Category Archives: Management

Stories from the gray side of life.

The Importance of Role Models

My story is about Frank Schiebe, the university professor of engineering. Frank died a couple of year ago and his high school recently posthumously gave him their 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award. I happened to be flipping through the local television channels recently when I saw that the local educational channel was playing a ceremony honoring Frank's life. Boy did that story bring back memories … Continue reading

Posted in Management, Osseo, Personal | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The Case of the Mysterious Radio Interference

Quote of the Day I mean the word proof not in the sense of the lawyers, who set two half proofs equal to a whole one, but in the sense of a mathematician, where half a proof is zero, and … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics, Management | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Case of the Mysterious Radio Interference

Personality Characteristics of a Great Engineering Hire

Quote of the Day Acting was fun, but my grandfather would always tell me, "It's never too late to be an engineer." You were supposed to get a "job" and do acting on weekends or at school. — Jon Hamm … Continue reading

Posted in Management | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

A Product Cost Reduction Example

Introduction Maintaining good product margins is crucial to maintaining a healthy business. In the electronics business, customers have come to expect prices to drop every year. This means that I need to incorporate frequent cost reductions just to maintain margins. … Continue reading

Posted in Financial, Management | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on A Product Cost Reduction Example

Engineer Humor (yes, they do have a sense of humor)

Introduction Engineers can be hilarious – albeit a bit dry and cynical. Engineers are problem-solvers by nature. Much of their humor involves problem solving. Here are a few things that came up this morning that I thought would be worthwhile … Continue reading

Posted in Management | Tagged , | Comments Off on Engineer Humor (yes, they do have a sense of humor)

Rule of 72 Redeux

I frequently have to work on “time value of money” problems. Good approximate solutions to these problems can often be obtained by using the “Rule of 72.” The Rule of 72 will tell you approximately how many interest payment intervals … Continue reading

Posted in Financial, Management | 1 Comment

Estimating Product Cost Part 1

The Problem I frequently am required to estimate product cost in the middle of some meeting with little or no preparation. As you gain more experience with building product, you soon are able to estimate a product's cost quickly for … Continue reading

Posted in Management | Comments Off on Estimating Product Cost Part 1