CADmanagerBlog

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Becoming a new CAD Manager can be a joyous time in your career path.  You have finally achieved something that you have sought after for years.  You have been recognized by the firm for all of the contributions you have made.  You have gotten a title that you were seeking and know that you can serve the firm with success.

But once the title is bestowed, the troubles may begin.  Hopefully you may not see some of the trial that await you in your new position.  Hopefully smooth waters are ahead of you.  Hopefully your experiences will not mirror what I am about to discuss.

CAD Managers have trials.  Seasoned CAD Managers know how to navigate the choppy water that comes their way.  Early career CAD Managers who have to work through them as they come up without the depth of experiences can have troubles.  Trials come in the form of technology, timing, people, resistance to change and so much more.

Trial One: The Authority Challenge

When stepping into a new CAD Manager role you can expect challenge to your authority.  Sure, there might be some authority invested in the position, but it may not carry much weight.  If the position is new to the firm and no one has held the title before, it may have little or no authority.

Symptoms of this Trial:  Troubles in this area may display themselves in the following scenarios.

You are in a meeting with management and discussions of CAD process troubles and methods come up.  Everyone tosses out ideas as to how to fix the troubles.  When all the ideas are out there (including yours) you are told what to do by your boss or a project manager.  Even if you do not think the idea will work, even if you have a better idea, you have to do it their way.

You are talking with the front line employees and design team and they stumble over some early project setup methods.  They want to create some new ways of getting a project going.  They want to just jump in without planning or forethought.  You mention that you have been there before and can assist them, but they do not want to allow you that option and continue to move forward willy-nilly even when you state the flaws in their plans.

Your CAD Standard is solid and working yet you still see teams that avoid using it, set it aside and ignore the guidelines.  You go to their manager and outline your concerns, but the manager sides with his team and suggests that you find something else to worry about.

When this Trial comes your way:

Don’t lose heart.  Continue to provide input and advice.  Wait for opportunities to assist when your ideas are not followed.  When the team encounters troubles that you knew may come along, just give them assistance without rubbing their noses in it.

Look for understanding of their perspectives and ideas and see if they have merit.  When your ideas are not followed keep tabs on the team and see what they do that works.  Maybe your ideas were not the best.

Do not sulk and write off those that do not give you the authority to impact the flow of work.  Stay engaged.  Keep offering help.

Look for teams that do appreciate your help and build into them.  Those teams will interact with others and start promoting you and you CAD wisdom to others.  Soon the word will spread that you are a good person to have around.

Coming to the end of this series with just a few more items to post.

7.  Procedures are a means to an end, not written in stone.

Average CAD Managers usually have good CAD Standards.  They know their stuff and they get the document created and distributed.  They also get people to follow the standards.  Where they may go wrong is becoming inflexible in the application of that standard and refusal to update it.

Extraordinary CAD Managers know that nothing it so perfect that it should never be changed.  They build flexibility into the CAD Standard or the process in such a way that the projects can get completed.  They also know that every so often they need to update the standard to reflect what has been learned and what people are actually doing.  They realize that the standard is just a standardization of the methods and products that CAD produces.  The standard is a means to an end.

8. Work is fun, not toil, but you have to work at making it fun.

Average CAD Managers buy into the notion that work is only a means to a paycheck. They may fully expect everyone to be serious, totally focused, and devoted 100 percent to working hard and never loosing focus.  They expect everyone to have the same work ethic as they do and to take things as seriously as they do.  The CAD Manager does have to take their work and product seriously because no one will care about it more than they do, bu the do have to lighten up at times.

Extraordinary CAD Managers see work as something that should be inherently enjoyable.  They believe that they can and should assist everyone in getting along and having a good time doing it.  Getting the job done can be fun.  Without acting like Mary Poppins or necessarily whistling while they work, they do need to blow off the steam of project deadlines and hardware failures.  Sometimes laughing when things are getting tough is healthy.   Come on – crack a joke every now and then.  Make fun of yourself in front of others.  Help others get through a tough day with a smile and encouragement.  Make work Fun!!

A couple more ideas about working you Core areas of CAD Management.

5.  Change is to be embraced and managed, not avoided.

Average CAD Managers see change as annoying, a duty and demanded by others.  It appears to be complicated and threatening to some, something to be endured only when a firm is in desperate shape.  They may not even realize that they are dragging their feet and slowing down the firm.  Firms that are laggards get left behind.  It may not happen right away, but it happens.  Average CAD Managers become part of that slowdown or may even cause it.

Extraordinary CAD Managers see change as an inevitable and positive part of CAD. In an ever-changing technology based career, change not only means the tools you use, but also the methods you employ.  Changing tools but keeping old habits will undercut the value of any upgrades you make.  When change happens or is caused to happen by the CAD Manager, they also review their policy and procedures at the same time.

Embracing change means that you plan for it and make it happen.  CAD Managers are change agents and should be looking for ways to move their firms forward.  Small or large moves – it does not matter – they just keep things moving.

