10 Skill Set from MNCs to SME – Part 2
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10 Skill Set from MNCs to SME – Part 2.
This is part 2 of the skillset. For Part 1, please refer to this Part 1 – 10 Skill Set from MNCs to SME
Part 2,
4. 80 ++ Variation Orders for Time and Cost
In the same project at China, I was tasked to get money from client, and deny those from subcontractors. It is not hard to imagine the amount of effort and clear trace of thoughts put into each Variation Order . The client, Mr Stan Welch, will browse each one with a frowning face and look at it with microscopically with 50++ years of experience.
At the end of the project, they called me “Little Stan”, cos I have learned well under the client and behaved somewhat like him.
All in all, around 80 VOs were raised during this time, well cementing my VO-pability in Time and Cost.
This hidden power was used a few times, with a recent case in forcing the officer to approve the claim due to their mistake.
Tip: It’s about justification in solid contract lines and reasonable ground rules, with engineering calculation.
5. Million Dollar Budgeting and cashflow
My PM once tasked me to do a cashflow for my $10 mil project, where I have zero experiences doing it. But without rejecting him, I just proceed, using the best common sense and business mind. It passed the review by top management, which was a lucky shot.
Since then, this has become an essential item that allows me to now write proposals for SMEs that require budget and forecast.
And there is much more to learn. I particularly like this corporatefinanceinstitute.com and their template. They provide pretty solid information and free templates, where I used some of it to perform things like net present value, CAGR etc.
Their certification course is one that I am keen to get, amidst my busy schedule.
Tip: It is about business sense and selecting a top-down, baseline, or bottom-up method.
6. Boring Document Control
This is truly quite boring. If any of the readers have done a document controller job, they will understand that it is about recording, updating, and dispatch.
This however, is about an important trait, traceability. And I was “fortunate” to be assigned as a document controller, on top of 4 other roles like
– Minutes of Meeting Recorder (15 minutes and meeting notes was out was my fastest speed)
– Custom Clearance Coordinator
– Planning and Control Engineer
– Site Engineer and Coordinator
To help me with this, I like to visualize about how documents flow, and how traceability works.
This helped my client in visualizing document preparation, review, approval cycle, and ways to trace it, and I used it quite often in developing ERP / Software system for them.
Turns out understanding traceability is, after all, a good skill.
Tip : Visualise the document flow and ask “What-if”
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If this is of interest to you, stay tuned for the Part 3.
In addition, should any readers that is keen to do a project and is looking for advisory, especially related to government financial assistance, feel free to contact me.
My skill set will come in handy for most clients.