Graduation Address

"'The Two Cultures' and 'Quality and Fun'" (27 May 1982). (UA Case 67, Box 2)

Your Honour (bow), Madame Chancellor (bow), Chairman and members of the Board of Governors, members of the Senate and faculty, ladies and gentlemen and fellow graduates.

I remember well the 13th of May, 37 years ago when I climbed the steps to the stage of Memorial Hall to get my degree in civil engineering. Like many of my classmates, I was already a member of Canada's armed forces looking forward to fighting the imperial army of Japan.

I have to confess, however, what I don't remember about that day was the name of the old fellow who gave the address to the graduating class -- nor do I remember what he said. I hope when one of you is up here, 37 years from today, you won't say the same thing about me.

When Dr. Downey telephoned to advise me of the great honour the university proposed to bestow upon me, and suggested I make this address to you, I immediately had to give some consideration to what I would say. It seems very appropriate that one of my classmates is also getting an honorary degree today, and Betty Brewster probably represents the opposite pole to me in both the education we received and in the careers we have followed. It is a fact that our educational system then, and probably now, has created the two cultures in which we both operate, and upon which I'd like to make some remarks today. I also want to talk about quality and fun.

The Two Cultures

For an occasion such as this, finding the right things to say which are beyond the common place is a perilous exercise. Because I am an engineer and a business man, I don't have a profound message, but I do have some thoughts and convictions that I would like to share. Understanding the environment in which we live is an important aspect in managing our private as well as our business affairs. For people like me, the most simple and yet most exacting criterion remains the bottom line -- the profit.

To achieve the best results, we have to have excellence and efficiency. But it is also necessary to try to understand the significance of our business in the world and in the Canadian society in our times and in history.

Engineering and technology in ancient civilizations, and in our own, since the middle ages, have been at the centre of man's progress and, at the same time, at the centre of social controversy. Intellectuals, literary and philosophic types have often ignored or derided the manual and technical work of engineers.

Plato noted the contempt of the philosopher for the engineer; "it is so true", said he to the philosopher, "that you despise the engineer and his art, and sneeringly call him a mechanic and that you would not give your daughter in marriage to his son or marry your son to his daughter".

The reputation of engineers has improved since Plato's time. But in our western civilization, two education systems, one teaching the mechanical arts and the other the liberal arts, still tend to form the two kinds of people that C.P. Snow called the "two cultures". Much of the conflict in our modern society originates from what some consider to be the contradiction between technical and human values in the two cultures. They tend to think of them as mutually exclusive. However, through history these two cultures have proven to be essential to the survival and progress of man. Demands for zero growth, no nuclear power, small and beautiful, soft energies, the biosphere, environmental protection and its proliferation of bureaucratic controls, are all reactions to the imperfections of technological and industrial development. But if we over react, we also discredit the rational and technical approach to human problems. At the same time, some societies with already high levels of affluence, and others with a desperate need to improve their standard of living, are insisting on evolving rapidly. They are generally dispirited with their systems of government, and are often without consensus - all of which, in sum, is fertile ground to bring progress to a screeching halt.

In spite of this negative description of our moment in time, I have much faith in the future, in you, and in all men and women who will, as in times past, use their strength and values to move on to great achievements.

The future is always uncertain -- it is the real frontier, and I suggest that there are no magical formulas to conquer it and no point in giving up in anguish. However, in historical perspectives, most problems have a sense of "deja vu". So I suppose that basics are always in order.

In the course of 37 years of professional activity in engineering and construction of resource development projects, I have noticed a few basic requirements which seem to become more and more relevant to the solution of the problems of our times, and which I believe apply to all professions and disciplines. They can be grouped in two categories; first, the achievement of high standards of quality in what we do and, second, the fun and enjoyment of working with others.

The Achievement of High Standards of Quality in Professional Activity

New Brunswick has a proud heritage of individuals who have made major contributions to our Canadian development. I hope you will forgive a personal reference - seventy-five years ago, men from New Brunswick, led by Lord Beaverbrook (the Beaver) who is recalled here today by the presence of our new chancellor, founded what has now become the Monenco group of companies, which I have the honour to serve. Today, our staff of over 5,000 is actively pursuing their professions in Canada and around the world. The University of New Brunswick, which owes so much to these same men, in both of the two cultures, provided a group of key staff who, with others, took on the company and saw it through a tremendous period of growth, with lasting monuments to its efforts in resource development all around the world.

