Engineering Work-Life Harmony: How Engineers Can Excel Professionally and Personally
“You can have it all, but not all at once.” ~Oprah Winfrey In the world of engineering leadership, where the pace is fast, the challenges are ever changing, and innovation demands your best, creating a thriving balance becomes both a personal and professional necessity. Harmony is not about balancing two competing worlds; it is about […]
Engineering Time Management Strategies for Higher Productivity
It’s been said many times that “we all have the same 24 hours in the day.” Okay, that’s true, yet we all have different demands on that time – work, education, family responsibilities, etc. Heaven forbid you might put a bit of self-care in the form of exercise, sleep, meditation, personal development, relaxation, or whatever […]
Mission Accomplished: Why Project Closeout Best Practices Are Critical to Success
When our marketing team asked me to write an article on project closeout best practices, my first question was, “Do you mean winning new projects or closing out existing ones?” It didn’t take long to realize those two ideas are closely connected. The way we close a project says just as much about us as […]
How AEC Project Manager Development Drives Industry Connection
The beauty of the Learning and Development Track at this year’s AEC PM Connect was in its intimacy and small group setting, where every voice was heard. Yes, we had slides and structured sessions, but what truly made these rooms special was the real-time collaboration and problem-solving that unfolded among peers. Participants weren’t just absorbing […]
AI in Engineering Knowledge Management Transforms Reports into Strategic Assets
The Familiar Frustration Every engineer has faced it: you’re in the middle of drafting a report and think, “I’m sure we’ve solved this before, but where?” The answer usually exists. It’s in a Phase I ESA from years ago, or a Geotech report on similar soil conditions. But finding it means combing through endless folders, […]
How Warranty Readiness Testing Builds Reliable Products
I’ll never forget the smell of burnt PCB on a Friday afternoon. We were two weeks away from shipping our first major production run of a new industrial sensor -the mood was electric. Then, a unit on my bench—one that had passed every single one of our standard qualification tests—let out a faint pop. A […]
How a Client Debrief Process Improves PM Performance
Project debriefs are helpful to improve your firm’s management processes, cost estimating or client communications. Mostly, these debriefs are internally focused. “How did we do? Could we reduce costs here or schedule things better there? Were we on time and on budget? Why or why not?” AEC firms get the majority of new work through […]
How Engineering Leaders Can Build an Emotional Intelligence System for Lasting Reliability
A Quick Note Before We Start I coach engineering managers every day. Before that, I was an engineer, and then I spent 10 years recruiting engineers. I’ve sat in hundreds of 1:1s, debriefs, and hiring loops, and I’ve had 1000s of tough conversations. What I’m sharing here isn’t theory. It’s a simple emotional intelligence system […]
Why Emotional Intelligence for AEC Project Managers Improves Leadership Success
In the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, technical expertise has long been considered the cornerstone of success. But as projects grow more complex, teams become more diverse, and client expectations rise, one thing is increasingly clear: technical knowledge alone isn’t enough. What separates effective AEC project managers (PMs) and leaders from the rest is […]
De-Escalation Tactics for Engineering Leaders in High-Stakes Meetings
I was in a meeting that was about to go supercritical; The VP of Product was red-faced, jabbing a finger at a graph on the screen, “The data pipeline is a liability! Your team’s latency is costing us revenue every hour!” My lead engineer, Greg, shot back, “Because you keep shoving in new, half-baked requirements […]