President's Desk with Joe Harverson

“Knowledge is Power”
-- Sir Francis Bacon

“What gets us into trouble are the things we know for sure that just ain’t so.”
-- Mark Twain

“The Facts Mamm, Just the Facts”
-- Sgt. Joe Friday on Dragnet

We all have experienced at one time or another, or multiple times, a decision we made that turned out to be disastrous. In trying to figure out just what went wrong, we come to the conclusion that the information we used to make that decision was faulty, or just plain wrong. Sometimes we look for facts that will support our decision and ignore those that don’t . I would like to concentrate on the situation we all share at Alaron in that we want good accurate data on which to make decisions. There is no difference between the importance of the decisions that I make as the President and the importance of the decisions that you make in doing the real work. We both need good data on which to make those decisions. Good data comes from good communication. So just what is good communication? Whether written or spoken, good communication is characterized by the five “C”s. Clear, such that is it understood by all. Concise, in that there are no extras. Complete, in that there are no omissions. (omissions are just as detrimental as inaccurate data) Cogent, in that it has bearing on the issue at hand. Certain, in that it is true. When you are communicating, check your writing or your speech against these criteria. Make sure they meet all of them.

If you don’t know, say so. There can be little more important in good communication than this mantra. Some people are afraid that they will appear incompetent or ignorant if they cannot answer a question posed to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you practice this mantra you will be much respected. When you do answer, your answer will be believed. If you don’t practice this mantra, you will cease to be asked anything since your answers will always be suspect. There is a vast difference between fact and opinion or intuition, but they are both just as important in running the business together. I like the word intuition much better than opinion. When communicating be absolutely sure to make a demarcation between what is fact and what is your intuition. Since we never really have all the facts we need to make a decision, we must rely on our intuition to guide us. I need your intuition. Without it we would be in a state of paralysis. When you communicate your intuition about something state the facts that support it and then state what relationships you are basing your intuition on. The five “C”s are just as important in communicating your intuition. Think about how easy it is to make a decision when you hear the facts and the intuition especially from several persons on the same issue. The facts can be checked, the risks recognized, and intuitions compared.

For knowledge to be power it must be good knowledge. Good knowledge comes from good communication of the facts Ma’am. If we ignore this we will be constantly reminded of what we were sure that just wasn’t so.

I have a clear memory of when I first started working as an adolescent. The situation seemed so completely black and white. There were those who worked hard and those who worked just enough to get by. When I entered college there were those who did “A” work and those with “C”s. Years later when I entered the professional work world I looked around and the situation was not very much different. There were obviously high quality producers and those who produced a barely useable product. I remember my first internal training on team building and working in teams. I was not impressed. I kept coming back to the mantra of one of my favorite writers, Ayn Rand, whose main character in The Fountainhead, Howard Roark, was informed by a friend that teams were just one strong leader and a lot of ballast that the leader had to drag along with him. This opinion was vindicated from my observations of the world around me. I was a solid individualist. I resisted working in teams and concentrated on producing a superior work product that was solely due to my brains and creativity. I consulted no one and asked no one for any help. I perceived getting help as a form of weakness. I was lucky to be successful for a long time and my opinion of teams stayed static.

When I entered into the world of management I saw the situation through a different lens. As an individual, I could only accomplish so much. No matter how excellent my work product was, I was limited. To accomplish great things or make serious strides took the effort of many individuals working in a coordinated fashion, a team. I was still skeptical. So many teams failed through infighting and just plain apathy. The teams I encountered were taught to relinquish their personal identity and assume a new group identity shared by all. Accolades and consequences were meted out equally amongst team members in the hope it would cause all members to work the same, hard, and smart. Every team member was expected to be the same and to conform to the group business rules. To me it seemed so constrained and de-motivating, but the real issue was clear. You needed groups of people to accomplish great things; one person could not go it alone.

