The Unwritten Laws of Engineering ← We Can Solve This

There is no thought of urging a servile adherence to rules and red tape, for there is no substitute for judgment

Many young engineers feel that the minor chores of a technical project are beneath their dignity and unworthy of their college training. They expect to prove their true worth in some major, vital enterprise. Actually, the spirit and effectiveness with which you tackle your first humble tasks will very likely be carefully watched and may affect your entire career.

Demonstrate the ability to get things done.

it may be worthwhile finishing a job, if it has any merit, just for the sake of finishing it.

In carrying out a project, do not wait passively for anyone — suppliers, sales people, colleagues, supervisors — to make good on their delivery promises; go after them and keep relentlessly after them.

Develop a "let's go see!" attitude. Throughout your career people will approach you with all manner of real-life problems they will have observed on devices or equipment for which you have responsibility. A wonderfully effective response, both technically and administratively, is to invite them to have a look with you — i.e., "Let's go see!" It is seldom adequate to remain at one's desk and speculate about causes and solutions, or to retreat to drawings, specifications, and reports and hope to sort it all out. Before ever being able to solve a problem, you will need abundant insight, insight that can only be developed by observing first-hand what might be at once too subtle and complex only to imagine (Ferguson, p. 56).

Don't be timid — speak up — express yourself and promote your ideas. Too many new employees seem to think that their job is simply to do what they are told.

The quiet, timorous individual who says nothing is usually credited with having nothing to say.

If you do not want the job, say nothing and you'll be overlooked, but you'll also be overlooked when it comes time to assign larger responsibilities.

It is important to be able to answer questions concerning your responsibilities, but a wrong answer is worse than no answer. If you do not know, say so, but also say, "I'll find out right away."

One of the first things you owe your supervisor is to keep him or her informed of all significant developments.

Many novices hesitate to bother their superiors with everyday minutiae, and it is certainly true that it can be overdone in this direction, but in by far the majority of cases the manager's problem is to extract enough information to keep adequately posted. It is a much safer course to risk having your supervisor say, "Don't bother me with so many details," than to allow your supervisor to say, "Why doesn't someone tell me these things?"

defend, and explain your activities to others, as well as to coordinate these activities into a larger plan. Compel yourself to provide all the information that is needed for these purposes.

As a rule, you can serve all other ends to best advantage by assuming that your supervisor is approximately the right person for that job.

There are only two proper alternatives open to you: (1) accept your boss as the representative of a higher authority and execute his or her policies and directives as effectively as possible, or (2) move to some other department, division, or company at the first opportunity. A great deal of mischief can be done to the interests of all concerned, including your company, if some other alternative is elected.

In general, a program laid down by the department, the project leader, or the design team is a proposal, rather than an edict. It is usually intended to serve only as a guideline, one that will have been formulated without benefit of the new information that will be discovered during its execution. The rule therefore is to keep others, your manager included, informed of what you have done, at reasonable intervals, and ask for approval of any well-considered and properly planned deviations that you may have conceived.

Most crises aren't half as bad as they appear at first, so make it a point not to magnify a bad situation. Do not ignore signs of trouble and get caught napping, but, learn to distinguish between isolated cases and real epidemics.

the important thing is to get the facts first, as promptly and as directly as possible. Then act as soon as you have enough evidence from responsible sources to enable you to reach a sound decision.

Is it in line with established custom, precedence, or policy? A good reason is generally required for a departure

every novice engineer working in a technological area should be supervised by a veteran seasoned in the same area. Neophytes can get themselves, their departments, their employers, and their supervisors into embarrassingly difficult spots if left on their own.

Clearly, it is to the company's advantage to preserve the morale and loyalty of individual engineers. These are tremendously important factors in any organization. They are founded primarily upon confidence, and reach a healthy development when employees feel that they will always get a square deal, plus a little extra consideration on occasions.

Select and train back-ups for all key personnel, including yourself

Once you assign jobs to your people, let them do those jobs, even at the cost of some inconvenience to yourself.

Generally, such skills and traits as communication, confidence, group and interpersonal effectiveness, motivation, pride in accomplishments, adaptability, leadership potential, inquisitiveness, integrity, and emotional control are exhibited by the most successful employees, just as with the most successful among engineers.

Cultivate the tendency to appreciate the good qualities, rather than the shortcomings, of each individual.

Keep your arguments objective and leave personalities out as much as possible. You never want to create enemies, for as E. B. White put it: "One of the most time-consuming things is to have an enemy."

Be particularly careful to be fair on all occasions. This means a good deal more than just fair upon demand

Do not give ground too quickly just to avoid a fight, when you know you're in the right. If you can be pushed around easily the chances are that you will be pushed around.

The priceless and inevitable reward for uncompromising integrity is confidence: the confidence of associates, subordinates, and outsiders. All transactions are enormously simplified and facilitated when your word is as good as your bond and your motives are above question.

Ralph Waldo Emerson puts it: "What you are . . . thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary

Upon becoming a member of the engineering profession, you accepted the responsibility of a professional as well as any liability that accompanies that responsibility, be it personal, professional, or corporate. Many engineers pretend that they can hide behind their employer's or their department's shield, or that they are powerless, mere cogs in the machinery, even if, or especially if, something goes haywire.

It should be observed that having the courage of your convictions includes having the courage to do what you know to be right, technically as well as ethically and morally, without undue fear of possible criticism or of the need to explain your actions

If your reasons for your actions are sound, you should not worry about having to defend them to anyone; if they're not sound you'd better correct them promptly, instead of building up an elaborate camouflage.

Be an adherent and a proponent of life-long learning.

Simply put, not all employers will accept the full burden of employees' continuing education. The effort and dedication required to remain employable is in every engineer's best interest.

to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;

to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;