for 11/02/05
Inventive Leadership
Can a good engineer become a successful entrepreneur?
by Ephram Suhir
When I joined a big corporation after coming
to this country about 25 years ago, I was surprised to hear the following
opinion from my manager, a very good administrator with an MBA degree
from MIT: "A highly qualified professional is like an important piece
of equipment. When you need it, you buy it. When you do not, you get rid
of it."
Several years ago, I attended a meeting where a high-ranking executive
of a large company spoke about leadership in front of an audience of engineers
and scientists. The speaker, whose background was in both business administration
and engineering, argued that an engineer or a scientist simply cannot
be a high-level leader in an engineering company and should not be even
trained to become one. Furthermore, in-depth technical knowledge should
be viewed as a burden, an obstacle that prevents an engineering professional
from becoming a successful leader by developing a broad understanding
and a clear vision of various administrative, financial, and psychological
issues.
Such a viewpoint is widely held, especially in large corporations. But
is it right? Is it not because of such a perception that the communication
giant AT&T was brought by its leaders from its top position in the
world just 20 years ago to its diminished fortunes today? Has the time
of Edisons, Fords, Bells, and Marconis gone forever? Could an engineer
or an applied scientist make a successful entrepreneur? What skills would
one need?
We live in a world that needs creative leadership, and the necessity for
effective scientific and technological entrepreneurship is increasing.
Rapid technological change and the emerging global marketplace provide
challenges for engineers and businessmen. Understanding how to recognize
and evaluate market opportunities has become crucial in the new environment.
A technological professional with entrepreneurial skills has a better
chance than a business administrator of moving innovations from research
into manufacturing and the marketplace. The professional qualifications
of an engineer are not an obstacle, but an important prerequisite for
making a business successful. But, of course, it is the engineer's entrepreneurial
abilities and business-oriented actions that will make the business successful.
These same abilities and actions will make the engineer a valued enabler
of society's wealth creation, and not a commodity in the global marketplace.
An engineering entrepreneur should be able to deal with uncertainty and
ambiguity; be flexible; "mind someone else's business" in addition
to his own; understand and be able to speak the language of other professionals
and other entrepreneurs, not necessarily just that of his or her own engineering
or business domain; possess effective lateral (functional) thinking and
vertical (in-depth) thinking, as well as a team player's attitude; be
able to be both a convincing "speaker" and an attentive "listener";
be able to understand, explain, and persuade, and possess courage to take
on reasonable risks and responsibilities as a leader.
In addition, an engineering entrepreneur should be a good psychologist
and a people-oriented person; have a creative and an inquisitive mind;
be internationally conscious; be knowledgeable in foreign languages and
cultures; be able to think on the international level and in international
terms; exhibit interest in, and possess good knowledge of, foreign values,
attitudes, and customs. Communication skills, both oral and written, are
important, and computer skills are vital. Such skills have become ingrained
into the modern culture, and are no longer only an element of education.
Since most American companies conduct a large share of their manufacturing
and sales operations overseas, an engineering entrepreneur should understand
the economics and financial aspects of an engineering effort (for example,
how to make a product offshore, decide on best buy-vs.-develop strategies,
and so on); be goal-oriented, aggressive, highly motivated, and be a creative
performer; possess strong analytical and planning skills, as well as negotiating
skills.
A thorough understanding of the state-of-the-art in many related areas
of engineering is critical, as is a vision for the most promising directions
in the development of applied science and engineering. An engineering
entrepreneur should be able to work well in dynamic and rapidly changing
environments, under pressure and in short time frames; possess an ability
to work effectively across multiple organizations, boards, companies,
and departments, and with specialists of different disciplines and fields,
and with people of different mentalities, origins, and cultural backgrounds;
be willing to learn new things and be receptive to, and have a quick grasp
of, new approaches and ideas.
An engineer can and should possess business skills and become a good entrepreneur-that
is, guide the business side, as well as the technological side, of a successful
enterprise.
Ephraim Suhir, a Fellow of ASME and of three other
professional societies, is president and CEO of his company, ERS/Siloptix
Co., in Los Altos, Calif.
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