ACEC of Wisconsin – Leadership Summit

Some people think engineers are pocket-protecting and introverted professionals, super-focused on details and data. That may be true for some, but the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Wisconsin’s Leadership Institute attendees constantly amaze me with their intelligence, creativity, and courage. These are the future leaders of Wisconsin’s leading engineering firms who invest their time and energy to improve their knowledge about the business of engineering.

I’m privileged to be an instructor for the Business Development and Marketing: What It Takes to Win Work session. November’s session was the sixth year that I have been involved, and as usual, the attendees give me hope for the engineering profession’s future leaders.

Some attendees have participated in their firm’s in-house programs or industry events about marketing and business development. For others, these concepts are new and fill in gaps with the on-the-job training they have experienced. The attendees share personal lessons learned and ask excellent questions, and (mostly) embrace the real-world scenario exercises with thoughtfulness and determination. They accept constructive feedback as a gift, and find their comfort zones are not quite as constraining as they had imagined.

So, cheers to professional associations like ACEC of Wisconsin that provide in-depth training that help professionals develop  skills and abilities that make them better leaders. The future is bright for the engineering community in Wisconsin!