You want to make an impact – but what does that actually mean?
Between two fascinating and important projects, which one is more intriguing to you? Here are two of my projects from back in the days when I worked for a railway company.
The locomotives
One of my projects was focused on a nation-wide system.
Kind of like your car might have a sticker with a date or mileage number for its next oil change, every locomotive had a date or mileage number for its next servicing. Unlike your car, a locomotive wasn’t allowed to do “just one more errand run”. It had to get to a shop. But with locomotives crisscrossing all over the continent, they could hit their mileage number when they were a thousand miles away from a shop. That meant wasting fuel and messing up assignments.
My project was to improve how Rail Traffic Control could anticipate when a locomotive was coming due for service, so they could keep its next trips near a service yard.
The freight car
Another one of my projects was focused on one customer that produced copper cake. (And no, they’re not edible!)
Their new product didn’t fit on any of our existing freight cars – either the copper was too heavy or too wide.
My project was to design a freight car to specifically meet their needs and the railway’s needs.
Both important, but different impacts
Both projects were fascinating as they tapped into my engineering, problem-solving skills.
They were high priorities.
But the impact of each project was very different.
The locomotives – was about maintaining equipment, at a national scale, with high potential cost savings.
The freight car – was about designing something new, for one customer, with a small but steady revenue.
Did one feel more impactful to me?
If I could choose one to do again, I would do – the freight car.
Why? Well, I’ve found that I get a lot of energy when I can talk directly with a person who will benefit from my work. The opposite may be true for you. You might light up at the thought of a global project!
I’ve also found that I love designing new things. And I’m grateful that others love doing repairs.
Exercise your impact awareness
So, here’s an exercise to help you strengthen your impact awareness muscle:
- Today, identify a project that you remember fondly.
- Then, consider – were you:
- Repairing, maintaining, or creating something?
- Working 1:1, regionally, nationally, or galactically?
- Helping to save money, make money, or both?
- Through the week, look for patterns with other favourite projects.
- At the end of the week, notice what type of impact most energizes you.
