Death is the golden key that opens the palace of eternity (Milton).

We got a contract with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

CRTC is an administrative tribunal that operates at arm’s length from the federal government.

CRTC is dedicated to ensuring that Canadians have access to a world-class communication system that promotes innovation and enriches their lives. Their role is to implement the laws and regulations set by Parliamentarians who create legislation and departments that set policies. They regulate and supervise broadcasting and telecommunications in the public interest.

They offered the following services:

  • Consultations and Events:   
  • Research, statistics and data;

Mark and I had started the contract to do the BPR for the CRTC.

As I recall, the people who we were renting the house from got in touch with us. They said that they were coming back to Ottawa sooner than they had anticipated.  Hence, they wanted us to vacate the house within a reasonable period.

Lynda thought perhaps it was the right time to go back to owning a property and she started looking into it.  Now that I was making reasonable money, she wanted to make sure that we found a nice but affordable property right in Barrhaven.

It took a little while, but Lynda did find a nice house not too far from where we were living.  It was a four-bedroom house with almost 2400 sq. ft. of living space split into three levels. That was much bigger than what we were renting currently.

It was our 12th. move (6 Houses that we owned and rented 6 houses).

If memory serves me correctly, Adam had just completed his undergraduate degree from Ottawa U. He had expressed an interest in spending his summer working with us. I was working on more than one project, and at the same time attempting to do marketing. I had little time to spend on the CRTC project.  Hence Adam had to work with the other consultants who were working for us.

I was told that Adam was learning the tricks of the trade very quickly.  I basically wanted him to focus on learning modeling by using the modeling tool–which was very handy and effective.

I was impressed with Adam’s modelling skills.  One Friday afternoon, I was conducting a “brain-storming session” at the CRTC. I was using a huge whiteboard to capture the essence of the presentation.  I reached the point when it wasn’t possible for me to add anything else and decided to end the presentation.  When everybody saw the white board, they were wondering how and who was going to make some sense out of all those little boxes. The boxes represented processes. Arrows associated with each process represented input and output to each specific process.

I ended my presentation by saying that we would work on the information that we just captured. Then we would present it to them to validate our understanding of each process that we discussed.  Somebody said perhaps it will take a week or so to complete the model.  I said I don’t know–let me ask Adam. He will be doing the modeling.

Adam right away said it would be ready on Monday. I looked at him with surprise.  He said it would be ready to present on Monday afternoon.  I decided to schedule the presentation on Monday, based on Adam’s statement.

He worked in the basement all weekend to create and modify the model. Whenever he had a question about verifying certain steps, he came up and asked me.  When I saw the final version, I was totally impressed with Adam’s interest, as well as his capacity to understand the process.

We presented the model on Monday afternoon. There were very few changes as the result of validation. We incorporated them the same day.

I was surprised that Adam decided to enrol in evening classes at Ottawa U for an MBA. He said that if I didn’t mind, he would like very much to continue helping me during the day.  I thought it would work out just fine.

Things were going relatively smoothly.  There were times when we had to work at client sites, but mostly we preferred to complete working on the projects either from our office or from home.  We were doing multiple projects and using consultants wherever feasible.  Our policy was to hire an independent consultant on a per diem basis for a specific project. At the end of the project we could find him or her project, or they could go back to working on their own.  We had a bunch of people on file to call.  This approach worked out for us. We were not big enough to offer them a job with benefits as our business was totally based on the availability of the contracts.

I always tried to keep in touch with them even when they were not working with us. That worked out very well for us.

I was totally encouraged by the way things were going for us.  We were building a good reputation for finishing projects on time and within budget. I thought this was the right time to rent an office in downtown Ottawa so that our consultants didn’t have to work at client sites all the time.  We rented a small office in a big building right in downtown Ottawa. We started arranging meetings with clients at our office from time to time.

I was totally happy with the office. Now we didn’t have to work from our basement, and poor Lynda no longer had to keep making tea and coffee all the time to get us going.

One evening I came home early and Lynda was getting supper ready, when the phone rang.   I answered it and a man named Peter said that he was the Director at CGI. He wanted to talk to me about writing a proposal for a BPR project.  Peter also said he had retired from DND as a full colonel. He knew the background of the project as well as the people who were responsible for it.

