, it’s actually better for your overall job satisfaction. Site work is still what I consider to be the best part of my job.
I consider site work (or field work) to be anything that takes you away from your desk, and isn’t strictly a business meeting. If you’re out on a construction site, touring a manufacturing facility, installing software on a client’s server, surveying, et cetera, I think of that as field work.
* Why You Need to Prepare
It’s critical that you prepare before you head out the back door of your office for site. Not being prepared can lead to any number of awkward situations that basically lead to you not being able to get the job done. This is bad. Especially if you work in an environment where you charge your time and mileage for travel. You don’t want to be that engineer who spends time and money to not get things done.
* How to Prepare for Site Work
When I’m asked to conduct some kind of site work, I try to make sure I understand a few key things:
-What exactly needs to be done?
– How do I do what I need to do?
– Who are the key players?
– What’s the big picture?
– Let me take each of these one at a time and flesh them out a little bit more…
* What exactly needs to be done?
You need to be able to succinctly explain what exactly you’re doing. Why are you going to site? Are you collecting data? Are you supervising a crew? What are the expectations for this trip. You need to know exactly what you’re being asked to do, and what you’re supposed to bring back from your trip. A good way to drill down to get an answer for this question is to ask what deliverables you’re responsible for, and in what format they’re required.
by Pat Sweet | Jul 24, 2012 | Article, Careers, Professional Development
Okay, so that title might be a little bit misleading. I don’t like screwing up. Nobody does. More accurately, I know it’s inevitable that I’m going to screw up (i.e. I’m just a normal dude), and that there’s huge opportunity for growth when I do.
I decided to write this post today because – you guessed it – I screwed up at work today! Actually, not just today, but most of last week, too. It was all basically an exercise in what not to do when you do what I do. But the fact of the matter is, all people, and all leaders make mistakes. My hope is that writing about it will:
– help me piece together why I messed up;
– and to help you avoid making my mistakes; and,
– share my strategies for turning a mistake into an opportunity.
So what happened?
Nothing serious, actually. I was putting together a standard engineering document, and when I handed it in to be reviewed, there were a myriad of typos, clerical and engineering errors, and general ugliness. I had to re-hand it in something like three times. In short, it was pretty embarrassing. This was exacerbated by the fact that the guy reviewing my work was a mentor and someone I really look up to.
Bummer.
Why Did I Make So Many Mistakes?
Looking back, I think there were a few things at play that lead to my less-than-awesome work. For one, I wasn’t all that excited about the work I was doing. Like I said, it was pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. Besides that, I was under pretty tight timelines to get this thing done and handed in. Now, let me make it clear, those aren’t the reasons I made the mistakes. These factors lead to my not giving the task at hand my complete and undivided attention. That is what lead to my mistakes. Looking on the last few days, I can say with confidence that that was my issue.
by Pat Sweet | Jul 20, 2012 | Article, Professional Development
Engineers get systems. We get the whole idea behind feeding a system or a process information, material, energy, whatever, and getting some kind of desired output. That’s how machines work. That’s how circuits work. That’s how software works. Given this understanding, we also grasp the fact that if you feed your system garbage, you get garbage out.
Given all this, it perplexes me that engineers are so bad at asking questions. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m pretty sure most of us either struggle with formulating a pithy question, or have to struggle with co-workers who do. Isn’t asking a question and getting an answer at the end just a system? The question is the input, the answer is the output, and someone’s brain is the system that makes the conversion.
Today, I want to talk about how to ask a question such that the person being asked gets it, and gives you the information you need.
by Pat Sweet | Jul 18, 2012 | Article, Professional Development
The Importance of Mentorship Mentorship is an incredible means by which any young engineer can grow. It’s an invaluable component to developing both hard technical skills as well as soft business skills. A strong mentor can help you in three key ways. They act...
