You were more than a wife; you were my best friend – Unknown.
Everything was going just fine then Adam called. He asked his mother if we could go to Ottawa for a little while to help him out with some of the projects that he was having problems with. She told Adam that Dad cannot leave here in the middle of the semester, and he may have to wait until he is done. Lynda spoke to me the next day and said you promised him that if he needed help, you would be there for him. I remember saying to Lynda that it wasn’t a bad idea for us to go back to Ottawa for a little while once I am done with my classes.
Lynda was totally against the idea of staying in our home where Adam and Jenifer were living. Lynda was concerned that they may not have liked to make changes in the way they were living only because we were going to be there only for a short period of time. Adam came up with the idea that he would rent a furnished apartment where we could stay and do our own things.
Adam called back and told his mother that he found a fully furnished condo in Tunney’s Pasture close to where Statistics Canada was located. He said we don’t have to sign any lease. It’s rented on a month-to-month basis, which also means that we can either continue to live there for another month or we can move out. He also told his mother that she would like the area as well as the furniture in the condo.
To make a long story short, we decided to drive and ended up in Ottawa. I started going to the office every day to help Adam with the projects.
Lynda was very happy as some of the sorority sisters had come to Las Vegas and stayed with us for a little while. But this provided Lynda with a better opportunity to meet with the other sorority sisters. She was invited to go to the meetings which she loved it.
One of the things Adam had me doing was to write a proposal to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the department of Environment Canada. They were looking for a team of management consultants with extensive experience in developing and implementing Activity Based Costing (ABC) Models for their organization with the objective to improve the performance of resources by finding and implementing better ways and technologies to maximize overall performances of the organization. I had published dozens of articles on the subject and had done extensive work in the Department of Defence. As a matter of fact, Adam was still doing some projects in town directly related to ABC.
Just to summarize, ABC is a costing methodology that assigns an organization’s indirect costs (overheads) to products or services based on the activities required to produce them. Unlike traditional costing—which typically allocates overhead using a single measure like labor hours or machine hours—ABC provides a more accurate view by tracing costs to the specific activities that drive them.
I managed complicated ABC projects in the federal government and produced impressive results. Adam also knew that I loved to show off by writing proposals to give references to my articles.
The first thing that I wanted Environment Canada to understand the basic concept of ABC:
- Activities are performed to produce services; and
- Activities consumes resources (Direct and indirect).
To minimize the consumption of resources, activities must be re-aligned and reorganized in a meaningful manner to maximize the performance of each activity by utilizing the right information, proper skills, and appropriate technologies.
It took only a week for me to put together a core proposal. To complete the proposal, I had to come up with a work schedule, highlighting resources requirements, and justification for each proposed resource supported with their resumes. Before I started writing the other part of the proposal, I asked Adam to take a look if it made any sense as I assumed that he was going to manage the project. It didn’t take too long for Adam to get back to me saying that he liked the proposal, but he said we were not going to win the proposal if I did not propose myself as a project manager. I tried to explain to Adam that I need to get back to Las Vegas as being away from Las Vegas for a long period of time would not help me to establish myself in the Las Vegas business community. People have short memories, and I need to get some business there. Adam said why don’t you just go ahead and propose yourself as project manager and if we win the project, we could make necessary changes. I reluctantly accepted Adam’s approach partly because it takes time for departments to evaluate proposals, and I thought I may not be here to worry about it. I completed the proposal, and we submitted it right away.
Meanwhile, I was also looking into some other things to help Adam. Jenifer and Adam were working in the office as a team. She was taking care of all administrative activities, which was a great help for us. We also had a receptionist in the office to keep track of consultants and answer telephones to make sure that we don’t miss any calls. Most of our consultants were working at the client sites, which was a great help but from time to time they will use the office to draft reports or meet with potential clients. Lynda and I were meeting her sorority sisters and their husbands to go out and have lunches and suppers. We were quite happy with the condo that Adam had rented for us. It also had a parking spot which was indeed very convenient for us.
On the weekends we went to see Mom a couple of times in Brampton. We told her that she can come to Las Vegas anytime she feels like which made her happy. We also went to see her sister. She had also come to Las Vegas and Lynda had spent some time with her. It has been almost 6 weeks since we left Las Vegas. Lynda started missing her friends in Las Vegas. I asked Adam if he had anything else for me to do as we were thinking of going back to Vegas. He thanked me and said there are things that need to be done, but there is no need to delay your return to Vegas. I was pleased that Adam was reasonably happy with my work, and I had to start thinking about what I would be doing as soon as we get back to Vegas. Lynda was pleased that I had told Adam that we would be going back home. She said one more week and we will be gone. We had a nice weekend. We went to Merrickville on Sunday for supper with some friends who had come to Vegas and stayed with us for a little while. We told them that we are going back, and they may come to Vegas whenever they feel like and stay with us.
