{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Building Doors with Lauren Karan","title":"87. Courageous Engineering: Breaking the Fear Cycle and Reclaiming Pride in the Profession with Ben Schnitzerling","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3558,"description":"In this episode of Building Doors, host Lauren Karan sits down with Ben Schnitzerling, founder of Red Fox Advisory, a Queensland-based civil and structural engineering consultancy delivering support across the full project lifecycle, from early planning and design through construction, contract administration, technical due diligence, and dispute avoidance. Red Fox helps clients navigate risk, protect value, and deliver practical, buildable infrastructure solutions.From nailing floors for his builder father as a kid to certifying major infrastructure projects just two years out of university, Ben’s career has been shaped by doing the uncomfortable. Today, he’s on a mission to challenge what he sees slowing the industry down: fear of litigation, fear of accountability, and fear of stepping outside the “safe” standard.Lauren and Ben unpack how this risk-averse culture is producing average outcomes and quietly failing the very communities engineers are meant to serve. With Queensland facing a massive pipeline of work and tighter budgets, Ben makes it clear that courageous, accountable engineering is no longer optional. It is essential.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:The Roots of a Courageous Mindset:How Ben’s upbringing on construction sites and struggle with dyslexia shaped his learning and leadership philosophy.Why embracing uncomfortable, high-stakes projects early in his career was foundational to his growth.The personal hierarchy for sustainable success: “Love yourself first, then your partner, then your kids, then work.”Confronting the Fear Culture in Engineering:Why the industry’s obsession with “cover your ass” and blind compliance is stifling innovation and delivering poor value.The critical difference between a compliant design and a good, accountable design.How an abundance of money over the past decade has incentivized safe, unthinking work and why the coming \"burning platform\" of financial constraint will force change.Courage, Accountability, and the...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/rcJTQ5eXITvLdAogYDlhRpa2ZvZlMeipr6w7MvQqkqs/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzM1NTExLzE2Njgz/OTU0OTQtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}