Chapter 8

Bill’s turn:

Business is business, and with 3Sigma business is good. In the short time that I’ve been on board we’ve grabbed three million dollars from ONE client, and others are queued up, waiting. Adding Dave Johnson to the western group is going to help us, as is getting a few field technicians going.

The Alabama bunch just made a big kill with a client in Oklahoma.

“We’re going to get an easy four or five million from them, but we’re going to do it at the expense of putting some people in Oklahoma for a while,” Alan said. “Key to our success is...”

“ ... people...”

“Right. Jason’s running the field services bunch here and we pay our people well and we make concessions and give perks to keep ‘em,” Dan Granger, he’s Dan 2.0 to this bunch, but I’m still getting used to that.

“We’re gonna have to do something,” I said. “This new substation’s three hours from our office. We’re gonna need a construction superintendent there for three months, a couple of technicians for at least three weeks doing the checkouts.”

“Bill Carmody has some really good names on his list for construction supers,” Alan said. “They sort of live for these things. Like I used to do – drag a travel trailer there, set up, and take care of business.”

“And don’t visit swimming pools,” Dan Richards laughed. “That’s how I met Cindy.”

“That’s ONE hazard,” Alan laughed. “But techs ... We do salary plus per diem, let them figure it out, or we offer to rent an apartment – double stack ‘em. Or...”

“That travel trailer thing. I like that.”

“We need to see how we’re manning it up. You got two techs right now, but I think you wanna keep those close...” Dan 1.0 said. “That’s your quick reaction team.”

“We need a couple more good techs,” Dave said. “We’re looking.”

“Jason’s calling people. He’s really picky, but if Jason says one’s worth hiring, we’re getting a good guy.”

“We’re gonna need a few lead types,” I said. “We can use some conscientious second-tier guys, too, people who can grow with the proper guidance and exposure.”

“That’s what Jason says – everybody wants senior technicians, but nobody gives a lot of thought to how they get there. We need to address that,” Dan said.

“Yeah,” Alan added. “And you know, we can translate some of that into formal training. It might be marketable. I’ve talked with Jenn Elkins. When we first brought Tim and Kim over, Jenn and Laci came along. Laci’s working for 3Sigma in our digital applications bunch. I told Jenn to be thinking about a training department.”

“Oughta talk about it more,” Dave said. “We have the facilities. Heaven knows, we have the pool of instructors. One week classes are popular, couple of thousand bucks a head. Not making a LOT of money, but making some, and it gets our name out there.”

“Might be training our future competitors,” I said.

“Yeah,” Dan 1.0 said, “that’s a thought. But seriously, competition? Who else brings what we bring to the table? We do good business at premium prices because we have NOT failed.”

“And who flies a whole crew in with less than twenty-four hours’ notice?” Alan said.

I laughed. “Nobody who doesn’t have Cindy and a Pilatus,” I said. “I’m starting to hear about THAT one through the grapevine.”

“We’re writing an article for one of the trade magazines about it,” Dan said. “Got the client’s buy-in. Gonna use him and Jason as co-authors. Pictures, the whole schmeer.”

“I think we oughta talk about it. If training crosses your mind, jot down some notes. We’ll start gathering and sifting and coalescing and see if there’s something we should market.” Alan turned to me and Dave. “You both think that the smaller utilities are the market to chase.”

“Yeah,” Dave said. “We’re both familiar with the industrial market, and it’s saturated pretty heavily with service companies. Trying to fight in that arena, we need a lot of cheap technicians, and there goes our quality. I think we sort of hang back, let ‘em fight it out, stand on the sidelines with our flag up, and when somebody has a need for OUR mix, they’ll come to us.”

“Interesting,” Dan 2.0 said. “I was there. I know what you’re talking about. I think you’re right. My former employer did just that – called us for OUR reputation...”

Alan snickered. “Come on, Dan. He called because of YOUR reputation.”

“Whatever it may be, we showed ‘em stuff they only dreamed of.”

“And got Ed and Dana out of the deal. That’s a bonus,” Alan replied.

“Was a decent bit of lagniappe,” Dan 2.0 said. “And now we have Dave and Bill and their girls.”

“More lagniappe,” Alan said. “So we’re trying to allocate resources. We’ll man the jobs. Maybe hire some local techs, maybe move one or two that work out of this office over to your office. One of ‘em’s itching to get back to that area.”

