Engineers: the leaders of yesterday. Some of the greatest leaders of all time were engineers. Some of these engineers consisted of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Herbert Hoover, and many more. Their ingenuity and desire to problem solve was the formula to successful and powerful leaders. Well, why aren't engineers the leaders of yesterday, and not today? In the 1950s and 1960s the American culture transitioned from industrial carers to more business orientated careers. This switch tore away the leadership positions from engineers and was given to businessmen. Although, this switch didn't last long as Engineers slowly began to rebuild their business mentality and regained leadership positions in various fields.
In today's field of business, Engineers and Businessmen hold equal amounts of leadership positions. According to Stephen Covey, the four qualifications to be a leader are: they must have trust, clarify purpose, align systems, and unleash talent. These attributes are taught and developed through Engineering schools. Engineers have a natural ability to solve problems, understand the mechanics of products, and are able to realistically look at situations with raw data and understandings.
A major in Applied Engineering Science allows for students to master both professions of engineering and business. With the knowledge students learn while studying this major could possible give them the upper hand to other business majors. Their ability to problem solve while understanding the economics from a business standpoint gives these students the makings for successful leaders.
Blog by: Brooks Beattie
This is a very well written piece! I think it is so interesting to see how our different fields go up against each other. Great piece!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post, I did not think about the past and the present before reading this. I wonder how things will be in the future.
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