How these people are brought together is a matter of great debate. I maintain that to bring these people together there must be an “I” and there must be a “Team” or nothing serious can be accomplished. The ideal team is a group of individuals with varying talents that produce their best possible work within the bounds of their talents. We would not assign Bruce to a team where he is to apply coatings, nor would we ask Kenny to run a perfect stainless weld bead. But when Bruce welds and Kenny coats, we get a superior product. That is why I have asked all of you to perfect your skills in one area so I can form teams of experts who are masters at their craft. When I assemble together the craft-masters amongst you and provide a goal there can be no other result than success. Be proud of your individual accomplishments and skills and appreciate the individual accomplishments and skills of others. If some people are called upon to use their talents to provide 80% of the effort for a successful job, support them. It is just as valuable to assist your teammates in making a goal as it is to make the goal yourself.

Keep your “I” and stay on the “Team”.

“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious than being able to decide.”

Napoleon Bonaparte

All of us at Alaron are tasked with making decisions on a daily basis both at work and in our personal lives. Some decisions involve little consequence and some decisions can change our lives. Decision making is an art and although I don’t profess to be on the cutting edge of this art, I would like to offer some guidance that I believe is universal to all decision making.

It is important to realize that everything we do is a result of a decision and I mean everything. From the time we wake in the morning to the time we drop off to sleep in the evening we constantly make decisions. We must decide, since we always have choices. There is no such condition as: “I have no choice”. You always have choices. It is a matter of our perception of distasteful consequences that make us believe we have no choice. We may believe we have no choice but to live in one place or to work for a living or to continue in a difficult situation, but that is not the case. A quick look around us will reveal people who are acting to the contrary and have obviously chosen to do so. Once we accept that most everything that is happening in our lives is a result of our own choices we realize that we have the power to change. This is enormously energizing. We are no longer swept by the tides of life and we can no longer blame others for our situations. I cannot overstress the importance of this concept. We have the power to choose!

Now that we accept that we have this power, how will we wield it? We can wield it as a sword indiscriminately slashing our way through life’s jungle, we can sheath the sword and let the jungle of life overgrow us or we can draw the sword in times of need and only slice through the vines and underbrush that are in our path. These three metaphors correspond to three types of decision making. “Slashing through” is emotional decision making with little thought or reflection. It allows us to move forward but can cause a lot of collateral damage. Many managers use this method in the mistaken belief that it depicts strength and gets the job done. It is a belief not shared by their subordinates who are injured from a random stroke. Sheathing the sword is not making a decision or indecision. Many people fear to decide since they will be held to account for their decision and just hope in not making a decision the situation will somehow solve itself. Although there are certain situations where not making a decision is a good decision in itself, not making any decisions can result in some unexpected consequences. Drawing the sword in times of need is what I call “cool heads prevail”. You realize a decision must be made and that you can make it, the consequences are considered and measured, sometimes advice is solicited, and then afterward only the slices that need to be made are made.

Avoid making a decision in the white heat of emotion -- the collateral damage can be high. Don’t avoid decisions or the resulting situation could be totally unexpected. Take some time to reflect. This time could be minutes or days depending on the complexity of the situation. Use your power to choose carefully.

Cool heads prevail
Indecision is a decision

This year has so far had its’ fair share of challenges. We are trying to grow the business in many directions both within and outside the nuclear material industry. We all have a role to play in meeting these challenges. The management staff must stay focused on growth and profitability, while the core of the company which is the first line staff, must focus on quality and performance. Some organizations and their members view challenges as situations involving, adversity, difficulty, confrontation, and the threat of failure. Challenges are sometimes viewed negatively as something management artificially creates to spur performance. Challenge sometimes means that change is going to happen and like all humans we are wary of change and tend to avoid it when we can. Sometimes we think of challenge in the sense of combat like a medieval joust or a duel. Challenges usually arise out some adverse condition or conditions that are changing or have changed the status quo. A relationship is failing, gasoline costs more and more, and that leak in the roof just won’t stop no matter how many times I have tried to fix it.

