Adam came to see us and liked the house as well as we were living. He called immediately Jenifer to tell her about the house.
Adam met Jenifer when both were only 16 years old. She went to Ottawa-U as Adam did and Jenifer did her BA with honors where as Adam did his MBA.
Jenifer came from Smith Falls and when Lynda found out that she was living in the dome at Ottawa-U, Lynda offered her our spare bedroom to live which she had accepted and lived with us.
After completing her degree, she went to work for small company in Ottawa. When she was having some difficulties with her boss, Adam asked me if she can come and work with us. We always needed somebody to look after the front desk plus she was smart enough to take care of all administrative activities.
Currently, Jenifer was working with Adam in the business and living with him in the house when we ended up in Vegas. They appeared to be quite happy together.
Adam only stayed one day with us.
One day I was lying down on a sofa in the living room, and trying to read a novel, when Lynda returned from her afternoon at the pool. She asked what I was doing and when I explained to her, she said that’s good. She continued – once you select an author that you like, you may like to focus on reading only those books that author had published.
I said thanks for the hint.
I asked if she had a nice time at the pool?
She said, yes. We are always laughing about something. They have been living here for a while, and they know almost everything about everybody.
I asked if she heard any gossips today?
She said, yes. Something came up about you and Richard that you both are doctors, and I told them that you’re not a medical doctor.
I said thanks for clarifying that I don’t like to get into discussions with anybody about writing a prescription for them.
She said they all got their family doctors; you don’t have to worry about them.
I said what else came up?
She said the only other thing they were talking about was Loval and Richard. She said it came up when we were discussing about the age difference between husbands and wives.
I said I guess we also noticed that, but we didn’t dare discussing with anybody, did we?
She said, no we didn’t.
I said I automatically assumed that she must be his second wife.
Lynda said you were right she is just one year older than me which is not bad but Richard’s in late 70s.
I said I wonder how they got connected with each other.
Lynda said now your curiosity getting better of you.
I said I am just a human.
Lynda said alright, she used to work in his office to manage patients’ appointments and do follow ups, etc.
I asked if she was married, too.
Lynda said yes, they both were married with kids, but they fell in love with each other which’s not unusual.
I said Richard must have grand kids, too.
Lynda said yes. Ricards’s ex-wife still lives in the same place and in the same house, but Richard’s grand kids come to see him now and then.
Any other gossips?
She said you already heard more than enough for a day.
She also said I am changing the topic now and would like to ask you if you are enjoying the books that you started reading?
I said it appears to me as the number of books that I have managed to browse were almost the same with some minor changes in the characters.
She said you need to look at those books as somebody’s imagination and all those writers are doing their best to keep you interested and make money at the same time. You cannot criticize them, Mir.
I said I am not criticizing. I will try some other books to see if I get hooked. Maybe I should try to detective stories.
She said now you’re talking, my man.
On another note, Lynda had also started making breakfasts on Sundays with the help of others which got popular immediately, and more folks started showing up for breakfast at the clubhouse every Sundays.
The next day, I went out to talk to a service company located close to the mall, to find out what’s it takes to register a company in Nevada.
Once they explained to me and told me that they provide that service for a fee. I decided to use their services and went ahead to register a company in Nevada for providing computer consulting services in Las Vegas. The name I chose was – Adam Management Company (AMC).
After a week or so, I started looking into getting connected with the Vegas Chamber in the downtown of Las Vegas, to explore the possibilities of finding ways to get connected with the businesses in Vegas as I realized that I cannot possibly spend my time by reading fictions.
When I spoke to the lady on the phone at the Vegas Chamber, she was very friendly and she suggested that the best way to find out what they do for the businesses, I should go there and meet with somebody who will walk through the process.
It made sense to me, and I agreed to meet her the next day.
The next day when I got there a few minutes early started walking around in the building, I was very impressed with the setup and the total atmosphere of the chamber.
The girl at the desk was expecting me. She walked me through their offices as a brief tour before she offered me a cup coffee. Once we sat down, she asked me about my background.
I told her that I own a company in Ottawa, Canada, and I am the president of the company which is called Automated Information Management.
She said what are you doing here in Vegas?
I said I came here with a plan to explore the possibilities of establishing a branch of our company as Vegas is growing and there must be opportunities for the kind of services that we have been providing to the businesses in Canada.
