My Top Ten Books of 2009

I’ve always read many books, and have been good at implementing good ideas and a few bad ones too.   Some people have asked me what I read, so here are my top ten from all categories:

• An Altar in the World – Barbara Brown Taylor
• The Myth of Multitasking – Dave Crenshaw
• The Human Contribution – James Reason
• iBrain(Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind) – Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan
• Lost on Planet China – J. Maarten Troost
• The Big Skinny:  How I Changed My Fatitude – Carol Lay
• Three Cups of Tea:  Greg Mortenson
• Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us) – Tom Vanderbilt
• The Blind Side – Michael Lewis (good movie also)
• The Most They Ever Had – Rick Bragg

I’ll read over 70 books before the year ends, along with many journals, magazines, and newspapers.  As Mark Twain said,”The person who does not read has no advantage over the person who cannot read.”

Posted December 22nd, 2009 in Leadership

100 Contacts = 1 Client (1/100 = 1%)

I read somewhere that a sales person has to make 100 client contacts to get one sale. Therefore, a sales person should make 100 contacts as soon as possible. I don’t know if that applies to consulting or not.  Over the past couple of years, I have tracked how many contacts I make with clients and potential clients.

In 2007, approximately 130 contacts yielded five jobs. (5/130 = 3.8%)  In 2008, 161 contacts resulted in six consulting jobs and sales of Dirty Dozen calendars to seven clients. (13/161 = 8%)   In 2009, 434 contacts resulted in three consulting jobs and sales of calendars to eight clients.(11/434 = 2.5%)

This makes me wonder what counts – quantity or quality of contact.  The type of contact is also important.  I can mail cards and letters, send e-mails, make phone calls, and see people in person.   The best way to me is in person, although any method may touch a person.  Of course, the touch may not be effective, and could be counterproductive.

In 2009, I have made speeches and presentations to three pipeline industry groups.  The audience was interested in the topic of pipeline human factors, but that does not mean they need any consulting assistance.  What I always remember is that my purpose is to help people learn and improve performance.  And those audiences ranged in number from 50 to 250.

The key of any human interaction is to serve one another.  If a consultant provides something of value to the client, both will be successful.  If not, the percentage to “sales” to contacts will be less than 1%

Posted December 16th, 2009 in Observations

Technical Problems vs. People Problems

In the book Traffic, Henry Barnes is quoted, “As time goes on, the technical problems become more automatic, while the people problems become more surrealistic.”  He was talking about traffic in New York City during the 1960s.   I think the same statement applies to problems in other fields.   People, as individuals or in groups, are not automatic.

Surreal means fantastic, unbelievable, even bizarre.  My consulting work allows me opportunities to observe many people in similar work environments.   All are in the pipeline business, transporting oil or gas.   The companies are different, the cultures are different, and the people are different.

A vendor who comes in with a technical system has a ready made solution that will work for all people in all pipeline control rooms.   But those people believe their work place is different.  And they are correct.  If you want to help people solve problems, do not tell them they are just like other people in other control rooms.

One, it is not true.  Two, no one believes you anyway.  I heard a man from a shiftwork consulting company tell two groups of pipeline controllers and their managers that they were not different from shiftworkers in the chemical, manufacturing, or other industries.   Observing the audience, I could tell the speaker had lost his audience.   He did not understand that people want to be special, different, fantastic.  They may not want to be unbelievable or bizarre, but they certainly do not want to be treated like automatons.

Posted December 16th, 2009 in Human Factors