What do we do?
Question: In 1998 you left one of the world’s best-known power
engineering firms, where you were respected and productive, to strike out on your
own. Why did you do it, and how has it
worked out?
Dr. Hyde Merrill: It
boils down to
* Clients,
*
Focus,
*
Resources, and
*
Services.
As expected, we serve a broad range of clients.
We’ve had lots of experience with utilities - I know the engineering,
economics, and management of that business very, very well - and we
haven’t neglected them. But we
also seem to add great value to the other players in the market, in the
Q: You’ve done excellent work in power engineering and
operations research, in economics and mathematics. What are you focusing on now, and why?
HM: If
there is one word that sums up the challenges and opportunities in electric
power in
Almost everything we’ve done since 1998 has had an important risk
component. Most of our work has had to
do with restructuring. Work in this
arena requires competence in all the fields you mentioned.
Q: What about applying your expertise in other areas?
HM:
Look, we haven’t buried any tools. If
anything, we add to them with opportunistic partnerships. But a small firm cannot afford to push
forward in many directions. No matter
what the assignment, we bring everything we have to it - but with special
emphasis on solving problems involving uncertainty and risk.
Q: Is "opportunistic partnerships" one of
the resources you referred to earlier?
HM:
Sure. And our clients come out way ahead
because we aren’t biased to maximize the use of in-house staff. As a small firm, we have to bring in
outside help on many jobs. Absolutely
top-notch project teams are created - and with low overhead for our clients to
pay. You get the exact skills mix you
are looking for this way.
For instance, we did a major study for ISO New England. My subcontractors included a very fine
software/database firm, one of the world’s premier boiler manufacturers,
and two independent consulting engineers - at the top of their fields - with
more than a century of experience between them.
In addition we accessed privately-owned databases belonging to still
other companies. The client got the
flexibility of dealing with a small firm along with resources that not even the
largest companies have under one roof.
For highly specialized engineering or economics or whatever, geography is no
restriction. For example, we worked with
a very fine company from
Q: This sounds like a management nightmare!
HM: It’s
not. Our partners are pros. We are all experienced in forming
highly-effective project teams. We know
how to make this work.
Q: Get specific.
Exactly what are you doing for your clients?
HM: Ok,
I will. Five services we provide are:
*
Consulting,
*
Research,
*
Training,
*
Software and database development, and
*
Testimony.
Q: It sounds like you are well-positioned and doing
well. Success to you!
HM:
Thank you!