The Paradoxical Mindset of Systems Engineers

10THRIVE

If we are so good at what we do, why haven’t we mastered [airport delays, responding to natural disasters, blackouts of our power grid]. These are systems problems. … If we don’t have these mastered, what makes us think we will master [future harder challenges]. We must evolve.

– David Long, former president of INCOSE

How does today’s already effective systems engineer, whether full‐time or perhaps secondarily a systems engineer, keep up? How does a junior or mid‐level systems engineer establish the right vector through the three forces – experiences, mentoring, and education & training – in a way that smartly supports their career path? How does someone who manages a group of systems engineers ensure they stay highly effective? How does an executive who is responsible for a business best position their systems engineers to drive that business forward? The magnitude of these challenges is compounded by the speed with which new scientific discoveries, technologies, engineering processes, and business models keep coming, creating new opportunities for innovative people and companies and new threats for those who are slow or clumsy in responding. Rapidly advancing 3‐D printing, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), social networking, data analytics, cybersecurity, virtual reality, driverless cars, fleets of drones – the list is endless. Great opportunities. Great challenges. The final chapter of this book offers specific recommendations on how to guide your ...