Archive
The Dreaded Schedule Slip
What better time to talk about schedule slip than at the end of the month. Every place that I have ever worked or worked with has a “month end crisis”
Avoiding Mission Creep
It may be difficult for younger readers to imagine, but we once got our instructions verbally from our supervisors. Yes, in a time before e-mail and voicemail, a boss would
Malicious Obedience
After posting about the difficulty in keeping my “inner engineer” under control outside the workplace, several readers admitted to the same trouble. This brings to mind a former boss who
The Beginning of Wisdom
Aphorisms, pithy statements of fact, are a favorite of mine. They appeal because when you need to remember things you cannot always count on the WiFi working. One of the
St. Patrick: Patron Saint of Engineers!
I do not recall this being brought up during my years at Marquette University’s (MU) engineering school, but the night school crowd was probably too buttoned down to do
The Curse of an Engineering Mind
There have been a few times in my life when I wished I could turn off my internal engineer and just be a regular guy. If you ask my wife
Your Results May Vary
We have all seen the Internet meme of politicians wearing corporate logos so the public will know who their backers are. I would like to see this extended to
What Good Are the Leading Indicators?
“Wall Street predicted nine of the last FIVE recessions,” Paul Samuelson, Nobel Prize winner in economics, 1966. We get a lot more economic news these days than when Dr. Samuelson
When Do We See the Gears?
In 1971, the American gear business was far different from today. I am unaware of any modern company with a formal gear cutter’s apprenticeship; at Falk, that was just one
Stumbled into Gears; Built a Career
After my first year of college I decided it was time to get a real job. My grades were great but full-time school and 40 hours of restaurant work had
