dsquared

An International Business Trip

2008-06-20T08:09:00Z

After ten years with Trinity, I had my first international business trip. And of course, it was somewhat last minute! I bought my tickets to Germany on a Monday afternoon and flew out on Friday! For someone who hasn't traveled abroad in nine years, I had a lot to figure out in just a few days!

Because of the last minute nature, I wasn't able to extend the trip much beyond the business needs. That was a bit of a bummer, but I still managed to take in some of the local culture during my trip. That's what is neat about business travel. It is tiring and exhausting, but it still affords an opportunity to get a flavor of different areas, customs, etc.

One particular challenge in doing business internationally was attempting to have some insight as to customs and norms in the country you are visiting. I did not want to inadvertantly offend anyone. For example, in Germany, use of first names after an initial meeting is not necessarily the norm. Also, they shake hands a lot! Not just when you meet for the first time, but at the beginning of your meeting and at the end (not that unusual for us), but what I noted was that they shake hands with their working colleagues when they first see them in the morning and then often when they leave. That struck me as unusual. I might say "good morning" to my officemates, but I seldom shake their hands!

I was fortunate that the individuals I was meeting with spoke English. While I used to know German, it has been a long time since I've used it. I was able to pick things up here and there. I am thankful I did not have to conduct any meetings in German, but they certainly seemed to appreciate my efforts to understand when they did speak in German and to ask questions to learn some more vocabulary. I was certainly impressed by the number of individuals I met that had some knowledge of English - that was a big help to me.

I am looking forward to a possible opportunity to go back - I'll have to keep my fingers crossed. One of my big take-aways - some things are universal. Environmental personnel in Germany are frequently asked to do the next to impossible by operations personnel (i.e., get a permit ASAP) with very little information, just like their American counterparts. And from one office to another, regardless of continent, computers like to present technical challenges for their users!! Regardless of the users' nationality!

Performance Reviews and Feedback

2007-12-04T01:26:00Z

As a manager, this is a busy time of year. Besides normal project work and recruiting activities, it is performance review time. All 56 consultants receive a mid-year and end-of-year review. With three direct reports, I set aside a fair amount of time for completion of reviews.

Performance reviews are a new experience for new hires straight out of college. This isn’t a class grade or an exam. This is an evaluation of your performance with respect to three primary areas: Corporate Competencies (apply to everyone in the company), Functional Responsibilities (based on your job description), and Personalized Goals. Employee reviews are an opportunity to learn where you are doing well and where you have growth opportunities. This is valuable feedback to allow you to learn where your focus areas should be for your ongoing career growth.

While a performance review is a formal process, my goal as a supervisor is to ensure that what one hears during a performance review is not a surprise. In other words, if I’m doing my job, my direct reports should have heard both my positive feedback and my input on growth areas before we meet to have a formal performance review. As a consultant, you should expect to here both positive as well as constructive feedback, as appropriate. You should be soliciting feedback from those you work from – without such input, how can one continue to improve and grow?

I’m often surprised by the reaction of newer consultants to such feedback. There tends to be a natural response of most people to take feedback personally and/or defensively. I encourage you to look at feedback in this light – the objectives of the individual providing you feedback is 1) to provide a quality product of value to the client and 2) to give you the opportunity to learn how to do your job better and to assist in the first goal. In most cases, there is nothing personal about it – except for the aspiration for you to continue to grow and succeed.

Idealism versus Realism

2007-09-11T21:07:00Z

As a manager, I am frequently involved with the interviewing of prospective consultants. After working with Trinity for almost 10 years, I have to smile at some of the idealistic statements I hear during the interview process. For example:

"I want to work with Trinity because I'm an environmentalist and I want to make an impact. Because Trinity is an environmental consulting firm, I know I can do that with this company."

"I want to help clean up the big polluters."

Well, let's move from the idealism of what environmental consulting with a firm like Trinity is to the realism.

Our clients are primarily industrial manufacturers. Our job is to advise our clients on how to comply with air quality regulations and to provide permitting assistance for expansions, new facilities, etc. We help those industrial sources communicate with regulators and strive to obtain the most flexible permits possible for their sites. If one wanted to be cynical, you could say that our job is to help our clients emit as much air pollution as the law allows! Hardly the impact I think many might expect when they are interviewing.

But our work does have a positive impact. We can help clients find the most economical way of achieving compliance. Realistically speaking, most of our clients probably would not install the emission controls they do if they were not required by some regulation or permitting requirement. Our clients are driven by the need to make a profit and to be competitive in a global marketplace. Often times, we can identify more environmentally friendly approaches that will actually enhance the bottom line (i.e., profit), not detract from it. I've been involved in permitting of brand new facilities - think of the economic impact those new jobs will have on rural areas.

