One of my favorite stories, I often share this with wanabee or newbie consultants. It goes like this:

Pat and Mike are out in the woods hunting. They hear a lot of noise in the brush, and suddenly a bear appears fifty yards away.

They decide to run. But after a few yards, Pat stops, drops his backpack, and removes his heavy boots.

Mike says, “Fool, you can’t outrun the bear that way.”

To which Pat replies, “I don’t have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun YOU.” (With apologies to me Irish friends and ancestors.)

Yes, it is an old story, and a bit corny too. But it does capture the essence of what we do as consultants. You don’t need to know everything about everything — you just need to know enough to help your clients.

Too many people worry about the bear. Rather than jump in, they hold back. They already know enough to be a successful consultant, but they keep spending more time and more money on more seminars, more workshops, more books, more programs, more CDs, more DVDs, or more ???

And there are plenty who feed on those insecurities — particularly in the on-line world.  Ever wonder why they aren’t out there doing it for themselves?

In fairness, there are a few (VERY few as near as I can tell) who have actually done what they promote, and who are willing to share what they know at a reasonable price (sometimes even for free.) Those are the ones you want to follow and learn from!

No, you don’t need to outrun the bear. But you do need to get into the hunt. And best to do so with those who already know how to hunt, and how to outrun the other guy in the first place.

Happy hunting!

© 2013, https:. All rights reserved.

This post was written in response to a troll. Did not post his comment, but he did inspire this little missive.  

Did you ever notice that there are no statues for critics?

President have them. Statesmen have them. Military heroes have them. Even business leaders have them. But NOT critics. Hmmm… there must be a lesson here.

So what propels critics? In some cases ego. In other cases a desire to tear you down. And occasionally, an honest desire to actually help you improve. Often it is hard to determine the underlying motives.

Not saying you should ignore critics. If the criticism is valid, take it and learn from it. If the criticism is invalid or comes from someone unqualified, just ignore it. Either way, don’t dwell on it or take it as a personal attack (even if it is…).  It is often the price you pay for visibility and success.

Here is a story from early in my career.

I was transferring to a job where I would be dealing directly with customers, rather than being a back room engineer.

Stan, my boss (and a wise retired Marine colonel,) offered some unsolicited advice which later proved invaluable. As he wished me good luck, he added, “You are now going to be highly visible. Don’t take any criticism personally — to those critics, you are just a target.”

At the time, I wondered why he said that. But it wasn’t long before I was hit by some undeserved criticism. Thanks to Stan, I saw it for what it was, and didn’t take it personally. I was just a convenient target.

Fast forward 30 years, and here is another story.

In this case, I was only an observer. One of our colleagues had just published a book, which became quite successful. Unfortunately, that success prompted some petty jealousies within our engineering community.

Another colleague was whining about how the book wasn’t really that good. To which my business partner said, “Well, it’s better than your book.” Miffed, the whiny critic replied, “Well, I haven’t written a book.” The touché by my business partner, “That’s my point.”

As a consultant, you will often be the target of criticism — often unjustified. If so, you can always comfort yourself with this century old quote from Teddy Roosevelt:

It is not the critic who counts…

Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,
Or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,
Who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again,
Because there is no effort without error and shortcoming.

But who does actually strive to do the deeds,
Who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions,
Who spends himself in a worthy cause,
Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
And who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

That quotation has hung in my office for years, as a reminder of what is REALLY important!  

© 2012 – 2021, https:. All rights reserved.

I once posed that question to an attorney, about the time we were starting out in consulting. I knew this was not going to be an overnight success, but was curious about what to expect. The attorney had run his own small practice for many years, so I figured he was a good person to ask.

He responded, “Good question. Let me think. For me, it was five years. After working hard to launch and build the practice, one day I woke up and realized that I was established, and that I was going to make it. Yes, it was five years after I started.”

I often recalled his comment in those early years after making my own personal JumpToConsulting. wondering when I would feel like that. Things were moving along pretty well, and at the five year point, I FINALLY felt the same way — we were established.

But then, disaster struck. The business suddenly stopped.  It didn’t slow down — it came to a screeching halt. Two major clients suffered business setbacks, and cut back on using outside consultants.

The main niche we were pursuing — personal computers — dried up as the inevitable market shakeout occurred. So did a secondary niche. And finally, an uncertain presidential election put many client business decisions on hold.

