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TCEP 173: How to Build a Vision-Driven Civil Engineering Company

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vision-driven civil engineering companyIn this episode of The Civil Engineering Podcast, that is part of our Civil Engineering Entrepreneurs series, I talk to Rene Portieles II, P.E., the Chief Executive Officer of Epic Forensics & Engineering, Inc. about his journey of starting an engineering company and how today, they are building a vision-driven civil engineering company around one very important theme. Stick around until the end to hear some of the great advice Rene gives, not just to grow a company, but also to grow as an engineering professional.

Engineering Quotes:

vision-driven civil engineering company


Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Rene:

  • Tell us more about your family history, and history in contracting and how that has been valuable in what you are doing today?
  • What is forensic engineering?
  • What does a mission/vision statement mean to you in terms of growing a civil engineering firm, and how do you utilize it at Epic Forensics & Engineering?
  • How do you share your mission/vision with the company?
  • How big is Epic Forensics & Engineering?
  • What are some of the typical problems you see in engineering firms when they are trying to grow or scale a company?
  • How do you find, develop, and retain the right people in your firm?
  • What advice can you give civil engineers out there who are trying to grow their companies?

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Building a Vision-Driven Civil Engineering Company:

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TCEP 172: Intelligent Infrastructure: A New Vision for Civil Engineering Professionals

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Intelligent InfrastructureIn this episode, I talk to Dr. Luna Lu Ph.D., the ACPA Professor and Director of the Center for Intelligent Infrastructure at Purdue University, about intelligent infrastructure and how it can benefit civil engineers and the community.

Engineering Quotes:

Intelligent Infrastructure

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Dr. Luna Lu Ph.D.:

  • Can you please provide us with an update on the condition of the U.S. infrastructure from your perspective?
  • Please tell us more about the discovery of functional nanomaterials with tunable properties for energy harvesting and infrastructure sensing applications, and what intelligent infrastructure is?
  • How would you say one can achieve intelligence?
  • What is the overall goal you would like to achieve with the research on sensors that could speed up construction schedules?
  • In your article in The Exponent called “Building the way to a smart future,” it mentions that smart infrastructure aims to create roadways and bridges that can communicate with cars and collect data. How will that work?
  • Can you share with our listeners some of the other exciting projects you are currently working on?

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Intelligent Infrastructure:

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TCEP 168: The Importance of Having a Vision-Driven Company (and Developing Your People)

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Vision-Driven CompanyIn this episode, the third in our Civil Engineering Entrepreneurs series, I talk to Jenny Snape, P.E., Managing Partner at Batture, LLC about building a vision-driven company with a social mission that does both profit and pro-bono work.

Engineering Quotes:

Vision-Driven Company

Vision-Driven Company

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Jenny:

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3 Reasons You Must Set Your Vision Before Setting Your Professional Goals

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vision

Anthony and I are both proponents of goal setting.  We’ll each tell you that if you’re unsure of what action to take next, don’t do anything until you’ve re-focused your goals.  Why?  Goals serve as a target against which we can take aim and focus our energies.  As an engineer, setting goals must become second nature.

Because you’re in the profession of bringing goals into reality.

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TECC 90: Vision Setting and Blueprinting for Long-Range Vector Setting for Engineers

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Vector Setting for Engineers

In this episode, Chris Knutson and I dive into long-term goal setting or vector setting for engineers and give you some actionable steps on how to do it.

Vector Setting for Engineers

Key points:

The best way to shape the future of your engineering career is to design it.  Here is a summary of this episode which can help you to design your ideal career.

A vision is a statement of what future success looks like and is not tied to a timeframe (the question of why).

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Vision, Vista, and Volume: A Better Approach to Thinking About Success

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Discussions about achieving success are typically approached in one dimension.  We talk about vision, breadth of experience and work/life balance in stovepipe segments as if one doesn’t influence the other.  Much of the blogging and books on success I’ve read follow this track.  They touch on the three dimensions, but only on that dimension.   The truth is, however, that success we realize in any undertaking comes about only through our actions in three dimensions.  A better approach to thinking about success takes into account our own vision, our vista (breadth of experience) and volume (depth we give to each undertaking).

