I get this question often from civil engineers who understand that in order to progress in their careers, they’ll need to take on more client communication, but are not sure how to prepare for doing so.
In this article, I’d like to share a few actions you can take to either prepare for communicating with clients, or start doing so today.
1. Ask your supervisor if...
You won’t find a bigger proponent for productivity in the workplace than me. I write and podcast regularly on how you should use the Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 Rule) to stay focused on what matters in your career, among other productivity strategies.
That being said, the other day I was thinking more deeply about productivity in civil engineering and realized that, while...
ASCE President Kristina Swallow has been racking up the frequent flyer miles since her presidential year began last October, crisscrossing the country, visiting ASCE groups far and wide, meeting elected officials to advocate for infrastructure, connecting with Younger Members, speaking with students, and on and on.
And at every stop, she inspires a new group of engineers – not simply as the ASCE president but...
Actions speak louder than words. We’ve all heard that expression at one point, but what does it mean?
Studies suggest that 80 to 95 percent of one-on-one communication is nonverbal. Around 38 percent comes from tone of voice and 55 percent comes from body language. And the rest? Only 7 percent of communication comes from what we say. What we don’t say is just as...
For many entrepreneurial engineers, failure is part of the business. Forbes estimates that 90 percent of startups fail, many of them before the business even has the chance to fully launch. While failure before success often comes with the building of oneself as an entrepreneur, smart engineering entrepreneurs have used business accelerators to help get their ideas off the ground.
In this edition of ASCE...
Yes, every civil engineer should learn about business development. That concludes this post…
Just kidding.
First of all, let me define business development for those civil engineers who are not familiar with the term.
The general Wikipedia definition is: Business development comprises a number of tasks and processes generally aiming at developing and implementing growth opportunities within and between organizations.
My definition: bringing in new business to your...
