In 1996, when I decided to start a technology consulting practice, I'd read lots of books about the mechanics of starting a practice, how to market yourself, etc. I wasn't really convinced I wanted to delve into this line of work until I read a book called "The Consultant's Calling ." It was reading that book that prompted me to make the decision to go into consulting. The author (Geoffrey Bellman) shares some of the same philosophies of work that I do - work as an avenue to manifest one's calling in life, and to find meaning. Although he didn't quote Frederick Buechner, who called a vocation "where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet," his book definitely is written in that spirit. And his book also talks about how to balance your consulting practice within the context of your life. Both of these are important to me.

Because of this perspective on work, what I bring to my advising practice is my full presence and my varied perspectives. The relationship I build with clients is central to me, and even though the relationship is built around technical issues, it is not just my expertise that makes it possible to have a successful project or training. It is also that I meet clients where they are, and tailor my work with them to suit their needs. I also highly value ethics and responsibility. I'm not perfect, by any means - but I am always willing to own my mistakes, and fix what needs fixing when they happen. And in that same spirit, evaluation is very important to me. I want to know how I'm doing - how I can improve what I do. So evaluation is a planned component of every project that I undertake. And that evaluation is never billed.

I produce a lot of written content, both on my own, (on my blog and on my wiki, ) and published elsewhere (see my del.icio.us portfolio ,) and it is always freely available, and published with a Creative Commons license. Also, even though I'm considered an expert (particularly in the realms of free and open source software, nonprofit technology, web technology and data management) there is always more to learn. I'm constantly in the process of learning new techniques, trying out new technologies,and  keeping up with technology that might be useful to my clients. 

There is more info on my philosophy of technology support in this article on my blog. 

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