Foreword xi
A Note from the Series Editor xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
1 What You Learned in College is Limiting Your Growth As a Technology Professional 1
This Book is Your Safety Net 3
2 Why Should You Read a Book by Me? Or...Why is This Book Important Now? 5
A Few Words in Praise of Steven T. Cerri's Work 7
3 If You are an Engineering or Technical Manager, Read This 11
4 Is Free Will Truly "Free"? 13
Do You Choose What You Eat? 13
A Hypothetical Situation That is Very Real 14
Personal Behavioral Subroutines 16
Limiting Beliefs and Personal Behavioral Subroutines 17
Just for Managers 17
Personal Subroutines Can Help as Well as Hinder Functionality 17
Turning Limiting Beliefs into Successes Using Gems of Wisdom 18
5 The Way You Change 19
Engineering is Easy. It is the People That are Difficult 19
Humans are Just Satellites on Earth 20
The Model of Human Behavior: The Four Stages to Action 21
What Makes an Inspiring Speech? 26
Close the Loop 27
A Real-World Example 27
Changing Behavior Requires That You Push the Right "Button" 29
How Difficult is it to Loose Weight? 30
6 The Origin of the 15 Limiting Beliefs and the 15 Gems of Wisdom 33
7 How to Use This Book and the Structure of Chapters 9 Through 23 35
Example: Chapter 9 35
Add Gem of Wisdom #1 to Your Current Map of the World 37
8 How to Add Any Gem of Wisdom to Your Map of the World 41
Steps to Add a Gem of Wisdom to Your Current Map of the World 41
9 Ideas as Identity: Career-Limiting Belief #1 45
Add Gem of Wisdom #1 to Your Current Map of the World 49
10 Being Right: Career-Limiting Belief #2 55
Add Gem of Wisdom #2 to Your Current Map of the World 59
11 What versus How: Career-Limiting Belief #3 63
Add Gem of Wisdom #3 to Your Current Map of the World 66
References 70
12 Avoiding Shoptalk: Career-Limiting Belief #4 71
Add Gem of Wisdom #4 to Your Current Map of the World 74
13 I'll Do My Own Work: Career-Limiting Belief #5 79
Add Gem of Wisdom #5 to Your Current Map of the World 83
14 Ducking Delegation: Career-Limiting Belief #6 87
Add Gem of Wisdom #6 to Your Current Map of the World 90
15 I'll Do What I Like: Career-Limiting Belief #7 95
Add Gem of Wisdom #7 to Your Current Map of the World 98
16 Inconsiderate Communication: Career-Limiting Belief #8 103
Add Gem of Wisdom #8 to Your Current Map of the World 106
17 Limited Visionary: Career-Limiting Belief #9 111
Add Gem of Wisdom #9 to Your Current Map of the World 114
18 Being Persistently Consistent: Career-Limiting Belief #10 119
Add Gem of Wisdom #10 to Your Current Map of the World 122
19 Pursuing Perfection: Career-Limiting Belief #11 127
Add Gem of Wisdom #11 to Your Current Map of the World 130
20 You are Not the Teacher: Career-Limiting Belief #12 135
Add Gem of Wisdom #12 to Your Current Map of the World 139
21 Withholding Expertise: Career-Limiting Belief #13 145
Add Gem of Wisdom #13 to Your Current Map of the World 149
22 Bluntness as a Virtue: Career-Limiting Belief #14 155
Add Gem of Wisdom #14 to Your Current Map of the World 159
23 The Fixer: Career-Limiting Belief #15 165
Add Gem of Wisdom #15 to Your Current Map of the World 168
24 A Parting Letter From Steven 173
Further Reading 177
Biography of Steven T. Cerri 179
Index 181

College teaches you to be a good engineer. But it's likely that your college engineering courses didn't have time to teach you how to effectively contribute your ideas or how to transition to management or leadership. This book provides you with those missing tools. Identify patterns of behavior that don't serve you (or your organization) well and change them Create a plan of action that will allow for personal change that will impact your professional work Hone the ways that your technical work can be seen positively inside your organization Promote the talents and skills of the team players around you Become a flexible, supportive, and positive asset