Marvin's Story: The Fate of a Long Island Technical Warrior - by Jerry Brown

A few years ago I got a call from a consulting prospect named Marvin Lubov (This is not his real name. You’ll see later why I’ve changed it). He didn’t sound good. In a weary voice he explained that he owned a company that made specialized machine tools and his electrical engineer had just quit with no notice. Furthermore, he had several machines under construction and needed help with the computer controls. After a little discussion it sounded like I might be able to help him. So, in spite of some reservations, I stopped what I was doing and drove to his plant, which was only 40 minutes away on the south shore. 

His company was in a small collection of old industrial buildings on a back street in West Babylon. Areas like this are common on the south shore. They’re left over from the heydays of the aircraft industry when Grumman and Fairchild spawned a lot of machine shops. The factory consisted of two brick buildings that were big enough for 50 to 100 employees. The place was messy and dirty. Some of the dirt was typical of an old machine shop. But, a lot of it was clearly due to neglect. The glass in the front door was frosted with grime. Every horizontal surface in the offices was covered with clutter – papers, folders and catalogs.

Marvin turned out to be a tired-looking heavy-set man. As we talked I couldn’t help liking him. He had started the company as a young man. At its peak it had a 100 employees. He developed automated tools for bending and welding steel rod – sort of like wrought iron – into parts for all kinds of applications. Marvin was the guiding genius behind the technology. Designing the machines is what he really lived for. Every order was a new challenge. The company was just a place to pursue his passion. But, you could see he was tiring. He was 69 and there were only five people left, if you counted him and the engineer who just quit.
 
He showed me around the factory. If you knew nothing of machines and shops you would have seen only a confusing mess. It was dark. The floor was littered with metal shavings. It looked like one of those places you see at auto salvage yards. But, after a while I could understand that there were five remarkable, partially assembled machines there. Some of the cables for the electric welding were bundles of braided copper as big as your arm. There were big ball screws driven by 100 horsepower electric motors. There were cams and hydraulic rams that could bend ½ inch steel rod. All of the parts operated together to twist, bend and weld the rod into intricate embroidery-like patterns. Marvin was clearly a man of unusual ability who knew many things and here, in this now darkened arena, had once fought many grand technological battles with nature.
 
Marvin seemed to want to talk about how fate had left him in his current state. He had several, philosophical stories about people who found easier ways to make a living. Maybe he thought that we were a little alike and that I might agree to help him if he could establish some kind of bond. While I listened, I was trying to think of ways to gracefully decline the work. He needed a big commitment of time. And I would have to learn some new things that would take me in directions I didn’t want to go. Nevertheless, I listened to a few stories before I left. The one that impressed me the most was about a former employee who had left to work for the Gotti crime organization. In Marvin's mind, it probably epitomized what he perceived to be the unfairness of his situation.
 
It seems that the Gotti organization used computers in their "business". Apparently, after John Gotti went to prison, the younger Gotti was especially interested in computerizing the business. So, one of Marvin’s employees left him to take the job of setting up their system. He told Marvin that they paid everything up front. When you took the job you knew that there would be no more money and you had to finish it to their “complete” satisfaction. But, the pay was extremely good. The job went well. He got paid and the organization was happy. Then, a wonderful thing happened. The State of New York, as part of their ongoing battle with the mob, raided the Gotti offices and confiscated the computers. The investigation didn’t lead to any convictions, though. So, the consultant was hired again and got to do the whole system again. Once again he was paid extremely well. Then, the federal authorities took over the case. There was another raid and they confiscated the second set of computers. This time the Gottis were finished. According to Marvin, his ex-employee made over a million dollars from this and is now retired.

Comments

[Dick LaRosa]

Sounds like Marvin kept making the same types of machine for the same types of customers and didn't grow the business into new fields that could use his talents. Employees can't afford to get stuck in a company that is going nowhere and is, in fact, shrinking. Helping Marvin out of his immediate problems would only be a short-term solution and trap Jerry in the downward path. A new Marvin with new vision was needed.

[Fred Katz]

It was a good story. The important feature of this story is that sometimes you have to know when to say no to business. Even if you completed the requirements of the assignment, there would be a good probability that you would not get paid in full, due to the declining nature of this failing business. This is bad business.

If Jerry accepted the assignment, an initial retainer and progress payments should be part of the consulting agreement.

As far as Marvin's programmer that went to work for the mob, he was doing honest work for dishonest people. If he was a house painter, he would be judged more approvingly than the programmer.