Making Your Way in the World Today...

"Destitutus ventis, remos adhibere"  (When you have no winds, row)    Latin Proverb

 I can't really explain how my dear uncle back in Alabama came to know Latin, but then again, he knew a lot about a lot. He was always surprising me that way. He was a self-taught metallurgist who worked at Air Products in a facility next to Redstone Arsenal.  Those were heady times. 

With the launch of Sputnik in 1957, Air Products won the competition to make a new rocket propellant—liquid hydrogen—for the Air Force and later NASA at the legendary “three bears” plants.

My uncle didn't talk about what exactly he was working on, but he brushed elbows with some of the greatest minds of the program - and held his own. In a twist of irony, he had been in the service that helped liberate some of those same scientist's homelands.

He had always been interested in the properties of metals and took a keen interest in my grandfather's work (he was packer in a dynamite plant - but that's another story).  My uncle was always tinkering and reading - asking lots of questions and in general - squeezing all from life that he could.  

In many ways, he was my "black sheep" uncle - at least when it came to ensuring my cousin and I always had something fun to do.  I think it was my uncle who taught us to make homemade gunpowder from saltpeter, charcoal, sulfur and a little sugar (all of which you could buy at the local drug stores of the day).  

Today the ATF would likely be called if you attempted that chemistry experiment. Our purpose was to build a small rocket engine - which we attached to a toy truck.  On ignition the homemade Atlas would send the truck roaring down the driveway at something just shy of escape velocity.  

The fun didn't stop there, however.   He also loaned me his Triumph Tiger, a

smallish Brit bike that challenged your court senses due to the shifter being on the "wrong" side.  I'd instinctively tap the brake when I needed to downshift and vice versa.  Too much information, I know, back to Uncle Kenneth.

So what's the point?  Now that I have established that my uncle was the early prototype for the most interesting man in the world, here's where the story comes full circle.

As I was preparing for high school in the early 1970s, NASA was in the harvest years and as the Agency's history notes, "four missions that put men on the moon, and the safe return of Apollo 13 after its breakdown in space - they were not so kind to Kennedy Space Center  (KSC) the men and women who worked there. Congress cut the NASA budget, NASA cancelled Apollo missions, KSC and its contractors laid off thousands of employees - not in one fell swoop but in a succession of smaller blows."  

Space enthusiasts had hoped to go on to a manned landing on Mars in the mid-1980s; it was not to be. Budgets suffered as American public opinion was shifting its priorities to other matters: civil disorders,cities, campus unrest, and unemployment.  

To those of us in the oil economy, this looks strangely familiar.  The successes of the past decade in drilling and production feeds the energy supply of today. Today, a "drill baby drill" bumpersticker would seem like a plea for help - as opposed to a plank in a political platform.  Times change.

My uncle was among those who faced a tough time as NASA programs were tabled.   His answer (until regular work returned) was to begin taking on project work as a consultant. That's a reality for many here today, as well, including me. While my main goal remains finding full time employment, I also have discovered the professional and personal rewards of consulting.   

As the Wall Street Journal reported recently, the market is large - and growing:  "U.S. company spending on consulting reached $54.7 billion last year, up from $50.8 billion in 2014. That’s a steep increase from $44 billion in 2012, according to the report. Financial services companies accounted for the largest share of the total — $13.5 billion —  an increase of 9% from 2014."

In making this jump, I considered well all the consultants I have known and employed, did more than a little reading (including many good articles in Forbes on the topic) and folded in the skills I gained as head of an "in house agency."  I believe it's a pretty good recipe. 

Here's my plan for delivering service and value:

• There are no stupid questions: Questions help ensure you understand what you are being asked to do and the issues your client is facing, and they can also help you to demonstrate your understanding.  Never be afraid to ask for clarification—it’s better than doing something wrong. Even if you don’t have a question to ask, restating what you’ve been told to clarify your understanding can inspire confidence with your manager or client.
•  Trust Matters: This essentially means that you will do exactly what you said you were going to do, when you said you were going to do it. Sounds simple, but I believe it tops the list of qualities needed to build trust and credibility among your clients. The more trust you build early on, the more opportunities you will be given in the future.
• Rock Star: No, I don't mean that you should glam it up or have unreasonable break room demands.  What I mean is that despite your broad experiences, it’s a good idea to start developing a skill that allows you to differentiate yourself from all your rock star peers. I received this gem from one of Houston’s best minds in the consulting arena (thank you John Sweney) who encouraged me to take the time to find out what you can become the go-to person for – whether as a back-fill or in a more permanent setting.
•  Over Deliver: Having hired a number of consultants over my professional career, I have met more than a few A-type personalities with industrial strength ambitions for a quick kill. Like ghost pepper, a little ambition goes a long way. As I see it, what really distinguishes a good consultant from a great one is the ability to not only focus on the tasks at hand, but also to think critically what will flow from the work.  My approach is to build for the long term – thinking about how the deliverables I produce will set the stage for future communications – even if I am not working on the project.
• It Goes Without Saying: It’s essential that you fully and completely honor any non-disclosure agreement - even if they are time limited. "Never” disclosing details may be a good starting point. That said, you will be asked to solve problems that may be completely new to you—or even completely new to the industry. And when you’re faced with these tough problems or challenging requirements, it’s your resourcefulness that will help you succeed. As a general approach go to your team and manager first, followed by "under the tent" internal experts. Learning who has critical information – and earning their trust is a key to project success.  
• No Detail Left Behind: This is such a crucial skill in consulting because one of the ways we build trust with clients is by producing error-free deliverables. Proofing is a team sport - so even as a consultant - find out who can help review your materials to ensure they are solid.  The second step is to create lists of things to double-check before submitting anything. For example, I use Excel to create a check list of deliverables.  [As an aside, if you have not read Atul Gawande’s book The Checklist Manifesto, boy is it worth the investment. A surgeon by training, his observations are spot on.  For example he begins by making a distinction between errors of ignorance (mistakes we make because we don’t know enough), and errors of ineptitude (mistakes we made because we don’t make proper use of what we know).  When you are done, give the book to your doctor. ]

Like my uncle, I believe I was cut from the cloth of  a "company man" and it is work I enjoy.  At the same time, consulting is a chance for professional growth and a way to add value in a suddenly dimmed economic environment that has headcount additions sidelined.

Maybe that's why consulting is a viable answer for many of those who have been displaced.   We need to make our own way.   And like those homemade rocket powered toy trucks in my uncle's driveway, blast off in a bold new direction.  It's scary - but also a lot of fun! Ideally, this season of consulting will strengthen my hand and underscore my adaptability.  I'd be interested in knowing how recruiters and hiring managers see experience.  

Uncle Kenneth Update:  Now in his late 80s,  he still lives just outside of the Space Center near Huntsville, Alabama.  The last time I saw him, he was beginning to lose his sight, but was still going strong.  He tends a small garden and is a beekeeper.  He has a huge fig tree in his back yard.  When I commented on it, he paraphrased Micah 4:4..saying, "blessed is the man who sits in the shade of his own fig tree."  

When I asked where that line came from, he told me to read the letters of George Washington.  Sure enough, he was right. Washington had used the line in a letter - and with good effect.  All these years later my uncle is still the most interesting man in the world.