Category: General Life Stuff

Times of transition or crises are a good opportunity to revisit one’s habits, patterns and processes. Graduations, job gain/loss, moving, other setbacks or level ups. All mark a time to reflect, and the world in Spring 2020 brings no exceptions. Figure out what has been working, what aspects that may have been temporarily shelved and that should be reintroduced later, or what might be permanently discarded. We only have so much we can carry in these human vessels, might as well be the right things.

Everyone has their own lists that ideally would be constantly under review. Here are some of my practices with some thoughts on how some patterns have not really changed (shameless back-patting), some that have, and others that are in the “yet to do” program.

The following is an appendix to this post, found in the book How to Develop Your Executive Ability, by Daniel Starch.

While there may be disagreements over rankings, omissions, etc., this list of classics is passed forward for those that want suggestions for what sorts of reading might broaden their horizons. In the opinion of that author, one of the best ways to nourish your creative powers is to “read widely the writings and records of the greatest minds of all time. ” As engineers, creativity is one of our greatest assets, and for leaders, he states:

We read to be entertained, to be instructed, and to be uplifted. Executives, on whose shoulders rests the responsible conduct of affairs, employing the millions of workers, particularly need to read for all three of these purposes in order to keep that inner balance necessary to judge wisely, decide soundly, and manage successfully.

Each came with a score, representing composite judgment input from 100 distinguished persons. Entries 101-106 are if one considers the writings of Shakespeare as a single book, and/or one just likes to see more books.

On to the list.

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Why would a book about executives be relevant to engineers? Well, a couple reasons. This is a relatively old book (published in 1943, with corresponding language), and engineers for the most part love artifacts. The author, Daniel Starch, was a professor at Harvard and the University of Wisconsin (hence a Badger connection). The author uses a variety of surveys and semi-quantitative measures to get his points across, which might appeal to someone with a numerical bent. But more profoundly, given the challenges of the world, couldn’t we hope for more dispassionate, objective, results-oriented leaders in business and government, possibly drawing from a technical background? One hopes so.

Why are better leaders needed?

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A lot is made of how engineering can be a modestly lucrative career, and indeed for starting salaries it can be quite appealing for new graduates. Other professions like medicine, law, and small business owners can and do pull in more in many cases, but as a fairly low-risk, steady track to a six figure income, engineering is not a bad choice, if one has the right temperament and aptitude. Like any career, don’t go into it for the money if you aren’t otherwise suited for it; you’ll be miserable. But if you happen to take to it, the money doesn’t hurt.

Thinking beyond that to more intangibles however, what are some of the ways an engineering education or mindset prepares one to have a more ‘effective’ income? By that I mean have a net effect on your life that goes beyond the size of the actual paycheck. Let’s consider a few.

Timberland Treadmill to Riches

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