On a mission to help engineers to be more entrepreneurial | Project Director @ Legacy Property Chartered Civil and Structural Engineer passionate about design thinking, innovation and challenging the status quo.

The best engineers don’t just design. 


They think. 


They create. 


They lead. 


They shape the future. 


That’s been the theme of my 25+ year career, starting on site in trenches, with pipes, pumps and concrete, and evolving into a Chartered civil and structural engineer, Director, Advisor, Mentor, Coach, and community builder.


My career has spanned over $5B of infrastructure and development projects across Australia and Vietnam. 


But the turning point came when I realised engineering wasn't just about drawings and approvals, it was about value, clarity, and execution. 


I once saved a client $1M in 1 hour of drawing review. 


That shift changed everything.


Today, I lead Vinculum Advisory—an engineering consultancy focused on specialist engineering and delivery management for development and infrastructure projects across NSW. We help our clients navigate the most complex components of design, risk and delivery, bringing technical clarity and strategic thinking to every phase.


I also serve as Technical Director at Legacy Property, where I drive value engineering and strategic outcomes across their portfolio. My role spans due diligence, planning, approvals, masterplanning and delivery, ensuring smarter outcomes, faster execution, and best-for-project results.


My technical strengths are matched by a deep commercial lens, blending engineering logic with development and delivery strategy.


And that mindset now powers everything I do:


THINK — Strategic vision, technical excellence, and future-focused frameworks. 


CREATE — Platforms like 3 Degrees of Separation and The Entrepreneurial Engineer to connect and elevate engineers and entrepreneurs.


SHAPE — Real outcomes, team building, smarter delivery, and future-ready professionals.


I speak to rooms, mentor individuals, and advise businesses, not just to talk about engineering, but to talk about where our future is going.

I also have a podcast that dives into real people, their stories and highlights what makes them more entrepreneurial.

https://youtube.com/@theeepod?si=tlDxFeznvs4UdPxt

Because the future of this industry doesn’t belong to the most technical. It belongs to the most adaptable. 

The most curious. 

The most willing to lead.

If you’re an engineer, entrepreneur or young professional ready to think bigger, create and shape your future, and make more impact, let’s connect.


#EntrepreneurialEngineer #VinculumAdvisory #LegacyProperty #3DegreesOfSeparation #ThinkCreateShape

Darren Flynn

Google has reportedly made a massive move in the energy space.

Spending around $4.75 billion dollars to acquire an entire energy company, all to keep up with the exploding power needs of its AI data centers. 

As artificial intelligence systems demand enormous amounts of electricity, tech giants are now racing to secure their own energy supplies instead of relying on traditional grids. This deal highlights how critical power has become in the AI era, where data centers run nonstop to train and operate advanced models. 

For Google, it is not just about sustainability or cost control, but about ensuring uninterrupted growth of its AI ambitions in the years ahead

On a mission to help engineers be more entrepreneurial. Passionate about design thinking, innovation, tech, future, AI and challenging the status quo.

I grew faster on LinkedIn by commenting than by posting.

Most people still don’t get why.

Sometimes I like and comment on everything in my feed.

10 minutes...

Non-stop.

Back-to-back.

Because that’s how you show up.

That’s how you stay top-of-mind.

That’s how you build momentum, reputation, and opportunity.

You don’t grow by posting once.

You grow by participating relentlessly.

Until people can’t ignore you.

Give it 10 minutes a day.

Watch what happens in 10 weeks.

I learnt more from tradies than textbooks.

One of the greatest advantages I ever had as an engineer wasn’t a degree.

It was learning to treat EVERYONE as an equal.

I’ve always believed this:

If you want to succeed in engineering, listen to people.

Not just managers.

Not just Directors.

Not just the “qualified.”

Listen to the tradies.

The carpenters.

The sparkies.

The plumbers.

The labourers.

The Mum-and-Dad clients.

The person sweeping the floor.

The person working on site. 

Half of the best engineering lessons I’ve ever learned came from someone who never once called themselves an engineer.

