As geotechnical engineers, environmental engineers, civil engineers, geologists, environmental scientists, technicians, designers, etc. we easily get wrapped up in the technical details of the project at hand.  Don’t forget the non-technical skills that “matter”.  Those skills make your job more enjoyable - for you, for your client, for your fellow employees, for your direct reports, for your boss, and down the line.

Seth Godin has this to say about mattering:

“You Matter

• When you love the work you do and the people you do it with, you matter.
• When you are so gracious and generous and aware that you think of other people before yourself, you matter.
• When you leave the world a better place than you found it, you matter.
• When you continue to raise the bar on what you do and how you do it, you matter.
• When you teach and forgive and teach more before you rush to judge and demean, you matter.
• When you touch the people in your life through your actions (and your words), you matter.
• When kids grow up wanting to be you, you matter.
• When you see the world as it is, but insist on making it more like it could be, you matter.
• When you inspire a Nobel prize winner or a slum dweller, you matter.
• When the room brightens when you walk in, you matter.
• And when the legacy you leave behind lasts for hours, days or a lifetime, you matter.”

Now go out and matter!

How well could we do our job without all the suppliers that serve us?  I know.  We couldn’t do our job at all.  For example, GMC keeps us in dependable vehicles, and the various oil companies keep selling us gas to drive these vehicles.  Oh yes, the fuel is expensive, but the alternative is certainly not acceptable.  We have cell phones and office phones that allow us to communicate.  This computer that I write this communication with was made with care by a supplier of Aquaterra, as was all of the software that allows the computer to do its work correctly.  The power company sends the necessary electricity to it just so that I can say “have a great week”.   Let’s face it, we depend on our suppliers.

I can’t tell you how well our vision and our mission statements have helped guide us as we make day-to-day as well as strategic decisions within Aquaterra.  Today, let’s consider a specific aspect of our mission statement that is directed toward our suppliers.

You will recall that our mission statement challenges us to exceed the expectations of five separate groups:  our clients, our employees, our suppliers, the public and our professional peers.  Each group is addressed with specific ways that we want to exceed their expectations.  When it comes to our suppliers we say the following:
Aquaterra will exceed the expectations of our suppliers, while practicing fair and consistent trade policies, meeting contractual obligations, and providing timely and accurate communications.

The term “suppliers” should be considered in a broad sense.  The term may apply to any company or individual who assists us to get our work done.  We all have the opportunity to interact with our suppliers.  We may purchase a bag of cement at a Lowe’s store, a box of pens from an office supply store or perhaps a replacement part for a drilling rig, to name just a few of a myriad of supplier types.  Consider this too:  we often order analytical laboratory testing, cleaning services, contract drilling services, legal consultation,  accounting work, welding and and machine shop work.  The list goes on and on.

The point is, we can’t be preeminent (as our Vision statement exhorts us to be) unless we have suppliers who also aspire to preeminence.  Think about it;  if we want to do the very best job when it comes to grouting a boring, but the cement that we purchase is inferior, we will do an inferior job.  If we hire an analytical laboratory to provide data on water samples that we collect, and if the lab provides inaccurate information, our work will be wrong.  I think that you could come up with dozens of examples of just how much we must depend on the quality of our suppliers in order for us to render quality services.

We have an opportunity to do something really special for each and every supplier.  We can make them a better company!  That is what we are driving at with the words of our mission statement.

We start by saying that we want to practice far and consistent trade policies.  This means that we should expect our supplier to be compensated adequately for their goods or services.  We should show our suppliers what they can expect from us, and then we should be consistent in our trade practices, so that they can begin to work within our team, predicting our needs and us prediction their responses.

When we say “meeting contractual obligations”, we mean that we should pay them what we have agreed to pay them and within the time schedules that we have agreed.  Sure the power company will turn you off if you don’t pay the bill, but the local machine shop needs to be paid as promised even if we are done with him.  Conversely, we should not pay a supplier who has not met their contractual obligations with respect to the product or the service provided.  If we simply pay the bill without receiving the expected service, then we have certainly not helped them become a better company, and we have caused funds to be paid from Aquaterra that should not have been paid.

Instead, we should, as we say in the mission statement, provide a clear and timely notice to them of our expectations.  We should be diligent to be accurate in our expectations and in our communications.

