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

• A management perspective to consider

• Leadership insights to delve into

• And more…

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Alright, let’s get into it.

Noteworthy Headlines

2025Q2 CIRT Sentiment Index (FMI)

Highlights:

• 18% of respondents report they are experiencing serious or substantial disruption to date, while 46% haven’t yet seen an impact but anticipate near-term disruption.

2025Q2 Construction Economic Insights (McCownGordon)

Highlights:

• Construction spending remains historically high but is beginning to show signs of slowing, which could bring relief to the industry regarding its continued labor challenges and the rising cost of materials.

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Management Perspective

The better you understand your client, the better you can serve them. One of the best ways to do this is to enmesh yourself in your client’s world.

There are many different ways to do this.

It’s pretty easy if your client is a publicly traded company. You can follow their earnings calls, read their annual reports, and look for articles covering them in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron’s, and other financial news outlets.

If your client is a retailer, visit their stores. Use their product. Talk with salespeople who work there.

If your client is a public school or municipality, attend school board or city hall meetings. Participate in advisory committees, fundraising events, and elections.

If your client is highly affected by government regulation or funding, stay abreast of the latest policies and trends. Know who the players are.

The list goes on and on. But the bottom line is this: by enmeshing yourself in your client’s world, you better understand what is going on in that industry and how they fit into it. Then, you can identify pain points or growth avenues that your client is trying to overcome or exploit. From there, it just becomes a matter of developing solutions and executing on them to provide value to your client.

By using this strategy, you become a partner to your client and develop a trusting relationship that is hard for your competitors to overcome.

Management Insights

Ed Catmull on immeasurable aspects of management:

“‘You can’t manage what you can’t measure’ is a maxim that is taught and believed by many in both the business and education sectors. But in fact, the phrase is ridiculous—something said by people who are unaware of how much is hidden. A large portion of what we manage can’t be measured, and not realizing this has unintended consequences. The problem comes when people think that data paints a full picture, leading them to ignore what they can’t see. Here’s my approach: Measure what you can, evaluate what you measure, and appreciate that you cannot measure the vast majority of what you do. And at least every once in a while, make time to take a step back and think about what you are doing.”

—

G.K. Chesterton on ideas:

“Ideas are dangerous, but the man to whom they are least dangerous is the man of ideas. He is acquainted with ideas, and moves among them like a lion-tamer.

Ideas are dangerous, but the man to whom they are most dangerous is the man of no ideas. The man of no ideas will find the first idea fly to his head like wine to the head of a teetotaller.”

—

Yvon Chouinard on what leaders do:

“Leaders take risks, have long-term vision, create the strategic plans, and instigate change.”

Management Resource

Why managers are handling so many direct reports (Korn Ferry)

In short: companies have been cutting costs by removing layers of management.

The effects? Training and development shortfalls, retention pressures, and burnout to name a few.

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

Collin

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