People Skills for Engineers

The book is organized into short focused chapters which make it easy to consume and reference. Through stories, adages, personal experiences and references the author uses several approaches to show the importance of people skills, how they can be effectively applied and how you can grow your “opportunity tree” to maximize your career and influence. At the end of each chapter there is a summary highlighting the key points and takeaways.In chapter 1, the book wastes no time and jumps right into powerful concepts like the notion or concept of the opportunity tree. It is a great visual concept of how every interaction you have with someone is an opportunity; those opportunities grow or die based on how you take care of your “tree”. Another favorite of mine was a section in chapter 7 titled “We have a bank account with other people”. It’s helpful way to look and manage relationships with people. The author states “with every interaction, you make either a deposit into or a withdrawal from the individual you're interacting with.”. This concept instantly clicked with me. Once a solid tool set is built up the author moves into more “heated” topics like Chapter 11: How to Correct People and Chapter 13: Design and Code Reviews. These later chapters deal with specific conflicts that arise in engineering environments. They provide concrete ways to properly use people’s “API” to prevent conflicts, protect feelings and minimize resentment.The book was an enjoyable and valuable read. I personally like to keep it on or by my desk as a reminder to myself the importance of people skills. I know this book has prevented me from making some of the mistakes I have made in the past and I think it could help many others do the same. I highly recommend reading. I’ll end with a quote from one of the chapters “Company culture starts with you. It's not management's responsibility to make your company the best place to work, It's yours.”.

Tony does a wonderful job outlining some of the most basic yet important skills that most engineers are not taught; especially those that are new to the industry. In any given technology field, it is critical that people keep up-to-date with latest trends and technological advances, and it is just as important to learn and hone the skills that the author describes and outlines in this book. Great read for any one that works in the software engineering industry; both managers and engineers alike. I would highly recommend this book for anyone that is looking to start working in the software engineering field, or even to more experienced individuals looking for ways to improve their people skills with their leaders and peers on a day-to-day basis.

You cannot grow your engineering career relying solely on your technical strengths. Effective engineers and leaders must work well with people.Unfortunately, such an important skill is not taught or emphasized in engineering school. Fortunately, it can still be learned after school.Tony does an excellent job walking the reader through the importance of first impressions, job interviews, code reviews, conflict resolution, leadership skills, mentorship and more. He emphasizes the value of building up those around you to facilitate a happier and more productive organization.This is a must-read for any engineer who has hit a career plateau (and wonders why) or anyone who wants to have more tools in their social toolbox. Engineering leaders should consider sharing this book within their entire organization.

Before becoming an engineer I worked in the public sector where I engaged with hundreds of people on a daily basis. I considered myself to be a pretty decent communicator and a people person. After reading this book, I found that no matter how good of a communicator or people person you think you are there is always more to learn. This book opens your eyes and makes you think outside your own view of how you communicate and interact with others. I highly recommend this book to all engineers.

Fun book for the Easter bunny to bring my geandson

Excellent read. Intelligent and interesting perspective. Recommended for new and experienced engineers, first time managers all the way to C-Level.Definitely a book I’ll be reading again in a few months.

I really enjoyed this book! It had a lot of good pointers in the work place.

Down to earth practical wisdom taught by a real software engineer