Party answers

When you hear the word modularity, what do you think about? What image do you form in your mind? Perhaps you think of modular homes, or modular furniture, or perhaps you are a Modular Management Consultant and think about an abstract unit containing a discrete functionality and well-defined interfaces. I would guess that the latter thought isn’t the first on most peoples’ minds though. It certainly isn’t the phrase that comes out of my mouth when someone asks me, in a social setting, what I do for a living. I have to be honest and say that despite the fact that I have been involved with Modular Management for two years now, I still don’t have a good party answer to what it is I do for a living.

What we do as Modular Management Consultants is fairly complex to explain to a layman. When someone asks me what I do, I respond with “I am a consultant.” I’ve found that maybe 10% of the time this answer is sufficient, but most of the time people ask me “so what does that mean?” in some shape or form. My standard add-on information is that we are management and engineering consultants, and that we help companies with their product structures. This response is sufficient for most people with just a casual interest, people who were only trying to make small talk, or just trying to be polite. They still have no idea what I do, but they don’t feel like probing anymore. I’m pretty good about gauging other peoples’ interest levels. I don’t offer much more detail if I am sitting in the dentist’s office, or at a hair salon, but if I am with a group of techies I might just offer the whole load of information without being prompted.

There are a few people in my world who have demanded more information, and in those cases I will typically explain the concepts with a product example they can relate to. I might use the automotive industry and the idea of common platforms as a springboard, or I might use popular brands of power tools to exemplify the ideas. I’ll point out things that are common units, modules that can be used across an entire product platform to capitalize on economies of scale. Of course there is much more to assisting clients as they develop modular architectures for their products, but by boiling it down to outputs most people can understand what our clients are trying to achieve.

I’m fairly used to having party answers to what it is I do for a living. My post-graduate work history involves being a designer engineer, a systems engineer, a product manager, and now a consultant. Most people probed for more information when I responded with any of the occupations I listed above. Sometimes I think my police officer friend has it right when she just lies to those interested only in small talk, since she absolutely hates the questions that follow (have you ever shot anyone? being particularly annoying I’m sure). What is your party answer to what you do for a living?