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48 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2021 500 mA. e power supply engineer designed a cross-regulated power supply with two out- puts: +15V and -15V. e power supply regu- lation was based on the +15V since its current draw was about two orders of magnitude that of the -15V. When the -15V was hit with sourc- ing 500 mA, it would sag significantly. e power supply monitor would then indicate a fault and the associated circuitry on the pro- cessor IO board would not work as required. e result was a re-design of the power sup- ply due to my lack of understanding of what the specialist (power supply designer) needed from me. 2. Specialists should know the boundaries of their expertise and how to communicate requirements, specific implementations, and design decisions to generalists. I once observed a high-power RF design specialist learn how to code in Visual Basic to show an FPGA designer how to set a digi- tal potentiometer (used for transistor biasing) during different high-power transmission sce- narios. He put together a rudimentary setup and showed the FPGA designer on a logic ana- lyzer what needed to happen during each spe- cific scenario. e design integration went off without a hitch and no design modifications were needed for either the RF power amplifier or the associated FPGA code modules. 3. Make time to learn new skill sets and keep your skills sharp and current. Become an avid collector of rare gems and golden nuggets of information. Time management is a critical factor in being an efficient and enduring designer. Partition and budget the time you need to do your work in a manner that you can sustain. Who likes to start and/or end a project with a death march? I remember being told as a young engineer "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," and I lived this mantra in my 20s and early 30s. I was pulled aside in my mid-30s by one of my mentors and was given the following advice: "As you age, what doesn't kill you wears you down." ere are a lot of time management programs out in the world today. Pick one, try it for six weeks, and if it does not work, pick a differ- ent one and try, try, try again. Do not give up until you find one that works for you. Use key performance indicators to evaluate your time management strategy's effectiveness. Are you completing your tasks on time? Are you sat- isfied with your performance? What are your energy levels? Let us agree we want to develop practices and processes which make us more efficient designers. You Get More Bears With Honey We must have control over our own per- sonal behaviors. Regardless of your feelings, do not criticize, stonewall, or be contemptu- ous with others. ere is a difference between complaining or questioning and being critical. Criticism manifests itself in comments like, "You are wrong. is is incorrect. at is not right." Instead, try saying, "I'm not sure this is correct; can we take a closer look at it?" Appro- priate questions and complaints will allow you to work out an issue or problem with a team- mate without causing them embarrassment or to be defensive. Stonewalling usually ends up isolating team- mates or yourself and cutting off essential communication needed in a design project. How can you be effective if you are not com- municating with the others in your team? e short answer is you're not. By far, the most harmful behavior I have encountered and engaged in is speaking with contempt, either interpersonally or rhetorically. Contemptuous speech can come out as, "I can't believe some- one did this. Why on earth would you do this? My way is the only way to design this circuit." It also can manifest itself in the tone of voice you are using or the expression on your face. I was once asked to participate in review of a project and the lead engineer made the fol- lowing comment about a list of my questions