Welcome again to another episode of Engineer Your Success! Our Guest today is Jeff Perry

Jeff is the founder of More Than Engineering and serves as a leadership and career coach for ambitious engineers and technology professionals who want to create great careers and lives they love! Through his personalized programs, he helps individuals and teams get clarity, upgrade their mindsets, and take decisive action towards meaningful goals.

Let’s know more about Jeff with no further ado Let’s dive in!

[00:30 - 08:24] More Than Engineering: How to Stay Connected and Fulfilled as an Engineer

• Jeff is a career coach and engineer who has had success transitioning into a new career.
• He discusses how he became at a career plateau and decided to make a change, which led to him founding more than engineering.
• Jeff's shirt says "I'm an engineer, but I'm more than that."
• Jeff shares that the early days of his company were challenging due to a lack of experience and not knowing what to expect.

[08:25 - 16:45] How to Overcome Resistance to Selling

• Jeff shares that he had to connect with the "why" behind his goals in order to overcome challenges and achieve success.
• He shares that one tool he uses to do this is the "five whys."
• Jeff identified an area where he needed to do some work and that he tried to get to the root cause of reluctance to sell or other barriers.

[16:45 - 24:38] Jeff's Top 3 Success Principles for Engineers

• Jeff has been successful in his engineering career by developing a mindset of being people first and focusing on relationships and mutual success.
• One success principle that Jeff recommends is having an outward mindset, which means seeing people as people and caring about their success.
• Jeff also recommends being transformational, not transactional, in all relationships.

[24:39 - 32:07] Being Intentional and proactive in decision making

• Be Intentional about becoming who you want to be and what you want your career to look like
• Tools to help with this include defining your career goals, filtering opportunities based on those goals, and setting up a system for collecting data to assess the impact of changes
• Continuous improvement process that leads to achieving results that are aligned with your goals

[32:08 – 34:18] Closing Segment

• Parting Notes

Resources Mentioned:

Designing Your Work Life: How to Thrive and Change and Find Happiness at Work  

You can learn more about Jeff at morethan-engineering.com

or connect with him on LinkedIn 

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

• Click here https://sleekbio.com/jbryant for important resources mentioned on this podcast

Tweetable Quotes:

“We continue to improve. It's a continuous improvement process where you're implementing changes. You're assessing the impact of those changes on the results you want. And then from that observed outcome and the observed inputs, you start to make changes.”  

- Dr. James Bryant

“What are those criteria that you can use as a set of filters that can run opportunities and different things through so that when they come your way, you can say, Hey, does that meet the criteria? Whether that's the values you wanna live by or the things you want to learn, or the areas you want to spend your time in. Because if you don't have those things defined. Then you'll just be reactive to things coming your way.” - Jeff Perry

Welcome again to another episode of Engineer Your Success! Today, our special guest Dustin DeVries

Dustin has been living and breathing in software development for over 20 years. He is the Co-Founder of Caffeine Interactive Technologies, an agency that focuses on planning strategies and architecture, ensuring that software implementations are straightforward based on clear ways to measure success. He enjoys working with clients to build the right technology, whether it's a multi-tiered mobile app built with React and Laravel or a simple website based on WordPress. He received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Dustin is proud to work with some of the most talented business analysts and developers in the industry. He is a solopreneur and has grown his company based on a 100% remote team that has been thriving for the last eight years.

Dustin enjoys playing tennis, fishing, reading, gardening, music, hiking, and hanging out with his family in his spare time. He believes that a work-life balance is essential to operate a business, overcoming adversities, and finding a bigger purpose in life. He is eager to discuss the importance of having personal freedom while being a successful entrepreneur in the software industry, working with remote teams, and managing family crises.

Let’s know more about Dustin with no further ado Let’s dive in!

[00:31 - 07:08] How to Sell Like an Engineer: Tips from a Business Owner

• Dustin DeVries is a software developer from Austin, Texas, who has been in the industry for 20 years.
• He broke off from his semiconductor job to start a freelance business and then started his own company a few years later. 
• Selling has been one of the hardest things for him to learn, but he has found some success by focusing on selling to specific customer profiles and understanding their problems.

[07:09 - 14:29] Tips For Growing Your Business

• You're getting that interest from the beginning and then bringing them along, starting a conversation with potential customers is key to success for a company like ours.
• No matter what industry you're in, being able to focus on your value proposition and what your customers need will help you stand out.
• Being able to research your target market and figure out what their problems are will help you create solutions that are valuable to them.

