Thanks to their education, experience, and general philosophical orientation, many engineers fail to notice critical issues in the workplace that can directly impact their career advancement and day-to-day job satisfaction. This text focuses on career management, and the accompanying importance of human and social interactions in the office. Although framed in the engineering environment, it provides observations on people skills relevant to all occupations. Using an informal, yet professional style, the author takes a mentorship approach by offering suggestions and anecdotes devoid of lecturing.
Part I specifically addresses the life and career advancement of the engineer, beginning
with school student and advancing to the seasoned professional. Along the way, it explores various
stops, diversions, and alternatives, including a view of the corporation as a living organism with
its own unique personality that responds to stimuli of the world.
Part II discusses engineering projects, product development, schedules, budgets, and related
topics. This portion of the book is not about project management, but rather the interaction of
engineers and managers working on projects in a corporate environment.
p. 27
Corporations are not a democracy. Corporations are a monarchy or perhaps an oligarchy. This can be
incredibly efficient as it has been said that a benign monarchy is the most efficient form of government.
There can be big problems, however, if the monarch is insane, evil, or incompetent. No amount of
grassroots action or engineering recommendations can keep a corporation on a good course if the executives
insist on a bad one. There is no corporate equivalent of the free press to poke its nose into projects and
expose irresponsible, incompetent, or malicious behavior. There is no democratic process for the staff to
vote the CEO out of office...