What do you do when the ground beneath your project is uncertain, the programme is tight, and everyone is relying on your decision?

In this episode, host Colin Tomlinson sits down with civil engineer Richard Croft to explore how professionals develop judgement in environments where perfect data simply doesn’t exist. From soil and groundwater engineering to leading teams in the Army and managing environmental remediation in Iraq, Richard shares lessons from a career built on navigating complexity.

This conversation explores how technical expertise, leadership, and self-awareness come together when real-world decisions have real consequences.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why engineering decisions often rely on judgement as much as calculations

• How military leadership training shaped Richard’s approach to decision-making and responsibility

• The fundamental differences between consulting and contracting business models

• Why projects fail when teams rely on assumptions instead of information

• The importance of investing in ground investigation early to avoid costly surprises later

• Lessons from managing environmental remediation on oil fields in Iraq

• How listening, coaching, and chaplaincy shaped Richard’s approach to leadership

• Why authentic careers are built around relationships, purpose, and curiosity

Ultimately, this episode is about learning to think clearly under uncertainty, and why the best professionals combine technical skill with wisdom gained through experience.