I first heard of P.I.E. from a mentor of mine about six months ago. It didn't take long for me to understand that the recipe to make this pie was simple and effective, not only for government service employees, but professionals in any industry and either public or private sector.
Your Recipe for PIE
The ingredients for the PIE recipe are simple:
Performance
Image
Exposure
But as I write often, that which appears simple is not necessarily easy. This is the case with methodology for engineering career success.
Performance. Depending on which source you tap, you'll read that one must invest only 30% of effort here. Or maybe 60%. I don't believe the number is the same for every engineer because it's influenced heavily by the organization you work for and the environment in which you work.
If you're a freelance engineer, then it might only be 30% and if you work for an R&D company, then it might very well be 80%. You have to gauge what level of performance you need to perform and you need to perform it consistently. That's the crux of this component. Periodic episodes of high-performance punctuated by lackluster effort won't cut it.
Image. I've written before about the need to dress the part you intend to play. Beyond what you wear, image also includes how you appear to others. Your appearance is going to be influenced by the way you talk, your work ethic, how you interact with other people, and even by your level of perceived work performance.
With image, it's all about appearances and perception - to other people. The perception of you, held by your boss and clients, is vitally important to your engineering career. If you're perceived to be contributing value beyond your costs you'll have no problem advancing in your career.
Exposure. High performance and a rock-solid image are fabulous, but if no one knows about it your engineering career will go no where. In business parlance, this a marketing matter. But the type of marketing you need to focus on is not self-aggrandizement. Instead, it's getting yourself on your boss' or client's radar scope. The first step to making this happen is through performance. The second through image.
For engineers of any age, one way to increase exposure is to volunteer for assignments or tasks, seek opportunities to present whenever possible, and being active in professional and technical organizations.
What is your PIE status?
To make use of the Performance - Image - Exposure model, take a few moments to assess where you fall today on a scale of 0 to 10 (with 0 being poor/non-existent and 10 being exceptional). Then spend some time contemplating what you need to do to adjust the levels for each of the three categories to move you towards the engineering career you seek.
Christian Knutson, P.E., PMP is an international infrastructure development program manager, engineer, and author. He has extensive experience in leadership, management, and engineering earned from a career as a civil engineering officer in the U.S. Air Force. He now coaches engineers enabling them to create an engineering career and life of fulfillment at The Engineering Career Coach.