From tradition, we recognize four professions: Medicine, Engineering, Accounting, & Law.

People who master these professions possess special abilities. They are able to see the big picture, quickly identify patterns, and understand the details underpinning the big picture. This combination of big picture thinking and detailed thinking enables them to be problems solving specialists. Not only are they able to solve problems when they arrive they are also often able to anticipate problems and create solutions before the problems develop. People who master the professions are risk managers.

Mastering a profession: Is that an art or a science or some combination of two?

Before answering that question it's necessary to understand the role discipline plays in the professions.

Consider the medical profession.  When you visit a doctor do you want the doctor's advice to be backed by disciplined thinking? Do you want the doctor to analyze your symptoms, identify a pattern, understand the root cause of the problem, and present a remedy/solution? Those are the things most people want from their doctor. Very few people want their doctor to be speculative, offering them inventive solutions and illustrating innovation/creativity. Most people want medical solutions that are tried-and-true. That's their expectation when they visit their doctor. People expect their doctor to have a disciplined education, a discipline process for diagnosing symptoms, and a disciplined process for prescribing remedies. These are the expectations of the vast majority of clients of the medical profession.

Consider the engineering profession. When an engineer designs a road you will drive on what is your expectation? When an engineer designs a bridge you will cross what is your expectation? When an engineer designs the building you will work in what is your expectation? Typically people just want a road to function properly. They want to use the road to get from point A to point B as quickly and safely as possible. People expect those same things from bridges. However, often they expect more. They want bridges to have aesthetic appeal. Similarly, people set a higher standard when it comes to buildings. Often people want buildings to provide value and aesthetic value. So, from engineers, clients expect both disciplined process and some degree of artistry.

So, in some professions, including the engineering profession, clients expect results that are built on both scientific disciplines and ‘softer’, more-artistic skills.

When we think about this, a key question arises. Can we expect a single person to be skilled in both the scientific and artistic areas of engineering? Certainly, some people possess skills in both areas. However, many do not. Many lack the more-artistic skills. One can obtain an engineering degree and professional engineering designation on scientific skill alone. Like all skilled engineers these ‘scientific-skill’ people are able to see the big picture, quickly identify patterns, and understand the details underpinning the big picture. However, their ability to see the big picture is limited vis-à-vis the ability possessed by people who have both the scientific and the artistic skills…their big picture contains holes or gaps. Where these holes and gaps exist, there are disconnects between the big picture and the details underpinning the big picture. Problems hide unseen in these holes and gaps…until and engineer with both scientific and artistic skills sees them.