Don't get me wrong - I consider myself an environmental steward (I recycle, drive a hybrid vehicle, live 3 miles from the office, etc) - but I am also a realist. My work with Trinity has allowed me to see the common area we must work towards with respect to having a clean environment but recognizing the need for economic growth and opportunities. WIthout consultants like those at Trinity, it would be harder for opposing sides to have a productive dialogue.

So, don't lose your idealism, but be certain you are realistic about your expectations of what working with Trinity is about.

Working at odd times….

2007-08-16T01:29:00Z

It’s getting to be a bit late at night, yet I find myself working. This is partly because I’m sitting in a hotel room as I and a consultant will be visiting a client site tomorrow. While it is getting late and I could be doing some pleasure reading or vegging in front of the television, I opt to work instead. Why?

Hotel time is generally uninterrupted time. I’m not dealing with client phone calls or random interruptions that can typically interrupt your train of thought when in the office. I remember hearing a statistic that a typical manager gets interrupted once every 7 minutes – it can sometimes be difficult to maintain your focus!

The prime reason I take advantage of this time is that it will free me up so that I can spend more time with my family when I get back home. I’m working on tasks that need to be accomplished sooner rather than later. By doing them during non-standard business hours when I’m on the road and away from my family, it helps to ensure that I can dedicate my home time to my family, and not be distracted by the tasks I still have to do.

Another benefit is that it also helps free my up to provide direction and mentoring to the consultants while I’m in the office. As a manager, that is a prime responsibility, but it can often get lost in the shuffle of all the other tasks, commitments, and responsibilities I have. So, freeing up some time in the office to focus more on mentoring is also of significant value and importance.

Just a few of the reasons I take advantage of the solitude that comes with being on the road…

One of the many differences between college and consulting….

2007-08-07T12:31:00Z

Settling into a job out of college can be challenging. The working world certainly differs from the college experience. One of the primary challenges I have seen that new hires struggle with is recognizing that in consulting, we must always strive for the “A grade” on everything we do.

What do I mean? College semesters come and go. How well a student does depends on their dedication and attitude – how much work/effort am I going to put into this project or studying for this exam? Sometimes, a student will fall back on previous successes as the end of a class draws near. The thought is sometimes – I don’t have to get an “A” on everything. Additionally, once the semester ends, the slate is clean and the student does not necessarily have to worry about what the professor thinks of them. That thought process has no place in the consulting world.

Trinity’s clients pay a premium for our services. Accordingly, we must always provide value in everything we do. Our deliverables – in the forms of reports, letters, memos, and even email input – must always be developed with the idea of providing the best quality and value for the money our clients are paying. Every interaction we have with our clients, has an impact. And, impressions always matter. If we are doing our job well, we will be working with the same clients for years. But this only happens if we are always striving for the “A-grade” and making on-going good impressions.

Consultants must have this mindset as they go about their work in order to be successful over the long-term with Trinity.

Introduction

2007-07-17T11:43:00Z

Let’s start by providing some basic introductions.

Professional: I am a Managing Consultant in Trinity’s Atlanta office. I have been with the company since 1998, starting after I finished my Master’s degree. My Bachelor’s and Master’s are in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). My career progressed rapidly with Trinity and I had significant responsibilities relatively quickly, especially when compared to my peers in other organizations.

As a Managing Consultant, I wear many hats. My number one responsibility is providing unsurpassed customer service and value to our clients. If our client’s are not happy, we wouldn’t be in business – so that has to be the number one focus. Of course, a very close second is ensuring that I am training (or “growing”) my replacements – supervising and mentoring new staff is a critical function of Managing Consultants – for without talented and dedicated staff, how could we continue to provide unsurpassed customer service and value to our clients.

Personal: My husband and I were married in September 2003. We are actively involved in a United Methodist Church, where I presently serve as the Chairperson of the Staff Parish Relations Committee (think of it as the Staff Manager for the Church). We are both alumni of the University of Michigan and love watching the Wolverines play during football season. We recently adopted our baby girl, Erin, in January 2007. If anyone ever wants to talk about the “why” we adopted or know more about our journey to become a family, just let me know.

I am an avid reader and a scrapbooker. Scrapbooking is my creative outlet and is nice change from my engineering focus.

What insights might I offer to new consultants? Many, but I’ll focus on some possibly more unique insights:

Quality and value always needs to be your focus as a consultant – I am always willing to discuss and reinforce why everything builds on this.
A female perspective on working in an engineering discipline and the opportunities and challenges that one can encounter as your career progresses.
How can one balance work and life priorities and maintain some semblance of sanity (okay, some might argue with me about the sanity part….)
Can you raise a family and have a career? Of course you can – of course, this discussion would tie in nicely with Item 3 as well!!
Is working part-time an option at some stage in your career (note – since our adoption, I’ve returned at 75% of full-time)?

And, I’m always open to other questions and discussion topics – these were just a few that popped into my mind.