Fortunately, we had put enough money aside to weather the storm — a short one, anyway. We used the time to regroup and refocus.

Since we’d done a bit of work on medical devices, we asked how could we expand that business. That led to writing a series of articles for a leading medical magazine, which ultimately led to a book and a nice bunch of new business.

We also looked into several other areas for potential business, and started some focused marketing efforts there as well. The result — within six months we were back on our feet.

So, how long is enough? For us, it was five years to get TO, and then THROUGH, the first big crisis. And having weathered the storm, we realized we were no longer novices — we had truly made it — and were here to stay.

P.S. Don’t despair in the early years — it is a lot of fun starting and building a practice. But it is also very satisfying when you realize you “made it” too!

© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

Monday, October 19, 1987… the day the stock market crashed… was also my first day as a full time consulting engineer with the company I confounded. The crash was scary, but we obviously survived. Now we just reminisce that the first day in business was the worst day in business. It has been better ever since.

After consulting part time for nine years, it was time to take the plunge. At age 41, the time seemed right. I didn’t want to wake up at 60 regretting that I had not even tried. Besides, the worst possible outcome was not fatal — it just meant having to crawl back into the corporate world again.

Since we didn’t want to sink the business right away, I stepped out first. The original plan was to for me to work on projects while drumming enough additional business to support both of us. We thought this might take six months or more, but we were wrong.

In spite of the market crash, my business partner was able to jump in a few months later. We had done a lot of planning, and it paid off. We also had socked away enough money to sustain us for several months with no business, and a year with moderate business. That let us focus on building the business, rather than worrying about paychecks.

Looking back, there have been quite a few adventures that most likely would have been missed in a regular job. These include several interesting foreign assignments:

• Korea – Two trips to teach classes to about 100 engineers. What a pretty and gracious country!  And who knew there were so many types of kim chee?

• Kuwait – One trip to teach a class for the Kuwait National Petroleum Company. This was after the Iraq/Iran war, but just before Kuwait was invaded. Met a bunch of fine young engineers there, and I hope they all survived the Iraq invasion.

• Singapore – Ten days working on an experimental plasma incinerator. Boy, did that ever cause some interesting electromagnetic interference issues. Fixed it though, and enjoyed the multicultural influence on this very interesting city-state.

• Alaska – OK,  technically not a foreign country, but spent two weeks teaching classes at Prudhoe Bay, the wellhead of the Alaska pipeline. This was a treat, as my brother (a civil engineer) was responsible for many of the buildings in the oil camps. Also experienced -50F, even colder than Minnesota.

• Others – Several trips to the UK, Germany, Amsterdam, Canada, and Mexico for both teaching and consulting projects. Enjoyed them all.

There have also been a number of very interesting engineering projects across a wide range of industries. Here are some memorable ones:

• Diesel locomotives. A highlight was sitting in the cab, looking for the cord to blow the whistle.  Disappointed, however, when I discovered it was jut a button on a console. Oh well…

• Airplanes. Worked on a lot of avionics projects, but another highlight was sitting in the cockpit of a Gulfstream pretending I was a pilot. My client even said it was OK to make airplane sounds.  Now do engineers know how to have fun, or what?

• Spacecraft. Worked on a bunch of these too. A highlight here is knowing one of those projects is still orbiting overhead gathering scientific data, and well in excess of its expected life.

• Nuclear power plants. One time when I asked where the reactor was, I was told it was only a few feet away through solid concrete. No, I don’t glow in the dark, but the real disappointment was that I didn’t start regrowing hair.

• Medical devices. Probably among the most satisfying projects, realizing that my efforts have helped improve products that save lives.

In total, I’ve worked on a couple of hundred projects across a wide range of industries (details here), yielding several lifetimes of engineering experiences. In addition, my business partner and I have trained over 10,000 engineers in our technical specialty — sharing what we’ve learned with a new generation of engineers — a reward in itself.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.  It has been quite the adventure!

Incidentally, this post was not meant to brag, but rather to offer an example and encouragement to anyone considering their own JumpToConsulting.

What will the next 25 years bring you?

P.S. – Won’t be posting for a couple of weeks – time for a little vacation. But, like the Terminator, “I’ll be baaack..”

© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

When people tell me they are thinking about consulting, I often share this story with them. It  helped me on several occasions, including making my own personal JumpToConsulting.

In high school, I worked as a “soda jerk” at the drugstore in our small town. Since we were next door to the town doctor, he often stopped by for a soda or malt. He was an interesting fellow, and we would chat about various things.

One time, I asked what prompted him to go into medicine. He suddenly got serious, and then responded:

“I don’t know where this conversation is going, Daryl, but if you are thinking about medicine, let me share some advice. I love medicine, and I’m glad I chose to go this route. But is was a lot of work — much more than I ever thought it would be.

So, if don’t want it so bad you can taste it, don’t even start.”

Actually, I wasn’t interested in a medical career, and had already decided on engineering. But it was not going to be easy, either academically or financially. His advice often rang in my ears as I pursued my engineering studies at the university.

Did I still want it so bad I could taste it? The answer was always yes.

Almost twenty years later I made my personal JumpToConsulting, as a full time consulting engineer. There had been a lot of work to get to that point — and like the doc, it had taken more effort that I thought it would.

There had been a false start a few years earlier, and then, on the first day in full time practice, (October 1987), the stock market crashed. It was panic time. What should I do?  Grovel perhaps, and try to get my old job back? But then I recalled the old doc’s advice:

Did I still want it so bad I could taste it? The answer was still yes.

That was 25 years ago. The consulting part of my career has been particularly satisfying and rewarding. It wasn’t always easy, and it was even scary at times.

But overall, it has been great fun.

So, if you are thinking about making the JumpToConsulting (or any business venture for that matter) ask yourself if you are REALLY committed.

Do YOU want it so bad you can taste it?

© 2012 – 2017, https:. All rights reserved.

When asked about becoming an independent consultant, my business partner and I often share these two observations from our early days:

1. We thought we would work 20 hours a week and get rich. Instead, it often seemed like we worked 20 hours a day just to make a living.
2. We thought we’d find wealth and security. Instead, it often seemed like we were six weeks away from bankruptcy.

The latter is also a good personal test — if the fear of failure paralyzes you, probably best to stay with your day job. But if that fear gives you a little jolt of adrenaline… well, you’ve got “the itch”,  for which there are only two known cures.

Don’t despair – things eventually get better. When starting out, plan on working hard and even being scared at times. But isn’t that the lot in life for most entrepreneurs?

© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

Nor was it Bush’s, or Clinton’s, or anybody else’s. If your business failed, it was YOUR fault. But don’t sulk about it — figure out what you did wrong, fix it, and try again!

This rant was precipitated by a recent comment on a business blog. The author whined that his new venture failed because Obama had “tinkered with the health care system.” What a crock — I just wanted to reach out and slap some sense into him.

Time to grow up or shut up!

Just for the record, it took me two times to get the consulting business right, and four times to get the training part of the business right. And there have still been the occasional rocky times since then.

In 1987, on the first day in full time business (the second time around) for my consulting business, the stock market crashed. Scared of failing again? Yes, but this time we succeeded, and we now joke, “The first day in business was the worst day in business.”

Failures are merely learning experiences. Sure, they may hurt at the time, but if we let them, they almost always teach us something. Furthermore, I don’t trust anyone who “never failed.”  Either they are lying, or they are very good at placing the blame on others. (Had a boss like that once… one reason I went out on my own.)

Here is a quick story that has served me well over the years. It was my first engineering sales job, and my new boss sent me to a multi-week sales training class. One evening at a break, I asked an older (wiser) and very experienced salesman how he handled the inevitable setbacks and failures.

• He smiled, and said, “Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on.”  He went on, “If you never fail, you’ll never learn, and you’ll never make progress. By the way,” he added, “I’ve been at this for over twenty years, and I still fail to make the sale more often than not.” His advice alone was worth the price of the class.

So if you are serious about running your own show (consulting or otherwise), expect failures along the way. Try to manage the risk and minimize the damage, but know that you WILL have failures. And when you do, LEARN from them.

But don’t blame Obama, or anyone else! Finally, remember the immortal words of Harry Truman, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” And I’d like to add, “If you can’t stand the failures, don’t start a business…”

P.S. Off to DesignCon 2012 in Santa Clara to present “Consulting for Geeks”. Watch my blog for follow-on webinars on consulting.

© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.