Steve Cerri E-book - 10 Rules

8/6/2019 Steve Cerri E-book - 10 Rules

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Steven Cerris

Ten Rules!

AVOID THE PITFALLS

IN YOUR CAREER

ADVANCEMENT WHILE MAKING

THE RIGHT MOVES FROMENGINEER TO LEADER

An Ebook by

Steven Cerri

Published byMcKenzie Universal Media


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STEVEN CERRIS TEN RULES! AVOID PITFALLS WHILE MAKING THE RIGHT MOVES. 2

(You are free to share this Ebook with colleagues, friends, and your company organizations.)

2008 Copyright STCerri International and Steven Cerri

231 Market Place, Ste 320, San Ramon, CA 94583 www.stevencerri.com Email: [email protected]

Steven Cerris Ten Rules!

Avoid the Pitfalls In Your Career Advancement

While Making the Right Moves From Engineer To Leader

Copyright 2008 by STCerri International and Steven Cerri. All rights reserved worldwide.

This publication is printed in the United States of America and is protected under the US Copyright Act of

1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state, and local laws. All rights are reserved, including

resale rights; you are not allowed to sell this Ebook to anyone else but you may give it to anyone you

choose. (See page 3 for more information.)

Please note that much of this publication is based on personal experience. Although the author and

publisher have made every reasonable attempt to achieve complete accuracy of the content of the Ebook,

they assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Also, you should use this information as you see fit,

and at your own discretion. Your particular situation may not be exactly suited to the examples illustrated

here; in fact, its likely that they wont be exactly the same, and you should adjust your use of the

information and recommendations accordingly.

Limit of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty: The author and publisher have used their best efforts in

preparing this book. The information herein is provided as is. This publication is designed to provide

accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is provided with the

understanding that the author or publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other

professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance are required, the services of a competent

professional person should be sought. Nothing in this Ebook is intended to replace common sense, legal,

medical, or other professional advice, and is meant only to inform the reader. Steven Cerri, STCerriInternational, and McKenzie Universal Media makes no representation or warranties with respect to the

accuracy or completeness of the contents of this ebook and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or

merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or

any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other

damages.

Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features, if any, used in this publication are

assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied

endorsement if any of these terms are used.

This Ebook is published in the United States of America by McKenzie Universal Mediawww.mckenzieuniversalmedia.com

San Ramon, CA 94583


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You Are Free to Pass This Ebook Along

If you find the material in this Ebook useful, then please feel free to share this Ebook. You

have permission to distribute and share this information with your colleagues, managers, training

departments, anyone in your company, and friends who could benefit from this information.

You may pass it on in whole or in part. If you pass it on it part, please provide appropriate

attribution to Steven Cerri and STCerri International.

It should go without saying that you cannot post this document or the information it contains

on any electronic bulletin board, Web site, FTP site, newsgroup, or well, you get the idea.

If this Ebook has been passed on to you from someone else, be sure you visit my website,

www.stevencerri.com, so you can sign up for my Ezine/newsletter and receive updates to this

Ebook.

Further information regarding available courses, facilitation, packages, products, and personal

and group coaching can be found by visiting www.stevencerri.com.

Thanks,Steven Cerri


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Contents

About Steven Cerri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Partial List of Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Why Read A Book By Me? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

How To Achieve Your Full Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Pitfall #1: My ideas are my identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Pitfall #2: Id rather be right than be effective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Pitfall #3: WHAT I say is more important than HOW I say it . . . . . . . . . 17

Pitfall #4: Ill avoid the difficult conversations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Pitfall #5: Ill assume everyone is a professional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Pitfall #6: If delegation doesnt work Ill just do it myself . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Pitfall #7: Ill do what interests me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Pitfall #8: I dont want to change just to talk to non-technical people . . . . . . 27

Pitfall #9: I dont have to think systemically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Pitfall #10: What got me here will get me there. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Get 1 Hour Of Free Coaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Cerris Coaching Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

What You Learned In College Is Limiting Your Career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

What Executives and Decision-Makers Are Saying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

CD-Sets Available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39


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Contents (Continued)

Whats Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Training and Facilitation Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Coaching Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Examples, Case Studies, and More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Biography of Steven Cerri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54


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About Steven Cerri

What makes Steven unique? He has been through all the things that he is training and

coaching his clients through. Steven began his career as an aeronautical engineer employed at

Rockwell International Corporation working on Skylab, Shuttle, Shuttle Tug, and meteorological

satellite programs. He then acquired an M.S. in geophysics and worked as a programmer and

researcher for the United States Geological Survey before returning to the flight performance

group of Rockwell International. This time at Rockwell, Steven met four engineers and together

they started a software development and systems engineering company focused on Department of

Defense programs. Steven received an MBA and progressed from program manager to director,

to vice president of engineering, chief operations officer and general manager. He then left to

join a printer start-up as product manager and director of corporate training, helping the company

grow from half a million to over a quarter of a billion dollars in six years.

Throughout his career, it became clear that Steven had a knack for training and coaching his

direct reports to achieve extraordinary capabilities. He ultimately left the corporate world to start

his own company dedicated to coaching and training engineers, scientists and technical

professionals in the soft skills, the interpersonal people skills and management skills necessary to

make the transition from engineer to leader and from engineering manager to engineering leader.

Steven is successful at transforming engineers to leaders because he has done it himself.

Imagine being as adept and successful with people as you are with your technology.

For information regarding programs available visit www.stevencerri.com.

Steven Cerri believes you can be a great engineer AND a great

engineering manager. In fact the best engineering managers are

excellent engineers, they can cross into both worlds. It just takes

training in the soft-skills of interpersonal people skills.

Steven Cerri is a top trainer, facilitator, and coach who has

helped thousands of engineers enhance their communication and

management skills and make the transition from engineer to leader.

