David Landry

1
The Importance of Creativity and Interpersonal
Skills in Engineering

• David Landry
• Executive Director
• Global Sales and Billing Systems
• Verizon Business Information Technology

2
Perceptions of Engineering and Engineers

• Engineering
• Process Driven
• Structured
• Rigid
• Engineers
• Left brained
• Nerdy
• Introverted

3
The Perception
4
The Reality
5
Fulfilling the Reality

• Engineers need to be . . .
• Artists
• Promoters
• Teachers
• Coaches
• Entrepreneurs
• Success in engineering requires left and right
  brain thinking
• Left brain analytical thinking
• Right brain creative thinking

Engineering careers are multidimensional
6
Building Your Value as an Engineer
Increased Value
7
People are the Key to an Engineers Success

• Customers
• Understanding what they want
• Determining what they need
• Exceeding requirements when possible
• Team Members
• Engineers rarely work in a vacuum
• Projects are a collaborative process
• Management
• Managing up
• Selling ideas

Interpersonal skills are critical
8
Teaming for Success

• Most engineering projects involve teams working
  toward a common goal
• Communication and coordination
• Leveraging each others strengths and weaknesses
• Teaming includes managing your manager
• Make sure you understand her priorities
• Set clear expectations
• Sell your ideas

Engineering is a collaborative process
9
What Does Your Customer Need?

• What is the clients stated problem or
  opportunity?
• Remain open minded you may find greater
  problems and opportunities by asking questions
• Who are the beneficiaries of your solution?
• For each beneficiary, determine what their
  problem is
• . . . I want to sell advertising online for the
  highest price
• . . . I want to be able to find information on
  the internet
• How can you craft a solution that solves all of
  these problems?

Engineers are the worlds problem solvers
10
Conclusion

• Engineering careers are NOT just for introverts
• Soft Skills enable an engineer to deliver
  greater value
• Engineers need to be . . .
• Creative problem solvers
• Extroverts
• Engineers make the world a better place