Finally, as a part of providing timely and accurate communications, we should provide feedback whenever we can.  If a supplier has a customer survey, by all means complete the survey.  I did this just this weekend for a hotel chain that I stayed in last week.  If no opportunity for a survey exists, an email, or a letter (with praise or criticism as appropriate) is a great means to let them know what we are thinking of their service.

So, the point here in our mission statement is, go the extra mile with our suppliers.  Don’t just get what you need from them and get them paid.  If we work diligently to improve our suppliers, it will happen.  If our suppliers improve, then we improve.  And we all take another step toward preeminence.

I was in the mall today during lunch and I noticed a new term … geoethic.  A store was touting a brand of “green” mattress and was persuading customers to mind their geoethic, buy green.  Some of you may have heard this before, but it was new to me.  I also saw a bumper sticker the other day that said “I [heart] my carbon footprint”.  Carbon footprint - another new “green” term.

Well, be proud Aquaterrians that we have been minding and protecting our geo-resources for over three decades.  We have been providing sound engineering solutions for environmental issues since “environmental” was a buzz word.  We’re geo-technical engineers and geo-logists and geo-biologists and geo-environmental scientists.  You’re now a buzz-word — geo.  Take pride … you’re now also geo-ethical and geo-cool!

Recently we were visited by Aquaterra’s senior management team for a company update and discussion of management role changes. During this presentation a question came up about training and I also had a flashback to a period of a nine year employment with a very large engineering firm. Within that firm there was at times mention of mentoring programs, but no programs were ever successful because many of the employees had the wrong perspective. The work environment and management style created a situation where people were scared to teach each other or share information for fear of losing their job to that person. For example, as an aspiring designer at that time with no formal engineering schooling I once asked an engineer to show me how to size a culvert. The engineer told me that if she showed me how that I would be able to replace her. This was typical throughout the office and as a result the work environment was stagnant for everyone. No one was moving. As an employee at that company you just became very good at the exact same task year after year or you tried your very best to learn those tasks on your own.

My move to the next company provided a totally different perspective from top to bottom. During my first week a senior engineer sat with me and taught me more in that week than my 9 years at the other company. I was so astonished that I asked the engineer why he was taking so much time to teach me. His reply was the more he could teach me the less he would have to work on the details of the project, and he would be free to complete the more difficult project tasks, managing the client and taking on new tasks for himself.

Notice the two completely different views.   One view was if I share information with you I may get phased out and the other was if I teach you more I will be free to learn more and move up. So which of the two is better? The people that wanted to protect themselves actually hurt themselves by not helping others grow. The process will hopefully reciprocate from the top down to the bottom. How often do we hear or we are asked by others if a place of employment offers growth. Most us want to know that we can progress through the years.

During the presentation Victor told us how senior management and others would be taking on new roles and be learning new things, but what about us? Later that evening I wondered what I could provide to Aquaterra Engineering. Again it is perspective. It is not just about what I can gain personally, but what I can provide to others. After leaving that large firm a number of years ago I have had the privilege to train many designers and engineers how to refine their design abilities using CAD software. Instead of protecting knowledge it becomes a joy to watch someone else grow by sharing knowledge. Later you can stand back and reflect on their growth and how you had a hand in shaping their career. Being helpful in sharing information with others typically reciprocates. In other terms, you reap what you sow.  Those who I teach are typically willing to teach me as well and the end result is we all become a better team.

The following is something to consider when thinking about the difference between training and mentoring.

Mentoring is relational. It is like a father to his child or a friend to a friend, where as, coaching and training is a task assigned and obligated to complete. Mentoring is building a relationship with someone and helping them grow. Not out of obligation, but because you want to see them grow. Training is typically assigned and measured as we see on annual reviews as tasks set by management. Did you learn this assigned task? Yes or No? Did we make the opportunity for you to learn this task? Yes or No? Mentoring, on the other hand, has no boundaries. I can mentor to someone above, below or equal to my level. A person seeking a mentor typically does not need to seek the approval of management and management may or may not even recognize this growth. Yet the mentor and the mentored can find personal fulfillment in the experience. You know you are growing as an employee in your skills and knowledge or you know you have helped someone else grow.

I can only effectively mentor those in my office since that is where I build day-to-day working relationships, but I can provide coaching to staff abroad, if desired. I have started a personal blog with a few entries relating to using advanced CAD methodologies. I hope to add to this blog as others have questions. I have a lot to learn myself as far as Civil 3D goes, but if you have a question about using these design software products let me know and maybe we can learn something together. If you are interested in access to the blog you can email me.

