text: Throughout this IEEE 2017 President-Elect campaign, I have had the fulfilling opportunity to meet with IEEE members from around the world. Their shared insights and enthusiasm for our Institute has been an inspiring and motivational force behind my platform and, as we reach the end of the voting period, I’m so very thankful to have had a lot of input, encouragement and support along the way.
  I want to personally thank each and every one of you who took the time to look at the issues we are facing, and for helping identify those that need to be addressed to advance IEEE for the future. More importantly, a very big thanks for having taken the time to vote in this election. It is your engagement that has made this election and campaign an inspirational journey for me. I am hopeful for a positive outcome and the opportunity to follow through on my commitment to you all, and to apply my leadership experience so that IEEE continues to grow and become an even more relevant force advancing technology toward a better tomorrow for all the people of the world.
  For those who’ve read my blog postings here, you may have noticed that I often also find inspiration in quotes from influential people throughout history. As we are reaching the culmination of this election, one quote that comes to mind, and that has often been cited by writers, lyricists, politicians and others, originates with the Roman philosopher and statesmen Seneca who famously said, “every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” That is a profound thought, and no matter the outcome of this election it has been a rewarding experience to see the commitment and drive from the many diverse and highly educated individuals who make up our Institute. As I’ve often said, “working together is always the best starting point.”
  Most would agree that IEEE fulfills its purpose to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity as defined in its Mission statement. That said, there’s a single element directly related to the multitude of IEEE activities and initiatives that is essential to the ongoing success and relevance of our Institute over the long term. It’s something that is a primary focus in my 2017 IEEE President-Elect platform—and that is communication. And, by that, I mean finding ways to better understand and successfully communicate IEEE’s value proposition to all of our various stakeholders.
  The motivational speaker Tony Robbins has said, “to effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” I know this to be true and one area where I’ve garnered a good deal of knowledge within IEEE is through extensive global experience—something that can be beneficial in helping to drive IEEE’s value proposition messaging worldwide.
  And, as value proposition goes, we need to create incremental value and leverage it through communication. An example of how we can achieve this is by IEEE providing comprehensive competency based education that is certified. This will position IEEE as a professional development partner for industry and bring greater value to members by helping to advance their careers. Technology is moving at an unprecedented pace, and technical careers are increasingly multi-disciplinary, global and collaborative. Industry leaders are challenged to provide meaningful developmental offerings for employees, and IEEE is ideally positioned as a resource that can fulfill this need.
  So how do we go about the task of defining and more broadly and effectively communicating IEEE’s value proposition? To start, I propose developing more personalized and targeted marketing strategies aimed at our top, and most important, segments (i.e., Young Professionals, Industry, Academics, Women in Engineering, etc.) As part of that plan, we need to engage more closely with IEEE members around the world so that we can incorporate individual experiences that tell the IEEE value story in new and innovative ways that make a particular connection with the segment of interest. This could be initiated first by conducting value chain analysis that leads to new discovery for refreshed messaging on how IEEE is making specific positive impacts on members’ lives and careers.
  In order to communicate effectively it’s also important that we find new and better ways for our members to access, trend and analyze the vast information resources of the Institute, and identify actions and activities that are best practices to replicate elsewhere. We also need to put in place mechanisms, tools and resources that allows IEEE volunteers to more quickly respond and efficiently contribute their time and knowledge. In that same vein, we need to be proactive in soliciting feedback from members on how to strengthen the IEEE value proposition today and for the future.
  George Bernard Shaw is quoted as saying, “the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” That’s a problem we want to avoid within IEEE, and that is why I’m convinced we need the leadership today that will set us on a successful course where IEEE is viewed across the board as having a high value proposition for all of its current and prospective members.
  By communicating effectively, we will continue to attract the best and brightest to work together to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. Better defining and promoting our value proposition is key, and I invite you to share any additional thoughts or ideas on how we can move the needle forward in this regard. With your help, as 2017 IEEE President-Elect, I will continue the push towards building and communicating IEEE’s value to stakeholders around the world. It’s an important factor in ensuring our continued growth and relevance as an organization.
  Much of my IEEE volunteer time has been spent participating globally where I often meet with young engineers and professionals to better understand their aspirations and the type of support they are looking for to improve their skills and advance their careers. In fact, I’m often asked why I’m so focused on engaging Young Professionals within the IEEE. The simple answer is because I know, and have known for some time, that engaging with them is essential to ensure the ongoing viability and success of our Institute. Coincidently, my interest in finding ways to engage and encourage young people to pursue a growth career in engineering corresponds to the time when I first became actively involved with the IEEE myself.
  When serving as vice president at Commonwealth Edison, and ultimately Exelon, I succeeded an individual who had been leading a significant annual meeting for one of the IEEE societies, and was quickly tasked with arranging this event for roughly 1500 people within a short six-month window. Fortunately, the meeting was a terrific success and I was invited to participate on the IEEE Power & Energy Society Board from that point forward.
  It was during this time at Exelon that I began to really grasp the gravity of the workforce challenge in the power industry, and explore ways I might leverage my leadership role in IEEE to improve upon this critical situation. It was clear where I was employed that the technical workforce was getting older, many would soon be retiring, and a qualified pipeline of engineers to fill the positions that would soon be vacated was not at all obvious. In response, I led an effort to collect information from other utilities that began to paint a picture that illustrated a need to expedite power engineering pipeline development. Getting this done became a motivating factor in my run for President of the IEEE Power & Energy Society in 2008 and 2009.
  Once elected, I led the development of a comprehensive report defining the problem and recommending that a scholarship program be developed to promptly attract the best and brightest to the power industry. This report was the launching point for the IEEE PES Scholarship Plus Initiative, which has resulted in over 900 scholarships since the program started in 2011, and it has attracted $6.5 million in philanthropic contributions. This has nearly doubled the number of undergraduates pursuing power engineering as a major and has made a significant impact on filling a void due to considerable attrition from retirements. Furthermore, it has increased the Young Professional demographic in the Society and created a new found enthusiasm for a career in power.
  So, while we’ve made progress, there’s still more to do. There is a well-known quote that references not “going through life wearing two catchers’ mitts” in order to be able to throw something back. That’s a poignant statement, and one that really needs to be taken to heart as we explore how IEEE can “up the ante” and bring Young Professionals more deeply into the fold of the Institute. In effect, today’s IEEE leaders need to wind up, “throw something back”, and engage with the leaders of tomorrow who will keep the Institute strong, sound and successful in advancing technology for humanity’s benefit.
  So, what can be done in the near term to engage Young Professionals? Clearly, we need to set some goals to have them participate on all of the major boards within IEEE. This is going to require building a developmental pipeline supported by executive-level training and mentorship within IEEE. What’s more, we need to leverage the wide variety of technical events, conferences, Hackathons, etc. to promote the IEEE brand, focusing on professional opportunities and creating a buzz around the Institute’s work and the value it brings. In a nutshell, we need to invest in the future, both fiscally and with dedicated human resources, and the first step is to increase IEEE’s engagement efforts with Young Professionals and build upon the good works that have been made up to this point. I think that’s something very worthwhile and rewarding, and it’s a key component of my President-Elect platform moving forward. If you have thoughts or ideas how we can address this all-important issue, please let me know. Working together benefits us all.