Because respect isn’t about title, qualifications or hierarchy.

Respect is about being human enough to recognise that everyone sees something you don’t.

The day you think you’re “above” asking someone’s opinion…

is the day you stop growing.

The day you sit down with the trades and genuinely listen…

Is the day you become the engineer people want to work with again.

Great engineering isn’t built on ego.

It’s built on collaboration.

It’s built on curiosity.

It’s built on respect.

That’s the real shortcut to success.

And it costs nothing.

Engineers, talk is cheap.

Delivery is rare...

Everyone has ideas.

Everyone has plans.

Everyone means well.

But trust is built on one thing only:

Doing what you said you’d do —
when you said you’d do it.

No reminders.

No excuses.

No “almost done”.

Just delivery.

This is what separates:

Professionals from pretenders

Engineering leaders from loud voices

Long careers from short ones

The quiet operators don’t explain themselves.

They don’t overpromise.

They don’t need to be seen.

They just show up…

And finish the job.

Say less.

Do more.

Deliver when it counts.

If this hit, you already know why.

Perks of being an Engineer

Money

Make family proud

Happiness

Not....

Reality check:

Stress
Responsibility
Deadlines 

What they don’t show in the chart:

You’re paid for what you know, not what you do

You carry risk so others can sleep

When it works, no one notices

When it fails, everyone points

Engineers don’t chase happiness.

We chase confidence, clarity and getting it right.

First time.

Pride comes later.

Money comes eventually

Responsibility comes immediately.

Tag an engineer carrying the whole project right now.

Whoever designed this… 

Give them a raise. 

This is what happens when creativity meets engineering thinking:

Solve the problem

Make it obvious

Make it unforgettable

Most workplaces hide fire extinguishers.

This one turned it into a diver’s oxygen tank.

Functional, compliant, and brilliant.

Good engineering isn’t always about adding complexity.

Sometimes it’s about adding imagination to the things people walk past every day.

Because when design, safety and creativity intersect. 

Everyone wins...

Learn when to build around something.

Rather than cutting it down.

Not every obstacle needs to be removed.

Not every problem needs to be demolished.

Not every constraint needs a fight.

Sometimes the smartest engineering decision

the one that saves time, money, relationships, and sanity

is to design with the constraint, not against it.

That’s leadership.

That’s judgement.

That’s what separates textbook engineers from real-world ones.

Because in projects, careers, and life:

Some things have roots.

Some things hold the soil together.

Some things grow stronger when you work with them, not around them.

The trick is knowing which is which.

Learn that — and everything gets easier.

18 minutes is enough to change everything, here's why.

Most people wildly overestimate what they can do in a week....

And massively underestimate what they can do in a year.

18 minutes a day doesn’t feel impressive.

It doesn’t feel “grindy”.

It doesn’t feel Instagram worthy.

But here’s the part no one talks about:

• 18 minutes beats zero

• Consistency beats intensity

• Reps beat motivation

100 hours a year on one skill compounds faster than talent ever will.

That’s how average engineers can become exceptional.

That’s how quiet operators lap loud talkers.

That’s how careers quietly take off while others stay stuck.

You don’t need a new year.

You don’t need a perfect plan.

You don’t need more time.

You need 18 minutes.

Every day.

Pick the skill.

Show up.

Let time do the heavy lifting.

Consistency is the real cheat code.

Don’t live to work… 

work to live. 

*posted on a Saturday

**while playing ⛳

Engineering knowledge is the true foundation of our built environment...

Not concrete.

Not steel.

Knowledge.

Every city you admire.

Every bridge you trust.

Every building you walk into without thinking twice.

They all stand on decades — sometimes centuries — of accumulated engineering thinking.

This image says it all.

Because before anything is built

Someone calculated the load

Someone questioned the assumption

Someone learned from a past failure

Someone wrote it down so the next engineer didn’t repeat it

Engineering is not about drawings.

It’s about judgement.

It’s not about software.