-Jesse Aldridge

Here’s a post from over at RainToday.com about why discounting professional services is a bad idea. Give it a read, good stuff. Let me know your thoughts on this via comments, please.

I’ve made several posts here and here about e-mail do’s and don’ts. Here’s a pretty good post by Seth Godin with an e-mail checklist - things to check before hitting send:

E-mail Checklist.

Happy e-mailing.

Jeffrey Gitomer had a rant the other day about his disdain for “Out of the office” e-mails and other e-mail blunders. I figured I’d use this opportunity to discuss that and other e-mail “no-no’s” and some basic email etiquette rules.

Out of the Office Reply - I mentioned above Jeffrey Gitomer has a disdain for “Out of the Office” autoreply’s. Says Gitomer of receiving Out of Office autoreply’s - “Why are you telling me this? I didn’t write you to find out what you’re doing, I wrote to communicate a message, ask a question, or get information that I require. Do you stay in touch with your customers and contacts any other time than when you’re in the office? Because email is instant, everyone feels that their response needs to be instant. In the old, old days, people sent letters. In the near old days, they sent faxes. When you got either of these documents, you never told anybody what you were doing, you just responded - as it should be with email. But it’s not. And it’s rude.” Read Gitomer’s full article here.

Do not use return reply requested. It’s none of your business when or if I open my mail. Read Receipts have a purpose - if used very rarely and sparingly. Since e-mail has replaced USPS and Fed Ex in many situations, sometimes we need to know that someone received and e-mail. Some examples - submitting a proposal or bid with a due date/time, sending bidders formal addenda, etc. Use this sparingly.

Your e-mail is NOT MY highest priority - likely. Some folks mark all their e-mail Highest Priority or Urgent. This is like crying wolf with every e-mail. Eventually none of them are urgent. In fact, so many folks do this, I often don’t even notice when an e-mail is marked urgent.

Keep your e-mail’s professional. Remember, this is business correspondence, not buddy jargon. Here’s some ideas from Productivity 501. Also, don’t use a cute letterhead or background picture. This is formal business correspondence. Do use a formal, standard signature line.
Before you hit the send button, re-read what you have written. I guarantee you, you’ll find at least two errors, and think of better wording you could have used. If there’s a secret to a great e-mail, it’s not just in the writing, it’s in the editing. If it’s important, read the e-mail aloud. Read it for attitude - does it convey the demeanor you want? Then picture yourself as the recipient. If you’re happy with both, and you’ve edited it, hit the send button.

Do NOT send very large attachment without permission. Some folks may not have super fast broadband connections. Even on an ISDN connection, a 10 MB file can take 15-20 minutes. If you happen to be on a trip and connecting via modem or mobile wireless, it can take hours. You’ve effectively high-jacked their computer and they may have critical e-mails they need to send/recieve. One option is to use services like You Send It. You upload your file to You Send It an it sends and e-mail to your recipient with instructions how to connect and download the attachment.

Here are some other resources for e-mail etiquette:

Marketing Profs

Netmanners

Remember, re-read what you’re about to send. Be nice; always.

I’m sitting here in the airport, just having returned my National rental car. As I pulled up in the return line, I witnessed a young lady unloading her car and working to keep track of two young children. She began removing bags from the trunk and kept removing bags. The attendant promptly arrived at her car, checked her out and moved to the next car. When he got to me, I asked “Don’t you guys have some type of cart or something to assist that young lady?” He said, “there are rental carts over by the wall.” Glancing toward the wall some 100 yards away, I said “Way over there?” He promptly moved on to the next car. I saw this as opportunity missed. He could have easily asked for some assistance from another attendant and assisted getting her two kids and five bags to the counter. Everyone returning their cars (National customers and others) would have witnessed a display of going the extra mile for the client. Instead, he focused on “Not My Job!” If nothing else, National should have carts near the car return area.
In short, LOOK for opportunities to go the extra mile for your client. We’ve said time and again, the small things count. I promise, they’ll notice and they’ll tell others. Can you imagine how this young mother would have told her husband and friends about the extra service she got? That’s what Word of Mouth Marketing is all about. If they have nothing to talk about, they won’t!

