Doug Barna's Linkedin Analytics

If only it weren’t for the people… earth would be an engineer’s paradise. -Kurt Vonnegut I truly enjoyed my years as a project engineer and product engineering manager. Leading projects that improved people’s lives and helped the world, a tiny bit, has been fulfilling. Getting to meet and interact with all the people I’ve worked with has been fascinating and educational. As my career progressed, a gap became visible and grew: people are amazing at the work they do but struggle with the people they work with. The scientist in me began observing and researching. In some teams and cultures, people worked well together and thrived, in others, teammates had to put more effort into relationships and communication, and in one company in particular, the environment was a complete disaster. (Guess which one I learned the most in.) Why is it that people spend more time on the stuff they’re already good at and zero time on the stuff that sends them home with a headache and an ulcer? Could it be our society pushes the technical, work skills through education and other investments? Could it be that few people focus and talk about relationships and communication? Could it be that the work is solid and easy to define while people are more fluid and tougher to pin down? Yes to all and a whole lot more. This complexity is a huge reason I find folks focus on work skills and avoid people skills, it’s daunting, it’s forever work, and you could fail. My observing and researching turned into teaching and mentoring, and three main concepts formed: 1) Cognitive Readiness - to help you interact with people, even the ones you'd rather not 2) Memory - to get work done and crossed off your to-do list (this one's a surprise to most people) 3) Organization - to gain back your time so you can go home happy, leaving work at work If you’d like help making work less dreadful: - Head over to my YouTube page, subscribe, and join in on the journey: https://www.youtube.com/@dougbarna - Visit my website to get information about specialized programs: https://dougbarna.acclaimedsummit.com/work-with-me - Set up a call to get personalized support: https://calendly.com/doug-barna/30min