Engineering Management Institute

Anthony Fasano

Like All Professionals, Engineers Quit Managers Not Companies

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Quit Managers

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn here.

There is an infamous saying that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately:

People Quit Managers, Not Companies

I’ve spent the last 10 years traveling to over 30 U.S. states speaking and training thousands of engineering professionals, and I can attest to the truth of this statement — that engineers do quit managers, not companies.

In fact, a study by Gallup concluded that one in two people admitted to having left a job to get away from a bad manager, and 70% of the factors that contribute to your happiness at work are directly related to your manager.

Why Does This Matter to Your Firm?

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Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Career

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Your Own Success

“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The information in this article pertains to engineers and other STEM professionals, but can be useful to anyone classifying themselves as “a professional.” I believe that if these seven steps are followed by a professional, they will be successful. By successful, I mean, they will achieve all their professional goals. This article was originally posted on LinkedIn here.

First of all, let me say that you must take your career into your own hands. Too many professionals wait for their employers to give them a raise or promotion. Don’t wait for anyone. Follow these seven steps and you will be able to engineer your own success:

1: Set Clear Goals

Most engineers don’t set goals, and even if they do, they are not clear and aligned with their values. You must take the time as early as possible in your career to consider your values and set clear goals. Strive to understand WHY these goals are important. For example, if you say your long-term goal is to be a principal in an engineering firm, you better know WHY — and the answer shouldn’t be “to make a lot of money.” You need to have a deep reason for wanting something, or else you won’t sustain the motivation to pursue it.

Your Own Success

2: Obtain the Right Credentials

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Why 90-Day Goals Are More Practical Than Annual Goals

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It’s that time of year. In January, you’ll typically find a lot of content being published about goal setting. Blog posts and podcasts urging you to set goals for the new year. Believe me, there is no bigger proponent of goal setting than myself. In fact, at EMI, we work with engineering companies to help them ensure their leaders are focused on the right goals. That being said, I have found that most professionals who set goals will spend less than one hour in late December or early January creating a list of goals for the year, only to file their list of goals away and rarely look at it again for the remainder of that calendar year.

Try Setting 90-Day Goals Too

If you are one of those professionals who set lofty goals on or about January 1st, but then get buried in your projects and neglect them, try setting shorter-term goals in addition to your larger goals. I recommend 90-day goals, also known as quarterly goals. At EMI, we have strategic initiatives from our strategic plan from which we reduce strategic actions, which get further reduced down to quarterly goals for each team member.

Let’s be honest: one year is a very long time, especially when you get dealt curveballs like a global pandemic. To think that your goal at the end of the year will still be the same as it was 365 days ago isn’t very realistic and doesn’t allow for flexibility.

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TSEC 52: How Pushing Past Your Comfort Zone Elevates You to the Next Level (in Your Engineering Career)

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In this episode, we talk about the importance of getting outside of your comfort zone and how those experiences — where you try something outside of your wheelhouse — often lead to seeing the greatest increase in personal and professional growth. Joining us today are Anthony Fasano, CEO of The Engineering Management Institute, and Cara Green, a Structural Engineering trade manager at Hilti North America.  We also have a big announcement that we make during the episode, so keep listening to the end.

Engineering Quotes:

Comfort Zone

Comfort Zone

Comfort Zone

Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About How Pushing Past Your Comfort Zone Elevates You to the Next Level in Your Engineering Career:

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TSEC 01: Introduction to The Structural Engineering Channel

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In this first episode of The Structural Engineering Channel podcast, we would like to introduce the show, the hosts, our goals for this show and give you an opportunity to provide us with topics or guests for future episodes.

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Engineering Quotes:

This Is How the Podcast Came to Be:

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The Engineering Management Institute to Launch The Structural Engineering Podcast

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The Structural Engineering Podcast

Structural engineering, like most engineering industries, is constantly evolving with technical guidelines, new techniques, and updated standards.  There are also new and exciting structural engineering projects being completed every day worldwide.

This niche industry deserves its own podcast to cover these issues, and therefore the Engineering Management Institute (EMI) is excited to be launching The Structural Engineering Podcast (TSEP).  TSEP will cover items including but not limited to performance-based design, fasteners and connections, post-tensioned structures, smart structures, tsunami modeling, software solutions, seismic design, blast resistant design, wood, business issues, professional development for structural engineers, how to specify things effectively, and many more topics.

The podcast will be sponsored by Computers and Structures, Inc. (CSI) and we are grateful for their support.  (CSI) Computers and Structures, Inc. is recognized globally as the pioneering leader in software tools for structural and earthquake engineering. Software from CSI is used by thousands of engineering firms in over 160 countries for the design of major projects.

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Maximizing Productivity Hacks for Engineering Professionals

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Maximizing Productivity Hacks for Engineering Professionals is a guest blog by Kyle Umlauf, P.E.

Maximizing ProductivityEffective and successful engineers have something in common. They are capable of effectively managing their time. As a consulting engineer, your time is a precious commodity. Your clients are paying for your knowledge and time. Therefore, the action of maximizing your time, focus, and overall productivity, will equate to more money. Learning to master your time can do wonders for your engineering career and personal life.

In your career, managing your time will help you take on more tasks, delegate tasks as needed, and become a more productive member of the company. This will increase your value to the company and help you climb the ranks more quickly. In your personal life, better time management will help to maximize every hour of the day and make you feel in more control of your own life. This article is adapted from a previous article on my personal blog. [Read more…] about Maximizing Productivity Hacks for Engineering Professionals

Can You Explain Your Engineering Career Goals While Standing On One Leg?

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Can You Explain Your Engineering Career Goals While Standing On One Leg?Career Goals

As we begin another calendar year, I would urge you to think deeply about your professional career goals for the upcoming year, but also beyond that.  What do you want to accomplish in your engineering career?  What does your career look like from a big picture perspective?  Could you explain it succinctly if I asked you to?

There are several fables around the idea of being able to describe something while standing on one leg, basically suggesting that this would force you to be concise and focus on the most important aspects of the thing you are attempting to explain.

Therefore, I want to challenge you to do this in your own engineering career.

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TECC 160: 80/20 Sales and Marketing – Perry Marshall

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In this episode, I will be talking to you about the 80/20 principle and a book called 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More by Perry Marshall. I will discuss how you can leverage the 80/20 rule even further in your engineering career and life.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are the key points discussed on 80/20 Sales and Marketing:

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TECC 157: Does it Matter which Path you take in your Engineering Career?

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In this episode, I am going to talk about whether or not it really matters what path you are taking in your engineering career. I will focus on using the 80/20 rule, goal setting and a quote taken from Alice in Wonderland.

Engineering Quotes:

Path you take in your Engineering Career

Here are the key points discussed about the path you take in your engineering career:

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