Productivity at Work

Forbes published a great article by Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd last November. In the article, he gives nine tips for communicating science to non-scientists. This list is also excellent advice for any scientist or engineer who wants to be more effective working in industry. If you are a scientist or engineer who […]

How to accelerate your technical career in industry

15 Jun, 2017 in Career Design / Productivity at Work tagged career coach / communication / Engineers / leadership / productivity / Scientists by David

Several years ago I spent about eight months in an engineering group that had a very ineffective manager. His inability to provide strong leadership for the group was most apparent during our weekly staff meetings. During one such meeting I found myself particularly frustrated at the lack of clear direction, […]

Musings on a lame staff meeting (AKA: Valuable leadership lessons)

6 Apr, 2017 in Productivity at Work tagged Career / leadership / lessons by David

I’ve been very surprised how rare good data analysis skills are in industry, even among those trained in technical disciplines. Scientists are groomed to perform in-depth data analysis well because it is a critical part of figuring out how nature works, and this is the fundamental goal of science. This […]

Good data analysis skills are rare

30 Jun, 2016 in Career Design / Job Search Advice / Productivity at Work by David

One very important piece of advice given to me by Ashok Balakrishnan is that in industry you have to learn to figure out quickly what really matters and what doesn’t. As he relayed when I interviewed him for my book, “Turning Science into Things People Need“: “(In industry) there are […]

Learn to determine what matters and what won’t…

19 May, 2016 in Career Design / Productivity at Work by David

Career Advice for Scientists and Engineers in Industry