It’s about understanding.

It’s not about speed.

It’s about getting it right when it matters.

The problem today isn’t a lack of tools.

It’s a lack of depth.

We’re building faster than ever…

But are we thinking deeply enough?

The engineers who invest in knowledge today
are the ones whose work will still be standing tomorrow.

Most people look at pipes and see… 

Pipes.

Engineers look at them and see fittings, flow, and liquid.

Artists look at them and see shape, colour, personality.

But the magic happens when all can see the awesomeness. 

1. Turn the pipe into a character

A 90° bend? That’s a neck.

A flange? A frill. 

An inspection opening? A belly button.

Engineers create the structure.

Artists bring it to life.

2. Use colour to shift perception

A red pipe is a pipe.

A polka-dot pipe a blue snake? 

Now you’ve got an attraction.

3. Integrate science concepts

You can turn everyday assets into teachable moments:

A water main illustrated with flow arrows, velocity changes, turbulence zones

A gas main showing molecular movement. 

Art becomes a science lesson.

Science becomes accessible.

Engineering becomes visible.

4. Use pipes to show engineering principles visually

You can paint around or above a pipe to demonstrate:

Laminar vs turbulent flow

Pressure zones

Structural bending moments

Stress concentrations

Load transfer

Hydraulics concepts

Suddenly the public can see what engineers think about.

5. Blend pipes into murals

A horizontal pipe becomes a tree branch.

A vertical one becomes the trunk.

This is where art meets geometry, creativity riding on top of civil engineering.

6. Turn maintenance points into interactive features

Valve handles painted as flowers

Inspection pits turned into portals

7. Bring in storytelling

Engineers build networks.

Artists build narratives.

Imagine walking through a precinct where each piece of infrastructure tells a chapter in the story of water:

Catchment

Treatment

Discharge

Energy recovery

Environment

Pipes become characters in a bigger ecosystem, not just hidden underground.

8. Use pipes to make engineering FUN for kids

Every time a child sees a painted stormwater pipe and thinks,

“Wow, what does THAT do?”

We just created the next generation of engineers.

Why This Matters (and why engineers should care)

Because the future isn’t just about designing things that work.

It’s about designing things that people connect with.

When engineering, science, and art overlap, you create:

Better community engagement

Higher visibility for essential infrastructure

A deeper respect for the built environment

A culture where engineering is seen as cool, not boring.

More young people entering STEM

Spaces that feel alive

Turning ordinary systems into extraordinary experiences.

The F4 Freeway (Now the M4) under construction through a bare looking Emu Plains and Penrith in 1970. 

Emu Plains was named by early European explorers in the late 1780s/early 1790s because they saw large numbers of emus roaming the flat lands near the Nepean River.

Imagine 50 years from now...

Photo Source: Transport for NSW

The more you know you don’t need to use ChatGPT…




The smarter you actually are.

Read that again.

It’s true.

AI is a tool.

A powerful one.

So don't be a tool.

Know it's not a replacement for thinking.

He lost a $1M McLaren. 

Then built $1T worth of companies.

In 1999, Elon Musk sold his first startup for $20 million.

No mansion. 

No yacht.

Just a $1M McLaren F1.

Uninsured.

A year later, he looked at Peter Thiel and said,

Watch this.

Seconds later, the McLaren was airborne.

Totaled. Gone.

Most people would’ve called the insurance company.

Musk just kept driving, metaphorically.

Because that crash wasn’t about a car.

It was a mindset test.

He doesn’t insure against failure.

He uses it as fuel.

That’s the Entrepreneurial Engineer difference.

While most build safety nets — he builds launchpads.

While most slow down — he scales up.

While others dream — he executes.

You don’t have to like him.

But you can’t deny this:

He lost a car.

Then engineered an empire.

Most engineers don’t have a career problem.

They have:

a discipline problem, 

a courage problem, 

a stop-making-excuses problem.

You’re not “stuck.”

You’re just comfortable.

You’re not “overlooked.”