On Monday as soon as I entered the office, the girl at the front desk said there was somebody on the phone looking to talk to you. I went to a small office in the corner where I used to hang my jacket and work. As soon as I picked up the phone, somebody said – Can I talk to Dr. Ali, please. I said – How can I help. He said I am calling from Environment Canada about the proposal that you had submitted to do Activity Based Costing for us and I wanted to tell you that you won the contract, sir.
I said WOW! It’s indeed a wonderful news.
He said you have every right to be happy as you won it against some big companies. I said thanks for your kind words. Perhaps the question is where can we go from here?
He said perhaps we can start the process with a meeting in a couple of days to go over the details of the contract but what I am really interested in having you explain to us is your methodology and approach to make things happen. He continued – I am the one who checked your references, and they all said you have a way of getting things done on time and within budget. I said they are too kind to me. I just learned how to work with the folks to seek their cooperation, which is always instrumental in meeting project deadlines. I continued – I am prepared to meet with you folks tomorrow to talk about the contract. Then we will schedule a presentation to talk about our approach and spell out where and how you can help us to make things happen. I continued to say that we know how to make things happen, but what we don’t know is your business. We don’t pretend to know anything about your business, and we will be totally dependent upon the participation and contribution of your folks who have organizational wisdom and are knowledgeable with the functionality of your organization. He said I totally understood from your proposal that you need knowledgeable resources to be assigned to your team and while they help you with their functional knowledge, you will train and empower them with your tools and techniques so that they become responsible for supporting the organization when you are finished with the project and gone.
I said “WOW”. It shows that you not only have read the proposal carefully but also understand the spirit of the proposal clearly. I am totally encouraged by your statement and look forward to working with you.
I made an appointment to meet with the folks at Environment Canada on Tuesday to discuss the details of the contract which was suggested in the first place. He told me that his name is Herold and he disconnected the phone. Once I got off the phone, I sat there for at least five minutes to try to understand what had happened. I was happy that we won another ABC contract which was nothing but good news as big companies like IBM were trying very hard to get ABC contracts with the federal departments and they were not happy that small companies like us were winning the contracts against them.
I was totally convinced that Environment Canada wasn’t going to be happy if I decided to go back to Vegas leaving somebody else to manage the project. Herold appeared to be totally impressed with my credentials, and he sounded as if he would be looking forward to working with me. I knew that Adam was quite capable of managing ABC projects, but in the interest of keeping Environment Canada happy, I should stick around for now to get the project going. However, what really bothered me was how I was going to convince Lynda that I needed to be here for a while. There was no way in the world she would agree to live in Ottawa in the winter. She got used to living in Vegas, and she already had enough of Ottawa, and she wanted to get back to Vegas ASAP.
I decided to call Adam and ask him to meet me for lunch. He asked what’s up, dad, and I said I need to talk to you, son. He said he will be at the restaurant ASAP. I had only a few hours to come up with a plan to deal with the situation, and the plan had to be very convincing to get Lynda’s cooperation. When I got to the restaurant, Adam was already there. He had no clue what I wanted to talk to him about. Once we ordered our food, Adam said what’s up, dad. I said the good news is that we won the contract with Environment Canada. He said – how did you know that? I said, somebody called Herold telephoned this morning to let us know that we had won the contract and spoke to me on the phone for at least 30 minutes. Adam was very happy that we won the contract. I told him that I thought he was an excellent project manager and managing the project with Environment Canada would be superb excellent experience to add to his resume. Adam said I know I am a good project manager, but I never managed any project as big and complex as this project. Furthermore, they must have checked your references, and they want you to manage the project. He continued; we cannot afford to take a risk of losing the project, Dad. I said I know, but perhaps the best thing we can do is to go ahead with the meeting and see what comes out of the meeting. In the meanwhile, I need to discuss this and come up with some kind of compromise, if possible.