“Like Jason. East Texas boy. Unlike Jason, he married an East Texas girl. They wanna get back closer to their folks. I think the possums here taste different...” Dan 1.0 laughed.

“Yeah, something like that, I’d imagine,” Dave said. “I’ve eaten out of town gumbo all over the South and most people haven’t a clue...”

“We need a gumbo cookoff, you know...” I said.

“Sounds like something we should do in December. Temp’s down, we have a confab, bring in the western bunch...” Alan looked amused.

“I’ll have MY girls talk with YOUR girls, and it’ll happen,” I said.

“That’s how the world works,” Dave opined. “I’m just along for the ride.”

“As are we all.”

As the meeting broke up, Jason and I did a little sidebar conversation about a project.

“They’re clearing the site now. The client’s abandoning his old substation. The town kinda grew up around it...”

“That happens,” I said.

“You and I both know that. So they’re changing the distribution voltage in the area, means a lot of line work, but we haven’t decided to do that stuff just yet. The sub, though, it’s all us now. Our people are out there already, but it’s civil and structural right now. The REAL stuff is off the drawing board and on order, but you know it won’t be long...”

“We’ll manage somehow,” I said. “It’s not close enough to work out of our office, not on a day-to-day basis,” Dave said.

“Well, one of my techs has been wanting to get back to East Texas. I can give ‘im this, let ‘im figure out how to work it.”

“He’ll do that?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ll gently suggest a travel trailer or offer to foot half an apartment or something. I’m still working on his #2 for the project. That whole ‘build our own’ thing.”

“That’s gonna be interesting,” I said. “You put a junior guy in the field, he’s gotta pull his weight on the project, you’re looking at the timeline, the work, sometimes teaching is difficult.”

Jason smiled. “Oh, yeah. Been there. Where we can, we kind of over-man, so there’s a little more room. And I emphasize that as one of the expected duties when I hire a guy – be ready to teach, be ready to learn.”

“So you’re already doing that?” Dave questioned.

“Yeah,” Jason replied. “I always considered it just the normal way of doing business, even before 3Sigma. Might be why I was able to rope some of my co-workers from old employers. And we’re trying to do it now. Working with our field service branch is a pretty popular internship for young engineering students.”

“Might be because it’s a good-paying internship,” Alan laughed.

“Yeah,” Jason said. “We pay ‘em pretty good.”

“Almost TOO good,” Dan 1.0 laughed. “Had one that wanted to bail out of engineering and work for Jason as a technician.”

“You stopped ‘im?” I asked Jason.

“Based on personal experience,” Jason sighed. “Told ‘im to get his engineering degree and then come talk with us. We could give ‘im a weird hat or something.” He grinned. “Plus, I told ‘im that I’d sic Susan and Tina and Cindy on ‘im because they’re the force that pushed me through.”

“And that got you...” I started.

“ ... If you guarantee me one ‘a those, I’ll get a master’s.” Jason laughed. “Our wives have a reputation.”

“And if we’d done that calendar...” Alan laughed.

“Calendar?” Dave asked.

“Oh, yeah ... About a year into this, one of ‘em came up with the idea of a ‘Girls of 3Sigma‘ calendar.”

Jason piled on. “With MY Susan as the ‘waterhose shot’.”

“It’s been years since I’ve seen one of those...”

“We were going to do the PG-rated version. Happily, the thought just died on the vine,” Alan said.

“I dunno,” Dan 1.0 inserted. “Our girls showing up at jobsites and meetings and trade shows has paid off. We’re memorable.”

“For a lot of reasons,” Alan smiled. “Our wives are some of ‘em.”

Meeting finally broke up. I walked out, even more impressed with the people I work with. There was LIFE in that room, not any tiptoeing around politically-correct phrases. Nobody mentioned shareholder returns. I suppose that’s partly due to the people in that room OWNING the majority of the company, or being married to the people who owned the rest. Part of my package when I signed on was a share of ownership. My part grows where I grow the business.

“Light lunch,” Alan warned, “if you’re gonna be at the Pavilion for dinner. You folks made this a special Saturday. We’re doin’ barbecue. Brisket, ribs...”

“I can stand that,” I said. “But brisket ... low and slow...”

“Henry’s got a boy that came in at 0200 to get the fire going so it’d be right. We can DO brisket. Jason-approved.”

“Ah’m f’um Texxis...” Jason said with exaggerated accent, “An’ we KNOW barbecue...”