You’re just not loud, valuable, or dangerous enough.

And no, your boss isn’t the issue.

Your work ethic is.

Here’s the truth no one wants to say:

If you’re not moving forward in engineering right now, it’s your fault.

Not the industry.

Not the market.

Not your manager.

Not AI.

You.

The moment you accept that…

Is the moment everything changes.

Engineers who win don’t wait to be chosen.

They build skills, leverage, networks, and opportunities.

And they do it before they feel ready.

Savage?

Yes.

But it’s also the only advice that actually works.

Stop waiting. 

Start leveling up.

Your future self is already disappointed you’re taking this long.

Engineers, before you look to open a door of opportunity, 

Look for signs.

Most people rush toward any open door.

New role.

New title.

New opportunity.

But the fastest way to stall your career

is opening the wrong door...

Here’s how to spot the wrong door before you touch the handle:

It opens away from who you’re becoming

If the opportunity pulls you back into comfort instead of forward into growth, it’s the wrong door.

You’re excited about the badge, not the work

Status fades fast.

Skill compounds.

If the role looks good but doesn’t build you, wrong door.

You can’t explain what it leads to

Good doors connect to corridors.

Bad doors are dead ends dressed up as shortcuts.

You’re ignoring friction signals

That quiet hesitation?

That mismatch in values, people, or culture?

That’s not fear, that’s data.

Before you open the door, look for any obvious design flaws, and ask yourself, 

Where does this door actually lead.

McDonald’s in Tokyo..

Where global identity meets Japanese minimalism. 

A builtform happy meal.

Engineers. Work hard.

Not for the car or the applause.

But for control.

Control over your time.

Control over your projects.

Control over how your day is engineered.

You put in the work now so your future isn’t an endless cycle of deadlines

Firefighting, and Sunday-night dread.

Most people work just hard enough to survive.

Engineers design systems.

You’re designing a life that works for you.

The goal isn’t luxury.

The goal is freedom you don’t need a vacation from.

Lock in.

6 lessons that can accelerate your success in life and career.

(Number 4 is my favourite)..


Most people are stuck not because they lack talent…

But because they’re leaking energy, focus, and time.

Here’s what actually moves the needle 

1. Be fully present

Give what’s in front of you your full attention.

No distractions. 

No background noise.

The fastest way to waste your life is to be half-present everywhere.

If your sending emails during a meeting, you're in the wrong room. 

2. People come first. 

Family. Friends. 

Colleagues. Clients.

The cleaner. 

The new undergraduate. 

The CEO..

Have respect, be respected.

3. Sleep beats discipline

I thought 5am starts were the secret.

Turns out protecting 8 hours of sleep was the real advantage.

Energy first. 

Productivity follows.

4. Know your hourly rate

And then protect it

This changed everything for me.

If an activity doesn’t return value, growth, or impact…

it’s stealing from your future.

Guard your time like your life depends on it.

Because it does.

5. Fuel your body properly

Food. Vitamins. Minerals.

Hydration.

Consistency > perfection.

You can’t build an exceptional life in a neglected body, or healthy mind.

6. Be optimistic, but never naïve

Believe things will work out.

Just don’t rely on it.

Plan A.

Be ready for B, C, and D.

Because resilience beats confidence every time.

None of this is flashy.

But stacked daily, it's amazing what you can fit into 24 hours.

5 non-negotiable skills to show if you want to get promoted or land that dream job.

Most engineers think promotions come from: 

• More technical skill
• More years of experience
• Another qualification

They don’t.

They come from signals.

Here are the 5 that actually move the needle:

Ownership (End-to-End Delivery)

Stop writing “assisted”.
Start showing what you owned, including when things went wrong.

Leaders take responsibility for outcomes — not tasks.

Stakeholder Communication

If you can’t explain complex engineering to:

• Clients
• Directors
• Contractors

You won’t lead projects.

Clarity beats cleverness every time.

Decision-Grade Thinking

Senior engineers don’t pass on information.

