My articles and blog posts are, I hope, more interesting than reading about me. But just in case you’re curious, here is the story in a nutshell.
Over the years I’ve become a troubleshooter with a knack for solving problems where most other people can’t see a solution. I didn’t set out to do this, but I’ve always been inquisitive about the way things work and that perpetual curiosity led me here.
After a summer job in pipeline engineering and a few months on a wireline services truck in the oilfield, I got to work for the Space Shuttle and Spacelab for several years before moving into private industry. I have traveled and worked across the United States, western Europe, Canada, Mexico and Panama. I now live in Great Britain.
My work typically results in substantial improvements in the client’s bottom line. For many years I delivered IT and business consultancy and services, often for large multinationals, with emphasis on complex mission critical realtime and near-realtime systems that cannot tolerate downtime. Although I still do some IT-related projects (‘keeping my hand in’), during recent years I moved more into strategic business consultancy. At the moment I am heavily involved in projects to improve entire markets, and in mergers & acquisitions (especially advisory services) up to the mid-market level.
But I’m not typical, so odd pieces of work come to me too. I’ve worked closely with a UK private business incubator that takes new intellectual property from several British universities to market, and especially with its sister company that specializes in taking companies to sustainable high growth through strategic breakthrough deals. One company asked me for help because a licensee isn’t paying all they should for the invention they use. I found a low cost, low risk, low hassle solution for their problem.
Other business interests include real estate and property management. Past business interests include a restaurant. Too narrow a perspective would limit my understanding of the way the world works and that would hinder my ability to come up with creative solutions.
In publishing, I am especially pleased about editing and publishing my grandfather’s memoire Seasoned with Sea Salt: The Life of Captain Barnie P. Bobbitt. A number of readers (especially in the UK) said they kept staying up late to read the book because they could not put it down—a tribute to Grandpa’s storytelling more than my editing. I have also published books and articles, mainly for small businesses. You can find most of the articles on this website. For business, I focus on pragmatic real-world tips and business information that I find lacking in most bookstores. Some articles are health related, drawing upon volunteer sysop service years ago in a forum for people with chronic illnesses.
Speaking engagements are a special pleasure. As an example, my talks about working on the Space Shuttle are well liked and still relevant even though the Shuttle no longer flies. Attendees have been known to linger a couple of hours to ask questions. One of my most popular talks is about how to run your business like a rocket scientist without being one. I can also speak about making sure you solve the right problems instead of wasting effort solving the wrong ones.
As speaking engagements go, my favorite was a mid-winter Saturday with a group of Girl Guides. They decided that instead of just hearing a talk, they want to spend the day earning a badge. They brought in a mini-planetarium and arranged all sorts of space-related activities. We even did a couple of space-related experiments during my talks, and even the youngest girls were great experimenters.
So… browse, ask questions, and make yourself at home here. Welcome!