John K. Borchardt
Dr. Borchardt is a consultant and technical writer. The author of the book “Career Management for Scientists and Engineers,” he writes often on career-related subjects.
Articles by John K. Borchardt
Instrumentation lab plays key role in the University of Rochester's mission
| 5+ min read
“If we don't get the people thing right, we lose; it is the most important thing in all of business,” said Jack Welch, retired CEO of General Electric Company, who was named “Manager of the Century” in 1999 by Fortune Magazine.
| 5+ min read
It’s widely known that unemployment creates strain on marriage even when both partners work. New Ohio State University research on employment and divorce suggests that pressure on husbands to be wage earners remains. The focus of Liana Sayer&rs
| 3 min read
More evidence of poor decision-making as a cause for the Gulf of Mexico oil well blowout recently emerged. The sorry situation holds valuable lessons for lab managers. Houston Chronicle business columnist Loren Steffy noted, “It&
| 3 min read
To progress in their careers, lab managers need to develop new skills.
| 5+ min read
Many laboratory professionals – and their managers – would like to delay their retirements. I wrote about this in an earlier blog. However, this is often not an option for scientists, engineers and technicians who lost their laboratory jo
| 3 min read
Scope creep refers to uncontrolled changes in a technical service project's scope. These can swell the amount of work associated with the project. This makes the project take longer and cost more than anticipated. When this occurs neither you nor
| 4 min read
The era of the Western expatriate manager is ending argues Jeffrey Joerres, CEO of the global staffing firm Manpower, Inc. in the May 2011 McKinsey Monthly Newsletter. It’s time for a local approach, he says. Why is this? Accordi
| 3 min read
Throughout the summer economists have voiced disappointment in the U.S. economy. Recovery from the recession appears to have been losing steam. The Dow Jones barometer of the stock market has lost 1,000 points over couple of months. The S&P has a
| 2 min read
Are lab managers being penny-wise and pound-foolish in not hiring contractors to perform work that needs to be done but that their own staff can’t handle in a first-class manner because they are already over-worked? By the number
| 3 min read
Activity-based management (ABM) is an approach to management in which work process managers—in this case, lab managers at all levels—are given the responsibility and authority to continuously improve the planning and control of operations.
| 5+ min read
Encouraging employee engagement is a hot topic for lab managers and human resources specialists. Employees psychologically committed to their jobs are more productive and easier to manage. Yet there is a downside to high employee engagement as well.
| 3 min read
Speaking at an international conference, the speaker had just completed a well-organized, polished presentation. Yet there was almost no applause. In contrast to the many questions other speakers received after their presentations, this speaker didn&
| 3 min read
Deep water offshore oil and gas platforms can lead double lives from the time when drilling begins to after the wells are depleted and oil and gas production shut down. Platforms house the people and equipment to drill the well s and produ
| 3 min read
Deep water offshore oil and gas production platforms can lead double lives from the time of their installation to after the wells are depleted and oil and gas production shut down. Platforms house the people and equipment to produce oil an
| 3 min read
