PUTTING IT TOGETHER

1 Opening

For tonight, let us briefly look at the times we live in, the impact on civil engineering and all those associated with it, especially their partners in life! What does this mean for us and a few key things to tackle.

This is not a six-step to happiness motivational!

What can we expect from the future? The unexpected!

2 What is going on?

We are in the heart of the fourth revolution.in a revolution, we chop the head of the king, have a great time and festivities. Then … in the shadows of it, the dark clouds of change happens. Jobs lost, uncertainty, blaming. It is also the time when many new opportunities will be there for those ready for it. Now is the time!

It was the steam engine and manufacturing, then electricity followed in 1958 by the Internet. Now it is the Internet of things.

More devices are connected then the population on our planet. We get 5000 ads a day, swipe our screens 150 times, our attention spans shorten, boundaries fade.

Yet many things stay the same. We need water to
add to whisky, we need roads and bridges and buildings.

Jobs lost to be 50% in the next five years. The role of the civil engineer will be as important as ever. Billions of things connected. 5000 ads a day, 150 swipes on a screen, shortening of attention, human interaction, jobs lost, boundaries fade and leaking.

Seeking of knowledge undermined by social media. And the youngster’s great word is, “Disrupt!”

Civil engineers are blamed and will be blamed for many things, environmental damage, impact on communities. Your world is so complex with many players in the game, contractors, subcontractors, payment and delays.

What remains: Human needs, love, hate, grouping, empathy, revenge, place in the sun, achievement, anger and revenge, fear and resolve, adventure, laugh and play, to seek knowledge … above all, we are herd animals

3 What does it mean

Uncertainty will bring more risks and more blaming.

Knowledge will remain and even more important as the core driver for success. Those that master it will be the winners.

How we interact with people is core to it all. Carl Jung spoke about the good: kings, warriors, wizards, lovers and the bad: tyrants, wise-asses, bullies, doormats

4 We should do and be

We must be different from robots by doing things they can and will never do. Be a listener, a shoulder to cry upon, be creative, handle conflict wisely, do it ethically.

Every project or task: Why, how, what, when, where and by who.

Of all this, the HOW is the most critical. Always follow the three rules of chess. You must move, think before you move, think before you move and most importantly think before you move!

Fight against the negative impact on our minds by all the buzz. Read whole books, many of them over and over. Read fiction, read business and above all know that we do not know.

Tom Peters on thriving in the new age: Our businesses is all about collaboration, showing others how to do things, put it together in a better way, apply differently be ethical and care for the earth.

Ethics is to stay within the law, respect company policy, what if they all know? Is it a shoosher and most importantly what would your mom say about it?

Handling conflict a great challenge. Nobody ever won a war or an argument. One plus one can be ten. Ask what happened to all parties, how you feel about it and then what is at stake and seek an answer together.

Creativity is complex. The worst is peering at a screen or brainstorming. Use a great technique, delay judgment, always “yes and,” never “no but.”

Communication is critical and difficult. Cross cultures, gender and generation gaps. The mind has several separate pieces. Great communication addresses it all. Shut up and listen, cross culture and learn the stuff from the heart of other cultures.

The Institute of Civil Engineering is your Mothership … embrace it, give your time to help and to mentor.

Above all be still, every day, switch off, switch it off and switch it off. Fifteen minutes alone, walk circles in the forest, find words in the wood, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, stories in the sand above go to lavender and find love.