[14:29 - 21:34] How to Build a Strong Remote Team

• Dustin’s life changed after they decided to become self-employed and work from home. 
• How Dustin’s relationship with his wife changed and how it was a blessing to be able to be home with his children when they first arrived.
• Being self-employed has its challenges, including that engineers are people too and that we need to be more intentional about building relationships with our employees.

[21:35 - 28:38] Success Principles for Managers: Journaling, Sticking to One Thing, and Measuring Success

• Dustin recommends having a one-on-one meeting with employees every quarter to check in on their progress and help facilitate any needed assistance.
• Success principles that Dustin has found helpful over the years include journaling, setting measurable goals, and focusing on long-term goals.

[28:38 – 30:44] Closing Segment

• Parting Notes

Resources Mentioned:

Garry Keller - The One Thing

Learn more about Dustin DaVries by following him on LinkedIn

or visiting caffeineinteractive.com

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

• Click here https://sleekbio.com/jbryant for important resources mentioned on this podcast

Tweetable Quotes:

“I look back over a two-week period or a month and see that I've been struggling with some of the same things each and every day. Then that's how I start to identify those blind spots and start to do something to be more intentional about fixing them.” - Dustin DeVries

“Now you're in this hybrid situation, which is a totally different animal because you have people who want to be in the office and are looking at the people who are not in the office. And so you have to develop new strategies to engage your employees and the relationships that you wanna foster. You're not going to totally replace what you had in person, but there are some things that you can do to help build your team, your camaraderie in the lines of communication in this hybrid environment.” - Dr. James Bryant

Welcome again to another episode of Engineer Your Success! Today, our special guest is Joseph Ruiz.

Joe Ruiz is a consultant and instructor in the Business School at VCU, teaching Creativity & Ideation. He served as the School of Business “Creativity Czar” for the Fall 2018/Spring 2019 term. Joe is a certified Legos® Serious Play® facilitator and he has an MBA from Northeastern University and a master’s in creative studies from Buffalo State University.

In his business, he specializes in designing and implementing creative problem-solving workshops and programs. He is a thought leader who thrives on the ever-changing nature of helping clients thrive in an uncertain, complex, volatile, and ambiguous environment by helping unlock the creative potential in their organizations.

Joe aims to help businesses optimize the customer experience to create raving fans. Raving fans stay longer, buy and use more products and services, and share their experiences.

Let’s know more about Joe with no further ado Let’s dive in!

[00:31 - 08:42] Opening  Segment

• Joe Ruiz is an assistant professor of creativity and ideation at Virginia Commonwealth University and recently discovered his passion for innovation.
• Joe's journey has been full of challenges, but he has found success by learning to be self-aware and communicating in a different way than his wife.

[08:42 - 17:52] How to Keep Your Engagement High in a Changing World

• Joe shares how he got certified with Lego Serious Play and how it pushes him to innovate more 
• Diversity is critical as it improves innovation. 
• The key to keeping an engine well oiled is having a diversity of styles working together. This creates tension which helps you stay focused and engaged.
• Creativity and curiosity are important tools for managers when adapting to the constantly changing environment.

[17:53 - 27:30] 7 years of creativity and innovation in business school

• Doers can become leaders by developing empathy and understanding, listening to others, and challenging them to think creatively.
• Leadership is about setting a level of trust that allows people to be their best selves.
• Creativity and innovation can flourish in students when they are able to see their ideas come to fruition in physical space."

[27:30 – 31:05] Closing Segment

• Parting Notes

Learn more about Joseph Ruiz by following him on LinkedIn

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

• Click here https://sleekbio.com/jbryant for important resources mentioned on this podcast

Tweetable Quotes:

“Awareness is the oil that keeps the friction from getting too tight In the engine, as those parts are moving. As that diversity is working, having that level of awareness and curiosity, I would add really helps to keep that engine well oiled so it can keep moving.”   - Dr. James Bryant

“You can be a leader and a manager, but they're not necessarily the same. And setting that level of trust is what creates the engagement, which is where that joy comes from and where you can work together to address these challenges because they're gonna be with us, whether we want them or not.”  - Joseph Ruiz

