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

Oil prices contribute to March surge in construction materials prices (ABC)

Highlights:

• Construction input prices increased 2.2% in March compared to the previous month.

• Overall construction input prices are 4.8% higher than one year ago

1Q2026 Civil Infrastructure Construction Index (FMI)

Highlights:

• Up from 50.6 in 4Q2026 to 52.1 in 1Q2026, reflecting modest but broadening optimism across the civil infrastructure sector.

• Backlog strengthened meaningfully, rising to 57.3 from 52.8, with median firm coverage at approximately 12 months and averages exceeding 15 months.

• The defining constraint entering 2026 is not a lack of opportunity, but the industry’s capacity to execute profitably against growing workloads and a persistently tight labor market.

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Management Perspective

There’s a difference between robustness and resiliency, yet many times they are thought of as one. This confusion leads to hiring and developing staff in ways that create lopsided teams.

Here’s the difference.

Robustness is bench depth. Think of specific disciplines of engineers who are all experienced in similar things (project types, systems, materials, etc.). If one engineer leaves the team, you aren’t in a bind.

Resilience is range. It’s the overlapping of abilities across disciplines. Think of a Venn diagram: two distinct circles have a shared area where they overlap. This “crossing” of knowledge provides a link between different disciplines, leading to more cohesive solutions and higher-quality designs.

Many managers think only in terms of robustness. How many electrical engineers do they have? Mechanical? Structural? Are they covered if one leaves or another gets sick?

The most durable teams are both robust and resilient. They have bench depth within disciplines and enough cross-trained capability that a project doesn’t suffer quality, schedule, or budget issues every time someone’s unavailable.

Management Insights

Lalit Maganti (software engineer) on AI:

“AI is an incredible force multiplier for implementation, but it’s a dangerous substitute for design.”

—

General Eric Shinseki (former Chief of Staff of the US Army) on change:

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”

—

Jocko Willink (former Navy SEAL) on getting the right resources and support:

“If your boss isn’t making a decision in a timely manner or providing necessary support for you and your team, don’t blame the boss. First, blame yourself. Examine what you can do to better convey the critical information for decisions to be made and support allocated.”

Management Resource

FOBO: Fear of becoming obsolete (Korn Ferry)

Professionals of all kinds are afraid AI will displace them. This article discusses how leaders can help address these concerns.

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

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

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Send me an email at [email protected]

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

Collin

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