The Power Elite Club

In his column on Friday, David Brooks of The New York Times addressed the “Power Elite” of the United States. His central question is what a lot of people are currently thinking – We have increased our diversity and talent levels as a society, but are we better led today than in previous generations? His answer is no - - our leaders are in fact more talented and less competent.

The engineering community has membership in the “Power Elite” Club of the world - - it is hard to walk into an Apple store and not see the power and influence technology has in our culture and societal development. As we head into a future of colliding and competing problems - - a world in which energy problems, water problems, sustainability debates, and climate change will all hit at once - - the engineering community may actually move to the head of the “Power Elite” Club.

Brooks casts a warning about the “Power Elite” that engineering ought to heed:

First, the meritocracy is based on an overly narrow definition of talent. Our system rewards those who can amass technical knowledge. But this skill is only marginally related to the skill of being sensitive to context. It is not related at all to skills like empathy. Over the past years we’re seen very smart people make mistakes because they didn’t understand the context in which they were operating.

Brooks has an excellent point regarding his observation about “. . . they didn’t understand the context in which they were operating.” Our engineering leadership and vision in the new era of colliding and competing problems will force us to look at three very important contextual relationships.

The first is sustainability. Everything we do will start and end within the context of sustainability. Sustainability will be more broadly defined - - bounded by “Doing More with Less” to “Doing Less with Less.” Sustainability will become less about LEED or non-LEED and more about a 360 degree view of the world - - sustainability is fundamentally concerned with our capacity to endure. Where enduring has a biological component, it has an economic component, it has a capacity component, it has a societal/cultural component, and finally it has a technological component. Sustainability also has a "Come to Jesus" component - - where every problem has a solution - - but painful problems do not often have painless solutions. The context of sustainability is about understanding the nature of our systems - - the connections, the nodes, the interfaces, and the boundaries. Engineering projects of the future will start with one central theme - - what is the context of the design or project in terms of sustainability?

The second contextual issue to consider for the future is related to energy issues. Energy issues can clearly be considered as a prime component of sustainability. I have segregated out energy issues because energy related concerns have the potential to be such a huge problem and constraint. They need to be considered separately - - with their very own focus on context. Every project we design and build in the future will be framed within the context of energy. Your basic water transmission line will not only be under the influence of Robert Manning - - but Sadi Carnot will come more and more into play. The context of our energy future will be about developing and utilizing less carbon-hungry technology, reducing energy waste/demand, and integrating energy issues into every project we design.

The last contextual issue is related to the ideas and principles of social justice. Historically this has been an issue engineering and technologists have had little interest in or practice with. But social justice gets directly at the heart of the empathy issue that Brooks writes about. Our professional creed of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public has a direct interface with the ideas of social justice. Our crowded and complex world will place many of our resources and ideas on a collision course - - where the context of our projects and work must focus on the fair distribution of advantages, assets, and benefits among all members of society. The social justice contextual issue looks at our “Circle of Empathy” in combination with our professional responsibilities, and broadens the idea of public welfare to include the fair treatment of citizens in a society shaped by an equitable sharing of benefits.