In this white paper, Tom Lange, retired Director of R&D at Procter & Gamble, passes on ideas, trends and best practices he's learned during a 40-plus year career building and leading analytical teams.
The paper is a collection of thoughts, stories and advice about leadership, specifically leadership for analytical organizations. Much of it is drawn from Tom's experience at P&G, first as a day-to-day analyst, and later as a leader of analytical organizations at the company.
About a decade into his career at P&G – which he joined directly out of engineering school – Tom realized that modeling and simulation needed to blossom from its obscure, nerdy, basement-hiding beginnings, to a key attribute for any large technical organization to be successful. Some of what you'll learn comes from Tom's own successes, some from other leaders Tom has interacted with, and many from his failures.
The paper is organized around six leadership ideas:
- Vision
- Courage
- Mastery
- Humility
- Passion
- Hope
The paper is written as a narrative, with a distinct beginning, middle and end and some thought went into the order. Tom includes stories, some of which are autobiographical, and a touch of humor you're sure to enjoy.
These "footprints" should help you in your own personal quest to make science and engineering more influential within your own organization.