From: Adrian Shiner ([email protected])
Date: Thu Nov 04 1999 - 13:06:34 PST
Nice one Mike...then there are other consultants who are a waste of the air
that they breath. Never forget that HR and other Managers have budgets and
bottom line targets. They often do not see the finer point in paying the
right guy the right fee (or salary) to do the work right first time. On that
basis, apparently expensive people are good value.
----- Original Message -----
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: 01 November 1999 21:00
Subject: Re: [SI-LIST] : Comments from your SI seminar (SendII)
> To Chris Cheng:
>
> Chris, I was simultaneously surprised and disturbed by your comments
> regarding "consultants" working for free and being brought up to the
> state-of-the-art based on your training. Either you (or your Human
Resources
> personnel) have grossly led you astray! You have hired what I term "job
> shoppers" who are basically average engineers doing contract work. HR
folks
> love to hire "consultants" at $45 to $85 per hour... and they get what
they
> pay for. They are not "consultants." Also, HR folks like to obtain all
> their hires through one placement company... makes their job a piece of
cake.
> However, that approach virtually rules out the possibility of getting an
> independent consultant (rather than a mediocre job shopper) as the better
> consultants generally don't go through agencies.
>
> A true consultant will run circles around all but the best of staff
engineers
> and is the one doing the guiding and teaching, not the employer. Many of
the
> better consultants support the "top tier companies," and help them
establish
> their highly regarded in-house expertise. I have consulted extensively
for
> HP, IBM, Intel, Motorola, AMD, Cisco Systems, Xircom, Adaptec, Netframe
> Systems, Coastcom, Cyras Systems, Boeing Aerospace, Kaiser Electronics,
Zeta,
> General Dynamics, Aerojet Electronics, United Technologies, and
approximately
> 30 other companies (including Sun Microsystems). These companies all have
> some competent internal staff, but they are so few that they are
constantly
> in demand and generally overworked (you may fall into this category).
>
> On the assumption you are obtaining support from HR, I recommend you do
your
> own searching when you need to crack a really knotty problem. Virtually
none
> of the best consultants advertise via "cold calls" looking for work.
Their
> jobs come from word-of-mouth recommendations. Given that you yourself are
an
> expert in SI, your experience with a consultant should (as a minimum) be
> synergistic, but should also be educational.
>
> If you need support for a large project (that requires more than one
> consultant), you might try Ed Sayre at NESA (North East Systems
Associates)
> who has an excellent staff to support his individual efforts. I am a
one-man
> show and turn down more requests for support than I accept. I take only
> those that are the most interesting and challenging.
>
> To the SI List:
> I apologize if this sounds like a solicitation or flag waving, but I have
> seen all too much evidence of what Chris has/is experiencing.
>
> Michael L. Conn
> Owner/Principal Consultant
> Mikon Consulting
>
> *** Serving Your Needs with Technical Excellence ***
>
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