For Charles Beard, the hardest part of this business is trying to stay ahead of where the markets are going. Everything constantly changes, which makes figuring out the next move a tricky challenge. For instance, "there are no books on how to survive the next downturn," he points out. It is up to consultants to figure out what is needed and what to do next. On the other hand, there also is no end to the number of unusual problems to solve. To Beard, each problem is a unique Rubik's Cube. The fun lies in solving the problem, in lining up the right colors on each side. For the same reason, if he weren't a consultant he would probably be an investment banker, which is just another way of putting things together so that they work.
Beard generally thinks of himself as a business strategist, but he brings a technical background and sometimes finds himself getting deeply involved in the technology, as was the case at Southwest Airlines. Faced with a greatly accelerated time frame, he and his team developed a flight line freight- and mail-tracking system that enabled Southwest to capture more mail-hauling business while leveraging the same technology to maximize the efficiency and security of its own operations. That success led to the selection of Beard's team by Southwest to develop and integrate new mail-scanning technology required to meet mandates by both the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. By early September 2003, the new system had been implemented at all 59 airports that Southwest serves, a week ahead of the date required. The massive project involved developing back-end systems for data collection, storage, and processing; deploying nearly 500 handheld scanners; and training 4,000 Southwest ground-crew personnel on the use of the innovative system.
Although Beard enjoys the use of leading-edge technologies in the Southwest projects, some Beard clients are sitting on technology they acquired 15 years ago. There is pleasure and satisfaction here too, particularly around the challenge he finds in discovering ways to create new products using old technology.
A product of the Cold War, Beard has come not only to accept change but also to embrace the need for rapid change, citing an old aerospace industry adage about the need to fly ahead of the aircraft. He recalls building the first supply-chain systems that linked U.S. distribution networks before expanded to Mexico and Canada. Whatever new systems Beard builds going forward will surely have to work all over the world, but flying ahead of the aircraft allows him to be prepared. — A.R.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.