Most people expect engineers to engineer, lawyers to lawyer, doctors to doctor, accountants to account, investors to invest, and so on. We expect professionals to do what they advertise. It’s interesting though – all things being equal – and assuming all are true to their brand and ability, we don’t grade the performance of professionals and their enterprises primarily in regards to their technical work product and deliverable. We expect appropriate results regardless. What we typically judge and grade the work by relates to “soft skills” – like listening, communication, fairness, responsiveness, etc. This is why when we purchase a service, it’s not really what we are buying. We are really buying an EXPERIENCE. Look at customer evaluations. They have little to do with the technical work product because that’s what is expected; it’s just one category. We want an interaction that will make our life easier and better; order in the midst of chaos; someone to make life and work as easy as possible as they sort out our problem. That’s value. Bring as much competency to the table as you can as a professional. Be better technically. But all things being equal, it’s the experience that people will remember.
Until You Shift Your Focus
There are those days or times in our companies when we realize something needs to change. A paradigm shift needs to take place; a re-prioritization of time and leadership focus; another person to take over a role that is not being accommodated in an appropriate manner. It’s a conviction, a nagging thought, a recurring issue, a pain-point, that is becoming more and more obvious. Yet often we are not aligned with the need or issue. This is particularly true in a growth oriented environment because we will typically will find ourselves in a situation that we’ve never been before. Either our schedule, our focus, our skill set, or sheer force of habit will find us delaying the inevitable, or not really knowing exactly what to do. Sometimes those around us see it more plainly than we do. Clients often see it in first (and worst) as they are the recipient of our services or products. In these times we need to resist passivity, resist the past, resist fear or doubt, and we need to make a change; shift our focus. How do we do it? What does this look like? It can take multiple or various forms. Let me provide a few thoughts and examples from my experience as a start-up founder, and professional services company manager and leader.
1. Promote someone you trust. Hand over responsibilities to them and then coach them, rather than doing the work yourself. Do it today.
2. Develop a new job description or modify an existing one to accommodate the need.
3. Develop a process. Do it with those affected by the situation. Do it on your feet. Don’t delay. Confront every problem as an operational exercise to improve or refine a process. Revise as you proceed. Shift as necessary
4. Change your focus; shift your focus; re-allocate your time and priorities. Manage schedule aggressively. Force yourself to decide what you are “NOT GOING TO DO”
5. Get inputs from peers, from a mentor, books, resources, whatever it takes. There is a wealth of information to pull from
6. Develop an advisory board or board of directors. Meet with them. Be accountable to them. This may the best thing you can possibly do to promote continuous improvement.
7. Find a mentor. Someone who’s been there and done that (or done similar)
8. Meet with your team and work together to identify and define the situation. Work out a solution together.
9. Get out of the office; work remotely; think. Write. Monitor activity from a new perspective. Gaps and issues will be come more obvious.
10. Trust your people. Get out-of-the-way. Facilitate and support them. Stop meddling. Go do the work only you can do and stop doing the work of others
Look in the mirror, plant your feet firmly in the ground, and resolve to yourself that you are going to make a change TODAY. One thing. Until we change our focus, adjust our schedule, re-prioritize our time, re-direct our energy, nothing will change. Move forward. Fail quickly, fail cheaply. Adjust immediately. Learn. Grow. Monitor, Listen. Start shifting the focus today and make a change; advance something forward.
Collaboration – Part 2
Collaboration – Part 2:
This is my second post on collaboration; that attention-grabbing, value-driving, process-improving approach to project design and engineering. The context to which I am referring is the DESIGN-ASSIST collaboration process, where outside parties from different firms, each representing their various interests in the process, are working together to create. I am seeing more recognition as to the value of collaboration from those with experience in design, engineering and construction. Solving problems and working through issues concurrently with the engineering and construction teams can eliminate a great deal of waste, re-work, misunderstanding, poor interpretation, risk and more. Here are a few of my experiences in helping to facilitate and improve the collaboration process:
1. Use face to face meetings at the start. Schedule them 2-3 weeks apart. Have a specific agenda and goal accomplishment for the meetings set up in advance. Set a specific start and stop time. Bring in lunch. Make sure to have internet access, wireless, and appropriate access to drawings, resources, etc.
2. Create an action list as you proceed. Before adjourning the meeting, make sure all action items have an appropriate follow-up activity, and a person or group assigned to them.
3. Use the time between each face to face meeting, to follow-up and work through the action items. Create an email group and keep communication flowing.
4. Use WebEx’s, Go-To’s and other web-based meeting platforms between the face to face meetings. Make them 1-hour in length and have 1 per week. Have a designated person to drive the meeting, organize it, and who can control the screen or give control to others.
5. Have the right stakeholders involved. In my space of specialty engineering for cladding and curtain wall systems, the stakeholders include the G.C., architect, engineer of record, specialty engineers (me/us), owner’s representative, cladding consultants, and sometimes the mechanical engineer and BIM representative (don’t forget BIM.) Design meetings for cladding or curtain wall systems often just need the GC, architect and specialty engineer.
6. Create a “hot-list” – a specific descriptive list of action items and a space in which you can assign whom is responsible for each.
7. I really like Blue-Beam as a software tool to show drawings on a projected screen, make mark-ups and comments as the meeting proceeds, and then share with everyone when complete.
8. Use tools that can allow for central storage and access to all involved. Tools like SharePoint, or simply a specific project website or server where everyone can access information and download to their site is useful.
