not willing to share those stories.” Professional societies are working to generate an atmosphere of trust where those stories can be shared for the benefit of safer workplaces, safeguarding of the industry’s professional image and, perhaps, saving a company from a devastating failure, loss or injury. Providing Professional Development Societies offer unique opportunities to develop professional skills and advance careers. Working with volunteer-driven committees requires a special pace, expectations, professional skills, leadership qualities and patience. Mentoring is a key benefit of being part of a society. Members support each other and give each other opportunities. I find myself seeking out specific people, those senior to me, who have been my role models and mentors…both traditional mentors and peer mentors…whom I have met and only interacted with through professional societies. Also, I always seek out junior members to find out how they are doing, how their careers are advancing and how their lives are changing. Involvement in technical committees provides additional opportunities for enhancing leadership, management and team building skills, while courses offered on topics such as ethics and project management hone professional skills. Another great opportunity for professional development is making a presentation at a seminar or conference, which enhances public speaking skills and provides access to supportive members who will help improve these proficiencies. Contributing to the Greater Good What does the greater good mean in this conversation? For me, it means everybody wins. To assure that, we need to understand every- one’s needs, expectations and goals — owners, contractors, engi- neers, manufacturers and researchers. Societies provide the forum for diverse industry groups to come together and build consensus. Through our knowledge, dedication and experience, societies are positioned to improve practice, provide higher value and advance the industry. Industry groups provide recommendations and guidance that reflects sound practice, practical input to foundation-related research and a voice for continual advancements in enhanced safety, quality, durability and sustainability. The media continued to ask Buffet about his plane through the years. With time, he verbalized the benefits of ready access, flexibility, ease of use and the associated effects of reduced stress on executives, better time efficiency and ability to capitalize on unexpected opportunities. He announced that he had renamed his plane from “The Indefensible” to “The Indispensable” to reflect that these gains outweighed the financial outlay. I hope that this conversation has provided some fuel for your discussions with your companies and colleagues that highlight the profit in nonprofits and strengthens the case that in similar fashion our professional societies are indispensable. View Nonprofit Profits – The Value of Professional Societies at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTVZEA1nPJg&t=197s. 100 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2019
