Why Engineers Make Great CEO's
Engineering is the most common undergraduate degree of Fortune 500 CEOs. It has been for some time. Approximately 1/3 of CEOs majored in engineering and only 11% from business school. The Harvard Business Review has a list of the 100 best-performing CEOs on the planet.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos topped the list. Bezos earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science and electrical engineering from Princeton University. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is an engineer. General Motors’ Mary Barra as well. Carlos Ghosn of Nissan and Dennis Muilenburg of Boeing also have engineering backgrounds. Ursula Burns, the CEO and chairman of Xerox Corporation started her career as an engineering intern. In fact, 24 of the top 100 CEO’s have a Bachelors or Master’s degree in engineering. Engineering is the most common undergraduate degree of Fortune 500 CEOs. It has been for some time.
Engineers are a little bit different. Sometimes introverted and always good at math they build and fix things; complex things. They have a unique way of looking at the world. The qualities below make engineers exceptionally good at leading companies.
Attention to Detail
Engineers pay attention to details. It’s in their blood. They spend their career understanding the unique details of a problem, while also understanding how it relates to the big picture. Imagine building the international space station. The tiniest mistake could mean complete failure and the loss of lives and billions of dollars. CEO’s demand the same perfection. They think about the end user and consider the tiniest mistake and its consequences.
Problem Solvers
Engineers possess strong skills in problem solving, math, risk management and analysis. Whether it's a problem with a machine, bridge or a business engineers have the training to fix the problem. They produce successful outcomes by determining cost versus performance. These principles are essential for successful leadership. The high rate of engineers that make it up the corporate ladder suggest that the skills and training that engineers practice is great for business, too.
Engineers Know Other Engineers
Engineers must work in teams to be successful. These teams perform huge tasks and oversee millions if not billions of dollars. Without the right people on the team the entire project could be a total failure. What’s that mean? Engineers are outstanding at picking talent; top talent. So, do great CEO’s. They build a company that can attract and sustain top talent. They work with people who “get” it.
Understanding Technology
To build a great company you must know where technology is going. You don’t have to be an engineer to do this, but most financial CEOs don’t have the experience. To be a great company you need to have a state of the art product. Who makes those? Engineers.
Engineers love to do things better, faster and cheaper. They love testing out a new widget to find whether it can improve production or productivity. They are obsessed with optimization and efficiency.
Responsibility
Engineers have a hard time blaming others. The quality of an engineer's work equates directly with his or her reputation. Engineers must leave digital trails as proof of their work. There's no getting around the fact that if a problem arises, you can find who caused the issue.
Engineers are likely to be in a position that is critical to a large organization. These key roles provide excellent experience for a future management position.
Perseverance
Engineers are constantly up against a wall. They’re told it won't work, the market is too small, or an idea has been tried before. To succeed within this environment, engineers by nature must be stubborn and enjoy solving problems; difficult problems. Similarly, getting a company off the ground and making headway takes an unbelievable amount of perseverance.
When a problem arises, they must be comfortable with dozens of opinions coming at them at once. Everyone telling you that you have done poorly and how to fix the issue. That can be difficult.
Why do engineers make great Leaders? Is it because engineers are CEO material. They have the stuff that CEO’s are made of.
Business Development Director, New Energy - APAC
9 个月It is a reality and thanks for sharing Thomas A. Anderson, P.E.
IT Strategy Consultant - Creating measurable economic value from data
10 个月And yet there are many cases where engineers are not the best CEO candidate: - Highly regulated yet stable businesses are often better led by Lawyers - Consumer Products companies who sell basic commodities differentiate themselves in two ways, if it is by selling at lower cost an engineer can cut costs in manufacturing and logistics, if is by branding, a CEO who comes out of marketing and sales is preferred - and some CP companies alternate between the two. - If the business challenges of the firm are rife with ambiguity, the ability to parse and define the problem and frame options pro and cons - a philosopher might be the best choice. - If employee motivation and morale is poor, an engineer may lack the people skills to turn the firm around.
Manager - Bank of Papua New Guinea
1 年Agree!
Software Engineer at Andela
6 年Nice one
Working as trainee engineer
6 年I agree with your points but I would like to add one more "Engineers are keen observers" also.