The rest of the afternoon, I spent time in the office working on something and thinking about how I am going to explain this to Lynda. I realized that we both wanted to go back to our lives in Vegas. I decided to call Lynda when I got back from lunch and told her that we were going out to eat tonight. She was curious on the phone and wanted to know “Why” and she wanted to know if I had any bad news to tell her? I said sorry I cannot continue to talk as I have another call to take. As soon as I disconnected the call. Adam called and asked if I would like him to be there when I was going to tell Lynda about the situation, but I said, no. I told him that I needed to come up with a compromise before even I was thinking about speaking to his mother. He agreed and disconnected the phone.
I tried to concentrate upon reviewing the proposal that I had written for Environment Canada, but I could hardly focus on anything as I was in the process of developing a scenario to deal with Lynda. In any case, I picked up Lynda around 6:00 PM and we didn’t have to drive too far for the restaurant. When we got to the restaurant, Lynda said, what’s up. I said, let’s order the food before we start talking. She gave me a strange look to express her displeasure but went ahead and ordered her food.
Once we finished ordering our food, she said she had already started packing things to take with us and she wanted to know at what time we would be leaving in the morning on Saturday. She also said maybe tomorrow she would drop me off at the office and take the car for an oil change. I said we need to discuss something, before we decide that. She said, why am I not surprised. I said Adam had me writing a proposal for Environment Canada not too long ago and the good news is that we won that contract. She said, “Great. That’s indeed good news, isn’t it? I said, of course, it’s. However, there’s a problem with that. She said, spell it out, please.
I said Adam had convinced me to propose myself as Project Manager, which I did. In the first place we didn’t expect to win the proposal, and we thought if we did, we would be able to get Adam to replace me. But after talking to the guy on the phone, I realized that Environment Canada would like me to manage the project. Lynda said, what are you trying to say, my love. I said I am trying to tell you that I must be here to finish the project. She said how long we were talking about it. I said the current project is only for a year, but I had included recommendations in the proposal to expand it to another 18 months. She said are you saying that we would have to be back to living in Canada. I said no, but at the same time we cannot abandon Adam. He already has too many things on his plate and it’s a big project to add to his list of the things to do. Furthermore, Environment Canada may not like the idea of changing the proposed project manager which also means that we could lose the contract.
The waitress brought our food and we stopped talking for a few minutes. Once we started eating, Lynda said – what are you suggesting. I said I am suggesting that I stay here for a year which will allow Adam to demonstrate how capable he is. In other words, if they bought my recommendations to expand the project, Adam would be able to manage the project without my help. I said, my suggestion is that you don’t have to spend winter here in Ottawa. I will make sure that every month I come to see you in Vegas and will try to stay as long as I can. This way we can keep our place in Vegas and at the same time I get to help Adam. She said I don’t like the idea of leaving you here in Ottawa. I said I understand that, but we don’t have too many choices. She asked if I would live in our home with Adam and Jenifer”. I said in the first place we have already given the house to Adam. It’s not our house anymore. I continued, no, I will continue to live in the condo where we are living now. She said what would you do for the meals. I will start eating TV dinners and probably try to learn how to cook. She laughed and said, are you really sure that you don’t need me to stay with you. I said I am certain that you can go back to Vegas anytime you like.
For the remaining few minutes in the restaurant, we talked about her sorority sisters who wanted to come and stay with us in Vegas. I told Lynda that now that I am not going to be there, you may like to invite more sorority sisters to do things together. She said nevertheless, I will miss you.
As soon as we got home Adam called and asked me how it went with mom. I explained to Adam that we decided his mother will go back to Vegas and I will stay here in this condo to complete the project. Adam appeared to be happy with my reply and said sorry, dad. I said there is no need to apologize. I am glad to do something to help you, son.
On Tuesday when Adam and I showed up at Environment Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, at 9:00 AM, Herold was waiting for us. He took us to his office and offered us coffee. Adam never drinks coffee, but I said I don’t mind having a cup of coffee. While sipping my coffee, I heard Herold speaking about his job description. He was the Project Coordinator, and it appeared that he would be involved in every aspect of the project. I had a good feeling that Herold would be a positive contributor to the project.
As soon as I finished my coffee, Herold led us to a conference room where seven or eight folks were waiting for us. We were told that they represent various functions in the department and they will continue to be a part of the project. In other words, they already had formed a team of professionals with an interest in major functions of the department. Some of them were scientists with specific designations in environmental science. As far as was concerned, environmental science was the interdisciplinary study of how the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment work and interact with each other, particularly how human activities impact these systems. It integrates knowledge from various fields like biology, chemistry, geology, and physics to understand environmental problems and develop solutions for issues such as pollution, climate change, and resource depletion. I was looking forward to working with those folks to understand their contribution and how that would have an impact on the overall functionality of the department. Herold asked one of the guys to describe the process that they had adopted to review and evaluate our proposal along with some other proposals. In other words, how did they determine the significance, worth, or condition of the proposal against the criteria they had developed for evaluating the proposal. He continued by saying that they used a point system for evaluating the proposals that they had received for their RFP.
