Nerds of Steel

James Moss

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About this Author: Call me shallow, but I'm still fascinated by the strategic development of this basic industry especially now that it stands once again at the center of an industrial revolution like no other. Here is a brief bio. Strategy consultant since 1985. At First River Consulting from 1998; Beddows & Company, 1987-97, (in the US from 1989) and The Addison Group, 1985-87. Over twenty years of consulting to the steel industry & other capital intensive industries in North America, Europe & South America. Focused on strategy development, implementation, & organization. M.A. in English, Cambridge University, England - 1981. MS in Strategy & Organization Development, Pepperdine University, CA -1996. Speak German and passable French. Born in Beverley, Yorkshire, England - 1958. Married. Live on Mount Washington in Pittsburgh. I live in the US, in Pittsburgh, but I'm British. I moved to the US in 1989 to work on a large, complex, steel company strategy problem. I started consulting in 1985 for The Addison Group in London. Part of The Addison Group became Beddows & Company and I worked there until 1997 when I left to start First River. My consulting career has covered a whole range of industries from music software to steel. It's been mostly steel in the last 10 years, because steel is such a difficult industry in which to make effective strategy and because the problems of change are so great. I've covered a great many strategy problems in steel and other industries (growth; technology choice; merger & acquisition; bankruptcy; restructuring; reorganization; product line development etc.) I've covered nearly all steel product lines (flat, long, tube, specialty) and many countries. The steel industry is a great source of learning for anyone trying to develop business strategy in a heavy industry, new or old. The core problem in all (strategy) consulting is how to be an effective consultant. A great part of that is knowing your subject and another great part of it is knowing how to help an organization change. I recognized that I didn't know enough about the second great part so I went back to school to learn more stuff. I went through Pepperdine's MSOD course under the guidance of Professor Chris Worley and came out trying to integrate the creation of dynamic business strategies with the development of a senior management group's ability to develop and act on them. That's what I do now.

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