Manager's Forum

An executive with more than 30 years of experience offers some valuable insight into a very successful management philosophy.

When I was asked by Evaluation Engineering if I would like to write an article about how to best lead and motivate a large and diverse workforce, I humbly accepted the assignment. By sharing my own leadership style, I hope to provide other global managers with practical wisdom and ideas that they can use to increase their effectiveness.

An industry expert shares some advice for transforming chaos and uncertainty into real innovation.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines chaos as a state of things in which chance is supreme; the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a natural system such as the atmosphere, boiling water, or the beating heart; or a state of utter confusion. I don't know about you, but that last definition sure sounds like every product development I've ever been involved in.

Some electronic professionals say the electronics industry is bouncing back. Does your own experience confirm this?

After surviving the dot-com bust, massive layoffs, and jobs going overseas, the electronics industry finally is showing some signs of stabilizing. Job security still remains an uncertainty but this may be a reflection of a new work environment, one that can never guarantee employment security like in decades past. A total of 718 EE-Evaluation Engineering readers took part in the 2005 Salary Survey, and a few offered their opinions on the cautiously promising results.

We are rapidly approaching a moment of highly disruptive innovation in the test and measurement industry.

As the whole world goes wireless, waves of innovation are being continuously generated within the commercial and military test and measurement markets, echoed and reinforced by innovation-rich initiatives originating within the industry itself. While we could certainly discuss innovation and its importance in general, it might be worthwhile to focus on the main driving elements of this seemingly unstoppable movement, how this new environment is taking shape, and how we can better understand and lead change while reaching out for new and exciting opportunities.

During the past year, many outstanding products were introduced to the test and measurement market by a number of equipment manufacturers. To determine which ones were the best of the best, we asked you, our readers, to choose by voting in our online poll. We thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedules to vote for the best products from among the many published in EE during 2004. These are the products that emerged victorious in our 11^th annual competition.

Useful websites is the theme of the 2004 Reader’s Resource. We’re certain that you will find interesting, helpful, and indeed useful entries in the accompanying list of sites. The selected material is diverse, partly because of the subjective search criteria and partly due to the ad hoc search methodology. If you know where to look on the Internet, chances are that what you seek will be what you find. Of course, that is the problem: knowing where to look. Finding things is the role filled by an increasing number and variety of search engines. According to the searchenginewatch.com site, 41% of visits to product websites in 2003 originated from a search engine. Using a search engine is by far the most popular way to find information.

A 20-year veteran of product development shares some thoughts on when to refine or abandon an existing technology for something new.

With advances in technology, it seems obvious that companies should always launch new products. In fact, the entire start-up industry is basedon the notion of launching the next disruptive innovation. But is this always the case? When is it better to continue to refine an existing technology, and when is it better to abandon the current solution and look for something new?

Creating innovative technical products requires an engineering organization that fosters the natural innovative spirit of engineers and meets stakeholder expectations.

Engineers are natural innovators, expected to turn out novel products for diverse marketing opportunities within the framework of a company’s business model. However, the engineering organization must reinforce this innovative spirit and get the most out of each product development team.