Engineering Management Institute

designs

Four Skills Engineers Can Learn From Entrepreneurs

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This is a guest post by Patrick Sweet, P.Eng., MBA, PMP, CSEP

Whether you plan to launch a business or work within an existing organization, approaching the world from an entrepreneur’s perspective can be incredibly valuable for engineers. At their core, both engineers and entrepreneurs are problem-solvers. By approaching the world from the mindset of an entrepreneur, engineers of all disciplines can become stronger in their fields.

Here Are Four Skills That Engineers Would Do Well to Adopt:

1. Entrepreneurs See Opportunity

Entrepreneurs see the world in terms of opportunities. They are able to identify problems and pain points that, if solved, would create incredible value for people. Where many people see problems and are content simply to complain about them, entrepreneurs are able to see a world where that problem is actually solved and take strides to make that world a reality.

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The Secret to Becoming an Innovative Design Engineer

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This is a guest post by Patrick Sweet, P.Eng.

The Secret to Becoming an Innovative Design EngineerI 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 his time. He said that he spends approximately four days a week on things related to customer interaction. That means 80% of his time is focused on his customers. He attributed this focus on the customer to being a major contributor to Snap-on’s success in developing new, innovative products. What’s behind this that can help you become an innovative design engineer?

I think there’s a very important lesson here for engineers: more often than not, innovation is sparked not from individual brilliance or “Eureka!” moments, but from a keen awareness of the problems, pains and fears of the people you are designing for.

Focusing on the customer leads to innovation

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