All posts by Bill Beardslee
Continuing Ed Outside Your Comfort Zone
Learn new skills by taking continuing education seriously. Since its inception in the geomatics arena in the 1990s, the requirement for continuing education (also called continuing competency) has had the aura of a penalty rather than an opportunity. Obtaining legislative approval in many states for the continuing education requirement was difficult. Getting courses approved for...
Store-bought or Homegrown? Mentors for the Future
Try making your corporate leaders from scratch through training. THE TITLE OF THIS EPISTLE may lead you to think it really is “Gardening for Geomatics.” Instead, I discuss the concept of how employees are obtained today and mentors. In our society, there is a definite trend to homegrown over store-bought. For example, many people are...
The Elusive Scope: Business Advice for Surveyors
How to prepare for and meet your client’s needs by keeping your eye on the project scope. I wrote many business-advice columns in this magazine’s predecessor, Professional Surveyor Magazine. Now that I’ve adjusted to writing for the entire geomatics world rather than on just surveying issues, I believe I’ve found one topic that affects everyone...
Beyond the Scope: Business Is Still about Relationships
This is a bit of a different view through the scope than I usually proffer in this column. My normal article picks a business or communication issue and discusses ways to enhance performance in that area. But today, I bring to you a growing concern about individual communication skills.As the article title indicates, any business...
Beyond the Scope: Client Communication, Part 2
In my last article (June 2013, “Business Is Still about Relationships”), I encouraged surveyors to make the next year the “Year of the Talk.” You have always walked the walk with your knowledge and skills. But now, let’s discuss ways to “talk the talk” without feeling out of your comfort zone.Everyone is aware that it...
Guest Essay: Vision, Education, and Excitement!
Over the course of more than four decades as a surveyor, engineer, and planner, Bill Beardslee has shared his experiences and insights through (literally) thousands of presentations and writings, including many in this publication examining business, legal, and practical elements of our profession. Bill is a tireless advocate for our profession, having served as president...
