NEWSROOM

From Flashes and Sparks to Something Great

 

 

By Keith Johnson, EN Engineering’s Executive Vice President / Business Unit Leader of Utilities.

When I was selected from the Nicor group to come over to EN Engineering as a Senior Drafter 20 years ago, I wasn’t thinking about personal goals and objectives. However, after getting settled in, I was able to identify needs within our Distribution Business Unit and I was given the freedom and flexibility to address some of them and to take on design work for Southwest Gas, Baltimore Gas & Electric, and Washington Gas. With the opportunity to open EN Engineering’s second office in Baltimore, Maryland, I was able to focus my goals toward my personal and professional growth at the company, but most importantly, I wanted to do my part to help EN Engineering grow and expand. My goal became to do excellent work, instill in others the desire to do excellent work, and contribute to the expansion of EN’s engineering and design services. At the Baltimore office, we started with two anchor clients and expanded our utility footprint along the East Coast to include offices in Boston, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and later on the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Today, in my role of Business Unit Leader of Utilities, those same goals and objectives I had when I moved to Maryland underpin what drives me to continue to grow the company and perform excellent work across all regions.

20 years of valuable lessons learned

Over the past 20 years, I have learned patience. I have learned to have fun at work – to not sweat the small stuff. I have learned that often, our clients are looking for simplicity, brevity, and agility. I have learned to be an advocate for my team and to use my tenure and influence to help others navigate their careers through EN Engineering. I also learned it’s okay to admit when you need assistance, but more importantly, you need to know who to call on when assistance is needed. I never turned down an opportunity. I have faced some challenges at EN Engineering, but I’ve never given up.

The future

Through the years, EN Engineering has evolved from a small firm in the Midwest that specialized in gas engineering, design, and consulting to a firm that is recognized across the country for our solutions and expertise in gas utilities, power, pipeline and facilities, automation, and integrity, to name a few.  Moving ahead, we will continue to expand our core services. The ways in which power is generated and distributed are always changing, but my goal is to make sure I provide ENergizers with the tools and resources they need to grow. This in turn will enable EN Engineering to remain a top-tier provider of engineering and consulting services. 

I continue to be very happy to be a part of EN Engineering. I am thankful that my previous managers and mentors saw in me the qualities I possessed to contribute to the success of the company. Many times, these people saw in me what I did not see in myself. It takes a good leader to see those flashes and sparks, and it takes a great leader to give you the space and the opportunity to develop those flashes and sparks into something great. I am forever grateful for the privilege of contributing to the 20-year growth of EN Engineering.