She said what kind of services do you provide, Mir.
I started saying, even though my background is in information technology, but I have changed my approach as well as my attitude and became a management consultant. Even though the IT turned out to be a major tool to accomplish business objectives, but I don’t believe that the focus should not be the tools. My focus is on the processes then selecting the tools to accomplish the desired results.
She said you need to get down one more level to make me understand about your approach as I am having difficulties to comprehend what and how you do things will help the businesses.
You’re absolutely right. Let me put it this way. In my experience most of the businesses where computer technology was deployed, it appeared to me as they were in a hurry to implement computers without giving any thought whether that was the right or best tools for their businesses. They didn’t select the technology based on the business processes or the availability of the relevant information, not to mention the skills of the folks who were charged with the responsibilities to use those technologies to perform certain functions and produce the results.
She said are you saying that they spent millions of dollars frivolously?
I am saying that whatever they had implemented based on whoever helped them at that time had benefits, but they didn’t explore the possibilities of where and why to maximize the benefits.
She said give me an example.
I said for example if an organization is providing a service or producing a product, they must go through several processes to accomplish that objective.
She said, I am with you.
For instance, a service may require several processes, and each process may have numerous activities to perform in each process to produce results which could be used as an input into the next process.
She said I understand that, too.
I said what we do as a company is we document the current environment of the selected area which includes the processes and the activities in each process, highlighting what comes out from a given process.
She said I am with you.
I said then we examine each activity in each process to define the current situation by:
- What kind of information are being used;
- What kind of technology is being used; and
- What kind of skills are being used.
I asked if she is following that.
She said she has no problem with that.
Then I said very briefly, let me explain when we create a future model, we define what is required to perform those activities to produce the anticipated results faster and accurate. She said how do you do that?
I said we go back to each process and each activity and compare and determine the gaps between them by documenting:
- What information is being used and what information is needed, highlighting the gap;
- What technology is being used and what technology is needed to use, highlighting the gap; and
- What skills exists and what skills are needed, highlighting the gap.
She said now I started seeing your logic. Perhaps the next thing you will do to tell them to bridge the gaps by deploying, new information, technology, and skills.
I said exactly. That will optimize their processes and produce results fasters and cheaper, but it will also require an investment in the training to meet the skills gap.
She said it makes sense and thanks for having patience to explain it to me. Maybe I can come and work for you.
I said we are always looking for smart people like you.
She said the final question – Do you also provide training?
I said, no. We know a couple of companies which are much more qualified to provide training, and these arrangements are working very well for us.
She said that opens an opportunity for the member companies to work with your companies for providing training.
I said an excellent idea.
She said let me tell you that our chamber offers three types of memberships – Bronze, Silver, and Gold. In my opinion, I think perhaps you should consider becoming a Bronze member to start with then when the time is right you can upgrade yourself.
I said it makes sense. What does Chamber offer for Bronze members?
She said through your membership, you have access to members-only perks, exclusive networking opportunities, and ways for you to learn, boost your brand, and create buzz for your business. For instance:
- NETWORKING:
More than 100 annual events for you to meet new contacts and create business relationships;
- DISCOUNTS:
Increase your purchasing power through deep discounts on everything from office supplies, marketing, coworking space, and more;
- LEARNING:
Get need-to-know updates and business information through webinars, emails, and the Business Voice;
- VISIBILITY:
Boost your brand through a variety of publicity tools and exhibiting opportunities;
- VOICE:
The Chamber’s advocacy efforts give you a voice in the local, state, and federal government. The Chamber keeps Nevada’s businesses’ concerns front-and-center with legislators; and
- CREDIBILITY:
Consumers are more likely to do business with a Chamber member. Chamber membership enhances your business’ reputation and shows you are an engaged, involved member of the business community.
I said, I am sold.
She said you offer a very unique type of consulting services, Mir. It’s going to take some time to fully comprehend your service offerings, but I believe that you definitely have to offer something meaningful to our business community and I will do anything to introduce you to some very active members, and you can start attending our formal and semiformal meetings right away.
I said I am all that for.
When she came to the parking with me to say goodbye, she looked at the license plate of my car and said you should consider changing your license plates ASAP as you don’t want to give the impression that you have just arrived in Vegas.
I said I will take care of it right away and I left there.