We were familiar with the point system for evaluating proposals. We knew that the point system was a structured and objective method used to assess and rank proposals based on predefined criteria and assigned weights. This system ensures fairness and transparency by converting subjective opinions into quantifiable data points, which helps organizations select the best value or fit for a project. The guy was very articulative and was enjoying talking to us, and I didn’t like to tell him that we were familiar with the point system.
He walked to his laptop and turned it on to show us the definition of the Point System on the screen, displaying how it works:
- Define Criteria and Weights: Before releasing the Request for Proposal (RFP), an evaluation team determines the key criteria and their relative weights;
- Score Proposals: A diverse team of stakeholders independently scores each proposal against the defined criteria using the standardized scoring scale;
- Calculate Weighted Scores: The raw scores for each criterion are multiplied by their assigned weight to produce a total weighted score for each proposal;
- Review and Analyze: The evaluation team meets to compare scores, discuss significant variances, and clarify any questions with the vendors; and
- Select a Winner: The proposal with the highest overall weighted score typically indicates the “Best Value” and is selected, though qualitative factors are also considered in the final decision.
The guy turned around and said this structured approach provided us with an auditable, data-driven rationale for the final decision, reducing bias and ensuring accountability. He faced me and Adam and addressed us by saying the good news is that your proposal scored top in every category and on top of everything else your references were unbelievable and amazing. I said I don’t know what to say, except thank you for your professional attitude and we are indeed looking forward to working with you folks.
Herald said the question is where can we go from here? I said perhaps the best way to kick off this project is to talk about the presentation that we always make to spell out our overall approach, detailing the expectations and requirements covered under this contract.
Herold said, please give us an example.
I said very briefly:
- To develop an Activity Based Costing Model for your organization, we need to understand and define the services that you are responsible for delivering;
- We will also have to define the activities that being performed now for delivering a particular service;
- Then we will have to cost each service based on the magnitude of consumption of the activities (Resources) including direct and indirect costs;
- We will have to work with your senior management to define targets for improvements for each service; and
- Based on the targets, a new model must be developed to meet those targets;
- The future Activity Based Model will have the answers to all possible questions and targets, highlighting the financial, functional, and operational expertise to accomplish the desired results.
I continued by saying – what I had just described was an overall coverage of the work that we need to do but at the same time we have a workable methodology which we can explain when we make a presentation. It will spell out all aspects of the work that we will have to perform with the help of your people as part of the project team. We spent another 45 minutes chatting and answering questions before we took off. When we went back to our office, Adam appeared to be happy that I decided to stay and manage the project which was in his best interest.
Lynda took off on Saturday for Las Vegas and when she got there, she called me to let me know that while everybody was delighted to see her back, they were wondering about my absence. I guess she explained to them why I was not back with her and told them that I would be visiting frequently enough.
I prepared another presentation on the weekend and went back to Environment Canada on Monday to initiate the project by making the presentation. The purpose of the presentation was to explain what the critical success factors for the project were.
I remember explaining to them the major steps like:
- We need commitments from you folks to assign people with functional knowledge to work with us and help us understand what you do to deliver the services that you are responsible for;
- The first major step is to develop the current Process Model, defining your services;
- Then what does it take to deliver each service which could be a group of processes and defining activities associated with each process by defining the time it takes to perform that activity and what kind of existing technology, information, and skills are being used to perform that process;
- Then we speak to the users to set targets for each service in a way which can be translated into quantifiable targets for delivering services on time and within budget;
- Based on the targets, we create a “Future Model” to deliver the required services on time;
- The critical part of our activities is to do the costing of the Future Model initially based on the individual services consumed by each activity they perform to deliver a particular service;
- Following, we allocate the overhead – Management, Administrative, and utilities;
- The next thing we do is to compare the existing model with the future model to highlight what would be required to bridge the gap between the current and future models;
- Then we prepare missing technologies and skills, highlighting estimates for acquiring the recommended technologies and skills which could lead to sending the existing employees for training and replacing possibly old and almost outdated technologies.
At the end of the presentation, everybody in the room had questions which took a couple of hours for us to run through everything they asked. Following the presentation, we were taken to the area where they had allocated project space including an office for me.
