Leadership/Management

TCEP 098: Management Skills that Civil Engineers Should Build

September 24, 2018 By EMI

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In episode 98 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I speak with Ben Walpole, a writer and editor for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) strategic communications team. We will talk about a few very important management skills that civil engineers should build in order to increase their effectiveness as civil engineering managers.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some important management skills you should build as a civil engineer to increase your overall success:

TCEP 089: Why Civil Engineering CEOs Need to Focus on People with Nick DeNichilo

July 9, 2018 By EMI

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In episode 89 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk with Nicholas (Nick) DeNichilo P.E., President and CEO of Mott MacDonald North America. Our conversation focused mostly on why civil engineering CEOs need to focus on people and the effect that doing so can have on you in your career and life.

Here are some of the questions I ask Nick about his journey and his work as CEO:

How did you decide that you wanted to go into engineering?
What are some of the things that civil engineers can do in preparation to become a CEO of a civil engineering firm?
How big is the Mott Macdonald “family”?
What is the hardest part of being a CEO?
How do you decide what work you should focus on each day?
As a CEO of a company, how do you maintain a work-life balance?

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some key points discussed in this episode:

TCEP 071: Career Advice from AE Leaders from Across the Country

November 30, 2017 By EMI

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Career Advice from AE Leaders from Across the Country

In episode 071 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I am going to give you advice from some of the most successful AE Leaders in the country. I talk to Brett T. Hart, PE, SE, PEng, Will Schnier, P.E., Mike Nelson, Ernesto Guevara Ortiz M.ASCE and Randy Wilburn about different leadership aspects in the everyday life.

Here are some of the questions I ask the AE Leaders:

• What is one of the biggest things your firm is looking to find in civil engineers?
• How do you help your engineers to be able to focus, but at the same time foster communication?
• Tell me what mindset you take on to serve your staff and keep them going in the right direction?
• What are AE firms looking for when hiring civil engineers?
• Name one of the biggest challenges facing civil engineers today in their careers?
• What are some of the things a President/CEO of a company do on regular basis?

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some key points discussed on career advice from AE leaders across the Country:

TCEP 070: A Day in the Life of a Geotechnical Engineering CEO

November 8, 2017 By EMI

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In episode 065 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk with David Gockel, PE, PP, LEED AP, CEO of Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, about how a day in the life of a geotechnical engineering CEO looks, especially one that is in charge of a very fast-growing firm.

Here are some of the questions I ask Dave:

What prevents engineers from learning other skill sets?
How did you acquire the skills needed to get to where you are today?
Tell me about a memorable success in your career.
Tell me about one of the mistakes you’ve made and what you learned from it.
Is it true that if civil engineers want to achieve a partner/owner status in their firms, that they must be a great business developer?
What is one valuable piece of advice that you can give to a striving seller-doer?
At what point in your career (if ever) did you have a goal of being the CEO?
How would you summarize your job description as CEO?
Would you take us through a typical day as CEO?
What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a CEO?

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some key points discussed on a day in the life of a Geotechnical Engineering CEO:

TCEP 034: Protecting the Environment Through Security: What Civil Engineers Should Know

June 22, 2016 By EMI

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In episode 034 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I interview my co host, Christian Knutson on protecting the environment through security and we also talk about how civil engineers can make a difference to it.

Here are some of the questions I ask Chris:

What is environmental security?
What is included within this framework?
Can you share an example of an environmental security issue?
How have you been supporting environmental security and protection efforts recently as a civil engineer?

Quotes to think about:

Here are some key points discussed in this episode:

TCEP 033: Civil Engineering Interviews from the Society of American Military Engineers 2016 JETC

June 8, 2016 By EMI

The Civil Engineering Podcast visits Arizona for the SAME JETC conference…..

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Episode 33 of The Civil Engineering Podcast was recorded in Phoenix, Arizona, where I interviewed successful individuals at the Society of American Military Engineers (aka SAME) Joint Engineer Training Conference & Expo (JETC).

