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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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When Is the Right Time to Make Your Next Big Move?

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When is the right time? What if it doesn’t work out? What if I FAIL?

These are all questions that I am sure many of you have asked yourself from time to time when trying to decide to take advantage of an opportunity or stay on your current path. Over the last several years, I have tossed these questions around and recently, I have found some of the answers. Below are a few things to consider when trying to make that big decision.

Are you ready to pursue your purpose over your paycheck?

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Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset: Risk Is Opportunity

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This is a guest blog by Michael Burns, PE, PgMP, DBIA

An Entrepreneurial Mindset

In previous EMI blogs, we discussed Thinking Big and Being Mindful as We Set Goals and Building Confidence Through Empathetic Stakeholder Engagement. I fully respect that managing these objectives with a myriad of associated voices can be distracting as we attempt to sustain growth. Sustaining growth, for our businesses and talent, is particularly difficult in the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry, as we constantly regroup to provide service on projects that marry significant technical challenges with dynamic client expectations. So, the intent of this month’s discussion is to explore a Risk Intelligent approach, creating a consistent basis for our teams to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and explore entrepreneurial solutions. 

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TCEP 112: Managing Mega Civil Engineering Projects and Staying Calm in the Process

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Mega Civil Engineering Projects

In episode 112 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I’m taking you with me to the offices of Louis Berger where I will be speaking with the Department Manager, Muzamil Husain, PE. We talk about the importance of managing mega civil engineering projects and how to stay calm during stressful situations.

Engineering Quotes:

Mega Civil Engineering Projects

Mega Civil Engineering Projects

Here are some of the questions I ask Muzamil Husain:

  • In terms of project management, what would you say are some things that you have done that made you successful?
  • How do you determine what tasks to work on each day?
  • Can you describe the Magnetic Levitation project?
  • As a project manager you need to get good at understanding your resources and deploying them in the right areas. How does one get good at that?
  • What do you do to improve the culture on your team?

Here are some key points discussed in this episode about managing mega civil engineering projects:

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Better Marketing for Engineering Firms Through Better Public Speaking

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Better Marketing for Engineering Firms Through Better Public Speaking is a guest post by Shoots Veis, P.E.

Marketing

Colter has been enjoying working at his job as an engineer at a regional engineering firm.  He is good at his job, liked by his co-workers and management, and has moved up a couple of rungs at the company.  At his last performance evaluation, he visited with his manager about starting to take on client relations and they agreed Colter should look for an opportunity to begin creating a relationship with a client.  He was motivated by the prestige of being a client manager, saw it as the chance to make another move up in the company, and begin planning how to cultivate the new client relationship.

A couple of months after his evaluation, Colter was invited to sit in on a strategic planning session for the company.  One of the discussions was about how the firm could grow through the acquisition of new clients and specifically, how they could find new municipal clients.  They listed about a dozen cities they would be interested in pursuing and it turns out that Colter knew the assistant public works director, Tim Harrison, in one of the cities.  They had met through the local section of ASCE, served together on a couple of outreach projects, and usually sat with each other at the monthly luncheon.

[Read more…] about Better Marketing for Engineering Firms Through Better Public Speaking

TCEP 078: A Deep Conversation on the Philosophy behind building a Civil Engineering Firm

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building a Civil Engineering FirIn episode 078 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk with Robert Mora, PE, PLS, ENV SP about the philosophy that he and his partner are operating under in building Batture Engineers + Land Surveyors, a unique civil engineering firm based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Here are some of the questions I ask on building a Civil Engineering Firm:

  • Tell us about your experience with land surveying and how that has helped in growing your firm.
  • When did you realize that you might want to start your own business?
  • What did you do to prepare for starting your own business?
  • Tell us more about networking and personal relationships and how it has affected your career?
  • What was your goal in creating a local mastermind group?
  • Take us through the first year you started your business.
  • At what point did you decide that you want to seek out a partner?