6. CAD Technology offers empowerment, and enables design.

Average CAD Managers run CAD like IT.  I have nothing against IT, it is just that CAD should not be run exactly like IT.  When IT provides services, the general bottom line is uptime, uniformity and managed services. While these are not bad, they may be inappropriate for CAD environments.   IT’s job is mostly done when the systems are up, stable and running. If the CAD Manager takes this perspective and does not provide services after the install, then CAD chaos soon arrives.  Users are left to themselves and struggle through troubles on their own.  Uptime and uniformity matter, but flexibility, innovation and training are crucial.

Extraordinary CAD Managers know that their job is to make others more productive and help get the software to do what the designer wants.  They see CAD technology as a way to free designers to be creative and work to get the software to be easier to use. While embracing the best of IT methods and practices, they move beyond to provide project level services to individuals, teams and the entire firm.

The last post introduced this topic and I continue with my outline of what might make an Extraordinary CAD Manager as they work on their Core.

3. CAD Managers serve others, not control them.

Average CAD Managers want users to do just what they are told and they squelch creativity.  I am not talking about individuals moving away from the company standard toward creative CAD Standards, I am speaking of creative new ways to approach a problem in CAD.  They take suggestions as challenges to their authority and end up creating an environment that has everyone worried about not doing it their way (as opposed to the best way).

Extraordinary CAD Managers provide a target and allow users to define how they get there.  They provide a CAD Standard that does not tie the hands of innovation, nor provide no guidance on what is to be achieved.  It is a balance of goals with specific methods only when needed.  It tells them what to do but not how to do it.  It is a destination to achieve, not a road map to drive.  Their perspective is that they provide the resources for the end users to get their job done, not constrict them with an overabundance of rules.

4.  People are Pivotal to Progress

Average CAD Managers use people to get things done.  They tell them exactly what must be done and how to do it, one step at a time.  They parse out information as if it should be horded like water in the desert.  They do not empower people and actually hamper CAD efforts by not investing in the most valuable commodity a company has – the people.

Extraordinary CAD Managers know that energized employees work harder and get more done.  They encourage learning and give workers that tools they need.  They create self-service environments where all resources are open to every CAD user.  They restrict access only after abuse and push as many decisions down to the workers as they can.  They don’t second guess a bad choice, but seek to debrief and advise on improvements for the future.

As those that workout know, the Core is the center of the body that drives every other area.  It is that band of muscles that encircles your mid section from just below your shoulder blades to your hips.  Many think that working the Core will deliver the best exercise routine as it is mixed with other workouts.  I am not a workout expert (other than knowing how to avoid doing them), but know that any time this core area is ignored, it affects every area of the body.

For a CAD Manager, the core is the central perspectives and beliefs that drive them to action.  The Core motivates, outlines, circumscribes, defines and restricts every decision, action and outcome that they are involved in.  Get the Core right and you get more done, motive more people (including yourself), inspire and encourage others.  Get it wrong and you may cripple your CAD efforts, derail you decision making and tangle your team into knots.

CAD Managers that have worked on the core know that it separates them from the crowd.  They have moved from Good to Better, then to Best and often to Extraordinary.  They seem to have the best perspectives on approaching problems, making things happen and getting things done.  This all starts from some deeply held stances that influence every day of their work life.

Here is the beginnings of a list of Core items that set a CAD Manager on a path to being Extraordinary.

1. The workplace should be a positive environment, not a battlefield.

Average CAD Managers see CAD Management as a collection of job functions that need to be completed on a daily basis.  They go through the paces and get things done, but there is no spark that ignites their fire for long periods of time.  They are meeting the job description, but not moving past it.  They have settled into a routine and they like it.  It works, it is easy and it meets the requirements.  When someone challenges their turf, they stall, argue, deflect or delay.

Extraordinary CAD Managers see CAD Management as a career to continually grow into.  Each day brings another opportunity to learn and expand their knowledge about CAD software, processes, enhancements and structures.  They go beyond the job description and actually expand it.  They do not settle for less that their best, at all times.  They work hard to make the workplace better.  They do not look to others to make it a better place, they do it themselves.  They avoid conflict and seek to make teams work better.

2.  Constant improvement is a way of life

Average CAD Managers survive on past innovation and occasional improvements.  They seem to settle into ruts of production processes that never change.  They cling to past ways of doing things even when software upgrades make them obsolete.  They are not looking for innovation and actually will struggle slightly against others who seem to want to innovate.

Extraordinary CAD Managers constantly look for ways to improve on all areas of CAD production.  They sift through ideas of others.  Gather input from just about anyone.  They keep their eyes open and think about what might not be working best.  When they spot a problem they do not complain – they fix.  When they hit a roadblock, they figure out a way around it.  When they are challenged by others that do not want to make things better but want to keep the status quo, they seek ways to convince them to move forward.  They do not settle for good enough.