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Originally Posted by KenWittlief
If your plan to inspire the students involves having a winning team then what happens if you dont win?
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Who said anything about needing to win to inspire?
My plan to inspire students involves having a team that tries it's hardest to win. Work as hard as you can to be competitive. I don't need to win, I just need to show these kids what it is like to strive to win.
If I went into the season saying "we're not looking to win, we're just here to have fun." Then why should they care? If I tell them "we're going to try as hard as we can to win, and we're going to have fun doing it." Then they're gonna be psyched. The goal is to ship the best possible product you can.
We always told our kids "Try as hard as you can to win, but if you don't... start working for next year." One of the most annoying phrases I repeated to our kids was "The cool thing about working hard, is you can always work harder."
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Originally Posted by KenWittlief
Engineers dont always create the best products, or the best systems. We dont have to. Engineering is a way of thinking, its a way of life, its a way of putting up the next few spans that takes humanity from where it is to where it can be.
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It is also about TRYING to create the best product you can. If you're not trying to produce the best product you can... what exactly are you doing? Why would I hire, or want to work with an engineer who doesn't try his best?
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Originally Posted by KenWittlief
Engineers solve problems.
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We're given our problem every year in early January. We solve it to the best of our abilities together as mentors and students. We compare solutions on the playing field. If you're not trying to win, what sort of solution do you have to the problem? Who built a tetra capper this season?
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Originally Posted by KenWittlief
You dont have to come up with the perfect - winning solution or the best answer every single time to be a successful engineer. We always strive for the best, knowing we can never really get there.
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You don't have to come up with the perfect-winning solution, or best answer every single time; but you'd better be trying every single time. Or else... why bother striving at all?
Compete hard, have fun, come back next year and get better.
The "journey, path, and way of life" involve doing your very best using the skills we're given. Or else, what kind of life are you living?
Aim High.
-JV