A sought after speaker, he offers keynotes, workshops, training and

consulting to corporations, associations, and individuals. His

clients include, Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation,

University of California, Solutions-II, Inc., Maersk Logistics, ViewSonic, Corp., GeoGraphix,

Inc., as well as executives, and entrepreneurs.


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Partial List of Clients

Altus Medical

Aspen Systems

Ball Aerospace & Technology

Beyond dot com

Credit Suisse

DAKO Pharmaceuticals

DeAnza College

eGain Corporation

JS Riggio International

Meditec

Maersk Logistics

Palo Alto City Government

Pepperdine University

RAE Systems

Skyler Technology

Solutions-II, Inc.

Sony Corporation

Steel Case Corporation

University of California Berkeley

University of California Santa Barbara

ViewSonic Corporation


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Why Read A Book By Me?

One of the questions I would be respectful of anyone asking me is why would they want to

read an Ebook by Steven Cerri and specifically a book about what keeps engineers and other

technical professionals from advancing their careers. Its reasonable to ask, Who is this guy?

Let me start by where I come from so that you understand how I so easily understand where

the engineer livesand what has to happen in order to make the transition to management and to

long-term career success.

From the time I was a small boy, I knew I wanted to be an aeronautical engineer. As an

elementary, high school, and college student I built rockets. Not the cardboard kind, but rockets

made of cold rolled steel tubing, using zinc and sulfur as solid propellant. My rockets reached

altitudes of more than a mile and returned by parachute sometimes. Although my friends

helped me launch my rockets, I did most of this work alone. I was not a part of a rocket society or

club. I built my rockets through long hours in the family basement.

I went off to college and received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering

and upon graduation joined Rockwell International working in the advanced systems division as a

flight performance engineer. After 2 years at Rockwell, I left to go back to school and received a

Masters of Science degree in geophysics. I then worked for several years for the United States

Geological Survey as a software engineer and earth resources sciences researcher.

I then returned to Rockwell International, to my flight performance team, and worked on

advanced deep space systems as a flight performance engineer and as chief systems engineer.

While at Rockwell I met three other engineers and after several more years at Rockwell the four

of us left and started our own company focused on software development and computer systems

engineering.

We built that company to $100 million in 10 years. During that time I received an MBA.

Also, during that time I advanced my career from program manager, to director of engineering, to

vice president of engineering, to chief operations officer, to general manager of a company

division.

I later joined a highly successful printer manufacturer as a product manager as well as

director of corporate training.

About 12 years ago, I started my own training, coaching, and consulting company. It became

clear that throughout my career I had developed a technology, processes, and an approach that

most effectively transformed engineers and other technical professionals into even more effective

technical professionals and that transformed them into great technical managers as well. I didnt


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get any official training that was worth a dime along the way. All the management training that

was available concentrated on using old information, old knowledge, and old processes combined

with updated computer technology. It was the same old stuff but now coupled with Microsoft

Project and PowerPoint. People still didnt know how to transform an engineer into an

engineering manager with any certainty. Nowhere was there anyone from the technical world

who could teach me how to deal with people, and I quickly learned that dealing with people is

what management is all about. Its not about Microsoft Project or PowerPoint.

So I learned management on my own and I became very, very good at it. I built incredibly

effective teams made up of people that other managers didnt want. I was able to turn around

projects that had become unmanageable. I had a reputation of being able to handle very

challenging issues around technology and people. I was given the teams and projects that were

broken, and I fixed them.

The processes and the technology of management that I developed over this period I call

becoming a Fully Integrated Engineer. It means being an engineer AND being able to

contribute fully to your organization all your talents and all your capabilities. Whether you

want to become a more effective engineer or you want to be an effective technical manager, I

believe the processes I teach are necessary and will get you there.

Since becoming a coach, trainer, consultant, author, and speaker on this topic, I have worked

with large and small very high-technology companies. I am an adjunct professor at the University

of California, Santa Barbara in their Technology Management Program which is part of the

Department of Engineering. I have worked internationally training and coaching technologists

and non-technologists to be more effective communicators and to smoothly transition to

management.Therefore, the reason I can write this book is because I have made the transition from

engineer to manager myself and in the process Ive developed tools that are unique and are

tailored for engineers by an engineer. I know what it takes to take on this new career called

management. I know what it feels like to be in the early stages of a technical management career.

I know what it is like to think you have some skills to manage and yet have the feeling of

uncertainty in the pit of your stomach when you approach a new management situation for the

first time. I know what its like to be in the cycle where you need to be a manager to get

management experience and yet if you had the management experience you could be a manager.

I have coached many engineers into management positions and Im very proud of that fact. A

handful of those Ive coached were just weeks away from termination when their managerscontacted me. They were very near being laid off or fired because they just didnt fit. No one

argued that they werent smart engineers, they were. But they either did not fit the organization or


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they failed in their first management attempts. They were slated for termination and I was their

companys last resort in their attempt to keep these people at the company. They are now very

successful senior scientists, engineers, and managers in their organizations. I am very pleased to

have played a role in their success.

So, whats the answer to the question, Why read this Ebook by me on the topics of moving

from engineer to leader and being a successful long-term engineer? Read it because Ive been

through the process myself. And because Ive been through it myself I can effectively lead others

through this process as well. Just read the testimonials below:

We specifically brought Steven to BATC because of his ability to communicate with our

engineering and management staff. When Steven talks to our engineers and scientists he has

INSTANT CREDIBILITY because he is an engineer, scientist, and businessman. He has done

what he and we are asking our people to do. When he talks about the soft-skills like

communication, leadership, and customer service he walks his talk and behaves just like he is

training our people to behave. For example, they see and experience the positive effects of

effective communication while they are being trained in it. Their behavior changes without even

realizing it and without any effort or resistance. Steven has definitely developed a following

among our technical staff. They anticipate and sign up for every one of his classes. Vern

Hanson, Training Department, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.

