Niranjan Shah's Journey: The Founder Behind Globetrotting Engineering Corporation
Feb 13, 2023
iCrowdMarketing powered by iCrowdNewswire
Niranjan Shah is the founder of Globetrotting Engineering Corporation, and he’s made a name for himself as a businessman in the competitive city of Chicago. Coming from a small village in India, his journey was full of countless obstacles and more than a few twists along the way.Supportive Communities
The concept of a village raising a child can be seen in many forms all over the world. For Shah, it was his literal village in India that gave him endless unconditional love and support during his formative years. Today, Shah is a noted philanthropist, and much of his work today is a credit to the people who rallied behind him in India.
His small town may not have had amenities like electricity, but they were able to nurture Shah’s curiosity and talent so that he could ultimately get his first degree in civil engineering in 1984. He chose this career path because he knew that having more civil infrastructure in his village would be life-changing for the people who lived there.
After earning his BS at Sardar Patel University, he would win a full scholarship to the University of Mississippi for his master’s in engineering. From there, he furthered his acumen by attending Harvard Business School’s executive management program. Shah had very ambitious dreams by this point in his life. He wanted his own empire in engineering, and he took concrete steps to make it happen.
Stepping Out On His Own
In every sector of the American economy, there are people searching for jobs that simply don’t exist. They can try to pigeonhole themselves into the position, as Shah did when he took consulting work at the beginning of his career, or they can create their own custom job by starting a business of their own.
In 1974, the Globetrotters Engineering Corporation was founded for clients who had complex projects that required an experienced team. Since its development, the company has completed the reconstruction of the Windy City’s I-80, the Chicago O’Hare Development Project, and the Chicago Deep Tunnel Project. With each successful job, Shah has consistently fine-tuned his operations to be as efficient as possible.
For his efforts, the American Society of Civil Engineers presented him with the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award, and the Illinois Department of Transportation gave him the Exceptional Service Award in the consultant category.
Civil Engineering and Technology
It would be natural to assume that civil engineers know more about the resonance frequency of bridges than they do about fiber optic networks. However, for Niranjan Shah, he wanted to be on the cutting edge of technology.
Over the course of his career and lifetime, the world changed how it did business. Making the switch didn’t happen overnight, but Shah knew that he wanted to be proactive rather than reactive. It’s why many of the fiber networks in the state of Illinois can be traced back to the Globetrotting Engineering Corporation.
Shah oversaw many of the terminals in the O'Hare airport as well as the infrastructure needed for the 911 communication system in Chicago. Given the population of the city, the systems needed to be strong enough to handle floods of activity. For his part, Shah has spent much of his career learning more about how residents and commercial interests alike utilize what he and his team have worked so hard to build.
In addition to his contributions to Illinois’ landscape and Chicago’s skyline, Shah has completed projects in Costa Rica, Belize, the Philippines, the Ivory Coast, and Indonesia. He’s worked in several branches of the US government, and he’s established himself as a master of anticipating a project’s obstacles before they have the chance to hinder deadlines.
A Smarter Leadership Style
Being a leader to Niranjan Shah comes down to determining where and how he can add value to an organization or operation. This trait has led him to a life of giving back. Not only has he used his skills and education to build a medical clinic and high school in his childhood village, he’s also become a diplomatic go-between to ensure stronger relationships between the United States and India.
He’s collaborated with the Chairmen on Foreign Relations to mitigate any tensions or communication barriers. He worked with then-presidents Clinton, Bush, and Reagan to advocate for India’s best interests. (He was so close to Clinton that he got to spend a night in the White House.) His direct line to people in power wasn’t an opportunity for Shah to request special favors for himself and his business. Instead, he saw it as a way to prioritize issues that may have gone ignored or overlooked for years. As Shah can tell anyone from experience, sometimes you just need to shed some light on a problem as the first step to solving it.
Being in Shah’s position, particularly when he has so many responsibilities, is a matter of consistency. For the most part, it’s a never-ending process of trial and error. However, he’s also become adept at handling crises when he’s on the clock — whether it’s personal or professional. When Gujarat experienced a severe earthquake in 2001, Niranjan Shah airlifted 200,000 pounds of supplies (including medical equipment) to ensure that people had the resources they needed to rebuild. He would go on to receive a Glory of Gujarat Award in 2005 for taking these measures during a chaotic time.
Attention to Details
There’s more than one way to get ahead, as any entrepreneur or professional can tell you. Some people eschew the advice of others, basing every move on their own instincts. Other people will listen to anyone with a tale and then use that information to find their own way forward.
Niranjan Shah understands that people have different skills and talents, but he believes that his success comes down to his attention to detail. For someone in the hard sciences, he has the utmost respect for people who demonstrate the best in soft skills. Traits like empathy and communication, qualities he had to rely on as a diplomat between two countries, are truly priceless to help bring people work together.
He encourages people to be mindful of everything that they do, whether that’s how they try and shine at work or how they treat their romantic partners during an argument. This isn’t about scrutinizing every decision but about seeing how your choices fit together as a whole.
Optimism in a Difficult World
Optimism is like any tool in the business world: it can be wielded for any number of reasons. Niranjan Shah can tell you that realistic or even pessimistic attitudes in business are common and that they do have their place in the working world.
However, his general philosophy is that it’s better to keep a positive attitude even in the midst of trying circumstances. It’s the best way to spot opportunities that would otherwise be lost. He also cautions people about steadfast first impressions. Sometimes, it takes time before a person or an idea reveals its full potential. He's just glad that his potential was spotted as a small child. It was that original spark that carried him through his illustrious career.
Tags: English