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Refreshing a long term CAD Manager

Those of us that have been in the CAD Manager roll for many years sometimes need to be refreshed and reminded about why we love this kind of work.  If you have been a CAD Manager for a while, then here are some tips for you.

1. Stay close to the new users and hot shots coming up through the ranks.  They are a great source of refreshing perspectives on CAD and other subjects.  They are typically younger and have already embraced the newer technologies that will revive and expand your CAD setup.

2.  Keep reading about technology.  You may have stopped or slowed down because you have so many years of experience and think that you don't need to keep pounding on it. 

In Thomas Friedman's book, "The World is Flat " he states that one way to keep your job in what he calls the "Flattened World" of today and tomorrow you need to be a "Specialist" - focused on one area and an expert in it.  You can do this by constantly honing your skills.  Tech folks do this by coming in contact with tech articles, journals, white papers, etc.

3.  Get out of the office.  Take the time to go to vendor events, training and other offsite functions.  Just being face to face with others in your area of specialization will empower you to get going.

4.  Expand your world into new technologies and tools.  Put some R&D dollars into your budget and spend them on items that "might" become a great tool.  This is how many of the firms that were early adopters of Revit and SketchUp got in the game.

5.  Play with Beta software.

6.  Do some drafting.  Don't let your skill go soft.  Doing some of the day to day drafting functions will remind you why you got involved with these tools and it will also help you identify the non-productive parts of the software you can work on next.