There are certainly many more approaches, tools, observations, and means in which to approach collaboration. This is just one example and is a simple format to use and to put out on the blog for discussion. Remember also, that the process is not always easy. Its can get tedious and painful. It has to be honest and respectful. But in the end, typically it will yield better results. Do not give up too early. Don’t give it “lip service.” Change-up meeting types, length, formats, and contexts if it stops being useful. Work it through to conclusion. I hope to hear some comments and observations from blog readers so we can keep the conversation going.
Happy collaborating….
Curtain wall Engineering
Curtain Wall structural engineering, often referred to as “providing calcs” or “doing calculations” is far more. I started as a structural engineer in the cladding and curtain wall field in 1984 and I’ve been involved ever since, focusing on facades in total, expanding from structural engineering outward to all aspects of exterior wall systems.
Providing curtain wall structural engineering “calculations” vs. providing value-based structural and systems engineering are related, but are two different things. Properly performed, value-based structural engineering of curtain wall systems involves optimizing metal, assessing viability and ease of installation, looking for benefits in system performance that can save installer’s and fabricator’s time and money, minimize risk and more. “Good” structural engineering involves more than cranking out a set of calculations from a set of shop drawings. The work should be collaborative (there I go again with the collaboration theme) and if properly done, can save many times more than the cost of the fee. I can name many examples where clients saved tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars in material, in shop and field labor, in shipping, project management time, and more. I also want to point out that minimizing risk and providing thorough, vetted, experienced, due diligence structural engineering pays dividends down the road, which lowers insurance costs, improves performance, and makes a subcontractor’s or fabricator’s work and business more desirable and profitable.
I’ve got buckets and chapters and truckloads more of observations, experiences, insights and technical inputs to write about in subsequent discussions and blogs on this topic. Remember, never did such a “small” line item in a bid, have such a broad impact as design and engineering. It is the point through which all other work flows and takes place. “Good engineering” can make a job better. “Bad engineering” can break the job beyond the point of repair.
For now, choose your engineering firm wisely, and be collaborative.
We All Need Adventure
It’s my experience that we all need adventure. We may not know it, but it’s true. I am talking about regular, planned, adventure that is completely outside of our normal day-to-day routine. While things like child rearing, tackling a new project, and working on the house are all worthy challenges, those aren’t the types of adventures to which I am referring. I am talking about real-life, out of the box, challenging adventures; backpacking, learning a language, rock climbing, traveling to a new country or culture; you get the idea (think “bucket list.”) For example, some of mine have included a missions trip to Haiti, backpacking Yosemite with a group of guys (finding our way above), spending 3 weeks in Ireland driving on the wrong side of the road, running marathons (yes that qualifies) and more. Each of these events have adventures within that are totally unplanned. These experiences invigorate our lives and imaginations. They contribute more to our education and experience that we can know; they are unaccredited educations and degrees in life, culture, mind expansion.
We can take mini-adventures within the context of our daily lives, and plan for bigger adventures on a regular basis. One of my friends (in the blue shirt above) plans them quarterly.
It’s been too long since my last foray into the wild; since I planned some new quest. I’m ready for a new adventure. How about you?
Collaboration
My space is professional services; design, engineering and consulting for the built environment; specifically building Facade systems and building enclosures – the “curtain wall”. My observation though, is much of what I will be writing about on this topic applies to other realms, systems, spaces, whether building, product or otherwise. This is the first in a series of posts on the topic; sharing my experience, questions and observations.
My position is simply this: the best value to the end-user or owner, and to all constituents in the supply chain & process, is generated in collaboration. My struggle is that the “old mentality” of “throw it over the wall” is still used by many. What does one expect in design of constructed systems and products when working in silos and in a linear manner? How about “less than optimal results.” Clients and businesses that “get it” are increasing their level of collaboration and using technology to leverage interaction. Too often in our work, tyranny of the urgent is the rule of the day. However, investing the time proactively in ongoing, seamless, real-time, shared collaboration yields better results and lower costs downstream.
Collaboration takes place in different ways, but one key is driving integration. We must pull each other into the space of a shared reality to really collaborate. This creates empathy, understanding, fewer assumptions, lower risk, better results. It gets to the finish line quicker. In a fragmented, and disruptive supply chain in the building industry, even within specific areas of expertise, value generation can be as simple as driving real collaboration.
I will continue to post on this topic and I welcome comments, feedback, & dialogue.
In the meantime, start or keep collaborating.
Reflections on Today – The Value of Connecting
Today’s breakfast was a reminder of the value of meeting new people and networking with those of different backgrounds – an educational experience as valuable, or more, than most classrooms. My Doctor organized a breakfast for the purpose of discussion, networking and relationship building. It included the Dr (an MD); a young CMO of a financial services firm; a PhD Educator and Medical Research Business owner; a sage and former CEO of a private then Publicly traded company; an ex-farmer turned prolific real estate owner; a college grad fresh off a trip to Latvia, the Balkans and Israel; then me, a Professional Engineer and A/E Services business owner. 5 men and 1 woman (the PhD). I could have listened to their experiences for more than the 2 hours that we broke bread and shared discussion.
There are always great dynamics and diverse experiences in these groups that are mind-expanding. Someone once said that the only things that really change us are the people we meet and the books we read. This includes the “experiences we have.” Today confirmed that statement.
This was a mini-retreat, a walk through the world of others, a sharing of knowledge and experience. Every time I do this I wonder why I don’t do it more often and why I allow myself to be stuck in the normal routine of each day.
Break routine. Do something different. Meet new people. Step out of your comfort zone. It’s an enriching experience.
JOHN L WHEATON BLOG 