“It really starts with the mindset, it's a mindset before the toolset. And that is absolutely critical because when we're talking about engagement whether you're trying to just do a better job of what you are doing or whether you're trying to keep your folks motivated. We know that there are three keys to keeping people engaged, mastery, autonomy, and purpose.” - Joseph Ruiz

Welcome to Engineer Your Success Podcast with Dr. James Bryant. A quick reminder, the next series of the Success on Ramp will be scheduled for august the 16th from 6:00 Pm to 7:00 pm Eastern Time. The session will focus on building your vision. It is an important area of topic. for most of us, to conquer and master because vision gives imagination and permission as we are often limited by what we can see. If you’re interested in expanding your capacity to dream and you do not want to mix the next three Ramp sessions. These are small group meetings and limited to 12 participants so make sure to use the links below to save your spot.

In today’s episode is in response to the following question I received and it’s “Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome?” let’s dive in and know what imposter syndrome is about and how it affects our growth as an individual with no further ado let’s jump in!

[00:01 - 06:08] What is Impostor Syndrome

• 25 to 30% of high achievers may suffer from imposter syndrome
• some adults may experience imposter syndrome at least one time in their life
• imposter syndrome includes the inability to realistically assess your competence and skills, attributing success to external factors, fear of overachieving, and finding self-doubt and settling for challenging goals.

[06:08 - 15:26] Overcoming Impostor Syndrome

• How imposter syndrome can be a problem and how to overcome it.
• it would be highly recommended to start with mirror moments, where you look at yourself objectively and see your accomplishments.
• Keeping track of your accomplishments can also help overcome imposter syndrome.
• you start to overachieve
• tendencies that you work or study more because you think you needed to be better than everyone else because you are not as competent as everyone else. 
• it fuels and pushes you to do great things and it’s better to take hold of that story

and use it for your benefit.

• Always remember to never let anyone craft a story for you that tells you, you do not belong because you do.

[15:26 – 17:12] Closing Segment

• Parting Notes

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

• Click here https://sleekbio.com/jbryant for important resources mentioned on this podcast

Tweetable Quotes:

“You belong in the room, you belong at the table, you belong in the place to create your own room and table. Never, ever let anyone craft a story for you that tells you that you do not belong because you do.” - Dr. James Bryant

Welcome again to another episode of Engineer Your Success! Today is an exceptional episode. It's going to be a solo episode. I wanted to have another solo episode so that we could connect and I could provide updates as that has been going on in my world. with no further ado Let’s dive in!

[00:32 - 05:57] How to Focus on the Right Things to Achieve Success

• Last July 19, We produced our 52nd podcast episode which also means we reach our first Pod Adversary
• Let me take this opportunity to thank everyone: 
• My family, my wife Melba, my Son JT, and Nathaniel.  
• Who has been here with me giving suggestions for improvement
• Jerome Myers who been there every step of the way.
• Longtime Sponsor: Banowetz Marketing
• Streamlined podcast
• And you! my dear listeners!
• We restarted the blog and social media series: Ask James Anything
• The growth of Engineer your Success on LinkedIn

[05:57 - 11:27] The Power of Personal Accountability

• Are you focused on the right things?
• Achieve the goal and that can get in the way of your execution.
• So when you're too focused on the end goal, you may lose sight of the daily habits or activities that you need to do actually to help you achieve that result.
• it's learning to celebrate the lead measures, not just the lag measures.
• For example, most people focus on the weight loss lag measure and that is the weight. What does the scale say by the time that they take their weight measurement, there's little or nothing that they can do to influence that result.
• but the things that influence that results were the actions that you took weeks and days before those are the lead measures
• Don’t fall into the trap of only celebrating the result learn to celebrate doing the work that’s required to produce that end result.

[11:27 - 17:10] Ways to Achieve Personal Accountability

• Are you willing to pay the price for your success?
• Success requires hard work and sacrifice, and successful people don't allow failure to control their narrative.
• there are no shortcuts to success
• Personal accountability is key to success, and finding ways to keep yourself accountable is important.
• Creating a vision board can help you stay focused on your goals

[17:10 – 18:39] Closing Segment

• Parting Notes

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

• Click here https://sleekbio.com/jbryant for important resources mentioned on this podcast

Tweetable Quotes:

“There are no rooms for excuses in accountability. You learn how to take control, how to take agency over your life and over your decisions, understanding that is the thing that is going to make the difference in your success.” - Dr. James Bryant

“Don’t fall into the trap of only celebrating the end result learn to celebrate doing the work that’s required to produce that end result.” Dr. James Bryant

Welcome again to another episode of Engineer Your Success! Today, our special guest
Dr. Malika Grayson.

