Ideas, Communication, and Change
If you go to work for a local government, your first experience of an engineering organization may be of associates and supervisors pressuring you to accept the way things are. There is...
The Forms of Public Administration
Change is always difficult. Even when we want, and expect change we find it hard to accept, it never seems to take the form we expected. It is this lack of control over the form of change...
Doing Our Work Better
An important skill a new engineer must learn is how to figure out the real issues affecting a project. This skill requires the ability to screen many ideas. Engineers have got this skill...
Constituencies, Communication, and Civil Engineers
Go to work for a local government and the first impression you have is, there are many people in the game. Advice, suggestions, opinions, guesses, and sometimes even threats come from...
Managing Problems Associated with Using Computer Programs
Everyone says they want to use computers. Yet, there are still some people who avoid using computers whenever they can. Also, some managers still resist using the latest computer technology....
Managing Managers
Early in their careers engineers usually begin to manage small groups of people. To learn the necessary skills of management young engineers often imitate their supervisors. This approach...
Managing Work
Managers often ask engineers to do more work without providing more resources to support the requests. In response, engineers typically counter that they need more resources (time, money,...
Citizens
Once you start to work for a local government you will hear a constant flow of warnings and gripes about the citizens. It is as if nobody understands that the customers we serve are the...
Elected Officials
Schools and organizations train engineers to use facts. But, engineers are often content to base decisions on their opinions. While engineering judgment is an important part of the professional...
Skills for Local Government
One job every engineer must do is craft their philosophy of engineering. That is, they must bring together the rules they will use to guide and shape their engineering form. This philosophy...
Technician or Manager
After working awhile many engineers want to go back to school, or learn new skills. There are two reasons for this. One is that we perceive training as the key to advancement. Another...
Infrastructure and Our Values (or How to Build for the Next 2000 Years)
Good ideas are everywhere. The challenge for civil engineers is to find them. When we do find them the real work begins. Then we must translate ideas into civil engineering....
Society
Folks get set in their ways early in life. After they reach their early 20's it is hard to change them much. Still, the first job that an engineer gets can cause some important...
Holy Cow! It's Going, Going, Gone!
This chapter serves as an introduction to the book and its topics....
Headlines for Tomorrow's Sport Section
This chapter discusses how to approach the negotiating table....
Drafting the Right Players
This chapter discusses the stage of selecting partners for a team....
Who's Shooting to Make the All-Star Game
This chapter comments on team member expectations....
Curfew and Other Team Rules
This chapter discusses rules that ought to be followed by a team....
What's at Stake in the Pot
This chapter discusses the importance of identifying all issues at stake and their respective priorities....
How Do You Want the Box Score to Read
This chapter discusses the importance of having specific objectives for issues and considering the other team's position....
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