That was good information. I was reasonably impressed with Peter.  I also understood that we didn’t get invited to write a proposal because we were not a big enough company to handle a project like that.  CGI was a multi-million-dollar company with a good reputation, but they had no expertise to handle that kind of project.

I asked Peter why he was calling me and how could I help him.  He said he heard about me in the departments where we had set up BPR. Some of those guys were his friends.  When he asked them about my project management style and skills, they told him how good I was with the users and with our team.  They also commented on how I delivered results on time and within budget.

Finally, I asked Peter how I could help.

He said, Mir, I would like to respond to that RFP (Request for Proposal).  Even though I know some people in DND, I cannot see us writing a proposal about BPR. We don’t have any expertise in BPR, or any reputable references for doing BPR successfully.

I asked what exactly are you saying, Peter?

He said I would like to get together with you tomorrow over lunch, if possible. I want to explore the possibility of you coming on board and writing the proposal to respond to DND’s RFP, with the emphasis on your expertise in BPR. You could use your references wherever you have completed BPR projects successfully.  He continued, what I am asking is that you use your staff as they have experience working with you on BPR projects, but that this should be done under the umbrella of CGI. That would give you the necessary background to fight against other companies like IBM and Systems House.

I told Peter that I was very grateful to him for considering me for this challenging assignment.  I needed to sleep on it before I said anything.

Peter said Mir, keep in mind that I had to fight with my boss to get you on board–not only offering to let you write the proposal the way you want, but also to present yourself as project manager.  Furthermore, we will be asking you to include some of our consultants in the proposal to demonstrate the strengths.

I asked what the main reason for going is after this opportunity, Peter.

He said we desperately want to get into the BPR business, which is growing rapidly everywhere.  Finally, the federal departments here in Ottawa have awakened, and they too would like to take advantage of BPR discipline.  We expect that having you and your team on board would help CGI go after multi-million-dollar projects.

He also said to be totally honest with you; I have looked all over for BPR experience and expertise. Unfortunately those who claim to have some expertise have never worked with BPR or produced any meaningful results for their clients.

He said here’s another kicker, Mir. Even IBM is struggling to find the right expertise to respond to this RFP. They don’t seem to have any expertise in BPR here in their Ottawa office. If there is anyone with appropriate expertise in BPR, they are already committed for different projects in different cities. However, it doesn’t mean that they will sit back and let us take this piece of business away from them.

Furthermore, you have a reputation for delivering results on time and within budget. That is indeed an added value for us to be proud of.

I told Peter that I don’t really like working with big companies like CGI, simply because they don’t usually treat sub-contractors with respect. You are asking me to come on board as a sub-contractor to get things done so that based on my reputation you can build a name to procure more business.

Peter said I am only going to say the following two things to answer your points:

  • If you don’t want to come on board as a sub-contractor, I would be in the position tomorrow to make you an offer to come on board as an employee of CGI, which CGI would prefer; and
  • I would bet my job that nobody from CGI would interfere with you or try to tell you what you should do or how to run your project.

I said just make it clear that I am not interested in going back to working for big companies or government departments, Peter.  Nevertheless, I like your assurance that nobody in CGI would tell me what to do.

Peter said why don’t we get together tomorrow and discuss further the possibility of you coming on board as a sub-contractor working under the umbrella of CGI. That would also give you some visibility for your next projects.

I said Peter I am totally delighted that you decided to speak to me about this opportunity.  I agree with you that tomorrow perhaps we can talk more about this.  However, I am satisfied with the answers and explanations you were kind enough to discuss with me.  I also want to mention to you right now that nobody in CGI would modify or enhance my proposal for the RFP, if I decide to work with you.

Additionally, if I decide to bring my team on board for this opportunity, nobody will try to tell them what to do.

This is my final comment on the subject, Peter.  If I come on board as a sub-contractor and bring my team with me, I will not deal with anybody else in CGI but you.

Peter said I bet my job on ensuring that you have total freedom with the users as well as with our staff.

We both hung up on that note, with the promise to meet for lunch tomorrow.

CHAPTER 99

Nepean, Ontario, Canada 14 March 2025