Think like upper management



By Jim Thompson

Engineers tend to define their projects in engineering terms:

This project will save 100,000 gallons of water per day

or

If we do this, pulp yield will go up by .75%.

Upper management thinks in terms of cents per stock share per year.

You are not talking the same language. It is your job to fill the gap.

I am offering a course covering this which starts very soon. See here.

By the way, I come to mills and talk to various departments about many subjects. To arrange my custom visit to your mill, just email me at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com or call me at 678-206-6010.

Young Engineering Manager of the Year, call for nominations

We are looking for an individual who has done an extraordinary project, one that almost defies belief. Its extraordinary features can be schedule, technology, cost or all three. There is an age limit on the manager eligible for this award: they must be under 35 years old when they completed the project.

We have often gotten nominees that go something like this, "I nominate Joe because he has done a great job of running our engineering department for the last fifteen years." Quite frankly, we are not interested in such nominees.

However, if you know someone who has led a very exceptional project in the recent past (the last two or three years) and meets our age requirement, we want to know about it. We want to honor them and hold them up as an example for Engineering Managers in every pulp and paper mill around the world.

Just send your nomination, with as much details as you can provide, to jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com. We will seriously consider it.