Dr. Malika is a Program Manager where she leads technology investment and long-term strategic value creation to help enable teams to achieve above-plan growth through their projects. Over the past few years, Grayson has had industry experiences in systems engineering, software development, R&D portfolio management, IT management, and strategy. Grayson earned her Batchelor’s in Physics from Adelphi University and her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University.

Grayson also founded STEMinist Empowered LLC, which focuses on empowering Women of Color who pursue graduate degrees through application consultancy and graduate program mentorship. A global speaker and bestselling author, Grayson has given dozens of workshops and keynotes and is the recipient of many honors including the Zellman Warhaft Commitment to Diversity Award, National Society of Black Engineers – Mike Shin Award for Distinguished Member of the Year, Adelphi University’s Top 10 Alumni Under 10 and BEYA STEM’s Modern Day Technology Leader.

She was named one of Trinidad and Tobago’s 40 Under 40 Youth Influencers by the country’s Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs based on her work in STEM. She also authored the best-selling book Hooded: A Black Girl's Guide to the Ph.D. and has been featured in several publications. Grayson’s keynotes and workshops are based on her experiences in academia and industry, with titles such as Networking for Mentoring, Canceling Imposter Syndrome, Navigating the Impossible, and Success through Resilience – ABCs to STEM Success.

Grayson’s passion for increasing the number of women through the STEM pipeline motivated her to create ASPIRE STEM, which provides financial assistance to young women from high school and secondary school who aspire to pursue STEM at the university level. She also belongs to external organizations including the DiscoverE Board of Directors, the STEMNoire Planning Council, and Cornell University’s Committee on Alumni Trustee Nominations.

Let’s know more about Dr. Malika with no further ado Let’s dive in!

[00:31 - 09:23] Opening Segment

• Who is Dr. Malika Grayson?
  • She  is a Physicist by trade and a Mechanical Engineer
  • She is also a Managing Software Engineer, a Program Manager by day, and an Author by night.
  • She's originally from Trinidad and Tobago and is a Trinity girl at heart.
  • She went to the US to pursue her physics degree at Del University and then went on to get her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a focus on wind energy at Ithaca University.
  • Now she's a manager of software engineering at Northrop Gring Corporation, where 
  • she's focused on managing a portfolio of projects that help the company move forward.
• Dr. Malika shares her experience in transitioning from being a Physicist to becoming a Program Manager.
  • She shared that being an engineer it is natural for her to take a look at every detail, but as a project manager its way harder to join in every single technical meeting
  • Given her situation, she adds, that it's important to build an effective team that you can trust. 
• As a manager, she learns to step back, trust her team's process, and focus on solutions to help her team progress.

[09:24 - 16:37 ] Working in your Field, Achieving goals, and Still Being Authentic 

• Dr. Malika shares that to maintain her career whether it’s a passion project or in the industry, she learned that you really need to be authentic. 
• She started writing and started a blog for Black Girls Guide to Grad School.
• When she was starting she realized she was leading a double life.
  • A person that focuses on getting the job done.
  • but also a person that wants to impact the world by sharing her story. 
• Her manager called her and was interested in her blogs
  • Her manager connected her to a person with an HBCU initiative.
• Dr. Malika adds that most people that start in all careers are so afraid that they don’t want to lose their job that they stop doing what they love doing outside work, Whereas In reality, there are managers who work to help you build your bio.

[16:38 - 24:03] Working in your Field, Achieving goals, and Still Being Authentic

• The industry has changed during the pandemic, some people don’t want to be in the office. 
• But also some find the office as their escape from home.
• Give your people options in a hybrid approach that makes everybody happy. 

[26:04 - 34:19] Black Women in STEM Pursue Success

• The industry is facing challenges due to the post-pandemic workforce.
• A lot of people are trying to use their old playbooks during the pandemic, which is not going to work.
• Companies are having to find a new way to manage their teams, which is difficult.
• There is a need for more black women in STEM fields.
• The road to success is not easy, but it is possible with resilience and flexibility.

