We reach today number seven in our most important aeronautical designer’s top ten list. This rank goes for his own efforts to another Russian, Pavel Suhkoi (1985 – 1975). His major achievements were made from his design office (OKB) during the cold war with the development of some of the most important air fighters of the time, including some variable geometry wing ones, like the Su-17 and the Su-24. Nevertheless his name will always be related with the Su-27, although he did not live for the first flight. This jet fighter is the paradigm of maneuverability and being the first “Flight by wire” aircraft of the USSR. Its amazing control capabilities, also at low speed and high attack angles, made it legendary for maneuvers like the “Pugachev’s Cobra”, a classic in all air shows. In this maneuver an attack angle of up to 120 degrees is reached (during a short period of time).
My place number 7 in the ranking goes therefore to Suhkoi.
In previous entries, we have discussed about big engineering companies. We will go today to the other side, speaking about the small companies.
First of all, before we speak of “gods” we have to agree the criterion on how we are going to classify them and even which numeration system we are going to use. Or said in another way, what should we consider a small company?
For sure that we could find in economic treaties a hand full of rules for classifying a company’s size taking into account their turnover, the number of employees, the cash-flow and many other similar parameters. I have another classification criterion, that although it is not very scientific, I think that gives accurate results:
A small company is that one, where the CEO when he arrives in the morning to the office, is able to wish by his name a “Good Morning” to every employee that he meets in his way
A simple rule, but that works in real life, because the best think of a small company is the personal nearness between everybody that work there, without taking into account how many employees belong to the company.
After this introduction, we have to point out that small company, also if there are thousands of them, is not more than a statistical anomaly. In a world that is more and more globalized, in which the big multinationals set the rules, all these small companies are condemned, like the “Black Nails”, to extinction unless a huge economic and social change (something that is not in sight) prevents it. It will not happen next month, neither next year, but it will happen sooner or later.
A company of this kind survives due to three fundamental actuation keypoints:
- The fight to keep the hope
- Management of chaos
- Administration of misery
The first of these elements needs that all and every employees feel the company as something own, not only from a point the view as the source of sustenance, but also from a point of view, that is much more important, of the believing that what they are doing is something valuable and this reflects itself with the result of their work, realized into a product or a project going out of the workshop’s door.
The second is inherent to the organization itself, better said to the leak of organization, that makes that the daily problems avoid doing plans or set priorities in an efficient manner. Trying to manage efficiently companies that are as dynamic as these usually are is like locking the stable door when the horse has already bolted.
Finally the third one is a consequence of the abuse that from an economic point of view these companies are used to suffer, coming these abuses from banks (with abusive credit conditions), from the internal revenue services (with tax obligations of works that have not been paid) and his own customers (breaking their payment agreements in the scheduled times). Money has always been a limited good, even more nowadays, but the abuse of power in these situations many times leads good entrepreneur projects to disaster.
But this is what we have and with what we have to deal.
In our country (maybe to followers out of Spain this sounds strange) there is an additional perversion factor that complicates even more the situation. This factor is the scorn and the taunt of who is different. While socially speaking we consider ourselves a minority tolerant country, with other faiths, with other races, etc. we look bad to the ones that do not match to the stereotypes that are socially accepted. Why would any straight person want to start a company?
Our own subconscious betrays us.We said “I will make a business” instead of “I will build a company”. A “business” implies something fast, easy money, buy and sell. A company is associated to responsibilities, employees, and money investment without clear expectations in the near term. All together: risk.
A recent survey through out some discouraging data. The 30% of our college students focused their future as civil servants. Only 8% were considering starting a company. In the USA this percentage reaches a 70%!!!
These small companies, with limited resources and endless working days are another element in the learning chain of our professionals. In them engineers are able to feel the euphoria of the success and the angst of the failure in a first person view. They are schools where the young minds can be building up during two or three years to after that jump to a big company. In these kind of companies promotion possibilities are rare or completely inexistent, this is the reason because the previous said jump is natural. But there are also some individuals that due to their personal characteristics will stay in companies like these until the end of their professional live or until the end of the company (whatever reaches first).
A small company is not paradise, but it is not the hell either. In them you exchange certainty for liberty and this, like many other facts in life, is a personal option.
I have always admired an urban legend (I do not know it is true) that tells that many newbie engineers stood in line in front of Scaled Composties (Burt Rutan’s company) trying to work there for free, only for the privilege of joining the company for a time. May be we should ask Mr. Rutan himself.
In a small company decisions and resolutions are usually taken grabbing a beer in the bar or pub around the corner instead of in the meeting room, because this room is probably stuffed with papers or with an invention of the afterwork-work. In the terrace of this bar or pub around the corner, where probably the best fries of the neighborhood are served, you will find for sure, in the summer evenings after the sunset and when the temperature has dropped down, the “Black Nails” engineers, laughing and sharing the anecdotes of the day, while, without thinking of it, they still have a part of their minds preparing the future.
By the way, in a small company you will be able also to find stupid people, but as their possibility to spoil work is very limited, they are easily controlled. And as there is little place to hide, they will emigrate fast to more leafy trees.
Find below the link to the solution we gave to the last question.
A thought:
When those that say “it cannot be done” check out that you did, they will say that it cannot be build. When you show that in fact it can be build they will say it cannot be certified. When you certify it, you probably will be fired.
Corollary:
It is dangerous to be right more than two consecutive times.
See you!
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