Here are some of the key points I discussed with ask Adam Hughes during JETC:

Adam is a Civil Engineer in the United States Public Health Service that focuses on ensuring that Indian reservations/communities have clean water. He has been practicing in this industry for 12 years now.
His team consist out of 14 engineers, drafters, construction inspectors and civil engineering technicians. At the moment they are working with two tribes in southern Arizona.
For someone that is interested in management, he recommends to first develop your technical capability and to then develop your verbal and written communication skills. It is also important to find your own management style and gain awareness of your own limitations and preconceptions.
We don’t all see a problem the same way and it is not that one way is right and the other way wrong, it is more of trying to understand each other so that we can effectively communicate and work with people.
It’s not just about being able to crunch the numbers, you’ve got the take the next step if you want to make change as a civil engineer.

Here are some of the key points I discussed with Kris Prasad at JETC:

TCEP 019: Riding The Wave of Change As a Civil Engineer Leader

November 25, 2015 By EMI

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In episode 019 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, Mickey Addison, a career military officer, author, civil engineer and senior leader, teaches us what it takes to lead in a senior level position, how to handle organizational changes, and the role of mentoring and coaching in civil engineering leaders.

Here are some key points:

On time management:
- Block time off to allow yourself to get off the desk
- Be present to the people around you
- Take personnel actions (things that affect one’s career)
The more energy that you put in to being present to the people that you lead and work with, the higher performing team it becomes.
When the leaders are engaged, the people are engaged.

TCEP 017: Interviews with Some of the Most Successful Civil Engineers in the World from the ASCE 2015 Annual Conference

October 28, 2015 By EMI

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The Civil Engineering Podcast – Subscribe in iTunes

In this special episode of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I interview some of the most successful civil engineers in the world during the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2015 Annual Conference in New York City.

Below is the list of interviews with timestamps and bullet points, click on the timestamps below to view a summary of the interview:

[3:27] Jon Magnusson, P.E., S.E., F.SEI, Dist.M.ASCE – CEO for 25 years
[7:27] West Point Cadets
[10:43] Mackenzie, graduate student from Arizona State
[13:53] Michael Goodkind, Ph.D., P.E., S.E., F.ASCE – 40 years of experience
[17:38] Kurt from Bentley Systems
[20:38] Albert Pozotrigo, P.E. – President of ASCE-MET Section
[31:47] Stefanie Reichman from City College of New York – ASCE-NY Chapter
[35:22] Dr. Bob Stevens, P.E., F.ASCE – Current (at time of interview) ASCE President
[36:08] Jonathan Richards, West Point Student
[39:02] Jose Acosta, P.E. – Vice President of Chen Moore and Associates
[48:04] Tony Begin, President of Canadian Society of Civil Engineering (CSCE)
[52:47] Tom Smith, ENV.SP., CAE, F.ASCE – Executive Director for ASCE
[54:16] Norma Jean Mattei, Ph.D., PE, F.SEI, M.COPRI, M.ASCE – Newly Installed President-Elect of ASCE
[1:00:57] Mark Woodson, P.E., L.S., D,WRE, F.ASCE – Newly Installed President of ASCE [Read more…] about TCEP 017: Interviews with Some of the Most Successful Civil Engineers in the World from the ASCE 2015 Annual Conference

TCEP 010: The Life of a Civil Engineer in Sales – The Civil Engineering Podcast

July 22, 2015 By EMI

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In episode 10 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I take you inside my recent trip to Iceland, where I recorded this week’s project segment after my visit to the Blue Lagoon which is a spa driven by geothermal energy, and is also one of the natural wonders of the world. Then I interview Shana Carroll, PE, a civil engineer who is in sales, who gives a ton of high-value career advice in about 20 minutes!

In this episode, you’ll get an inside look at the life of a civil engineer in sales and learn: [Read more…] about TCEP 010: The Life of a Civil Engineer in Sales – The Civil Engineering Podcast

TCEP 009: Six Challenges in Managing Multi-Organizational Civil Engineering Projects and How to Overcome Them – The Civil Engineering Podcast

July 8, 2015 By EMI

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In episode 009 of the Civil Engineering Podcast, we take a closer look at Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge in St. Louis, Missouri and provide project management advice from Jeff Church, PE and Gwen Lageman, PE, the engineers who worked on the project. Christian will break down the project and I will summarizes 6 challenges the project engineers encountered during the design and construction of the bridge and how communication plays an important role in the success of the project.

In this episode, you’ll learn: [Read more…] about TCEP 009: Six Challenges in Managing Multi-Organizational Civil Engineering Projects and How to Overcome Them – The Civil Engineering Podcast

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