Hey, it’s Collin. Welcome to Engineering Echelons, a newsletter full of ideas and insights to help engineers excel at management.

Here’s what I’ve got for you this week.

• New and noteworthy news

• Something to consider

• Some insights to delve into

• And more…

First time reading? You can subscribe here.

Alright, let’s get into it.

Noteworthy Headlines

The American Worker is Becoming More Productive (WSJ)

Highlights:

• Productivity—the total output of the economy divided by hours worked—rose 2% in the third quarter compared with a year earlier. That’s the fifth quarter in a row with an increase of 2% or better.

Global Real Estate Outlook 2025 (JLL)

Highlights:

• A decline in new supply will impact almost all commercial real estate sectors in the U.S. and Europe, primarily caused by continued high construction costs, financing costs, and labor market constraints.

• With a strong economy and widespread return-to-office mandates, U.S. corporations expect employee headcount in office spaces to grow.

• Light to medium retrofits can unlock between 10% and 40% in energy savings.

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Consider This Thought

I recently read this article by Adam Grant in the New York Times. In it, he discusses how students in his class argued for higher grades at the end of the semester by saying their grade didn’t reflect their effort. In other words, they wanted to be rewarded for the quantity of their effort rather than the quality of their knowledge.

Grant reflects on this type of argument in the article. Rewarding effort cultivates a strong work ethic and it balances the playing field between naturals and strivers. And rewarding effort is far better than participation trophies.

However, rewarding effort can only go so far. A surgeon who works hard but makes mistakes and ultimately kills a patient shouldn’t be rewarded. The outcome matters; effort is not an end in itself.

Furthermore, blindly rewarding effort incentivizes any effort, meaning the value and efficiency of the effort are neglected. Rowing a boat in a circle very quickly does not deliver the same outcome as rowing from point A to point B.

You can probably tell I like thinking with analogies. Here’s another one: a horse and jockey. Effort is the horse. It can run hard and fast but without the jockey, it won’t win the race. You need both.

Blind effort is a scalar; intentional effort that drives outcomes is a vector.

Now transition this to your world. In engineering, project management, construction, etc., it’s good to have teammates who work hard. But are they actually achieving anything? Are they being efficient with their time? Or are they being busy just for the sake of looking busy? Is there an incentive structure that encourages staff to prioritize effort (number of hours on a time card) over the quality and delivery of a project/product?

Where do you fall on this effort vs. outcome spectrum?

The answers to those questions speak volumes about the kind of culture your organization has.

Delve Into These Insights

Jocko Willink on team leadership:

“If an individual on the team is not performing at the level required for the team to succeed, the leader must train and mentor that underperformer. But if the underperformer continually fails to meet standards, then a leader who exercises Extreme Ownership must be loyal to the team and the mission above any individual. If underperformers cannot improve, the leader must make the tough call to terminate them and hire others who can get the job done. It is all on the leader.”

—

Rich Cohen on business strategy:

“There are times when certain cards sit unclaimed in the common pile, when certain properties become available that will never be available again. A good businessman feels these moments like a fall in the barometric pressure. A great businessman is dumb enough to act on them even when he cannot afford to.”

—

Scott Young on active learning:

“Directness is the practice of learning by doing the thing you want to learn. Basically, it’s improvement through active practice rather than through passive learning. The phrases learning something new and practicing something new may seem similar, but these two methods can produce profoundly different results. Passive learning creates knowledge. Active practice creates skill.”

Level Up With This Resource

The Lost Art of Eye Contact (Time)

What’s the difference between an extroverted and an introverted engineer?

The extroverted engineer will look at your shoes when talking with you.

Engineers get a bad rap for not making eye contact when they communicate. The truth is, a lot of people aren’t great at it. And technology isn’t helping.

This article is by a professional communications trainer. One of his best descriptions of eye contact is that it’s an art. It’s dynamic; something you can personalize. Give this a read if you think your eye contact skills need some improvement.

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Or…

• Let me know if you’ve found something worth sharing.

• Let me know what challenges you’re having as a manager.

• Let me know what challenges you see other managers having.

Send me an email at [email protected]

Looking forward to hearing from you. See you next time.

Collin

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