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74 PCB007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2023 Putt provides a simple story of a petroleum company executive in the 1920s which suc- cessfully marketed a "funny colored" gasoline through the use of a consultant. is brings us to Chapter 7. Chapter 7: The Consultant's Law "If you've ever dreamed of becoming a con- sultant, read this advice from our expert on the hierarchiology of technology." Two examples illustrate how the Consultant's Law works and why you can't ignore it. "A successful consultant never gives as much information to his clients as he gets in return." e value Vc to a customer of a discussion with a consultant (Vo) is equal to the informa- tion given (I g ) times the price per unit (Pu) that the customer is willing to pay for the infor- mation. Stated mathematically, this becomes: Vc = Pu X Ig Assuming the customer pays a fee (F) equal to the value of the advice he receives (an interesting even if naïve assumption), then F = (Pu X Ig ) and the value of the discussion to the consultant becomes: V0= (Pu X lr) is equation states that the value to a con- sultant of each discussion is proportional to the information he receives and completely independent of any information he may give in return. e failure of most technical consul- tants can be traced directly to their mistaken presumption that the function of a consultant is to give information and advice. In reality, a consultant's job is just the reverse. Chapter 8: Laws of Survival "Our expert has already told us the ploys for getting ahead in the hierarchy of technology, but you can't get ahead if you've been kicked off the team. Here's how to make sure you are not." As described in the law governing advance- ment and survival in technology: "Advance- the technical groups because it is their job to solve problems and get technical progress back onto optimistic, straight-line projections. ere is great temptation to remain with a project long aer the point of success has been reached. is is technically referred to as "bask- ing in the glory." It is, however, an ill-advised luxury. For once the rate of progress begins to level out at a certain point, it may be too late to avoid the recriminations associated with fail- ing to meet straight-line projections. Chapter 5: Laws Governing Values "Your hierarchical position can be enhanced if you draw on the abilities of others, but only if they are of equal or higher rank." Putt provides the postulational principles to prove it. e importance of factors in evaluating good ideas is stressed in the Law of Governing the Value of Ideas: "e value of an idea is mea- sured less by its content than by the structure of the hierarchy in which it is pronounced." Putt also provides a ranking of technical arti- cles and ideas that led to the Law of Govern- ing the Value of Technical Publications: "e value of a technical article when first publish- ed is proportional to the sum of the prestige of its authors, but its ultimate value is propor- tional to the sum of titles subsequently refer- enced to it." Chapter 6: Three Laws of Advice "Some readers may be familiar with the First Law of Advice, but the Second and ird Laws of Advice are neither so well-known nor so obvious." Our expert provides two illustrative examples to show how they work. First Law of Advice: "e correct advice to give is the advice that is desired." Second Law of Advice: "e desired advice is revealed by the structure of the hierarchy, not by the structure of technology." ird Law of Advice: "Simple advice is the best advice."