To Whom It May Concern: I am eager and pleased to provide this reference regarding StevenCerri's work with ViewSonic Corporation and key members of our management team. The high

level executive coaching Steven offers has been invaluable in providing focus, direction,

motivation and critical insight to key contributors in our company, individuals who drive many of

the company's most important strategies and plans. From my experience, Steven Cerri knows how

to assist individuals, teams, and organizations in moving through the issues that hold them back

from achieving their desired objectives and outcomes. Very importantly, he knows how to help

structure a path of beliefs and actions that get his clients to the desired outcome. Steven is a rare

combination of engineer, strategist, mentor, and communicator. With top level executives, Steven

quickly understands the "big picture", zeroes in on the core issues, and breaks out the essential

steps to get things accomplished. Working with our team members, he identified opportunities,directions, and alternatives we hadn't even considered. His real gift is in bringing clarity and

focus to leadership, then aligning energies and resources with outcome objectives.


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The feedback I have received on Steven's executive coaching sessions has been excellent. The

participants feel that the time spent with Steven was highly productive and the results have had a

powerful and dramatic impact on their productivity, as well as their sense of professional and

personal purpose. Gail Northrop, Director of Organizational Development, ViewSonic

Corporation

Over the years I have attended several classes and read some literature on leadership and

management development. The insights and techniques I received from Steven Cerri's courses are

by far the most useful and applicable to improve my effectiveness in dealing with people. The

information and exercises Steve covers are revealing and intellectually challenging. Steve's

informal and engaging presentation style is well placed and spiced with humor. I go back to the

class handouts and notes i have taken again and again as a refresher on the subject. If you are

disenchanted with the latest best selling "fad de jur" books on management theory, if you are

serious about enhancing your skills in interacting with colleagues and customers, attend one of

Steve Cerri's classes. You will happily return for more.Bert Obleski., Engineer, BallAerospace

& Technologies Corp.

This is one of the best "soft skills" classes I have taken Rod F., Ball Aerospace &

Technology Corporation.

Steven is very good at this. He reaches each person at their level. Great class. I think everyone

needs this class. I know it will be very helpful to me. Betty B., Ball Aerospace & Technology

Corporation.

It was a great class! I can't think of anything(to add). (The strongest point was)the

knowledge of the presenter. Fantastic class. Marion B., Ball Aerospace & Technology

Corporation.

One of the best classes I've taken. [I] recommend this class to entire departments together!

Kathleen M., Ball Aerospace & Technology Corporation.


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In this Ebook you will learn the 10 Pitfalls. These are the behaviors that make you a successful

engineer but that also keep you from being successful in your long-term technical career or in

transitioning to technical manager. I have listed the 10 pitfalls that I believe are extremely

common among engineers and technical professionals.

In this Ebook you will learn the 10 Secrets. These secrets are the beliefs and attitudes that

provide the bridge from the pitfall behaviors to the new behaviors that will allow you to

succeed long-term. Before behaviors can change, beliefs, attitudes, and ideas about what has to

be true for new behaviors to show up, must be available. To put it plainly, in order to behave

differently you must think differently, you must believe differently. I call these new attitudes and

beliefs, Secrets because that is what they truly are. They are the secrets that successful

engineering managers and long-term successful engineers understand but that no one really talks

about. These successful engineers have made the transition by shifting their ideas and beliefs

about who they are in their organizations and what they are expected to contribute. They have

made what I call, the transition to more than technical.

In this Ebook you will learn the Actions. These actions describe what you must learn in order

to gain the knowledge that will help you avoid the pitfalls. Actions point you to the behaviors that

must be present in order for the organization to utilize all that you can contribute and I will

present actions in terms of what you must learn in order to provide the new behaviors. This is

about learning something new. Its about learning what you didnt learn in college. In fact, I

often say that becoming a technical manager or learning how to stay technical and contribute

more, are new careers. The first part of your education took place in college. The second part ofyour education will take place after college, and they are two distinct careers.

Therefore, in the following pages I will present each the 10 Pitfalls I believe are common to

most engineers and technical professionals. After each pitfall I present the corresponding Secret.

I have listed one Secret for each Pitfall. My belief is that if this Secret (i.e., belief or attitude) is

adopted, it will be sufficient to drive the development of behaviors that will make you

successful by avoiding that pitfall. Ive also included one important Action or behavior to

learn for each Pitfall. These are the primary behaviors you must learn for success.


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Pitfall #2

Id rather be right. than be effective.

Pitfall Explanation: Many engineers, technical professionals, and technical managers want

to be right. Its what they were trained to do in school. They fight to be right about

something at the expense of being effective in achieving the strategic goal. As you progress in

your organization, youll find that the organization will reward you more for being effective

than for only being right.

Secret. Understand that: Being right is giving credit to yourself. Being

effective is giving credit to everyone.

The first step is to understand that new individual contributors are paid to be right. But

technical managers, career engineers, and their team members are paid to be effective. No one

will look favorably if either the individual contributor or manager was right but the project failed.

The organizations management only wants the outcome to be achieved. Being effective can

often be a better metric than being right.

Action #1. Learn to: Recognize the strengths and weaknesses of others so youcan support their best talents more often. Don't make them feel

wrong or inadequate for their weaknesses.

Just as you must understand your own strengths and weaknesses, it is important to be able to

recognize, understand, and especially deal with the strengths and weaknesses of others. Most of

us can often notice the strengths and weaknesses of others, but the secret here is to have this

understanding in such a way that you can more often support the best talents of others. You don't

want to make them feel wrong or inadequate for their weaknesses. The secret is in supporting the

best in others while minimizing their weaknesses. Being able to focus on the positive and diffuse

and divert attention away from the negative dissipates any desire to be right. The secret is to

amplify the strengths of people and make their weaknesses irrelevant.