Working on any one dimension is good but it leaves value on the table.  We don’t get the benefit of identifying the interrelations, or lack of them, between, the dimensions.  For example, let’s say your vision for success in life includes ‘providing guidance to others and using my engineering skills to help my community’.  If your breadth of experience includes prior leadership roles and the knowledge of the engineering challenges and opportunities at the community level, then your vision and vista align.  On the other hand, if you’ve never been in a leadership role and therefore lack experience on how to guide others, then your vision and vista are out of alignment.  You’ll need to identify an opportunity where you can fill the gap on leadership to develop your skill in guiding others. [Read more…] about Vision, Vista, and Volume: A Better Approach to Thinking About Success

Learning to Lead and Succeed with ‘SFA’: Success From Anywhere

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This is a guest post by Peter C. Atherton, P.E.

SuccessCOVID forced “work from home.” Then evolved the idea of “work from anywhere” – whether that be home, a local café, or other workspace.

As we work through the sometimes half-hearted attempts to bring our employees back to the office, the organizational development and talent attraction and retention idea that I believe will stick is “SFA” – success from anywhere.

Success From Anywhere

What is SFA, and how can we make this work, especially among “back to the past” forces within us that have very likely already cost us in terms of missed opportunity and preparedness for our inevitable future state?

Let’s leave the resistance to SFA aside for a moment (or at least until the link at the bottom of this article) because even the skeptics and the naysayers recognize the competitive disadvantages of not offering some type of work flexibility in this employee-driven market — hence the half-hearted and tempered calls for a full return to the office.

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Civil Engineers Are in High in Demand

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I am a member of the social networking site “Nextdoor” (I call it a nosy neighbor site). I joined for the COVID updates and to volunteer my superpowers as a relatively young, low-COVID-risk person. But I stayed for the complete insanity that is village gossip. I was a little shocked to get a notification from my county saying “Civil Engineers!!! We need you!” I clicked on the post and it sounded a little desperate. It seems my county doesn’t mind what stage of your career you are in, what area of civil engineering you are in, or even if you get your job ads from a site used primarily to discuss whose dog is barking at what time.

In the same week, I got an email from a city not too far from me, where I had unsuccessfully applied for a job in 2016, asking me if I would like to apply for a job again. They provided a link to the job they were thinking about, but stressed that if anything else caught my eye I should apply for that too.

The following week I got two messages on LinkedIn from recruiters about civil engineering jobs, located about two hours away, that they thought I might like to apply for.

Now is a good time to point out that while I have worked as a civil engineer before, until now I have never been recruited as one. There is a convincing argument that when you get a Ph.D., you will no longer be a good engineer. Clearly this is an oversimplification, and an enjoyable discussion can be had on this. But I would say that I can’t think of a person I know, or know of (other than me), who has done graduate-level research and then gone into an EIT or P.E. role exclusively. So it should make sense when I tell you that previously, all the messages I got recruiting me to apply for a job were for jobs in R&D, teaching and talking about research, or in one fun case setting up experiments for a TV show. But not civil engineering jobs. As such, these latest recruiting messages conjured up visions of a barrel and an entire HR department reaching as far as they can to the base.

So what’s happening and should we be worried? Well, lots, and yes, always.

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How to Delegate Like a Pro

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Look — delegating is hard. Let’s just be honest. As you start your career, usually everything you do is self-performed, driven by you, and you can rely on yourself to complete tasks to the quality level needed. As your career progresses, there will begin to be more work than you can complete on your own, and it will lead to utilizing other team members to get things done.

This has a fancy term called delegation. Delegation is a skill. Some people are inherently better at it, but nobody is born a master of delegation. Mastery of delegation allows you to continue to move up and progress in your career. If you don’t master it, then delegation can be like a curse. There are different levels of delegation. I am going to cover what I believe to be the three levels of delegation that young engineers need to learn how to master if they are going to move from a technical engineer to any form of management or leadership.

All forms of delegation require some level of planning and follow up on your part. Depending upon the level of delegation, the level of planning and following up varies.

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TCEP 205: Becoming a More Creative and Innovative Engineer (By Using Basic Brain Knowledge)

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creative and innovativeIn this episode, I talk to Stu Walesh, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, F.NSPE, about how using basic brain knowledge to be more creative and innovative can help engineers become a better version of themselves.

Engineering Quotes:

creative and innovative

creative and innovative

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Stu:

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