Peter Leonhardt

mypiezo® 

• founded 2013 by Peter Leonhardt
• trademark registered 2023
• Incorporated 2024

Peter has held exciting and dynamic positions at Endevco, Dytran, Meggitt and PCB Piezotronics.  He managed a MEMS fabrication facility using the Washington Nanofabrication Facility (WNF) at the University of Washington (UW), and sat on the Advisory Board.

Peter has also had the pleasure of working in collaborative partnerships with several fine companies including:

• Brüel &  Kjær, Denmark
• Ferroperm, Denmark
• Vibro-Meter, Switzerland

Please visit Peter's LinkedIn page for more detailed information.

• Always stay curious.  Don't let anyone crush your joy.
• You will find reward and pleasure chasing your passion.
• You have much to learn from others, especially from those that don't have your formal education.
• Don't talk trash about anyone.  It usually comes back to you. 
• Every person and every company is defective to some extent.  Be mindful of your defects and seek to strengthen them.
• There's rarely any need to point out other's defects.  Be satisfied in helping them where you can.
• Never go into a meeting unprepared.  I like the saying "if you're not 5 minutes early, you're late".
• Be grateful for a healthy work environment when you are fortunate enough to have one.
• Maintain a strong worth ethic. Show up on time, don’t screw around too much. Stay positive and professional. Find paths around roadblocks. There will be many.
• There's a reason why it is called "work" and not "entitlement".  Earn your keep.
• Business is business. Having work friends is a perk. Few companies will be thrilled to employ you just because you’re a great person. It is all about your value to the company.
• Find excitement in the opportunity to troubleshoot. The expression “it just isn’t working the way it should” sounds silly to me. ‘It’ is probably doing exactly what it ‘should’ be doing, but you just don’t understand why it does that yet. Once you find the ‘why’, your bag of experiences gets a little fuller.
• It is said that the definition of an expert is “a person who makes a great many mistakes in a very small field”. It is more fun when such lessons can be learned by observing other people's mistakes.
• As you analyze someone else’s design and find an aspect of it that just doesn’t make sense to you, think it over before changing it.  It might just be a solution for a problem you haven’t thought of yet.
• If you are ever stuck working with a real jerk, take pleasure in realizing that there are indeed people like that in the world. You only have to interface them occasionally, but they have to go home and live with themselves. Their home environment is likely quite miserable.  You're not going to be able to fix them.  Just smile on the inside and go about your day.
• Watch out for confirmation bias. Don’t convince yourself of a 'fact' before dispassionately assessing the experiments and the data. In the words of Richard Feynman, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool”.
• Realize that the ‘tool kit’ you use at work is likely not necessarily an appropriate ‘tool kit’ for home. Home and family usually require an entirely separate set of skills. But in both settings be kind, loving and willing to change for the better. Analytics, logic and the scientific method usually don’t make for the best interpersonal skills in family dynamics. Here’s another great Feynman quote; “I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy”.
• As a product design engineer, my end goal was to have production floor labor enjoy building my designs.  This means that proper performance is forgiving to part tolerances, the yields are high, the documentation is clear and the tools and fixtures are effective.  There are a lot of details to consider.
• Consider your position as a middle leg of a relay race.  Passing a baton needs to be well choreographed...  you don't just throw it to the runner of the next leg.  Get to understand the mindset of those providing things to you (purchasing, machine shop as examples) as well as those using your output (manufacturing engineers, production floor, programmers and of course customers)
• People can be arrogant.  Maybe they've earned it.  People can be ignorant.  This is fixable with curiosity and education.  The people who are both arrogant and ignorant are dangerous.  You know who you are... contact mypiezo® and maybe we can help!
• Regarding management, my philosophy is to treat your team like dogs.  Sled dogs.  Sled dogs wake up in the morning wagging their tails anxious to pull the sled.  Each serves a purpose for the team... usually led by the alpha dog.  Maintain consistent direction and with proper encouragement let them do their jobs.  They don't need to be whipped.  Make sure they're well fed, appreciated and warm at the end of a days journey.  
• Two managerial credos for success:  (1) hire good people.   (2) keep good people.