As electronics engineering experts, we continually exchange ideas and insights with professionals in our field. Recently, we sat down for a candid discussion with Steve Hodges, former CEO of Idaho-based companies Telemetric, Computrol, Syn-Pet, Design Concepts of Idaho, and M2M Communications. Having worked together at these companies over the years, we have long appreciated Steve’s leadership style. He was inducted into the Idaho Technology Council Hall of Fame in 2011, and we continue to value his perspective and contributions to Idaho’s engineering community.
During our conversation with Steve, he shared must-dos and mistakes to avoid when developing a successful electronics product, the importance of hiring good people, and the professional lessons he’s learned in his 40+ year career.
What made you decide to pursue a career in electronics/engineering?
My first years of college were at a smaller local school that didn’t offer engineering. I studied business and found it boring. I wasn’t very sophisticated (at all) about my options, I had almost no guidance, and eventually joined the US Air Force, partially to escape the small town and to find something new and interesting. I was trained as an electronics tech and really enjoyed it. When I finished my four years in the Air Force, I went back to school at the University of Texas in Austin in electrical engineering.
What kept you in this industry?
I enjoyed it. I was good at it, and I learned that I/we could create new products that were the best in the world at what they did and were very profitable.
It’s an industry where a self-motivated engineer and businessperson can create a new product and a new business without asking anyone for permission or approval.
You’ve been quoted as saying to “surround yourself with the best people you can find.” Will you elaborate on why that’s so important in engineering/business?
I was personally “above average” and good enough to create the first product versions and to start a business with them. But the ultimate growth and success came because of the other people who joined me and added far more skill and capabilities than I had myself.
In any case, one person can’t do everything, and certainly can’t do everything at a high level. A great team is essential.
What else have you learned over the years that you’d like to share?
Good people want to succeed and want to contribute. People are motivated when they know that the team is counting on them. Hire great people and then give them the approval and authority to do their job their way. Delegate freely – especially when the person is better or smarter than you are.
In addition to working with talented, hardworking people, what else contributed to the success/eventual acquisition of your companies?
- At Computrol and DCI, we had worked closely for and with the eventual acquirer, and they got to know us, they liked us, and they needed the skills and products we had.
- At M2M, we offered a solution that the acquirer badly needed to fill out their own offering.
In every case, we were not looking to be bought or acquired. We were doing our daily best at doing our jobs, and we became attractive because we were successful. In each case, they came to us.
I learned one valuable lesson early on when a large engineering company and potential acquirer sent an expert to spend a week with us, to learn all about our business, and to potentially make an offer for our company. He did spend the week with us, and it was obvious that he was highly impressed with the company. But at the final meeting to discuss their offer and terms, he said No, he would not recommend buying our company.
We were all completely shocked and then he pointed across the table at me and explained that I was personally “the company”, and that if they gave us millions of dollars I would ultimately leave the company and there wouldn’t be anything of value left!
From that hard lesson, I learned to always tout the company and the team and to minimize my own contributions.
What values were most helpful in guiding you professionally? Can you share a story that illustrates one of these examples?
Highly motivated, reasonably capable engineer, honest, reliable, dependable.
Many decision-makers are businessmen and not engineers. I can simplify and explain technical subjects to non-engineer businesspeople in a clear way, without jargon or confusing language. I can earn their confidence and then deliver the products or services they want.
How have you seen the engineering sector evolve (from the beginning of your career to now)?
The continual development of more powerful integrated circuits, especially microcomputers, and development tools. In many ways, all my early products were the result of applying the power, flexibility, and reliability of microcomputers and the ability to replace less reliable and more expensive mechanical and discreet parts.
The creation of the iPhone and its competitors (and all the internal sensors and capabilities) now provides incredible abilities and can replace many of the features that once required (or allowed) us to design and sell dedicated boxes and products.
In your experience, which aspect of an engineering project tends to be most underestimated?
Most projects take longer and cost more than the plan. This is a challenge for contract design companies who are required to quote an upfront time and price.
What should leaders consider in order to successfully engineer a product?
Managers of engineers and engineering projects should be engineers or former engineers – who understand the work. Not MBAs or other general-purpose managers. Think Boeing.
Well-thought-out design specs are as important as a well-designed architectural plan for a new building. They need to be close to right before construction begins.
Plan for multiple versions from the beginning. If the requirements for the first car were to be those of a Cadillac, it would never have been done. Start with a minimum viable product to get to the market fast.
What are some common engineering-related mistakes you’ve seen leaders make?
Non-engineers leading engineering projects and companies.
There are many very smart people (perfectionists) in the design industry who cannot release a product in a timely manner because the product is never good enough for them. They can always think of more features that the product “has to” have before it’s good enough. Creeping elegance is the opposite of releasing a first minimum viable product and can not only delay a product launch but can result in it never seeing the market at all.
In our work together, what projects do you recall most fondly?
I have personally always enjoyed engineering more than management. I truly enjoyed the products we created as a team, typically when you did the hardware design, and I was able to add the firmware.
What quote or life lesson has guided you throughout your career? If you have a story illustrating how that was relevant in your life, feel free to share.
One lesson about college degrees from my years in the Air Force:
In a long career in the military, a non-degreed person may work hard and progress through the ranks and become a true expert and leader. He may be regularly promoted and end up with a title such as Senior Master Sergeant.
But a young guy with a degree in history or art can start out his first day in the military as a second lieutenant and know essentially nothing about anything. Yet he is higher ranked than the senior master sergeant who has served 20-30 years or more and knows it all.
Industry can also be like this. At HP, a non-degreed technician could never become an engineer even though he is better at his job than most of the engineers.
After the Air Force, I was highly motivated to go back to college!
You’ve become known for your tenacity and perseverance, both professionally and in your personal life. How do you maintain this outlook?
It may be a character flaw. As a startup engineer and businessman, I always personally put everything on the line. I had no trust fund, no backup, and no other way to pay the bills. When your back is against the wall, failure or quitting is not an option.
If you could embark on a new project that would change the world for the better and bring good to the most people, what would you do?
Time Travel?