And yes, I did help her carry her bags to the check-in counter. Boy Scout Slogan “Do a good deed daily.”
Just do it!

Yesterday I had a meeting with a relatively new client. We have been serving them for about a year now, and the work load with them is on a steady increase. At one point in our meeting, I couldn’t resist the urge to acknowledge that they have become a very good client, and we appreciate the business. Then I asked the question. “Why are you continuing to work with us?”

What would expect his answer to be? We are more capable than others he had used? We are less expensive? We are more politically connected? Nope, none of the above. He quickly expressed his increased dissatisfaction with the way that our competitors (his former consultants) tended to ignore their commitment dates. They were essentially non-responsive. He said “Its not like they were a day or so behind on a commitment that they made; they were simply ignoring me.”

I can’t comprehend this. Think about the scenario. A client gives me a job to do. I tell him when I will be done. I miss that deadline. He calls to check on the job. I don’t take the call, and I don’t call him back promptly. Why would anyone put up with that?

Let’s remember the golden rule; the ethic of reciprocity: Treat others the way that you would like to be treated. Live by your word to your customer. If you say you will deliver, do it. BUT, if, for whatever reason you can’t, let your customer know, don’t hide. Isn’t that how you would want to be treated?

Mother always said “If you don’t have something good to say about someone, then don’t talk about them”. I wish I had listened to her. What about our profession? Do you have something to say about it? Can you improve it by talking about it? Can you degrade it by talking about? At Aquaterra we are talking about ways to improve our profession. We have decided to move from a passive role to an active role. This transition will impact many facets of our business. One very import opportunity to improve the profession is to share what you know with your peers.

I often provide seminar instruction to groups of my peers. It may be a meeting of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Institute of Architects, the Solid Waste Association of North America, or some group of that nature. When I was younger, I looked on these opportunities with great trepidation. I think that early on, my problem was vanity. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be impressive! Well guess what; I was right. My initial efforts to present to others were feeble attempts to convey the message that I was smart enough to tell the audience something. BUT, at least they were attempts. With each attempt, I improved in my presentation methods, my self confidence improved, and the focus of my presentations changed from me (and what I knew) to the subject matter. I’m still not real good at it, but I do enjoy it, and I believe that some of the messages that I have attempted to convey have permeated to some extent.

I usually speak about some aspect of the engineering profession that should be reconsidered or scrutinized in some manner. Sometimes it is a simple presentation of basic concepts of geotechnical engineering. Whenever I speak to an audience, I use the event as a precious opportunity to convey a message that is important to me; then I consider ways to convey the message in a way that will be entertaining to some extent, all the while conveying the message.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the presentation from my perspective is watching the audience feedback during the talk. I typically will be in front of a small group, say 20 to 50 people, so it is easy to watch the reactions of my audience. Even subject matter that is interesting to the group (as evidenced by something like a head nod, or a smile) is always combined with the other type of head nod, the fellow falling asleep. I don’t get discouraged, but if more than 10 percent of the audience is going into the sleep mode I know that I need to change things up. I have learned to use this feedback to forge the direction of the presentation. Much like a quarterback may come to the line of scrimmage and change the play based upon the defensive strategy. It is invigorating to do this.

Enough about me; I said all that to set the stage for us all to consider the need to share our knowledge. At Aquaterra, we have established a part of our mission to exceed the expectations of our peers, and we should be giving back to our profession in whatever way we can. A very obvious way is in sharing our specialized knowledge and the benefit of our experience with our profession. Everybody who reads this should personally consider a way that they could do that. We all have specialized knowledge or experience that could benefit our company or our profession. Look for those opportunities. Most times, they won’t come to you. Instead you should let others know that you would like to speak, provide a paper, or whatever method that you can share with the group.

Many people in Aquaterra already do that. As a result we can be proud that Aquaterra is already working to improve our profession in this manner. Let me refute the misgivings that others who do not actively make professional presentations may have that keep us from doing this.

Misgiving No. 1 - I have nothing significant to talk about.
You are probably selling yourself short if you think that is true. If you have a significant amount of experience, think about what that experience has taught you that could benefit others, with less experience. If your experience is not vast, you may have specialized education or training that would benefit your peers. Share something important from that educational background. If you do not have either a strong experience background or specialized education, perhaps you should set your sights on a subject matter that interests you and would benefit your peers, and plan to acquire the knowledge and/or experience that you need to present on the subject in the near future.