They frame decisions.

Risks.
Options.
Recommendations.

That’s how trust is built fast.

Commercial Awareness

The fastest promotions go to engineers who understand: 

• Cost
• Time
• Risk
• Client pressure

Technical skill keeps you employed.

Commercial thinking gets you promoted.

Systems & Improvement Mindset

Top engineers don’t work harder — they design better systems.

Automation.

Process improvements.

Smarter workflows.

That’s leadership before the title.

Hard truth:

You don’t get promoted when you’re “ready”.

You get promoted when your manager knows you're already doing the job.

AT&L

Civil Engineer

The Engineering Forum

Founder

J. Wyndham Prince

J. Wyndham Prince is a leading Civil Engineering and Project Management Consultancy based in the Greater Sydney Region. The company has served for over 35 years, providing innovative land development and infrastructure to its clients, including public land developers, councils and state government authorities.

Roles and responsibilities:
• Drafting preliminary infrastructure design drawings of a project using AutoCAD Civil 3D and 12d Modelling.
• Interpreting survey results (i.e. contours, reduced levels) and developing into technical drawings.
• Planning Project Requirements including Design Reports, Design Checklists and Risk Register.
• Designing Civil Infrastructure in accordance with the Australian Standards, Council Requirements and AustRoads Design Guides.
• Responsible for assisting Civil Drafters, Design Engineers and Senior Managers in developing all phases of the project.

Civil Design Engineer

Graduate Civil Design Engineer

Trainee Engineer (Civil Design)

Landlay

Landlay Consulting Group is a diagnostic and remedial engineering consultancy firm, which serves for Strata Titled Properties. The business core distributes Engineering Reports, Structural Design, Remedial Scope of Works (SOW)/Specifications (SPEC), and Expert Building Defect Reports (for litigation purposes).

Roles and responsibilities:
•	Diagnosed building issues (i.e. concrete spalling, waterproofing and structural inadequacies).
•	Organised remedial rectification strategies with the production of SOW’s and SPEC’s.
•	Prepared technical building diagnostic reports with recommendations and rectification work.
•	Documented building defects per the Home Building Act (HBA) 1989, National Construction Code/ Building Codes Australia (NCC/BCA), Australian Standards (AS) and Office of Fair-Trading Guides.
•	Conducted Project Management responsibilities, including the administration of tender process/analysis, overseeing works performed, site reports and cost breakdown analysis.

Junior Remedial Engineer

Civil Engineering Intern

Fairfield City Council

Fairfield City Council is a local government area with a vast organisational structure serving its community. Accordingly, I was employed within the City Assets and Operations branch under the Asset Management team, responsible for the life-cycle, planning and delivery of the civil and built infrastructure.

Roles and responsibilities:
•	Inspected conditions of raingardens, stormwater pits, bridges, culverts and other infrastructures.
•	Delivered and examined immediate maintenance and remedial work for faulty infrastructure assets.
•	Assisted in the marking of heavy patching road works, and estimation via area/volume calculations.
•	Loaded asset data onto respective Council systems with precision and accuracy; Conquest (database for asset management), Microsoft Excel and MapInfo Professional 16 (GIS Software).
•	Drafted and reviewed Council Annual Operational Plan and 4-year Delivery Program documents aligned with Council Budget and Community Visions for Council projects.

Trainee Engineer (Assets)

Hi, I'm Jonathan.

TL;DR:

•🛣 Civil Design Engineer at AT&L with 4+ years' experience in Asset, Remedial, and Civil Design (Current). I specialise in land development for industrial estates, commercial properties, and subdivisions. Proficient in AutoCAD, Civil 3D, 12d, Drains, and MUSICX.

• 👷 As an active member of the engineering community, I'm dedicated to empowering engineers to start and excel in their careers. I offer tailored services including resume/cover letter reviews, interview practice + tips, and more.

• 📥 Send me a message to organise a free 15-minute consultation on how I can help you achieve your career goals!

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Darren Flynn

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