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learn to control your communication delivery as well as your communication content. In fact, the

delivery process can often override the content. For most technical professionals, its the other

way round. Data is data, and they expect that to be sufficient. That means that most technical

professionals ignore the communication process and rely on the content to be enough to sell

their ideas. However, thats not how it works. Once you understand these principals you will

find that you can get much farther in your communication process by altering your delivery than

you can by altering your content. Successful engineers understand the need to be as good at the

delivery of content as they are at the generation of that content. Therefore, its important to learn

the tools of effective communication.


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Pitfall #4

Ill avoid the difficult internal

conversations, and the difficult interface

conversations long enough for them to

just go away.

Pitfall Explanation: Engineers dont like conflict and will often avoid and delay difficult

conversations until those conversations become so big that their complications far exceed

anything that would have occurred if addressed earlier. If you want to succeed as a Fully

Integrated Engineer or as a technical manager, you must become comfortable with conflict

and you must learn how to diffuse it before it becomes intense. Diffusing conflict before it

grows is the sign of an effective communicator.

Secret. Understand that: You pay now or you pay later and paying later

almost always means paying MORE!

The successful technical manager and the successful career engineer understand that nothingcomes for free. And conflict is one of those often uncomfortable but necessary requirements of

most work environments. Conflict can either be engaged in when it is a potentially small conflict

or one can wait until it is so filled with emotional charge that is far more confrontational than

might be expected.

Action #1: Learn how to communicate so effectively that you can turn a conflict

into a neutral or even friendly discussion and be the "technical-

translator" among people with different expertise.

There are specific tools and techniques that will allow you to diffuse any conflict. You canlearn to diffuse a conflict in a meeting even if you are not in charge of the meeting. You can learn

to diffuse a conflict that arises in a contract negotiation, and you can learn to diffuse a conflict


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that develops in discussions with customers. In fact, in one of my courses, I have an exercise in

which people sit across from each other and argue about a topic that is very important to them.

When the participants do not use the techniques I teach, the argument feels like an argument. But

when the participants use the tools Ive taught them to diffuse conflict, the argument changes and

begins to feel like a discussion between friends.

Imagine being able to turn all your conflicts into friendly discussions. Imagine being able to

understand your listeners communication style so well that you can be the technical translator to

bridge the gap between their understanding and the understanding of others. Not everyone is a

technologist. Not everyone understands what you understand, be they colleague, boss, direct

report, or customer. Imagine being able to communicate so that you can translate technology

for them so they can understand what you would like them to understand? Now thats effective

communication.

The successful technical managers and career engineers learn the techniques of effective

communication. These tools allow a confrontation to be transformed into what seems like a

conversation between friends.


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Pitfall #5

I assume everyone is a professional

and will do their jobs well.

Pitfall Explanation: Engineers and other technical professionals take a great deal of pride

in doing their jobs very well and they often believe everyone else will do their jobs well.

Therefore they tend to avoid the "interface" conversations that could prevent problems and

unforeseeable consequences downstream, often until its too late and they have to. For your

success you must learn to manage according to the context, nor according to your own,

internal prejudices and likes and dislikes. Manage and communicate to be effective not

necessarily to be comfortable.

Secret. Understand that: Most engineers and technical professionals want

to do a good job to their standards and they expect others to do the

same. But this is not the case.

Successful technical managers and leads understand that while most people want to do a good

job, what constitutes a good job varies from individual to individual. Therefore, assuming that

everyone on the team will do his or her part is a dangerous assumption. Successful managers andleads understand that they must manage people. They must monitor progress.

Action #1: Learn to: Motivate, manage, and inspire people in your technical

organization.

Motivation is often called leadership. Its not. Supervisors, managers, and leaders must all

motivate people. Its not exclusive to any one level in the organization. All levels of an

organization need motivation. And the best way to motivate people is to motivate them each

according to their own motivation strategies.

Therefore, if you want to motivate people it is important for you to understand how eachindividual person is motivated. There are specific tools and processes that will allow you to

understand, in a very short time and through simple discussions and questions, the motivation


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strategies of the people you want to motivate. You can easily discover what I call a persons

Personal Behavioral Sub-Routines (PBSRs). These sub-routines are the mental motivational

forces that drive actions. These are the programs that determine how we respond to given

situations. There are several PBSRs that generally apply to most work environments. That

means what might motivate Jack wont motivate Sue and wont motivate Bob. You can however

discover the PBSRs for Jack, Sue, and Bob through casual conversation and with this knowledge

help them stay motivated. And once you have this information you can lead and motivate people

like a professional manager. You can also discover your own PBSRs and by doing so, keep

yourself motivated as well.


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Pitfall #6

If delegation doesnt work Ill just do

it myself.

Pitfall Explanation: Most engineers and technical managers, for that matter, dont know

how to delegate or how to have others delegate to them. This is a key skill in your

advancement. Learn to delegate effectively and you will find success will come much easier.

Secret. Understand that: Management is about managing resources; its not

about doing the task work.

Many engineers and technical professionals who are given a project management or team

management position believe their job is to do tasks along with their direct reports. In some early

stages of management promotion this may be true. However, when tasks get into difficulty, many

new managers think the best way to fix a problem situation is to just work harder. Theyll work

the weekend or theyll jump right in and help get the project back on track. However, the

managers job is not to work weekends to fix the situation. Its not to take on more work in order

to alleviate the difficulty. Instead, it is to find more resources or to reallocate resources in order

to fix the situation. The goal of a manager when the project gets into trouble is not to workweekends to put the project back on track. Instead it is to manage the project out of difficulty.

Action #1. Learn to: Implement the Art and Skill of Delegation and delegate

so that you and your assignee are both successful.