Adversity can precipitate challenge and challenges can certainly cause adversity. If adversity can create challenge and challenge can create adversity it seems that the loop is closed and we are doomed to the negatives we perceive. I would like to ask you to do away with the words challenge and adversity and replace them with the word opportunity. Think of the word opportunity and how you feel when you say it or someone says it to you. It is a powerful word. It contains hope, a positive outlook, and it speaks of a good future. If the status quo is changing and if the situation is not what we want, we are now presented with the opportunity to do something about it. If a relationship is failing we now have the opportunity to examine ourselves, our thoughts and our motives. We also have the opportunity to examine the other person’s thoughts feeling and motives. This new insight can be the catalyst for solid and honest communication which is the basic nutrient for a good relationship. If gasoline prices keep rising and rising and there is no way you can take that RV anywhere. You are now presented with the opportunity to meet your neighbors and host your friends. Just open the awning, fill the cooler, pull out the grill, send out the invitations and camp in the yard. Who knows what it may bring. If the roof won’t stop leaking, you are now presented with an opportunity for structural change. Consider a skylight in that location that lets the sunlight and starlight into your home or decide to add a second floor to the house. To follow my own advice this article should have started out with: This year so far has had its’ fair share of opportunities and we are excited to evaluate all of them.

The Buddhists have an attitude that there is no such thing as good or bad, just what IS. You have the ability to make any challenge or adversity into an opportunity.

Welcome,

In my first article I spoke about our identity and proposed a shared identity for Alaron. I would like to extend this idea of identity to three other concepts -- vision, mission, and strategy. There are little other tasks so hotly debated in business than how to craft these three concepts so they have an impact on an organization. Most companies have vision and mission statements, but most employees don’t know what they are or don’t use them in their everyday tasks. A good vision and mission statement, like knowing our identity, guides us in making decisions everyday. What is more important is that they guide us in making consistent decisions everyday. A clear strategy helps us make consistent more far reaching decisions such as what markets to enter and what projects to bid. I see the following for our company:

Vision: Alaron conducts its business such that its employees and their families become responsible citizens of the world.

This concept bears some explanation because it is so different. Although Alaron recognizes some responsibility to shareholders of Veolia, our first and foremost responsibility is to our employees. We want Alaron to be a stable business that prospers for many years in the future. That stability is transferred to our employees who now no longer have to worry about their jobs. They can concentrate on improving themselves through education, raising good families, and hopefully enjoying grandchildren. Stability allows our employees to invest in their futures instead holding back for fear of job loss. We reinvest the profits that we make back into our employees through education, skills acquisition, and financial planning. We also set positive examples on how to treat other human beings, regardless of their needs, races, creeds, or national origins with care and respect. We believe that these positive attributes will trickle down to our employees and their families and result in a much better world to live in. We are investing in a superior quality of life with the hope it will be contagious. Our vision is very long term. The vision can guide us in making good consistent decisions. For example, we are not interested in short term opportunities that jeopardize the company and our employees for the sake of a quick profit. We treat each other and the people we meet with care and respect. We care about ourselves and strive to learn and improve.

Mission: Alaron solves problems with professional solutions that we are proud of.

Please notice that our mission directly reflects our identity and it should. If our identity and our mission were skewed we could not be successful. This is where our employees are head and shoulders above the crowd. When we bring in a business consistent with our strategy and vision, our employees set about to solve all the problems in a professional way, that they are proud of.

Strategy: Alaron is a mutual fund of niche nuclear businesses that are characterized by low volume and high margins.

This has been our strategy since 1998, and it has served us well through the years. It allows us to weather storms in the market place. We focus on businesses that provide highly technical and complex services and support them in entering and staying in the nuclear business. We provide the infrastructure, permits, licenses, insurances, and expertise for other companies to succeed and grow in nuclear markets. We maintain a staff of cross trained employees that can freely move from business line to business line. We have Project Managers that can move from a schedule intensive waste transload project to a technology intensive metal recovery operation. We have built our facility and trained our employees consistent with our strategy. When we look at opportunities, we constantly compare them to our strategy and our vision and it helps us make good consistent decisions. This year we will be using that strategy to enter non-nuclear markets.