Free Stuff... Articles

Below is a list of the free articles available along with a brief description of their respective content. If you would like copies of any or all of these articles, please fill out the registration form at the bottom of this page and indicate the article number(s) you want and you will be emailed copies of the requested articles as PDF attachments. If you prefer hard copies mailed to you please indicate your preference. Please be assured that we never, ever, sell or give out your email address or any information associated with your contact information. Thank you.

1. A Transition History is an article about the transition from engineer and scientist to manager and leader of Steven Cerri. As a technical professional, Steven was promoted because he did his technical work well, but his initial preparation as a manager did not take into account that he was essentially embarking on a new career. The frustration of his transition led to the creation of the programs now presented at STCerri International. This article outlines the path from technical to managerial. To read this article click History

2. State Dependent Learning is an article about the most effective way to train and to learn. Typical training and facilitation processes use class exercises which have very little, if any, direct relationship to real-world, everyday work situations. With all the discussion that adult learners want relevant learning how can so many trainings include team building exercises that utilize paper construction projects and group picture-making exercises. Cerri's trainings, facilitation, and coaching programs are always geared around real-world, real-life, work-related exercises and situations. That is, the programs are as close as possible to the "state" or situation encountered at work. To read this article click Learning

3. Being Right Versus Being Effective is an article about the fundamental issues of engineering and science versus management and leadership. The technical career is about determining the right answer to engineering and scientific questions. The management or leadership career is about being effective, which means that there are several possible "right" answers. In this respect, the technical and management careers are diametrically opposed. How does a technical professional move into management without losing the values, beliefs, and purpose that initially led them into the technical career in the first place? This short article addresses that question. To read this article click Being Right

4. Motivating People By Reference is an article that asks the question "how do people make decisions that lead to them taking action? This of course, is the fundamental question about motivation: "What makes a person do what they do?" It's not true that we are all motivated by the same things. Each of use is motivated by a different set of parameters, in a specific priority. Therefore, motivation is a personal thing. But how do you determine what each person's motivation strategy is? If you are a manager of a technical team, how do you determine who is motivated by what? This article will give you a glimpse into the ways to determine the motivational strategies of your direct reports. To read this article click Motivation by Reference

5. Case Study #1: Tom Won't Release His Software is an article about a true life work situation. Tom was a software programmer who began a software development project in which he was to release a prototype interface for customer evaluation very early in the process. However, once Tom began coding, he didn't want to release the software. He wanted to make it better before he gave it to the customer for review. We've all heard that before right. In this article I show you what I said to Tom to get him to happily release the software to the customer for evaluation exactly one day after Tom and I spoke. To read this article click Tom and his Software

6. Birds of a Feather Flock Together. Sooner or later CEOs want their direct reports to take on more strategic responsibility not just tactical responsibility. But after being conditioned to accept tactical responsibility of day-to-day actions, many CEO-direct reports can be reluctant to accept these new tasks. This article will show you why this is often the case and what you can do about it, if you are the CEO. But it doesn't just applly to the CEO and his or her direct reports. This article addresses nearly all situations in which the manager wants the direct reports to take on new and unfamiliar responsibilities. To read this article click Birds of a Feather

7. Case Study #2: Computers Into Thin Air is an article about a true life work situation. I came in one morning and all the computers from the finance department had been taken by the software systems department. How would you handle the inter-departmental squabble that was going to develop? What would you tell the software systems manager? Would you discipline the manager or just forget about it? This article will example an approach that worked perfectly. To read this article click Computers in Thin Air

8. So You Want To Be A Manager. Sooner or later most technical professionals are faced with the question "Do I want to be a manager?" or "Should I become a manager?" What is the best way to analyze these questions? What are the percpectives that will give the best insights into how this consequences of this choice? This artcile will shed light on all these issues and provide you with some direction. To read this article click So You Wan To Be A Manager

9. Engineering Management: Going Soft. Skills for success as an engineering manager are typically categorized as "hard" skills and "soft" skills. The "hard" skills are those skills having to do with technology and science and engineering. The "soft" skills are those skills having to do with communication and motivation and team building. Steven was interviwed by Mechanical Engineering Magazine regarding the need for soft skills training and development for the next generation of engineering managers and this article will give you a view into the benefits of soft skills training as it applies to present-day satellite and space programs. To read this Mechanical Engineering Featured Article click Going Soft