Delegation is as much an art as it is a skill. Thats why it is so difficult to learn to do it well.

Do you know how to delegate? Do you know how to decide whom to delegate to and how much

of the task to delegate and how much to keep for yourself? Do you know how much oversight to

provide for a given direct report and a given task? There are specific processes you can use to

determine whom to delegate to, how much to give away and how much to keep, and how tomonitor so the person you delegated to doesnt feel you are micromanaging them. To be able to

balance the delegation process with the oversight process is an important success factor. Learn to


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Pitfall #7

I want to do what interests me, not

necessarily what is strategically

important.

Pitfall Explanation: Most engineers and technical professionals would rather do what they

find interesting, not necessarily what is strategically important to the task, the organization, or

the outcome. If you want to advance, there will be many uninteresting tasks along the way. Do

them as well as you do what interests you and you will be successful.

Secret. Understand that: Being in an organization is different than being in

school and selecting course topics that interest you.

As one moves up the technology management ladder and advances in the technical

organization, the work that is less fun and less interesting generally increases from the

perspective of the engineer. In college and in the early years of your profession, engineering was

the primary work you performed. But as time goes on you begin to do work that is not

engineering but is necessary for other aspects of your job. This only increases as you advance upthe technology management ladder. If you want to be successful as a technical manager or as an

engineer in the long term, performing these less interesting but necessary tasks will be important.

It just comes with the territory.

Action #1. Learn to: Focus on the organizations Return On Investment (ROI)

An easy way to focus on what needs to be done is to constantly drive for the major Return on

Investment (ROI). By this I mean that you focus on those tasks that move the team, the project,

the organization toward the necessary and desired outcome, toward the greatest return on

investment or the greatest return on invested energy. If you focus on the best ROI, sometimesyou will perform those tasks that are of interest to you and sometimes you will perform those that


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Pitfall #8

I dont want to change myself just to

talk to non-technical people.

Pitfall Explanation: Many engineers don't know how to bridge the gap between them and

people who are not like them or not as technically savvy. They expect others to understand

them. To become most effective as an engineer or engineering manager it is important that

you take on the responsibility of being understood.

Secret. Understand that: It is your requirement, as the engineer, as the

technical professional to make others understand you. You cannot

expect them to become technologically savvy over night or in a

meeting. You must move to their level. It is impossible for them to

move to yours.

When I conduct my classes I often ask people the following question: Who is responsible

for effective communication, the sender, the receiver, or both? Some people answer both. Many

have been taught that good listening is important so they respond that the listener is responsible.

My answer is that the sender has the primary responsibility for effective communication becausethe sender is the only one who knows what the desired message really is. Therefore, you, the

engineer, the technical professional, you who send the message and know what the message truly

is, you are the person responsible for effective communication. It is up to you to cross the bridge

to your audiences level of understanding.

Action #1. Learn to: Use the Nine Steps of Effective Communication and be

able to effectively communicate with anyone in any situation.

Communicating effectively is something that can be learned. You probably feel you

communicate well with your friends. Do you communicate with them well because they are yourfriends, or are they your friends because you communicate with them well? Whatever your

answer, the skill of communicating well doesnt have to be available only when you talk with


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your friends. In my course titled Effective Communication Tools for Engineers I teach you

how to communicate with anyone in the same way you communicate with your friends with

the same results. You can actually choose how successful you want to be in your

communications.

In fact, the process of effective communication is best described as a nine-step process

structured as a feedback loop. These nine steps are necessary and sufficient to ensure excellent

communication with anyone in any situation. Learn these nine steps and you can influence

people in ways that will make you the envy of your organization. Learn these nine steps and you

can turn any communication into one that feels like friends talking.


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During my MBA program I developed a clear, and I believe, much more useful distinction

between management and leadership as well as a clear definition of their similarities. Those

distinctions are defined as the Six Functions of the Successful Executive. Whether a person is

a manager, a leader, a supervisor, or a team lead, the person must perform these six functions.

However, the tasks required within each of these functions depend upon the persons level in the

organization. So while all managers, leaders, and supervisors must perform all six functions to be

successful, they must perform different tasks within those six functions depending upon their

management level. This then becomes the structure for management and leadership success.

Understanding the distinctions between the different tasks within the six functions will guide you

to consistently perform the tasks that make the positive difference in your career.


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Coaching Topic #2is for technical managers who want to build more open, cooperative,

and productive teams based on effective communication and collaboration. These teams dont

waste time selling and defending their personal positions and ideas, but instead focus on getting

the job done. This is also for managers who want their teams to get results by building productive

teams made up of diverse and geographically distant team members.

True Coaching Example: A manager has taken over a department with several direct

reports who are causing disruption among the team and with the manager. Their behavior has

lead to the department being consistently behind schedule and over budget. Within three months

with bi-weekly coaching, the manager has the direct reports and the whole team cooperating

smoothly and back on schedule and on track to be on budget.

Coaching Topic #3 is for engineers who want to transition to technical management and want

to be good managers as soon as they get a management assignment. Rather than making the

transition by trial and error, this coaching teaches the strategies and behaviors necessary for a

smooth and successful transition to management.

True Coaching Example: A part-time engineer and part-time task manager was promoted

to department manager and was reporting to a company director. The expectations obviously

changed to a higher level. With Cerris coaching this candidate has successfully integrated into

the new level of management and is successfully operating at this new level in the organization.

Get information regarding specific coaching programs available beginning on page 45.


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Why what you learned in college is

limiting your growth as an engineer.

Learning how to succeed as a manager and leader in a technical role or in a technical

organization demands that you take off the technology blinders and give up the habits that you've

perfected as an engineer or technical professional.

You began your career as an engineer/technologist. You did a good job. Then you were given

additional responsibilities as a team lead or project manager. And now you're getting hammered.

