Project manager

1990 to 1995

Overcoming resistance: I figured if things didn’t work out in Santa Barbara, I might be able to get a job with one of the high-tech firms in Silicon Valley. I also thought it would help it I had more experience with enterprise systems (ERP), and SBRC was giving me an opportunity to do that. ERP is like an information network that links the operations of just about every department to help ensure the company meets it’s earnings’ forecast. The Santa Barbara Research Center needed an ERP-like system so that accounting had up-to-date information for progress-billing ..and the Controllers’ Office could regularly check their financial status. The first obstacle I encountered was resistance from accounting. They didn’t want to be connected with operations .. too disruptive they said ..their manual methods worked just fine ..change would only subject them to more audits and penalties for things they couldn’t explain. The second obstacle was the attorney they hired to represent them. I tried explaining to accounting that the new system would actually reduce clerical effort and help them produce more timely billing statements. Sounded too slick. Then I met with members of the clerical staff to assure them that their jobs were safe ..and that they would be reporting to the Controllers’ Office where their knowledge of the new system would make them indispensable. They were, like: “Yeah, right-O ..new guy.” Then I tried convincing the attorney that a one-time demonstration was all it would take to get the system certified ..and keep the auditors off their back. She goes: “Oh yeah ..? How’s it going to keep track of salvage operations ..? Mis-charge those, buddy, and someone ends up going to jail.” Nobody is going to jail, I said ..and we were given the OK to begin. I was already exhausted.

Project manager

1990 to 1995

Team work: I needed accounting to show me what they did whenever a transaction occurred that affected the cost of doing business. They released members of the accounting staff to help (which is why I had to assure them that this wasn’t an exercise in job-replacement). We met every morning and, with the help of an Operations Expert, simulated the activities of doing business, everything from purchasing and receiving to shipping and delivery. After each transaction, we’d stop and they’d describe what they did at that point. I stood at a white board and drew what that would look like in terms of T-accounts. I actually saw a light go on in the room. Many of them had never seen double-entry bookkeeping before and they were intrigued. Everyone except for the Operations Expert. To her, this looked nothing like the kind of operations she was used to dealing with. It was going over her head and I wasn’t slowing down to explain (big mistake). One day, during a conference call with Engineering, the Operations Expert stormed out of the room, went straight to management and demanded that I be removed from the team. When the Attorney caught wind of this, she quickly halted the project to get to the bottom of it. Apparently the Operations Expert thought my role was to trouble-shoot computer programs ..not invent them. So, the Attorney allowed the project to continue, but disbanded the team. Fortunately, I had enough information from accounting to get programming started. A few days later the members of the accounting staff appeared at my door thanking me and promising to be available whenever I needed help. I was moved. Now I felt confident this project was going to succeed.

Project manager

1990 to 1995

Resolving conflict: One morning I walked into a shit-storm. The CFO had suspended the project and his Attorney was in my boss’ office shouting at me, going: “You CANNOT allocate costs like that. What were you thinking..?” I told her I thought it would be hard NOT to. When you've got several people working on several orders at the same time, the best you can do is allocate. “That’s UNACCEPTABLE..!!” she screamed “ ..either you find some way for them to charge direct or this project is canceled” and she stormed out of the office. My boss and I were stunned. She told me not to waste my time trying to figure out a way to do this. Instead, she said “Go to the beach and think of a way to respond to this.” Apparently she’d found out where I did my best work. I knew that whatever I came up with had to sound official, like it was coming from someone other than myself. That way it wasn’t me they were disagreeing with but with sensible advice. So, I went to the university library, looked up ‘Generally Accepted Accounting Principles’ (GAAP), read some case studies and called my dad. They all said the same thing: “Allocation is perfectly acceptable when the alternatives are too costly.” I wrote a single-page reply, citing my distinguished references, and handed it to my boss, who immediately submitted it to the General Manager, fiendishly going “Lets see what happens next”. Frankly, I was afraid of what was going to happen next and imagined myself being eaten alive by the CFO, his attorney and a mythical wildebeest. The next day my boss comes running in, pumping her fist, going “Eureka, they bought it ..!!” And I’ m like “Yeeahh..!” I felt like I still needed ERP experience as well as more time on the beach. I was feeling like a kid at summer camp again.

Project manager

1990 to 1995

Completing the loop: No sooner had we installed the final ‘link’ to the Controllers’ Office, the Controllers were standing inside my office pounding on the desk going “The system doesn’t work..!” The cost of items, that went on equipment, that had already shipped, was missing. Missing cost meant incomplete profit/loss statements. P&L’s are like the Holy Grail. Hearing this sent a shock through my system. I told myself to stay calm and went searching online, with the Controllers right behind. Starting with the customer order, we looked back in time to see when the components were due. The trail ended at the receiving dock. It looked as though the items were ordered but never received. They shook their heads “..no way.” They couldn’t have delivered incomplete equipment. OK, the parts were installed at no charge. We gave the customer a discount (!?) “Not funny”. OK, the receiving dock is the point of entry for component cost. Obviously, the items had been physically available so, it looks like they bypassed receiving/inspection. We went out to the warehouse and sure enough, the paperwork was there but hadn’t been entered to the system. A Production Manager had picked up the package but left the packing-sheet behind. A Warehouse Inspector saw a packing-sheet without a package and put it in suspense. Since it didn’t stop production; no one complained and it never cleared suspense. Until now that is. To me, this was a sign of success. An ERP system was in place and working..! The Controllers’ Office had visibility like they never had before. They just didn’t like what they saw.