Teams: This is probably one of the most personally disliked words I know. Much of my consulting involves working with other product development and business consultants hired by a product company and/or the inventors. Collaborative work is a better definition and requirement than the word team. It is my belief that there is one quarterback, if we are really a team, and that is the customer. I don't need another intermediate quarterback to relay signals to me on a project. The group does, however, need a project manager to measure and track the incremental performance and to keep the lines of communication open with the customer and to plan and direct overall resources.

Good project managers, which I believe I am one, make sure that the customer is involved in the process from beginning to end. The customer sets the basic goals (should explain the/their needs) and we all agree to the expectations. Egocentric (quarterback) driven teams are just nonsense and consume the client's money. Often clients will contract with me to provide a service in which I must employ other senior consultants. Many times clients ask for little reporting or interfacing - just produce the results. But I make sure that the client knows and respects the consultants I have hired. They meet each other and the consultants hear first hand the basics of what has been asked and contracted.

Depending on the work I often must use the client's resources. My consultants are put into direct contact with the appropriate client resource and I monitor the activities. Anything less and I don't get the best out of my folks and the client gets less than he deserves.

The following statement best sums up my work ethic and consulting philosophy: You want wheels on top of it, OK. If the client wants to develop/manufacture a product with wheels on the top even though it doesn't make sense to me, that is his prerogative. It is my duty to advise him of the feasibility, the costs, the ramifications, and express my feelings of folly, or whatever you might call it. If he still wishes to proceed it is my obligation to decide to stay on the project or leave. If I stay I must work diligently to make the product and client successful. Period.

I believe I have significantly contributed to the wealth of some entrepreneurs. And I was duly compensated for that. However, I was a hired gun and as such, any success was the clients. He had the idea, provided his money or others, and took the risks. I can be proud of what I did, but the client's product and business success is his.

Moment of truth or you don't always have to fall on the sword. During a very large project with a Japanese world-renowned company I had become by default the lead consultant. But I had caused some problems and committed a fundamental error. The client's offices were in California and my Japanese counter part, a VP of Manufacturing, was located there as well. One day he took me for "smoke" out in the gardens. I knew I had "screwed up" and I was prepared to be fired. After he said a very few pointed words I told him that I would fix the problem. He allowed me to do so. Since that project, I have remained in good graces with this person and developed a solid relationship. He has since retired, but the company provides an excellent reference for me.

My error was assuming that all the client's team were on the same page with respect to the direction the product was to be taken through development into production. They had assumed that the responsibility to bridge that gap and to develop the product with both party's needs in mind was mine. I had not done so. But I did from that point forward through the project completion.