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🛸 More Investment in Space Exploration, and a Recipe to Build a Great Team

Also - maybe you should rethink your concept of yearly planning

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đź“š MUST READ

🚀 Houston, We Have a New Space Center Coming…

Nearby the existing NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas A&M is going to build a new space institute, continuing to put Texas in the realm of top locations for space innovation. And there is a lot that NASA and its many partners are trying to accomplish in the future, including more exploration on the moon and Mars, supporting human life in space, and more.

Texas A&M is contributing $200 million, and this follows the state of Texas contributing $350 million to the project. The plan for the facility is to help train new astronauts, perform aeronautics research, work on advanced robotics, and further work on future space missions. 

Cool feature: the site is likely to feature an indoor rock yard that can simulate lighting conditions on the moon and even a machine that creates reduced gravity. I’d like to try that, wouldn’t you?

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

What you need for better GenAI applications

Learn more from Pinecone Research on how Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) using Pinecone serverless increases relevant answers from GPT-4 by 50%.

- The larger the search data, the more “faithful” the results.

- RAG with massive on-demand data outperforms GPT-4 (without RAG) by 50%, even with the data it was explicitly trained on.

- RAG, with a lot of data, ensures state of the art performance no matter the LLM you choose, encouraging the use of different LLMs (e.g., open-source or private LLMs).

🏆 CAREER TIPS

🤝 The Recipe for Team Success

Creating a great team is essential for achieving success in any organization. However, it's not just about assembling a group of individuals, it requires careful curation and the cultivation of certain key ingredients.

Ingredient 1: The Right People

Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, aptly compares building a team to getting people on a bus going to a specific destination. It's crucial to select individuals with the right skills, abilities, and attitudes who are positioned to succeed in their respective roles. These team members should not only possess the necessary competencies but also be willing to learn, contribute, and collaborate effectively. Curating the right people and building them up lays a solid foundation for team success and creates an environment conducive to productivity and innovation.

Do you have the right people? If not, what needs to change?

Ingredient 2: Common Goals

A great team thrives when there is a shared sense of purpose and common goals. This needs to go beyond a mere list of tasks; it involves understanding the WHY behind those tasks. When team members are aligned with a collective vision, they see themselves as part of a larger whole. This broader perspective fosters motivation, engagement, and a sense of significance. Each team member understands that their contributions are vital and contribute to the greater impact the team and organization have on the community and the world.

Do you know what your team's goals are? What are you working on together?

Ingredient 3: A Culture of Connection

Last but certainly not least! In order to create an exceptional team, it is crucial to foster a culture of connection. This means promoting understanding, empathy, and a genuine sense of care among team members. When individuals feel seen, known, and supported, it enhances collaboration, communication, and overall well-being. Establishing strong human connections within the team enables the exchange of ideas, facilitates effective collaboration, and boosts productivity and innovation. Ultimately, building a culture of connection is not only good for the team's performance but also for the holistic health and well-being of team members. Sounds pretty good!

How connected do you feel with those you work with?

Putting the Recipe Together

By incorporating these three key ingredients into the team-building process, organizations can create a solid foundation for success. True success lies in working together.

🔔THIS WEEK’S HOTTEST JOBS

In this section you’ll find the latest jobs as featured on:

Signal Engineering Manager   at   Progress Rail Services Corp. Inc
Hudson (US)
Manufacturing Engineering Manager   at  Neogen &
Lansing, MI

Engineer of the WEEK

1856 - 1915

Engineer - Inventor

Nikola Tesla, born on July 10, 1856, in Smiljan, Croatia (then part of the Austrian Empire), was a brilliant and enigmatic inventor, engineer, and futurist. He immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and quickly gained recognition for his innovative work in electrical engineering. Tesla's contributions include the development of alternating current (AC) electrical systems, numerous inventions related to electricity and magnetism, and pioneering work in wireless communication. Despite his incredible accomplishments, he faced financial challenges and spent his later years in relative obscurity, but his legacy as one of history's greatest inventors endures, with his name associated with countless technological advancements and the Tesla electric car company bearing his name in the 21st century.

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WEBINAR

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đź“š BOOK RECOMMENDATION

Most organizations and individuals work in the context of annual goals and plans, a 12-month execution cycle. Instead, The 12 Week Year avoids the pitfalls and low productivity of annualized thinking. This book redefines your "year" to be 12 weeks long. In 12 weeks, there just isn't enough time to get complacent, and urgency increases and intensifies. The 12 Week Year creates focus and clarity on what matters most and a sense of urgency to do it now. In the end more of the important stuff gets done and the impact on results is profound.

  • Explains how to leverage the power of a 12-week year to drive improved results in any area of your life

  • Offers a how-to book for both individuals and organizations seeking to improve their execution effectiveness

Written by

Jeff Perry

Engineering Career Coach

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