Don’t think that you must present to a crowd of many people either. If you currently do not speak in this manner, consider opportunities to speak at your local office during a lunch presentation opportunity. Perhaps giving a lunch and learn to the company as we do monthly would work for you.

Misgiving No. 2 €“ No one asks me to present a topic at a conference.
Remember, be active, not passive. So many professional societies and related organizations try very hard to find interesting subjects to present to their peer group. Don’t keep your specialized knowledge a secret. Find a group that would benefit from the topic that you want to share, identify a person responsible for planning this, and volunteer. It is easy to do.

Misgiving No. 3 - I get too nervous to make presentations.
That is an excuse that we all can make from time to time. Go back to what I shared about my early efforts to present. Remember, it is not about you, and shift the focus to your subject matter. That could remove the stage fright right away. Go about the task of being confident that you have a topic that is interesting and that you understand well, rehearse the presentation so that you will not find yourself out on a limb, and then do your best to get your point across. Here is a tip. Rehearse the presentation so that you have it memorized, then try to ad lib to some degree, with the confidence of knowing that you can go right back to the script if you are in trouble. The mere shift of the focus from you and how you will do to the subject to how it will be understood will remove this stage fright issue.
If you still can’t get over that fear of public speaking (some folks just can’t do it), consider alternative means. The internet has opened up a new opportunity for us to share our knowledge, and Aquaterra has a blog space that would be perfect for various presentations that you may share with others. Get with our IT folks and figure out what you would need to do to post a blog, and that is a start at sharing your knowledge with your peers. Maybe your subject would be more appropriate to Aquaterra only. If so, we can post it on an internal location that we all could see and even discuss if appropriate.

Misgiving No. 4 €“ I can’t take the time to prepare a presentation.
This is the more difficult one to refute. We are all busy, and much is asked of our time. What I can say to encourage you here is: Sometimes we need to set a priority to meet an important objective. When I encounter the need to go above and beyond the time that I feel I can give, I find myself thinking back to my college days. My professors didn’t see any problem with expecting a tremendous effort to accomplish a project, prepare for a final exam or something like that. They didn’t go confer with my other professors to be sure that I wasn’t spending too much time on school work. None of them said to us “whoever has to work to pay your tuition can skip this assignment, because you probably don’t have enough time.” However, many folks didn’t take the time to do it, and they didn’t pass the course. That is what it takes. Sometimes we must give it the old college try to get an important assignment completed. Developing that first presentation would be such an important assignment.

Misgiving No. 5 €“ I don’t know how to prepare a presentation.
You may have a great topic for a group that would really benefit from the discussion, the confidence that public speaking will not be an issue, and you are willing to invest the time, but you may not have a good understanding of the way to convey the message. Today, that problem is not as difficult as in the past. With computer software that makes putting a professional looking presentation together as easy as typing, that learning curve is short. Aquarterra has many people who are well-versed in such methods. If this is your misgiving, find one of these people, and they will share their knowledge with you. (Hey, that could be a good presentation to give: How to prepare a presentation!)

Now, here is the personal encouragement. There are several very good things that you stand to derive from your step into the arena. I have found an immense sense of satisfaction in my efforts to prepare and present on various topics. If you want to really learn something, teach others about it. You will come out of the effort with a great deal of confidence in your knowledge of the subject matter, and you will derive a great sense of accomplishment. I have often encouraged others to make talks of this nature, and, in that encouragement, I tell them that when they stand before the audience, they are the expert until proven otherwise. By that I mean, when you are at the podium, you bring a credential of knowledge with you, kind of like what the Wizard of Oz gave to the scarecrow. Step up and earn it, and the audience leaves the meeting knowing that you are an expert.

OK, so now you know that I have asked you to consider improving our profession by finding opportunities to share with your peer groups about subjects that are important to us. If you have read this far, don’t close this document and forget about it. Take a minute (60 seconds), and think about a means for you to accomplish this request. Do you have a subject that would be beneficial? If not, can you set about the task of developing one? Can you get past the fear of public speaking by focusing on the subject? Can you set aside a little extra time to develop the presentation? If you don’t have the ability to develop the presentation on your own, can you get some help you put it together?

Do the best that you can to get a “yes” answer to these questions. It is the next step in your professional development, and I guarantee it will be a rewarding experience. I look forward to hearing it.