Blog

It may be the nature of most people to try and avoid receiving negative feedback. When some people do receive such feedback, they often ignore it, rationalize it or attack the source of it. Very

Have you ever been in situations where you felt like making big decisions was impossible? Or have you ever gone all-in on a big decision just to find out you made a huge mistake? I’ve

Hi, I’m Chris and I’m a recovering perfectionist.  It all started when, well, when I was a young child.  Blame it on genetics, but I’m afflicted with the ‘perfectionist-gene’; the necessity for every action, every

I was recently listening to an interview with Ben Brenton, the Chief Innovation Officer of Snap-on Tools on the Everyday Innovator Podcast. During the interview, he said something quite profound about the way he spent

Here’s a topic not often discussed in the offices of the majority of leaders:  FEAR.  We’ll talk about risk, or problem’s, or setbacks.  But never fear.   Why is that?  Probably because the word “fear” comes

When she was about one year old, my daughter, Charlotte, started mimicking what my wife and I did in a big way. If we did it, she wanted to do it. If I stirred my

You learn that you’ve been selected to take on a leadership position within your firm.  While the extra salary and corner office are what you’ve sought, you feel a little tight in the chest when

In episode 054 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, Chris Knutson interviews Ken Adams, an expert in the world of contract drafting on how to master the language to create clearer engineering contracts. Here are some

This may not come as a big surprise, but it takes a very different approach to engineering when you’re designing a space shuttle than when you’re designing a guitar amplifier (No offense, Marshall fans). The

The global job crisis is a challenging fact that many of us will have to face in our engineering career. This is most especially true to those engineers seeking career advancements outside of their chosen

This is Part III of a six-part series about leadership for engineers preparing for their first professional leadership role. You’re in your first professional leadership role and all eyes are on you to deliver the

Engineers play a vital role in their workplaces. They are the people that keep things going, that make the company work, and that do the work behind the scenes that keep profits coming in. While

Over my career I’ve amassed knowledge and skills, and the experience, to manage large programs. This took years. I didn’t step into my first infrastructure program management role until my 12th year as a practicing

This is Part II of a six-part series about leadership for engineers preparing for their first professional leadership role. It was the first day as project manager and Ed was sweating the moment he got

In episode 50 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, we have prepared a special compilation episode to reinforce some of the career tips given in the first 50 episodes of The Civil Engineering Podcast (wow — can’t

Effectively managing any group of employees can be a difficult proposition, but providing leadership for an engineering team or department typically entails a number of unique challenges. Simply managing the efforts of an engineering staff