[34:20 – 35:48] Closing Segment

• Parting Notes

Learn more about Dr. Malika Grayson by following him on LinkedIn

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

Click here https://sleekbio.com/jbryant for important resources mentioned on this podcast

Tweetable Quotes:

“Show up as yourself, have courage and show up authentically it will pay off in the end because you won't be fighting against yourself  - Dr. James Bryant

“ When you're not being your full self, it's hard for you to be 100% in any part of your life when you're trying to be somebody else in different parts of your life.”  - Dr. Malika Grayson

Welcome again to another episode of Engineer Your Success! Today, our special guest

Jeniffer Todd

Jennifer is a 15-year woman in the construction industry veteran. She was the youngest Black woman to acquire California’s CSLB General Engineering (A) license. Today, she is the President of LMS General Contractors. Jennifer Todd is the Founder of A Greener Tomorrow, a 501c3 nonprofit geared toward creating skill trade awareness for minorities. 

Jennifer Todd is a public speaker who is committed to the advancement of women in construction and minority inclusivity in the skilled trades workforce.

Todd serves on the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Industry Leaders Council and the National Association of Black Women in Construction (NABWIC) Education Committee. 

Let’s dive in!

[00:31 - 06:52] Opening Segment

• Jennifer Todd is an engineer and business owner with a law background and a speaker.
• She is from Chicago and has been in the construction industry for 15 years.
• Jennifer discusses the trends she's seeing in the industry, including a labor shortage and the need for diversity in hiring and decision-making.
• Jennifer shares her success principles, which include knowing who you are and what you're willing to put up with.

[06:52 - 13:27] NON PROFIT: There is Really Not a Lot of Competition Out There

• There is a lot of power in knowing who you are and investing in yourself.
• Staying on your own course is key to not being in competition with other people.
• Every individual has a different path and trajectory.
• The work that the nonprofit does is helping low-income individuals get started in careers.
• Most of them are not competing with each other but instead inspiring one another
• Jennifer discusses that self-discipline is shown both at work and at home.

[13:27 – 18:15] Closing Segment

• the importance of access to opportunity, as well as understanding the pathway to that opportunity.
• It is also important to have a playbook for navigating opportunities, which is something that Jennifer’s Company was able to provide its employees.
• Jennifer shares that Many of the employees who worked with them have no background and were able to gain experience from them, After getting certifications these employees were able to achieve success after working with the company.

[18:27 – 24:15] Closing Segment

• Parting Notes
• Learn more about Jennifer Todd by following her on LinkedIn

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

• Your Success On-Ramp:https://link.betteryou4u.com/unwebinar

• Annual Goal Setting Workbook:https://link.betteryou4u.com/goalsettingworkbook

• Schedule a complimentary Introductory Coaching Session

• Don’t forget to sign-up for email updates! https://betteryou4u.com/eys-email-update/

Tweetable Quotes:

“Having access to the opportunity, knowing about the opportunity is one thing, understanding in general, that there's a path to that opportunity is another thing.” - Dr. James Bryant

“ Who you are at home is who you are at work and vice versa, the discipline doesn't cut off and on. Whatever those traits are and, things that you have in your life, it goes across both ways”

  - Jennifer Todd

Welcome again to another episode of Engineer Your Success! Let’s welcome Erin Donovan!

Erin Donovan is Director of Engineering and COO at T3 Design, a small woman-owned engineering consulting firm located in Fairfax, Virginia. Erin earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech. Erin is responsible for managing a staff of engineers with a business practice that includes Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Throughout her 20+ year career, Erin has been active in many professional organizations including holding leadership roles in ACEC, ASCE, and TRB as well as WTS-DC.

Today let's hear Erin share her experience as an engineer and as a volunteer and how she fought to be in the position that she has now.

so with no further ado Let’s dive in!

[00:31 - 07:31] Opening Segment

• Erin is a career consultant and graduate school classmate of Dr. James Bryant
• She has worked on a variety of transportation, land development, and civil projects.
• After leaving Virginia Tech with her master's degree, Erin found a job with a small consulting firm in Blacksburg, VA.
• Erin shares she was fortunate enough to get a job at Anderson Associates was a training ground for many engineers especially those who graduated from Virginia Tech 
• She also shared transferring and working in Tucson, AZ, and in Utah.

