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…

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Alright, let’s get into it.

Noteworthy Headlines

2Q2025 Civil Infrastructure Construction Index (FMI)

Highlights:

• 63% of respondents indicated backlogs that are at or exceeding internal expectations for this time of year.

• 74% of respondents indicate that margins are steady or improved.

• Approximately 72% of respondents report an increase in competition quarter over quarter, down from 77% in the first quarter.

Construction Backlog & Profit Margin Expectation Improve (ABC)

Highlights:

• The ABC Construction Backlog Indicator rose to a 20-month high of 8.7 months

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Management Perspective

The common mindset for success in design and construction is to win work, deliver the work well, and repeat. Yes, these are all important, but there’s an important part missing that trips up many firms.

Those are all objective parts of engagements; they can be measured.

Here’s the secret: doing objectively good work isn’t enough. The client has to believe that you did a good job, too. It takes both.

This may sound trivial. If you delivered good work (a design that won awards, was under budget, on time, etc.), then the client will be satisfied, right?

Wrong.

Clients have different perspectives and motivations from their clients do. And whether you like it or not, they will compare you to other consultants they have used in the past.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your contract stipulates a timeframe for you to deliver by, and you beat it. That’s great. But what if it’s a similar task to that which another consultant is performing, and they complete it with similar quality in a much shorter time. Objectively, you exceeded the agreement. But you fell short in comparison.

Here’s another thought to consider: have you ever tried to pursue a potential client but they stick with their tried and true consultant, one who has a subpar reputation in the industry? Maybe they don’t have the technical expertise, maybe their deliverables run behind, or maybe they lack in some other capacity. But they are great communicators, devote their attention to that client, and make them feel smart. They make the client feel good.

Arguably, that’s more important.

So remember as you are working on delivering projects for your clients: are you only focusing on the objective parts of the deliverable (quality, schedule, cost, etc.)? Or are you also taking into account the human aspect of who you are working with?

Management Insights

Viktor Frankl on the need for struggle:

“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task.”

—

Ryan Holiday on the difference between amateurs and professionals:

“An amateur is defensive. The professional finds learning (and even, occasionally, being shown up) to be enjoyable; they like being challenged and humbled, and engage in education as an ongoing and endless process.”

—

Dan Sullivan on a core aspect of leadership:

“A core aspect of leadership is being explicit about the vision. The more explicit you are in what you want, the faster you’ll attract the right Whos to help you achieve that vision. The leader explains the ‘What’ and ‘Why’ and then allows the ‘Who’ to execute the ‘How’.”

Management Resource

Master the Human Side of Engineering (First Round Review)

Engineering is done by people for people. It’s important to recognize and invest in the human aspects of the business.

Although this article is specifically for software engineering, it applies to all engineering.

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

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

Collin

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