My favourite engineering and project leadership quotes

Be open to growing and learning, and you will become the leader you were meant to be.

Failure is the best teacher. Experimentation/testing leads to failure and failure leads to understanding.

When things are going well, you don’t learn much. Fail and discover things to understand it all deeper that you missed the first time.

Always remember to deliver good news fast but bad news faster.

Don’t hold on to the big news, whether it's good or bad. Holding bad news could spread rumours when people hear whispers. Management does not have time to react or come up with mitigation plans if the information is shared late. Control assumptions by communicating big news as soon as you know it.

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of good.

Nothing is perfect! It is realistically impossible to fulfil every single request made for the project. When are always aiming for perfection, you cannot get much done.

Hire people smarter than you. If you are the smartest person in the room, it's time to change the room.

You need generalists and subject matter experts both. It’s important to have people around who have a high IQ and can challenge you when you need to be challenged. You can’t know everything and you can’t see everything. No one can. Having someone who can add to your viewpoint is essential. Hire people smarter than you, give them the tools to do your job, and then get out of the way.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

Look ahead with a realistic eye and anticipate trouble before it happens but you still want to pursue great outcomes.