People don't listen, schedules slip, your meetings are difficult, you're stressed, and you're

thinking, "Just let me get back to my engineering. That was so much more fun!"

I can guarantee you it doesn't have to be this way. You can make your way out of this painful

situation and into the area of strong, successful technical management and leadership... But... it

will take a phase shift on your part.

Because...

What you learned in college is limiting your growth as a technical manager and leader.

The first step in getting out of this fix and moving to success requires knowing what's

missing from your current abilities. You'll succeed more when you know what you need to add to

your "toolbox" to be successful. You'll succeed more when you can move your team in the same

direction. You'll succeed more when you can get people to stop working their own agendas and

start working for the good of the project and the team.

Successful engineers and technologists have learned to look and pay attention to what's

directly in front of them and to use the quantifiable and reliable data they can count on to do the

work they do. In fact, what they are relied on to do is to generate results that are reliable and can

be counted upon.

As a manager or leader, the information that you have available is often at best fuzzy and

there is no way to turn that into reliable quantifiable data before the fact. Successful engineers

and technologists are looking for reliable, unambiguous, quantifiable data. Successful technical

managers know they have, at best, fuzzy, unreliable data.

The role of the engineer and technologist is to build the product, to solve the problem. In

fact, the role of the manager or leader is to project the organization they lead into an unknown

future and to bring together the resources at their disposal/command even when that outcome


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What executives and decision-makers

are saying about Cerri

We recently used the services of Steven Cerri during our strategic planning sessions. We

were at a point where we needed to really challenge ourselves, our assumptions, and to determine

if we had a general consensus in our direction. We brought Steven in to lead us through the whole

process, which I would classify as a complete success. Due to Steven's operational background in

technology firms and market planning, he was able to very quickly grasp the essence of where we

were in our planning cycle, and what key issues we faced. His facilitation style during the

planning meetings with the entire Senior Leadership Team was right on. After the session, I

received many positive compliments from my managers about the outcome of the meeting and

the material covered in the active discussions that we had.

We accomplished all that I had hoped we would and the output of the meeting has become

the foundation for the ongoing planning work we are now doing in putting our year 2000 plan

together. In addition, our Sales department has on several occasions used Steven for sales

process, team communication, and sales management training. This shows Steven's versatility as

a great resource for top management to get in and operate at different levels within an

organization- and to really learn about what's going on in a broad sense and make significant

contributions to any organization.

GeoGraphix, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landmark Graphics Inc. that develops andmarkets vertical market software for the Oil and Gas Industry. Our applications are used to find

and manage reservoirs of oil and gas, cover the range from geologic mapping and interpretation

of the subsurface structures to full-scale seismic interpretation and petrophysical analysis. Our

customers are the geologists, geophysicists, and petrophysicists within the Oil & Gas companies

of the world.

Due to Stevens operational background in technology firms and market planning, he was

able to very quickly grasp the essence of where we were in our planning cycle, and what key

issues we faced. His facilitation style during the planning meetings with the entire Senior

Leadership Team was right onWe accomplished all that I had hoped we would and the

output of the meeting has become the foundation for the ongoing planning work we are nowdoing in putting our year 2000 plan together. Bob Stevenson, Past President, GeoGraphix,

Inc.


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With all the many things going here now... (this coaching program) has proven very useful,

especially the systematic portion. Kim Treptow, Procurement Manager, Zebra Technologies.

What Engineers, scientists, and non-technical professionals are saying about

Cerri

It gave us good tools to evaluate ourselves and help us decide our future. I thought it gave anaccurate and insightful picture. Randall W.

Steve is a wonderful speaker and is very knowledgeable and has enough relevant technical

experience in his past that he presents very credible and wise. Thanks, enjoyed it. Tom K.

Steve clearly knows the material, responds well to questions and made the class very interesting:

This is the best course I have taken Kathleen R.

Concise explanations to complex issues. Fun and relevant group participation helped students

teach each other. William V.

Great presentation style and knowledgeable instructor. David G.

[This class] changed how I perceive interactions between people - - It was a fun class and I

learned a lot. Renee G.

Instructor has aerospace background! Knows what (our company) is all about! Tom K.

Steve's ability to give examples and demonstrate with exercises(was excellent). Melanie T.

The material is very interesting, new concepts and good organization. Also Mr. Cerri is a great

presenter; knowledgeable and entertaining. Barry S.


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The whole course is well donethe Map of the World is a good concept, good description of

management on development opportunities. Also, Steven effectively solicits input from the class

and creates a sense of unity for the day. Its also refreshing to hear someone disagree with

some(standard, off-the-shelf) tools. that are not 100% true 100% of the time. Thanks!

Beth K.


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15-CD SET: FROM ENGINEER TO LEADER!This 15-CD set contains Cerris latest information and processes for advancing from engineer

to technical manager. These 15 CDs are pact with information, examples, tools, case studies; the

information you need to become a successful manager.

The titles of the CDs are:

CD# Module # CD Topic

CD#1 Quick Start Getting Started

CD#2 Module 1 Communication Is Everything

CD#3 Module 2 Human Communication Models

CD#4 Module 3 Getting Noticed

CD#5 Module 4 The 10 Pitfalls

CD #6 Module 5: The 10 Secrets of Success

CD#7 Module 6: Behavioral Subroutines

CD#8 Module 7: Contextual Management

CD#9 Module 8: Six Functions of Executives

CD#10 Module 9: Art and Skill of Delegation

CD11,12,13 Module 10: Succeeding Without Micromanagement

CD#14 Module 11: Case Studies

CD#15 Module 12: Putting It All Together

This 15-CD set, with nearly 12 hours of presentation by Steven Cerri is available for $397.00

plus shipping and handling ($20.00).

This is the first step on your management path.

Order now at THIS LINK: http://www.stevencerri.com/index.php/products/index/


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WHATS NEXT?

