Poets and Engineers

A dear and trusted friend recently remarked that, as a society, we should have at least as many poets as engineers.

This is true in the workplace as well.

In the past decade, an incredible amount of conversation has placed emphasis on STEM programs. . .and that's great. . .but I fear that it has done so at the unnecessary expense of liberal arts.   We need people with well-rounded educations.

In life. . .in work we need people who can build. . .but we also need people who can dream what needs to be built.

At the office, we need someone who can maintain tight controls. . .and we need that other person who can explore beyond the current realms.

On our teams, we need that player who has all the facts and can make strong decisions on those foundations. . .and we need that other player who can see the multiple dimensions  of the decision.

This is a plea then, not so much to our educators who I admire eternally and who are often put under immense public pressure by a misunderstanding public;  but an appeal to all of us to realize the value of well-rounded educations that are not merely just the right answers on a standardized test.   Yes, we need graduates who can find the right answers. . .but the surest way for that to happen is to enable them to be curious and ask the right questions.

A satisfying outcome would be indeed to have as many poets as engineers. . .an excellent outcome would be to have engineers with the souls of poets.


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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle for PCs, tablets and e-readers.