To whom it may concern:

 As I write this letter in late 2007, I have two kids thinking about college choices. I find myself nostalgic about my own college experiences. One of the pieces of advice from my father that I remember went something like this:   “Once in a while, you find a professor with whom you really connect – you understand everything they say and you are excited about anything they teach. If you find a professor like that, take every class of theirs you can, whether or not it counts toward your degree. You’ll get a better education that way, and you’ll enjoy it more.”  I was fortunate to find one college professor like that. And I followed my dad’s advice. I took several of his classes and I requested him as my academic advisor. I was not alone in my connection with him, as evidenced by the consistently long lines of students waiting for some time in his office. Computer Science students who attended the California State University at Chico between the 1960s and 1980s most likely have their own memories of Dr. “Wild Bill” Lane as well.

 It recently struck me that I found a second professor of that ilk shortly after I was out of college. While working in Information Technology at Hewlett Packard, I took a pair of classes on structured approaches to software development from Brian Dickinson of Logical Conclusions, Inc. Brian had brilliant ideas that had never occurred to me, but as he explained them, they felt so familiar and natural that it seemed like I had known them all the time. And as soon as I understood a new concept, I was excited and motivated to put it in practice in my job. And the concepts did improve my projects.

 Brian’s teaching style seemed to represent an absolutely seamless transfer of both knowledge and enthusiasm about improving the quality, maturity, efficiency and repeatability of my work. And he was able to build fast rapport with many of the other students in the classes as well. My colleagues generally were as impressed as I was with the concepts we learned.
 Over the last couple of decades, Brian has not stood still. His structured data and process modeling concepts led him into business event modeling. And from there, he has redefined his business to be a world class business process re-engineering leader, with far reaching implications well beyond just computer application implementations.
 I did not draw this particular analogy until now. But I realize that I have been fortunate to know and learn from two exceptional professors.

 Wild Bill retired from education some years ago, but Brian Dickinson is available now as an instructor, lecturer, author, and consultant. I encourage you to follow my father’s good advice, and take every opportunity you can to learn from Brian Dickinson and Logical Conclusions, Inc. You’ll get a better education that way, and you’ll enjoy it more.

 I welcome your questions by email at rbrawn@gmail.com
 Sincerely,
Robert Brawn
Senior Business Intelligence Consultant
rbrawn@gmail.com