Young Consulting Engineers of Alberta show how to harness the power of love
All you need is love
Well not quite, but when you combine love with technical knowledge it goes a long way.
Terry and I were just speaking at the Consulting Engineers of Alberta – Young Professionals Conference in Edmonton. The conference theme was “Engineering – More Than the Numbers”. Soft skills and career planning were high on the agenda (we presented a networking icebreaker, etiquette to wow and dining for fun and profit).
Just a 4 letter word?
As business professionals, we often shy away from using the “L” word in a business context. But these young engineers really showed us the power of love in building careers and lives and relationships. Here are a few lessons that all of us can use, even non-engineers.
Contagious Passion
“Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.” They showed us that because they love what they do, they can’t wait to get to work in the morning. Enthusiasm percolated throughout the conference and the conversations. What a gift, to truly love what you do in your career. This passion is contagious and communicates itself to colleagues and clients.
Love your clients?
If you love what you do then you should love your clients. Well, at least like your clients. Be excited about their business and their challenges. Build relationships and get to know them and you’ll stand out in your work with them. You’ll build extraordinary client relationships, referrals and repeat business. You’ll help customers succeed and in turn help yourself and your firm.
Fringe Benefits
It turns out many of the young engineers are in romantic relationships with other engineers. Some of them are married to other engineers and some couples even work in the same firm. They shared stories of meeting at university, at conferences or through their jobs. Now that’s the ultimate power of networking and love – finding your passion, finding your job, finding your clients and finding your life partner who shares your passion. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Runaway success
There was a lot of planning and love that went into the conference. Although it was the first young professionals conference that Consulting Engineers of Alberta have put on, it was a runaway success. Everyone we talked to, loved it. It will be the first of many CEA YP conferences.
And to all the CEA staff and the young professional committee members who put it together, thanks for including us in this fabulous conference. Thanks for reminding us of the power of passion and love in business. Needless to say we loved it!
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- Executive Image Power eBook
- Executive Etiquette Power eBook
- Savvy networking skills, the key to connecting in business and life.
Well said! 🙂