Blog

Cultivating People for Company Growth: 5 Insights from the “Trillion Dollar Coach”

June 7, 2023 By EMI

They called him the “Trillion Dollar Coach” because he coached executives at some of the largest companies in the world, including Google, Facebook, and Amazon, to name a few. I’d like to share one piece of key advice that he shared with those executives, who included Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs, among others, and how this advice applies to engineering firms.

I recently shared the following in our Engineering Management Pulse, a column I send to engineering executives, learning, and HR professionals, on or about the first day of each month to help them best develop their most important resource, their people.

The story of Bill Campbell intrigued me, primarily because of my executive coaching training, but also because of his career. Bill Campbell was a high school and college football coach until age 39. Yes, age 39. He then decided to jump into the corporate world, only to become one of —if not the most — famous and successful executive coaches ever.

People refer to him as the “Trillion Dollar Coach” because companies such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, and others wouldn’t have been close to as successful as they are without Campbell coaching their leaders.

What was the key piece of advice that Campbell shared with his clients? He told them that the top priority of any manager or leader should be the well-being and success of his or her people. He was so adamant about this philosophy that he developed what is known today as the It’s the People manifesto, which I’d like to share here:

The 90-9-1 Rule for Civil Engineering Content Creators

June 5, 2023 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Civil engineers are designers and builders of everything related to infrastructure: roads, bridges, dams, ports, and many others. While our work happens in the physical world, we can greatly benefit from a presence in the digital world, particularly on social media.

Today, I would like to talk about the opportunity that exists for civil engineering content creators, and how you can take advantage of it.

1. What is the 90-9-1 rule?

How to Build a Successful YouTube Channel for Engineers (2023 Guide)

May 30, 2023 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Cris Mark Baroro

Engineering and engineering-related videos are extremely popular on YouTube. These encompass a wide variety of videos from product videos to power supply design and implementation, people who make their own 3D printers and CNC machines, HVAC design, and implementation, etc. Although there is plenty to learn from viewing these videos, creating a successful YouTube channel may be difficult and requires hard work. If done right, it can greatly help your career and branding as an engineer.

Here Are Some Tips to Help You Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube as an Engineer:

Build Your Channel

Managing People During Growth and Expansion

May 22, 2023 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Ted F. Januszka, P.E.

As we near the half-way mark of 2023, our industry faces a huge challenge with respect to staffing and workforce retention. Simply put, there are not enough engineers in the U.S. to meet the current civil infrastructure demands of the A/E/C industry. I am not going to opine on the importance of workforce development and emphasis of STEM in our schools; however, I want to present another challenge: How do you manage and maintain current staff while growing and attracting new team members?

People management is a topic that has been discussed, studied, and yes, now blogged about for some time. At Pennoni, a 100% employee-owned consulting engineering firm, our employee-owner team members are the #1 asset of our company. This is indeed the case with most engineering firms today, something I recently discussed in a podcast on the topic!

Pennoni is continuing to expand, and our District of Columbia office is one of our newest locations. Located at 80 M Street, this office was opened in the fall 2022! Pennoni has been successfully working with District Department of Transportation (DDOT) since 2014 and during this period, our workload with DDOT has gradually increased. Coming out of the pandemic, we believed it was time to fully commit to DDOT with boots on the ground within the district. At Pennoni, we are committed to our clients and believe there are wonderful opportunities to continue these awesome relationships in the district. We plan to use this opportunity to develop new opportunities with other clients and agencies in Washington, D.C.

Proactive Steps to Build Relationships and Manage Work Circumstances

May 15, 2023 By EMI

This is a guest blog by Gina Covarrubias

How can you be more proactive to better manage work circumstances and the people in your day-to-day? Here are three topics to consider, along with tips and exercises, to propel yourself toward a path of successful career management.

Tip 1: Squash the Ego and Increase Likability

Researcher and leadership consultant Cy Wakeman brilliantly describes ego in her book, “No Ego.” She states:

“Ego will coax you to be one up or persuade you to be one down. One up, and you’re convinced you’re right, you’re better than the others, and people should always listen to you. One down, and you’re misunderstood, helpless and a victim of circumstances.”

An effective tool to aid your navigation through the nuances of human nature is to recognize and mitigate your own ego.

Ego doesn’t want to consider things like forgiveness, moving on, taking full accountability, or open-mindedness. It wants approval, recognition, and validation. It wants to be right, and it doesn’t consider the costs. Too much ego can hamper the ability to find creative solutions. Worse, self-growth will be hindered, and you may experience people leaving your network.

This is no way to manage a successful career! So, how does one recognize and mitigate ego?

Three Ways Engineers Can Bridge the Gap Between Technical Skills and People Management

May 8, 2023 By EMI

This is a guest post by Tiffani Teachey

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”
– Stephen R Covey

Engineers are typically known for their technical skills, but people management is a critical aspect of their roles. Engineers who can manage people effectively can drive successful projects, motivate their team, and foster innovation. In this blog, we will explore the importance of people management for engineers and three key points that can help them become effective people managers.

Communication Skills

One of the most important aspects of people management for engineers is communication skills. Effective communication can help an engineer express their ideas clearly, delegate tasks effectively, and manage conflicts within the team. Engineers who can communicate well can ensure that everyone on the team understands their roles, responsibilities, and goals. Additionally, clear communication can also foster collaboration, increase productivity, and ensure that everyone is working toward the same objective.

Emotional Intelligence

Your Engineering Team Is Like a Family, Treat It as Such – Five Actions to Take

May 2, 2023 By EMI

As a father of three kids and a leader at the Engineering Management Institute (EMI), I have seen a number of similarities between raising a happy family and building a strong professional team. I have also done a fair share of athletic coaching, both at the youth and high school levels and these same similarities exist. In all these situations, you have a group of people who share a common bond, and their success is very dependent on the relationships between members, which many people refer to as culture.

In this post, I’d like to share some actions that I have found to be helpful in both raising kids as well as building a strong team at EMI. I believe that many of the engineers we provide coaching and training to can use these same actions in building their project teams, divisions, and companies.

#1 – Learn About Your Team Members

You can’t lead people effectively in any walk of life without really knowing them. What are they interested in? What makes them happy? If they could do anything they wanted to today, what would it be? Doing this takes time, but getting to know the people you work with on a deeper level will be rewarding in many ways. At EMI, we created a shared document in which all our team members entered personal information, such as their family members’ names and ages, hobbies, favorite foods, and more. Just by reading that sheet, I learned things that I hadn’t previously known about people I had been working with for years. Why did we wait so long to do that?

#2 – Engage in Team Building Activities Outside of Work

Be a Good Manager; Practice These Ways to Take Care of Your People

May 1, 2023 By EMI

This is a guest blog post by Pamela A. Scott

This is how it went at the high school career fair. I was talking with students about what they wanted to do career-wise. “I want to be a manager,” one teenager said proudly.

“Why do you want to be a manager?” I asked.

“Because they make the big money,” she said with a smile on her face. “It’s easy.”

I knew it was going to be a long afternoon.

Are You a Manager?

Different workplaces have different job descriptions for “manager.” This one is courtesy of Indeed.com.

“An Engineering Manager uses their industry knowledge to oversee a variety of activities. They may coordinate and direct building activities on a construction site or activities related to maintenance, testing, quality assurance, operations, and production at a manufacturing site.”

As a manager, you know you have a host of responsibilities. This blog focuses on people management—managing yourself and your staff.

People Are Different

You know that people are different, but are you aware of how those differences show up? Let’s look at what people want or need from you when you set up a meeting.