Don't Turn it Into a Science Project
A former coworker of mine had an expression he would share with me on occasion:
Be kind to your 'A' students, for they will come back to teach.
Be kind to your 'B' students, for they will go on to do great things.
Be especially kind to your 'C' students, for they will fund your new science lab.
Of course, this struck a cord with me because I was a rock-solid 'C' student from third grade on. I needed to see the value in an assignment before I could focus on it intently.
I've had the opportunity to work around people with varying academic experience. The one thing that astounds me about book-smart people is their fear of giving straight answers. There's a hesitation to say anything until all options are considered. Ask one of these guys for a formula, and they won't even have to look it up. But, if you ask for an opinion the answer three weeks later they might still be studying your question to determine your intent.
A project team really needs a good mix of people. The brainy people, with their over-zealous attention to detail make excellent candidates for engineering and quality control. They don't always make for good design or site support personnel. During a start-up there is a personality type that I like to have present: the no bull, get-'er-done kind of person. I have found, more often than not, that the strong nuts-and-bolts guys are the 'B' and 'C' types. They don't always have advanced degrees, but they know their stuff!
In case you were wondering: the difference between design and engineering (in my mind) is numbers. Engineers crunch formulas: predictive analysis, worst case scenarios, modelling, etc. Designers are the human element, they turn the engineer's plans into a physical reality by finding the pieces to build it. Engineers and designers like to think they can work without one another, but the truth is most of us are a little of both. If you ever tried to work in a team that was weak in either area, you would notice it.
Be kind to your 'A' students, for they will come back to teach.
Be kind to your 'B' students, for they will go on to do great things.
Be especially kind to your 'C' students, for they will fund your new science lab.
Of course, this struck a cord with me because I was a rock-solid 'C' student from third grade on. I needed to see the value in an assignment before I could focus on it intently.
I've had the opportunity to work around people with varying academic experience. The one thing that astounds me about book-smart people is their fear of giving straight answers. There's a hesitation to say anything until all options are considered. Ask one of these guys for a formula, and they won't even have to look it up. But, if you ask for an opinion the answer three weeks later they might still be studying your question to determine your intent.
A project team really needs a good mix of people. The brainy people, with their over-zealous attention to detail make excellent candidates for engineering and quality control. They don't always make for good design or site support personnel. During a start-up there is a personality type that I like to have present: the no bull, get-'er-done kind of person. I have found, more often than not, that the strong nuts-and-bolts guys are the 'B' and 'C' types. They don't always have advanced degrees, but they know their stuff!
In case you were wondering: the difference between design and engineering (in my mind) is numbers. Engineers crunch formulas: predictive analysis, worst case scenarios, modelling, etc. Designers are the human element, they turn the engineer's plans into a physical reality by finding the pieces to build it. Engineers and designers like to think they can work without one another, but the truth is most of us are a little of both. If you ever tried to work in a team that was weak in either area, you would notice it.
posted by Aaron at 11:18 PM
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