The achievement of quality and excellence is nothing new, but I'm not sure if it's improving nowadays, given that the Japanese have taken over our car market. but I'm damn sure we must continue to improve in the increasing complexity of the technical and social problems we are and will be facing. I urge you to seek to deepen your knowledge in your chosen area and move with determination to apply it to increasingly demanding practical situations. You owe this much to yourselves and to society. Go as far as you can. Only then will the rewards be sweet. You should also seek to understand the context of your work and its interface with the work of others. Not only will this help you to avoid job pitfalls, but it will help you understand that the technical, social and political are closely related. Try to understand the processes in which you are involved. In engineering, we talk about the systems approach, which means defining inputs, processes and outputs. This is basic to all activities and fundamental to life in organized societies. And please remember, we learn much more from our mistakes than from our successes.

Many of mankind's most important developments have resulted from the pressure of dealing with situations where things were going badly. It may be that we only find the extra resources of human ingenuity and insight when our backs are to the wall.

The Fun of Working in Teams

Not only are disciplines interrelated, but the achievement of any major task requires great numbers of people. All of you will be working with others, so it may as well be fun. When a group of us, who graduated from UNB in the late forties and early fifties, started with the company where most of us are still employed today, we probably viewed "fun" and "work" as being two separate activities. However, we soon discovered that because our work was done with congenial and compatible team mates, it became so captivating that we have been described as being almost monastic in our dedication to our tasks.

What do I mean by "fun"? I don't limit it to the humour and laughter which are the spice of any human activity – it includes the satisfaction of sharing with others the effort of one's work and responsibilities, and the pleasure of seeing the fruits of one's labours.

It is difficult to describe the exhilaration I felt when, after months of enduring life in tents in temperatures of -50°c and many battles with mosquitoes and black flies, I finally saw a river diverted into a channel made by man from one that glaciers had created eons before, a diversion that would permit the construction of a dam to provide electricity and heat to a community in Canada's north, and supply power to operate mines that were developing Canada's resources for the world to use.

I believe many of the limits to performance are imposed by our inability to achieve the kind of interpersonal relationships which are essential to achievement. football teams, as well as orchestras, need harmony for success. If we are to achieve competitive success or, as they say, "to make beautiful music" in our professional careers, we have to understand the processes of communications, of goal-setting, of learning from others and sharing experiences, rather than trying to work in isolation. Even the most skilled researcher, although apparently working alone, measures his success on what he has been able to add to the findings of his colleagues and predecessors. This is not to downplay the importance of leadership, but to emphasize that the leaders of tomorrow will need this ability to create, coach and direct teams.

The Coming Years

We all have our individual conception of the meaning of existence, but we are all involved in the same basic activity: the satisfaction of our human needs and those of others. That's the story of humanity, and it's fascinating. The challenges are the same as before, but the scope of the problems, their intensity, their pace and their complexity are all increasing. I believe the means of resolving our problems have been, or will be, discovered by man along the way. Food, shelter and energy are some of these basic needs. But there are many others which affect the quality of life and which respond to the urge to achieve greater heights--to reach new frontiers.

In practical terms, all of this translates into opportunities to participate and to contribute. Our grouping of human beings on this part of the planet earth, called Canada, are particularly fortunate. I can almost hear some of you muttering: "here come the platitudes about how fortunate we are and how the future belongs to Canada". Sure we're fortunate to be here, but the right to take advantage of that opportunity has to be earned by thoughtful hard work. From my perspective, I am convinced there are more opportunities waiting to be seized than at any period in our history.

37 years ago I, and others from this university, had no idea how our lives and careers would evolve and how we would grow with our country through our engineering and organizational skills. We, in our group, did it on the opportunities created by the country's resource development, and by exporting our acquired skills in world markets.

Looking at the effort needed to pursue the development of Canada, I still find myself, as I was 37 years ago, excited by the challenge and the competition, but awed by the magnitude of the task which, more than ever, requires the many skills and dedication of so many people. people who will do their best and have fun doing it. the scale of the potential for the development of Canada remains truly enormous. There are many things to be done by Canadians and if we continue to build on our acquired experience, every generation will benefit from the one before.

To conclude, I must repeat, I am confident that among you and your generation, there are many who, on their own or within enterprises, will make such things possible and will develop fully their scholarly, creative or entrepreneurial talents. Canada has a crying need for the driving force of people motivated from within, who still believe individuals are not insignificant, and can, with others, create private wealth-generating enterprises for an improved quality of life.

I hope you enjoy yourselves in your chosen professions. Have a useful life - don't foul it up -- success and satisfaction are so much more fun!