[07:31 - 15:09] Great Engineer with Many Years of Experience

• Erin has spent most of her adult life in Virginia, where she has reconnected with colleagues and family.
• As a civil engineer, she has versatility and flexibility and can find jobs in places.
• The economy was good during those times, which made it easier to find a job.
• She faced challenges early on in her career, including being cast over for promotions and having to fight for herself.
• She advises others to ask questions and value themselves, as this will help them ask for what they want in their career.

[15:10 - 25:56] Career Maturation: Wanting More Control

• Each time she has changed careers, Erin has wanted more control in her work environment. 
• As she has progressed in her career, she has faced challenges such as fighting for herself and being patient with herself. 
• She has also continued to provide service outside of her organization, 
• such as volunteering for organizations that are related to her field. 
• Her most rewarding experience with volunteering has been helping younger engineers grow into the professionals they will be.

[25:57 – 29:31] Closing Segment

• Connect with Erin
• See links below
• Parting Notes

Learn more about Erin Donovan by following her on LinkedIn

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

• Your Success On-Ramp:https://link.betteryou4u.com/unwebinar

• Annual Goal Setting Workbook:https://link.betteryou4u.com/goalsettingworkbook

• Schedule a complimentary Introductory Coaching Session

• Don’t forget to sign-up for email updates! https://betteryou4u.com/eys-email-update/

Tweetable Quotes:

“Just not being too hard on yourself is really being able to show yourself self-compassion and it's really power in that.” 

- Dr. James Bryant

“The success principle I would embody most is probably, just saying yes. Always say yes. obviously in moderation, because if you say yes unto many things, you can overextend yourself and I've learned over the years when to step back. But I think by saying, yes, you will open yourself up in all kinds of opportunities” - Erin Donovan

Welcome again to another episode of Engineer Your Success! Today, our special guest Billy Keels!

Billy is on a mission to help those high-wage earners and/or retirees that have been forgotten about by so many in society. He's determined to help you feel comfortable and confident going against conventional wisdom by being okay with investing real assets and doing that beyond your backyard! As a long-distance real asset investor, Billy is utilizing the skills that he's developed over the last 23 years as a happy, successful corporate employee at some of the world's largest market-leading IT multinational companies to become an entrepreneur. As part of his journey, he's hyper-focused on consistently helping you to create new alternatives for your life so that you can be also happy about going into your job (or not)!

Let’s dive in!

00:30 - 07:19] Opening Segment

• Billy Keels Introduces himself
• Billy tells Dr. James about himself and one thing that would not be in his bio is that he's a recovering perfectionist.
• Billy talks about enjoying making mistakes and how this helps him to improve.
• Dr. James talks about how being a recovering perfectionist can be a hindrance to growth, and how praising the process can help overcome this.

[07:20 - 21:31] Learning Five Languages 

• Billy shares that he always moves around and seeing his parents struggle to provide a good education for them it became a motivation for him to learn other languages.
• When he was 26, Billy has already traveled to 58 countries and had experienced selling over the phone in French.
• A failure event led him to apply the same process in learning Spanish. in order to work with a Spanish team. Eventually, he became the manager of the team.

• He shares that his boss offers him an opportunity to work overseas and it’s going to be in Italy
• He took classes at the office and then went to Italy to lead and build the sales team.
• Billy was able to sell in different languages by understanding the cultural context and using his methodology.

[21:31 - 28:42] How A Painful Event Helped One Man Become An Excellent Student

• Billy’s experience in the dot com bubble and 2008 recession led to a change in his goals, which included becoming financially independent and becoming a better father.
• He became a better student by studying theory and watching videos, listening to podcasts, and reading books.
• In 2008, he lost 33% of the value of his portfolio
• Working overseas and Missing his eldest son's birthday, made Billy realize to aim and own the financial outcomes of his life.

• This event caused him to reassess his goals and learn more about financial planning and investing.

[28:42 - 37:20] Successful Journey from Corporate to Self-Employed Millionaire

• How Billy's personal growth and change in priorities led to increased success in his professional life.
• He talks about how he would often sacrifice hours from his day job in order to spend more time with his family.
• After achieving a 48% increase in sales, Billy realized that he has gained control of his financial life and said that he would never go back to a corporate role, He decided to pursue a different path.
• He now works as a successful real estate investor and has never looked back since.

[37:21 - 44:29] How Passive Income Work For Billy

• Billy has a very specific process that he goes through to focus on himself, including some silence, meditation, affirmations, visualization, and light exercise.
• He spends time with his children in the morning and starts working from around 4am to 7am.
• He focuses on building a business and generating passive income in order to reduce his taxes.
• He eventually started focusing on helping others achieve their financial goals by providing advice on accredited investors and real estate investing.

