Many chemical engineers are self-taught in the use of spreadsheets for day-to-day problem-solving, which is testimony to the inherent usefulness of this tool.
Performance management efforts can be likened to a good maintenance program for your car. If you neglect it, you can continue to motor along…for a time. However, you may find that when you need to “step on the gas” you don’t have enough speed to pass your competitors. So, how do you manage your teams’ performance to make sure that they are “firing on all cylinders?”
Have you ever noticed that your boss uses a lot of phrases like the following?
* How much will it cost?
* What will our savings be?
* Show me the cost/benefit analysis.
* What is the budget for that project?
Yes, I know that your project has some really awesome technology and that you’ve got armloads of data sliced, diced, and statistically analyzed to the nth degree. You’ve sketched PFDs (Process Flow Diagrams) and created both kinetic AND thermodynamic models. But, there he sits across the desk, daring to ask seemingly trivial MONEY questions!
The life of the desk engineer is a strange one. You sit in the office and make decisions. You develop ideas and implement change where the biggest direct impact of your work is whether or not you meet your deadline or make your budget. Rarely are you exposed to the end products resulting from your brain power, because we are often separated from the practical application by layers of seniority, quality assurance, time delays and location differences.
