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your approach
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
doug’s story
My name is Doug Howard. I’m a licensed engineer with 14 years experience, all with the same company, in commercial structural design. The majority of that time, I was the head of our engineering department.
When I started working there, it was a small & scrappy family-owned firm with a (5) person Engineering Dept (including me). We serviced a very niche’ market, with most projects being regional and cookie-cutter. Shortly after I was hired, we experienced MAJOR growth (in demand) that lasted for...well, it never really ended.
Before the iphone was even invented, and by pure random chance, the company was extremely well positioned to capitalize on opportunities created by e-commerce. To put this into perspective...by 2010 we were bidding on (and winning) single projects that cost more than our entire 2008 revenue.
All of this growth created many opportunities for me. I became a lead project engineer by the end of my 1st year - working on the biggest, most complex projects we had.
As the business continued growing, I transitioned into leadership roles….supervisor, then team leader.
Before I was 30 I was Engineering Manager with (20) direct reports.
It was an exciting fast-paced environment, but we could never grow fast enough to keep up with the demand. Our niche’ design means & methods separated us from the competition, but it made onboarding too slow. We needed a faster, more effective way to get newbie-engineers up to speed...and we needed it yesterday.
My boss was the company president, so I was the highest ranking engineer in my chain of command. Without any guidance from “above”, or a roadmap to follow, I did what any engineer would do....think outside the box, and solve the problem.
After spending a lot of time researching the science behind teaching & training people, (2) things became front of mind:
Collaborative environments foster faster, and further, learning capabilities
Engineers are already the best learners in the world - that’s what they do!
That’s when I got the crazy idea to begin emphasizing social skills with my team.
As you can imagine, I initially received pushback...especially from my senior gurus, and my boss. But a few people were open to it, so I focused on them...
It started simple. People would come to me for advice on interpersonal work conflicts, then I’d advise on handling it. The first thing we worked on was giving constructive feedback in ways that opened the other person up to receiving & applying it.
This topic came up frequently, so I created a small group that met over lunch once a week. It was a forum for them to soundboard their constructive feedback situations (without names) - we’d talk it through together, create short-simple action plans for resolving it, and review how it went at the next meeting.
It didn’t take long for “outsiders” to notice, and appreciate, how people in this group were communicating differently. I specifically remember a salesman - one who LOVED razzing our engineers about being socially awkward - going out of his way to write me this note...
Hey Doug,
I wanted to let you know how clutch Frank was when I brought him on site with the customer last week...
As you know, this customer wasn’t very happy with the recent project delays. And I haven’t had much experience with Frank, yet - not knowing how he handles himself in front of customers had me nervous, to say the least.
I brought Frank for technical support…but I could also learn a thing or two from him on managing my customers. The customer started on a mission to air grievances, but Frank calmly listened, proposed on-the-fly solutions, and quickly redirected the customer’s focus towards working together to get the project back on schedule. He even convinced the customer to remove unnecessary parts of the project scope!
Frank was critical in keeping this customer happy, and getting this project back on track - I owe him big time! I don’t even want to think about how this would’ve gone without him. Now, I want to take Frank into every customer meeting with me.
PS - If more engineers were like Frank, I’d be out of a job….but let’s keep that between us :)
I saved this note because it made me realize I was on to something BIG.
I used to get defensive everytime someone teased how engineers didn’t have social skills. I hated the idea of my team and I being a punchline. But that was ego and pride blocking me from realizing that…
Yes, many engineers lack social skills, BUT that makes engineers WITH strong social skills a RARE COMMODITY - confident, in-control, powerful, and capable of anything!
So I continued placing a heavy emphasis on social skills, and over the next few years it proved to be the most efficient way to grow the department.
The department size doubled to (40) people - all engineers, architects, designers, drafters, detailers - and output increased x6.
We were designing projects larger and more complex than I would’ve ever imagined - and we were delivering them throughout the world.
We forged strong relationships with our customers and partners, and built a reputation as THE BEST engineering service in our market - it became one of our biggest competitive advantages.
These were the goals I was measured against, and they were my primary source of motivation for a long time. Teaching social skills was simply a means to hitting these goals, but after coaching social skills to so many people…
Showing them how to build strong relationships, lead conversations with anyone, pitch ideas and influence people…watching them thrive personally and professionally from it…my passion naturally shifted from process to people, and systematizing ways to teach these skills to ANYONE!
And after hearing people tell me things like...
“You helped me change things about myself, and my personality, that I will owe you for the rest of my life”
...inspired me to take it further, make a bigger impact, and help more people in this way. It was the inspiration to start my own business teaching social skills to engineers and technologists.
your about
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.