[44:30 – 49:15] Closing Segment

• Parting Notes

Learn more about Billy Keels by following him on LinkedIn

or visit his website at billykeels.com/

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

• Your Success On-Ramp:https://link.betteryou4u.com/unwebinar

• Annual Goal Setting Workbook:https://link.betteryou4u.com/goalsettingworkbook

• Schedule a complimentary Introductory Coaching Session

• Don’t forget to sign-up for email updates! https://betteryou4u.com/eys-email-update/

Tweetable Quotes:

“What is it that I want in life. Do I want to be, living a life in which I'm fooling myself saying I'm doing it all for my family, but I never actually have time to spend with my family or am I really going to make the hard changes? And make the investments to do the things that I need to do to set up the life that I want while continuing to enjoy the life that I have.”  - Dr. James Bryant

“If you're clicking and typing in your computer 15, 20 times a day, this is your number to get into the computer. That's what you are doing in a role at a specific company and don't confuse that role with your life.”  - Billy Keels

Dionne Douglas is a Senior Engineering Manager at the Kimberly-Clark Chester Mill (KC). She is responsible for developing the talents of her team and driving engineering results across multiple assets within the mill. In addition, Dionne sits on the Mill Leadership Team making her indirectly responsible for the overall mill success. Prior to Kimberly-Clark Dionne worked in varying industries located across the US. She spent time with The Boeing Company building the 747, 767 and 777 airplanes, with Corning, Inc producing high purity fused silica for the semiconductor industry and with Target supporting their distribution centers.

Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Dionne earned her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University and her Master of Business Administration in Executive Leadership from the Jack Welsh Management Institute. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and four daughters.

[00:31 - 09:21] Dionne Douglas Talks About Her Journey

• Dionne Douglas and Dr. James Bryant went to high school together.
• Dionne’s journey has taken her to different parts of the country as an electrical engineer, most recently at Kimberly Clark.
• Dionne has experienced difficulties with her transitions especially these workplace has become significant on her growth.
• She was really open to work 24/7 despite of being anywhere. With this she had came into realization to manage her time and stop working for the sake of her family
• Moving into Engineering Magnament

[09:22 - 15:52] From Individual Contributor to Engineering Manager 

• Dionne shares If an engineer aims to be a engineering manager he has start mentoring people

most especially in co-op programs, putting a mindset of giving and feedbacking.

• Being self-concious and building trust with your colleagues is important.
• Making your team understand that you had their best interest in mind.
• Dionne also adds to letting them understand not to take things personally and its all about the business. 

[15:53 - 23:04] Building Trust With Employees

• Trust is a two way street letting your team understand where you are coming from and vice versa
• Being honest to yourself
• Dionne quotes “Don’t become a manager or a leader unless you really care about the people.”

[23:05 – 30:28] Closing Segment

Learn more about Dionne Douglas follow her on LinkedIn

Sponsors:

Banowetz Marketing: Growing a business is hard. Banowetz Marketing provides an action plan and expert help so your family business can thrive.

BanowetzMarketing.com/James

Coupon Code: JAMES to get 3 FREE hours of logo design or redesign work with the purchase of any other product.

If this content impacts you, please subscribe for more access to the empowering conversations from me and guests working to help you engineer your success!

Use this link to drop a question or a topic that you would like to see covered on a future episode: Questions or topic suggestions.

Let’s connect! Find me on my LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. I’d love to hear from you.

You have the strength of a hero within you. Check out my website https://betteryou4u.com/ and learn how to unlock your potential and achieve success both in business and in life.

Important Resources to Note:

• Your Success On-Ramp:https://link.betteryou4u.com/unwebinar

• Annual Goal Setting Workbook:https://link.betteryou4u.com/goalsettingworkbook

• Schedule a complimentary Introductory Coaching Session

• Don’t forget to sign-up for email updates! https://betteryou4u.com/eys-email-update/

Tweetable Quotes:

“I think it is key when you have a manager in an organization. That says, I am interested in you. I want to develop you into the person that I believe that you can be and that you want to be, and I'm going to help you, whether you become that person in this company or not.”

 - Dr. James Bryant

“Don’t become a manager or a leader unless you really care about the people.”

- Dionne Douglas