The Book is Done

Happy 2026! It's going to be a banger!

Six years ago, I decided to write a book. Last week I finished it. It’s called “Good News Friday: Successful Engineering Consulting,” and you can invest $50 bucks and get it on Amazon if you like.

Invest is the right word. Absorb and put it into practice, and your professional earning power will increase faster over time. If you lead a team, your team will be more successful and deliver better results. If you lead an engineering organization and want all oars pulling in the same direction, this is the roadmap.

It's a tool, not entertainment. Perfect for reading and discussing as a team. Like this email, it's concise, direct, and sometimes blunt. Think of it as 150 GNFs woven into a 12-chapter reference book, with just a touch of Harvard Business Review.

Time goes by faster than you think. This book is about maximizing your potential in the time you have left. A roadmap aimed at reducing friction and persistent self-inflicted wounds, and making the most of the resources you have.

It's probably worth repeating that I’m not just a commentator on the engineering space. Nor am I an engineer. I was a business major who grew up surveying with my Dad. I speak engineering fluently with a water/wastewater accent. I've co-founded, led, and grown an engineering consulting firm from 5 to 130 folks. And have closely scrutinized and performed every job there is to do in a consulting business, including consulting, before eventually hiring someone else to do it. I did the job you now do, guaranteed. And importantly, I played consulting with my own money, which was borrowed to start.

After merging our firm with Stantec, I went from being CEO to one of many VPs. That was a fascinating opportunity to compare, and I enjoyed most of the experience very much. Definitely loved and respected the people.

My resume, it turns out, is exceedingly rare. Like really. Plus, I'm willing to write...so there ya go. A book with insights about you, your team, clients, and the business, that you probably won't find elsewhere. None of it conjecture.

Is this blatant self-promotion? Hardly. I get about $20 a book. So it would take many thousands of books to rock my world. This book is about you and for you. Good News Friday is my way of promoting greater success for people who deserve the utmost respect and appreciation of humankind. That's it.

Punchline: In my first job, I once questioned why we were paying $1,000 a year for a six-page monthly industry publication. The CEO acknowledged the cost, “Yep, it's pricey, but it only takes one good idea, and then it becomes a great investment.”

That's the case here. Good News Friday, the book, was written to be a solid investment in your career, team, and organization. Accelerate or don't. We all make that choice.

Have a great weekend,

Dave

Feedback and blowback are always welcome: dave@goodnewsfriday.com

All 150+ topics are available at @goodnewsfriday.com

Good News Friday: Successful Engineering Consulting is available on Amazon