Engineering Quotes

building a Civil Engineering Firm

building a Civil Engineering Firm

Here are some key points discussed and quotes from this episode:

  • I always thought about the bigger picture in my career and looked for roles that would benefit me in the future.
  • To a certain extent, I was not really focused on salary, it was more about mobility and opportunity. I would take less money to work someplace if it was going to give me the opportunity to do something that I wanted to get better at.
  • Part of what made things easier for me is that I’ve always enjoyed the process more than the results.
  • You become confident in certain things because when you are good at doing something, you are typically confident in it.
  • Overreacting to something is not going to change what is happening. It’s just going to change your perspective on it.
  • When building a civil engineering firm you might not immediately enjoy doing all of the different tasks, but through consistency, you can find enjoyment in it.
  • It’s important to build relationships and to listen to people in doing it, and help them, instead of immediately just trying to sell what you are doing when building a civil engineering firm.
  • Doing good work and being mission driven is more important than profits. You can’t do bad work and blame the price you gave the customer, for doing the bad work.
  • Don’t let money drive your decisions and what you do, but also don’t ignore it. As you grow in your business, you have to think differently about your company finances than your personal finances.

More details in this episode…

About Robert Mora, PE, PLS, ENV SPbuilding a Civil Engineering Firm

Bob Mora, founder of Batture Engineers + Land Surveyors, has over 15 years of experience in land surveying and civil engineering, providing civil design services for both private developers and municipalities. He has successfully managed and completed projects for the Sewerage and Water Board, the Department of Public Works, the Regional Planning Commission, the Orleans Levee Board, and St. Bernard, Ascension, and Plaquemines Parishes. As a sub-consultant for the Army Corp of Engineers, Bob managed the construction of over $100 million of flood protection, earning a Certificate of Appreciation for Exceptional Achievement from the Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System Mission. A native of New Orleans, Bob graduated from LSU with a degree in Civil Engineering and Land Surveying. He is the past president and an active member of the New Orleans Chapter of Engineers Without Borders, helping engineers identify pro bono opportunities both locally and around the globe.

Sources/References:

Batture
The Engineering Management Accelerator
Engineering Management Institute Training
Bob’s LinkedIn Page

This episode is brought to you by PPI, the leader of civil engineering FE or PE exam preparations. Use promo code TCE8 for a 20 % discount at ppi2pass.com/resources

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Engineer Your Own Success

 

 Art’s Principles: 50 years of hard-learned lessons in building a world-class professional services firm

Please leave your comments or questions in the section below on building a Civil Engineering Firm.

  • If you enjoyed this post, please consider downloading our free list of 33 Productivity Routines of Top Engineering Executives. Click the button below to download.

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To your success,

Anthony Fasano, PE, LEED AP
Engineering Mangement Institute
Author of Engineer Your Own Success

TECC 33: The Engineering Career Coach Podcast – How To Turn Your Biggest Challenge in Your Engineering Career into Your Biggest Opportunity

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Your Engineering Career

In this session of The Engineering Career Coach Podcast, I am going to help a younger engineer in Florida take her biggest challenge as a military spouse and leverage it into something positive.

“Everything negative – pressure, challenges – are all opportunities for me to rise.” – Kobe Bryant

The Take Action Today segment of the show will help you turn your biggest challenges into opportunities.

In today’s show, I provide coaching to Kathy, a young civil engineer from Florida who specializes in the field of water and wastewater. She graduated with an undergraduate degree in 2003. Being married to a military officer, her biggest challenge is that she has to relocate every three to four years. The challenge is not the relocation itself, but the challenge of procuring new jobs when prospective employers know that her spouse is in the military. She is afraid to even mention being a military spouse because it could potentially sabotage here chances of getting the job, since the prospective companies may think she is unreliable.

Listen to this session and learn: [Read more…] about TECC 33: The Engineering Career Coach Podcast – How To Turn Your Biggest Challenge in Your Engineering Career into Your Biggest Opportunity

Analyzing Your Objectives by Applying SWOT

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A great strategic planning tool used in business for analyzing an environment for a new project is the SWOT analysis:  Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.  Business planners know that in order for a project to be successful, they need to scope the playing field to determine what resources to allocate, what challenges will be faced, and what outside support is going to be required.

Although the SWOT analysis is generally associated with business, you can apply it in nearly every endeavor you undertake.  From strategic planning in your organization to determining what new projects your son’s Boy Scout Pack will undertake to analyzing your personal-professional aspirations.  The reason the tool is so effective is that it focuses your thinking on the key factors that spell success for any project.  Doing this highlights the internal (strengths, weaknesses) and external (opportunities, threats) factors involved and in so doing, eliminates risk through awareness.

You can employ the SWOT analysis on your objectives by: [Read more…] about Analyzing Your Objectives by Applying SWOT