The topics in this ebook are covered in more detail in the training courses and coaching

programs delivered by Steven Cerri. More information can be found at the STCI web site:

www.stevencerri.com where you can learn about Cerri and his programs and sign up for the e-

zine/newsletter. Or you can email Steven directly at [email protected] with your questions.

Please be as specific as you can and Steven will attempt to respond within 48 hours. Also, you

can call Steven directly at 925-735-9500.

A partial list of Cerris training programs is listed below followed by information on

coaching programs:

TRAINING & FACILITATION

PROGRAMSSoft Skills Training

For Engineers, Technical Managers and Leaders

How To Be An Exceptional Individual Contributor In Your TechnicalOrganization (2-days)

Learn how get noticed as a potential manager or a high performer in areas

other than technical and take advantage of your high visibility performance.

"Communicating Effectively in Your Technical Organization in Any

Situation" (2-days)

Learn how to turn any communication with anyone into an effective and

useful exchange.

Beyond Customer Service in the Technical Organization (2-days)


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Learn how to communicate with your high-tech customer and understand

their hot buttons better than they do.

Communication For Non-Technical Professionals In a TechnicalOrganization (2-days) Learn how to communicate with the techies in your organization and be

effective even when youre not as technical.

Influencing Without Authority (3-days)

Learn how to influence others even when you dont have the authority tomake them do anything.

Technical Executives: Transcending Conflict and Creating Empowered

Teams. (3-days)

Learn how to by-pass the inevitable conflicts that can develop and focus your

team on moving forward in a positive way!

Communication Confidence for Technical Leaders (3-days)

Learn how to communicate with such confidence and effectiveness that every

conversation or direction you give is most effective, most efficient, and

produces the results you want.

Everyday and Extraordinary Negotiation for the Technical Manager

(3-days)

Learn how to conduct your everyday give-and-take, your everyday

negotiations, as well as those all-important, critical negotiations with

smoothness and effectiveness.

Contributing, Managing, and Leading Without Micromanagement (3-

days)


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Learn how to contribute or manage without ever having to resort to

micromanagement.

The Essential Path From Engineer to Technical Manager & Leader (4-

days)

Learn the Six Essential Functions of an Effective Technical Manager or

Leader.

Learn the art and skill of delegation

Learn how to move from engineer to manager and leader and do it

successfully and sanely!

Learn to deal with the ambiguities of Leadership in a Technical Organization

Learn how to manage a diverse technical organization scattered all round the

world

Learn how to pick the best and most effective management style for any

given situation

Learn how to communicate like a leader

Engineer to Leader: Facilitation and Coaching Program (1 year)

8 days of facilitation/training, 2 days per quarter.

Tele-coaching between quarterly facilitations. This tele-coaching keeps

participants on track between the facilitation/training events.

This program will take you from engineer to effective manager and leader by

covering the following topics:

Effective communication in any and all situations

Contextual Definition, effectively and accurately evaluating the

management situation

Hierarchy of Management Styles, selecting the best management

situation for a given situation.


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Six Functions of Effective and Successful Executives, what to do, when,

and how.

Controlling your emotional state for effectiveness.


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COACHING PROGRAMS

Coaching is a very focused process and a highly effective one, in certain situations. Not allcircumstances lend themselves to coaching. Therefore, it's important to first discuss under what

conditions is coaching most advantageous and to present a clear definition of the coachingprocess. Lets start with the latter first.

The standard definition of one-on-one coaching (this is not my definition) is a relatively openinteraction between the client and the coach with the client leading and the coach following.

Under these circumstances the coach is not directive and not even specific. The client isunderstood to possess the answers to their own dilemma or situation; it's just that they need

someone to help them clarify what they already know to do.

That's not what I do when I coach.

I arrive at the coaching process with over 30 years of engineering, scientific, management,and business experience. I know how to navigate many of the obstacles you are now facing and

may be facing. For me to withhold that knowledge, that experience, that information and advice,

would be a crime. My goal in the coaching process is to be as directive and informative as isuseful to you to help you move forward. Anything less and I would not be providing you with theservice you hired me to give.

Therefore, the coaching process as I see it, is one in which we work together with me as your

mentor, guide, coach, and experienced advisor.Let me give you an example. I'm currently coaching a woman whom I have coached on an off

for a couple of years. She hires me as her coach when she specifically needs my help. She has

advanced from the position of an engineer to manager of her own department... in two years.She has often said to me, "I told you what I wanted to accomplish and you told me who Ineeded to talk to in my organization and what I needed to say and what they would most likely

say back to me and what I needed to say in return, etc. and it all came to pass, just as you said. Itwas so much easier and better than a trial and error approach that would have cost me my abilityto work smoothly with different people."

There are two ways to get experience. One way is through trial and error. The second is with

the help of a mentor and coach. Which way makes the most sense to you?

There are three different times when you might want coaching and mentoring and they are:

1. When you are in a crisis and you need help now!

2. When you know where you want to get to and you just don't know the best or fastest way to getthere, such as when you want to advance your career.


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coaching module will help you assess the unique characteristics of your boss and teach you howto effectively manage upward in your organization. This is a requirement for all those who want

to advance.

Coaching Module #5.

How To Avoid Micromanagement: I am constantly asked about micromanagement. Itseems everyone is attempting to avoid being a micromanager and yet many managers end up

being a micromanager in order to ensure that projects get done on time and in budget. This is nota necessary situation. There is no reason you have to be a micromanager in order to get direct

reports to successfully complete their projects. This coaching module will teach you how to avoidthe pitfalls of micromanagement and still get your projects completed on time and in budget.

Coaching Module #6.Six Functions of the Successful Manager and Leader: What makes a manager a good

manager and what makes a leader a good leader? This coaching module will teach you what youmust consistently do to be a successful manager or a successful leader. This module includes a

questionnaire that will show you what management and leadership traits you have currently and

what traits you will want to add in order to be successful going forward.

