Going at it Alone

When my career started as I have stated earlier I was a cheap means of help for my father.  Then I grew to love what I was doing.  After college I had somehow been convinced that the best place for me was a secure work environment that could offer benefits like vacation and sick leave; health insurance; and the like.  I was so convinced that the thought of going home and working with my father was out of the question.

So for about 15 years, I worked in the sweat shop environment of the large Surveying/Engineering company.  I learned the the hard way about office politics.  I suffered greatly for telling the boss the truth instead of what they wanted to hear.  The removal from a project because myself and the earthwork superintendent could not see eye to eye.  But the worst thing of all.  The single worst event that burnt me was when I had attained the position of project manager.  I was on top of the world.  In my early 30's supervising 5 survey crews; I was on top of the world.  Then it happened......

You know that statement we put on our plats that says "this plat and the survey on which it is based was done under my direct supervision........" Well guess what.  I found out that it is IMPOSSIBLE to directly supervise 5 crews every day.  It is also impossible to directly supervise drafting personnel also.  Here is what lead me to believe this..

I had a party chief that resented the hell out me.  He wanted to be the P.M. but had no education and no licensure.  He was a good hand but had serious passive aggressive tendencies.  So I had to watch him like a hawk; and I did.  However that prevented me from giving the other crews the supervision they needed.  Dennis Mouland in a seminar years ago stated that "we all have skeletons in our closet; we just hope they never surface". To make it simple I started to discover that some of the work performed under my "direct"supervision wasn't being performed the way I had directed it; if at all.  Then I began to feel like the world was on top of me.  Mistakes were being made by the crews; I took the responsibility as their supervisor; the upper management needed a whipping boy so there you go.  The management loved the income the crews generated; but hated the costs associated with "fixing" mistakes.  I made them fix the mistakes I found; the boss hated that; but hey, it was my license on the line.

One day sitting at my desk; my phone rings.  It's dad.  He never calls me at work.  He is getting out and want to know if I want the business.  So with Johnny Paycheck ringing in my ears I pack up the family and headed home.

Instantly I am a solo-surveyor.  This is how it was meant to be.  I can testify in court about work I certified because I did it.  I can give clients details about their property because I have been there.  I can stand nose to nose with a dirt contractor because I did the staking.  I can answer the hard questions because I did the research.  I don't know of many other professions that let employees do their work for them.  Can you imagine a Doctor sitting in his office supervising a surgery with a cell phone.  A lawyer supervising his clients trial from his office.  An accountant supervising your tax preparation and business accounting from another city.

In our rush to become recognized as professionals we headed straight for the office.  But this business is a dirty, gritty, hands on, blood, sweat, and tears profession.  How can we exercise professional judgement based on data we are being fed.  Instead of data we have gathered.  I believe that in order to do our jobs correctly we as professionals have to have boots on the ground and eyes in the field.  Of course in my case; my rod man is an RLS and has 45 years of experience.