The Life of a Consultant.

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Hi all,

Some of the most frequently commented posts I write here have to do with what I, as Michael Vizdos [consultant, author, and all around good guy most of the time], go through as a life of a consultant.

So tonight I am going to tell you how a totally crappy day turned into a great ending of the day.

Now.

People who do not travel for a living think people who travel for a living live high on the hog and can go anyplace in the world they want.

In a lot of cases, that is true.

Sometimes it take you to far-away lands like Kyiv and Moscow or Budapest.

And, as you may be able to tell, I enjoy flying to far away lands with different cultures, food, people, and things to do.

Today, my plan was much easier. Hop onto a plan from Richmond, Virginia (my home base) and fly to the north east to meet with a client. I’d be wheels-up by 6:30 AM and arrive at the client location by 9:45 AM for the day’s work.

Alas, this did not happen.

Too bad nobody can control the weather. At least the people working at the Richmond Airport; of course if someone could control weather they probably would not be working at the airport.

After closing the airport up until about noon because of fog (wow I have some awesome pics), planes were able to start coming in and flying out. A total mess does not describe the situation. And where I was headed TO had even worse weather than where I was stuck in Richmond.

Fun stuff, eh?

Now, I have near-Platinum status with Delta. This means I fly way too much with Delta. Period.

Today’s flight was on US Air, one where I have a ton of mileage but no real “clout” like the other airline clubs. Pretty much I am a regular joe. You know… like you and our friends. Nothing special.

So. After being really nice with the ground crew there in Richmond — with one women training two new agents in their first week of work — they took care of me and did the best they could. They rocked and did an awesome job in a totally non-fun situation; it was one of the worse days I can imagine to be working in that industry.

Big tip for people who do not travel a lot and want to blow someone’s brains off if they get mad at the customer experience: Don’t do it. Nice works. Almost 100% of the time.

You CAN go off on the agent if that agent treats you with total disrespect and tells you to take long walk off a short pier. See… then… you should and do get their badge numbers and write a letter to the airlines. People take that seriously.

Today I messed up (I was so happy to get out of Richmond!) and did not get the gate agents name; however, after this is posted I will send this blog entry to the folks at US Air to let them know they got it right today.

Kudos.

So instead of landing where I needed to be at 9:45 this morning, it was almost 6:30 this evening.

I got here.

And.

I am happy.

I was able to meet with a core team of people I will be working with on a possible project engagement. It was some great meet and greet time to see where we are all coming from (with perspectives, beer drinking ability (or lack there-of)) and learning a little more about our personal and professional backgrounds.

Tomorrow morning will start early with an executive at the client company.

Game face on.

Filters Off.

This is what I do.

Hope this little glimpse into the realities of the life of a consultant was educational and interesting to you.

I’d really not change what I do.

But.

It is not for everyone!

Have a great day.

- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com