# Gerhard Pawelka | The Three Most Beautiful Words in Science

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2022-02-25
- Length: 38m
- Episode: 8
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-02-25-gerhard-pawelka-the-three-most-beautiful-words-in-science
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/gerhard-pawelka-three-most-beautiful-words/

## Summary

Gerhard Pawelka, co-founder of Cooper Perkins (now part of PA Consulting) and former CEO of Tune, discusses the philosophy of 'Honoring Engineering' and his career path from Cannondale to IDEO. He emphasizes curiosity, honesty, and prototyping as core tenets of engineering practice, explaining how his team at Cooper Perkins and PA Consulting uses a 'polyglot' approach to solve complex problems. The conversation covers the importance of admitting 'I don't know' as the start of the scientific method, the value of prototyping in testing ideas, and the leadership skills required to care for teams and communicate effectively.

## Chapters

- [0:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-02-25-gerhard-pawelka-the-three-most-beautiful-words-in-science#t=16) Introduction: Gerhard Pawelka and Cooper Perkins
- [1:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-02-25-gerhard-pawelka-the-three-most-beautiful-words-in-science#t=89) Falling into Engineering at Cannondale
- [2:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-02-25-gerhard-pawelka-the-three-most-beautiful-words-in-science#t=129) Honoring Engineering: Learn, Practice, Teach
- [4:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-02-25-gerhard-pawelka-the-three-most-beautiful-words-in-science#t=278) The Role of Curiosity and Prototyping
- [9:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-02-25-gerhard-pawelka-the-three-most-beautiful-words-in-science#t=597) Prototyping as Testing and Problem Solving
- [14:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-02-25-gerhard-pawelka-the-three-most-beautiful-words-in-science#t=899) Lessons from IDEO and PA Consulting
- [22:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-02-25-gerhard-pawelka-the-three-most-beautiful-words-in-science#t=1378) Engineering as Magic: Turning Dirt into Tools
- [26:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-02-25-gerhard-pawelka-the-three-most-beautiful-words-in-science#t=1600) Teaching Generously and Caring for Teams

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Cooper Perkins (company)
- PA Consulting (company)
- Tune (company)
- Power-Tap (product)
- IDEO (company)
- Cannondale (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [HIBT Lab! IDEO: David Kelley](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-07-28-hibt-lab-ideo-david-kelley) (How I Built This)
- [Episode 165: Don’t let it beat you.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2018-04-20-episode-165-dont-let-it-beat-you) (Making It)
- [Design and Engineering Shouldn't Be Separate Islands | Pensar, Tactile, Mathscaper, Vector7 | Rob Leonard](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2026-07-27-design-and-engineering-shouldnt-be-separate-islands-pensar-tactile-mathscaper-ve) (TRADEOFFS)
- [How Soft Skills Drive High-Impact Engineering Teams w/ Aaron Moncur](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-08-26-how-soft-skills-drive-high-impact-engineering-teams-w-aaron-moncur) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Three Pillars of Impact for Manufacturing Leaders w/ Tom Brown](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-12-12-three-pillars-of-impact-for-manufacturing-leaders-w-tom-brown) (The Manufacturing Executive)

## Citing this page

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