Some of the greatest technical and engineering accomplishments of the 20^th century came long before teamwork became a tried and true business practice. Up until around the mid-1980s, engineering practice followed a relatively rigid pattern that called for engineers to work almost entirely on their own. They did their work, passed their findings and reports to superiors, and up the chain those findings went. Eventually, all of the pieces got put together for the benefit of "public consumption."

In the days of long ago, engineers engineered; managers managed; and marketers marketed. Everyone had a job to do, and few had questions about responsibility or accountability. It was the way business got done — and a lot of business got done in those days.

Then, sometime during the last quarter century, the engineering community experienced a fundamental shift in thinking — and in practice. Engineering became more open, more public. Experts in different fields were called upon to work as members of multidisciplinary project teams. Engineers suddenly were being asked to make presentations, talk to clients, and work together for the good of the company and the good of the profession.

Were we doing it wrong all those years before? Would engineering have made even greater strides than it did if we had instituted "teamwork" earlier? Are we seeing more get done now because we conduct our business as a group?

We hear about the need for engineers to possess communication skills, marketing skills, sales skills, and management skills and yet stay on the top of their games technically. Are we sacrificing something in the process? Are we making too much of teamwork or has it become such a necessary ingredient to engineering and business success that we simply can’t do without it any longer?