WHO YOU
GONNA
CALL Many technical people
By Stu Moring
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who move into management positions often find they may be missing the humanities or financial skills to be successful in their new roles; they may be at a loss as to who can help them bridge that gap. Naturally, you can hire a management consultant to guide your strategic planning or develop a budget, but are a group of MBAs or efficiency experts going to understand the operations of your infrastructure enough to really set the priorities to guide your work? Or you could hire a lawyer to clarify the laws and regulations that may govern your activities, but is your goal just to do what is the legal minimum to satisfy a requirement? Or would it be better to consult with a team of other “left-brain” people, who have been in your position and faced the physical challenges that you have – for fitting a sewer into the already congested territory underneath your city streets – and dealt with the challenges of explaining the job to a part-time city council or an unhappy resident? Perhaps you have a backhoe
operator who doesn’t understand why his own safety dictates the need for a shiny safety vest, or rollover protection; can a lawyer or an accountant help in resolving that problem? If you are lucky, you may have mentors in your workplace who can provide the guidance you need to understand the best approach to your jobsite issues and how to present them to others. Mentorship is a growing expectation in the public works realm, and there are several valuable guides to establishing such programs. What if your mentor is an expert on roadway design or wastewater plant maintenance, and you need to develop a presentation to the chamber of commerce on the priorities for new construction? Thankfully, the American Society of Civil Engineers has a program to allow of group of your peers to meet your staff,
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