Coaching Module #7.

Contextual Definition Leads to the Most Effective Management: Are you stuck in onemanagement style? Can you vary your management style depending upon the situation? In orderto be a truly effective manager and leader in this global environment where people from all over

the world are working together, you need to be able to manage and lead to meet the specifics ofthe situation. You can't afford to be stuck in one management or leadership style. This coachingmodule will teach you "Contextual Management and leadership", that is, how to select a

management and leadership style that is best suited to a specific situation. This module will trainyou to manage and lead any situation successfully.

Customized Personal Coaching Program:

Coaching modules can be developed specifically targeted to subjects of interest to the client.Call for a free consultation to determine which coaching module is right for you at this time or if

a customized module is best.

What To Do Next

Coaching is a powerful process to move your career forward... or maybe to make your career.To know for sure, call for a free, no obligation, half-hour evaluation consultation. We'll talk. You


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can ask me questions; I'll ask you some questions about what you want, what your career hasbeen like up until now, things like that. Ill determine if I think I can help you and you can

evaluate if you want my help. Neither of us has to make a decision during the phone call, and atleast you'll know if it's a fit or not. Call +1-925-735-9500. (For international tele-coaching, wecan now use Skype as well.)


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You know as their manager that the team has been working hard for the last six months and

everyone was looking forward to some time off this weekend. There is frustration,

disappointment, and some anger at the situation the has developed.

The world certainly would not come to an end if the ship date were missed; but thats not

what your company is about. You make and keep your commitments to your customers, your

employees, and to your stakeholders. Therefore, you really want to make the delivery date; it is a

message about who your companyis and what it stands for.

You have announced your schedule to the world, your boss is expecting it, and you are on

contract with your customer for the delivery date.

What do you do?

Do you order everyone to stay and fix the software?

Do you ask everyone to stay and fix the software? Do you ask the team for ideas?

What is the best way to handle this situation?

How do you positively motivate the team?

Whats the best approach?

A new manager would be looking for the right answer. In most cases, a new manager would

probably come up with an answer that got the product out the door on time and made the team

angry, frustrated, and alienated.

While there isnt one right answer, there are several ways to approach the team and the

situation to get the product out the door on time and produce a positive environment.

Scenarios

Lets look at two scenarios and the choices a manager might have and what might influence

the selection of the best choice. Remember, since there isnt a right answer in management, only

effective answers, were looking for the best choice from several possible workable choices.

In the following two scenarios Ill outline each respective context and the possible

motivational strategies:


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Biography of Steven Cerri

Steven Cerri holds the following degrees: Bachelor of Science, Aeronautical Engineering Master of Science, Geophysics Master of Business Administration

Steven Cerri is an expert in the transition process from engineer/technical professional to

organizational leader. He personally has made the transition from engineer, to program and

product manager, to vice president of engineering, to director of training in high tech companies,

to general manager, to entrepreneur, to trainer, consultant, and facilitator. Steven has donelandmark work in the areas of transitioning technical professionals to positions of management

and leadership; maximizing technical employee performance and productivity; and aligning

organizational leadership. He understands people and organic structures in fast-paced and

challenging business environments, and has successfully managed a number of start-ups,

mergers, turnarounds, and "entrenched" teams.

Steven Cerri began his career as an aeronautical engineer working on the space program. An

engineer, scientist, and businessman by education, Steven is a senior consultant, trainer, and

coach. Steven specializes in training engineers and technical staff to become effective managers

and leaders, effective communicators and negotiators, and effective at technical customer service.

Steven has trained and coached hundreds of technical professionals. He is contributing author

of the IEEE book: "The Balanced Engineer, Essential Ideas for Career Development." He has

authored scores of unique and innovative training and change-management programs for

technical organizations and publications for business and public markets including:

"Transitioning From Technical Professional to Manager and Leader"

"Effective Communication Tools for Engineers"

Beyond Customer Service in High-Tech Organizations"

"Coaching and Mentoring for the Technical Manager"

"Building Effective Process Improvement Teams"

"Processes for Effective Communication for Sales and Management"

"Conflict Resolution"

"Process Analysis for Initiating and Managing Effective Change in Technical

Organizations".


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During his career Mr. Cerri acquired a reputation for helping competent technical employees

who were poor managers become highly effective technical managers.

Steven took management control of a group responsible for first-pass-yield at a printer

manufacturer where the first-pass-yield had remained at 75% for over 12 months. With

Stevens guidance the first-pass-yield rose to 98% in 8 weeks.

Steven has also been instrumental in the turn-around coaching of employees who were

about to be laid off for lack of fit in their organizations. These employees were great

engineers but lacked the ability to interact smoothly and effectively with their colleagues.

They ultimately became some of the most valued employees in their organizations.

Steven is a contributing consultant and speaker on the PBS production entitled: "Taking the

Lead: The Management 2000 Revolution", a 26-episode management curriculum, currently airing

on PBS television and on 42 US college campuses. He has presented papers at National IEEE

Conferences titled: "Transitioning from Engineer to Manager" and "Effective Communication

Skills for Engineers". He is also completing a book titled: "Interpersonal Communication Tools

for the Technical Professional".

Mr. Cerri appears in International Whos Who of Professional Management. He has been an

adjunct professor at Pepperdine University and University of California, Berkeley, and is

currently adjunct professor of management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the

Technology Management Program which is part of the Engineering Department. He has trained

Total Quality Management, and has completed certification courses as a personal andprofessional coach. He is a Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and

has delivered NLP-based training in a variety of technical and non-technical organizations.

Steven Cerri has conducted trainings in China, England, Italy (in Italian), as well as in the United

States. Mr. Cerri is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the American Society of Training and

Development.


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