My Journey in Writing

In 2002, I decided it was time to write a book. I was turning 40 and needed a mid-life crisis. OK, I didn't NEED one, but I felt like I had earned one! One of my goals in life was to publish a book, and becoming a writer seemed like a nice, safe, midlife crisis (one I could get away with without spending too many nights on the couch). I also felt I was ready to write a book - a book on "how to be a consultant." For the past five years I have witnessed the decline of computer consulting.

I first noticed the trend in the middle of the Internet startup gold rush. It seemed to me that consultants were losing focus on solving the client's problems. Consultants must be passionate about their work. They must have a commitment to quality that exceeds all client expectations. The young, idealistic consultants I started with wanted to improve the relationship between technology and the users of technology. The young consultants I work with now, sixteen years later, simply want to earn a paycheck.

I felt I had to write my important "save consulting" book. I wanted to pass on my insights to the next generation of consultants. I wanted the next generation of consultants to bring enthusiasm and integrity back to the profession. Away I went on my journey to save consulting. The first fifty pages blew by, how effortless writing could be! Then I read the first fifty pages. My work came to a grinding halt on the realization that what I had to say was not very exciting. There was no passion, no style, no enthusiasm. The first section read like a textbook. A very bland, lifeless textbook...

To say I was in a bad mood after that was an understatement. My well-planned mid-life crisis was going to be just like work. The book became tedious and my productivity dropped day by day.

While my writing was bad, I had another problem. I had notes to my children mixed in with my "save consulting" notes. When my oldest began playing soccer, I started a list of things I wanted her to learn from sports. I added to the list when my middle daughter started playing and she faced different challenges. I added to the list when I would read the annual "When can Johnny Quit Baseball" articles that appeared in newspapers and magazines every year. I wanted Johnny to learn some important lessons from his sport, besides when to quit! I did not want Johnny learning that the response to hard work is to quit, especially when this was one of the attitudes poisoning the consulting profession.

I kept the list for my children and the consulting book on parallel tracks, I would add to the list for my children when I came across an idea that made sense for them. These items were usually negative - "I don't want you to make everyone miserable when you do not get your way." Over time I would change them to the positive - "I want you to lose with integrity", "I want you to live for today, not for yesterday." I would add sections in the consulting book when I found a match between what I wanted my children to learn and what I wanted consultants to do.

Over time I noticed that I was spending more time writing the notes to my children and less time writing prose for consultants. But I was going to "stay the course" and finish the book I started.

My Journey in Writing Continued