Grafting

I’ve been doing some grafting - mostly bud grafting - and some pruning on my apple trees.

I have grafted four other varieties of apples and the “conference” variety of pears, which I am yet to see if the tree has taken “Home” the new buds.

And I came to think of the similarity to the process of hiring a consultant:

Being a consultant is obviously a little different way to contribute to the company, as I have learned in recent assignments.

The consultant is definitely capable and skilled, though in various other ways as the case may be since most consultants in the branch I know, being the car industry, are ideally a kind of a multitool, as they get to be in an assignment for a while, and then get another assignment. So a consultant is not exactly an employee that has been roaming around for several years and has all the markers of the local culture.

The new consultant comes with a new, unique attitude that will in many cases refresh the team and set new limits, new goals, bring new ideas and give the organization a breath of fresh air.

From my own acquaintances, several of my friends and former colleagues have been employed mostly as consultants throughout their career, whereas others have been directly employed in a company for ages, and all in between these extremes. I have been employed for long periods at Bosch in Stuttgart, Germany, and at Volvo Construction Equipment in Sweden. At Bosch, I would probably have stayed if we wouldn’t move to Sweden, even though I planned on changing within the company. At Volvo, the lay-off at the end of 2020 took me also, with about 10-15 % of the white-collar workforce.

If you can move around within the company, changing location and/or assignment, then it is as if you are a consultant within the organization, which I see as a great way to mitigate stagnation. At Volvo CE, I moved from function development at Driveline System to the Human Factors and UX team.

Returning to the subject of grafting and pruning fruit trees:

This art makes the tree from fruitless to a high achiever, where a significant harvest can come from small trees. Just travel to an orchard in Tirol during the season and see for yourself.

My goal by grafting is to maximize variety from one apple sort to multiple varieties of apples and pears on one tree and to prune my trees (2 seniors and 3 infants at writing moment) in order to optimize them so they make themselves useful. 

In the same manner, a company might need to prune itself and graft new varieties, if most companies are working on inclusiveness, multi-ethnicity and diversity, and if they really mean it.

I am a diversity on my own, having been born elsewhere, worked elsewhere, well traveled, well educated, speaking several languages and having a varied skill set, but other kinds of diversity bear significant advantages as well.

What about you? Graft yourself with new skills. Graft your team with new spirit, bearing his/her skills and character.

Creativity sets the limits, not resources.