I know a friend who is a VP of a respected multinational. Among his activities, we find meetings with the president and other VPs to discuss the company’s fate. There are also many international trips to other bases of his company around the world in events and important dates. Certainly many dream of this position. Bear in mind: he is an aeronautical engineer, like all of us. "Ah, but then he is one of those lost sheep who does not work in the middle of aviation." Deceives’ those who think this way. He works in one of the largest aerospace companies I know. A multinational company, with employees and offices in other parts of the world. This friend of mine is responsible, among other things, by the image of this company to its worldwide customers and also by representing this company within all media contacts, besides guiding other company executives in these situations (contact with the media). His Vice-Presidency is Corporate Communication. When we met a few years ago (many, by the way...) I never imagined that he would go to such a diverse area from our origin as engineers. Until today, he is one of the most competent engineers I′ve ever met. He participated as an engineer for major projects that the company had in the past on more than one of their bases and even served as engineering manager of the entire company before becoming a VP. "How did he get there?" It′s a long story. The company where he works was sold and became private. It fired and hired a lot of people along the way.

Often the company (and jobs such as engineer or manager) was hung by a thread. But there is something that is important to tell. Their competence and integrity, carried out as an engineer were key factors for his success. Later, in his new position as VP, his training in aeronautical engineering and his previous experience, both as an engineer or as engineering manager, made it easier for him to "translate" the ideas and products of his company into a language that was well understood and accepted by the market. Never in the history of this company; products marketing and company′s image were so synchronized with the market as in his management.

There is another case of a friend who was thinking of taking an MBA and even wondered about resigning from the company in order to attend the course. He had already worked as an engineer and was now a great manager in his area. In all these positions has always been admired as a professional and respected as a person. The company he worked for was a multinational (aviation and aeronautical ...) with huge possibilities for a global career. But he was convinced that he would need an MBA to progress in any company he went to. I was finishing my MBA at that time and we talked a lot about this subject. In fact some certificates and titles are important and help a bit. But we have to be careful, because it certainly is not everything. How many people do we know who has it all (i.e. certificates and titles) and is not therefore in a position to admire? Well, my friend’s life had an unexpected turnabout after some time. For very personal reasons one of the main directors of this company (the structure of this company had no VP, only the President and Director) had to resign leaving the position open. My friend was very close to that director who turned out to point him out to take his position! Function that he is occupying until today and in which he became the right-hand man of the current president as well as highly respected within the multinational. He did not take the MBA and travels extensively visiting both customers and other company bases around the world. Today meeting with him in great aviation events (the other day we found ourselves in the British Chamber of Commerce where we hear the former president of the British Airways tell us about his professional experiences...), what I see in these meetings is an accomplished professional!

What is clear in any of the examples above, and also in cases of success of many other fellow engineers, is that there is no shortest or easiest way to "get there". Of course a bit of luck always helps. Or at least the absence of bad luck... In the first example my friend was in the right place at the right time when, amid the whirlwind of changes for which the company started, it was needed to set a VP. In the second example there was the luck factor since he was close to the resigning director. But make no mistake! In neither case, and I know them very well, our friends engineers have had no professional success if they had not been fair and competent throughout their careers. Integrity and competence were what not only took them there, but also made them remain there. Thus, the road to get there is hard and sweaty. And most importantly: it starts with a good base (solid degree) and it is paved with the cement of integrity and competence.

By: Fulvio Luiz Delicato Filho

Source: Jornal Interno da USP/ BLOG Estratégia e Mercado