What Does a Practical Right-Hand Person Actually Do?

What Does a Practical Right-Hand Person Actually Do?

A while back, somebody asked me a simple question:

"So, Paul, what exactly is it that you do?"

That's a very good question.

I'm not so sure I have a good answer.

The question stayed with me. The more I thought about it, the more I realised I'd spent years doing lots of different things without ever really stopping to ask myself how they all fitted together.

Over the years I've been a driving instructor, worked in education, supported international students, helped organise educational programmes, written reports and proposals, mentored young people, supported charities, solved business problems, and occasionally found myself helping people navigate situations they simply didn't know how to deal with.

Frankly, you name it, I've probably done it at some point.

On paper, it looks like a random mess, jobs, projects and experiences all mixed into one, and one might reasonably ask, "How do they all fit together?"

The strange thing is that, looking back, they do fit together, and rather well.

That's important to me because I've always liked things to fit together. Not just physically, but conceptually as well.

The individual parts might be perfect on their own, but for me, they have to fit together perfectly as well.

I like to understand the big picture. I like to see the patterns and find the common thread that links it all together.

The more I thought about it, the more I realised there was a common thread running through almost everything I've done. People come to me!

People rarely come to me when everything is running smoothly. They usually come to me when there's a problem. Now, the details often change, but the underlying challenge is always remarkably similar. Somebody needs help, and I help fix it. I help fix the problem.

Now, I have to admit that sounds slightly worrying.

The moment I say it, my mind immediately jumps to all those Hollywood fixer characters. The people who get a mysterious phone call in the middle of the night, climb into an expensive car, disappear into the darkness, and somehow make the problem go away.

Fortunately, my version is considerably less exciting.

There are no criminal masterminds, no secret meetings, and nobody has ever asked me to dispose of any evidence. Yet.

Most of my problem-solving involves conversations, research, planning, paperwork, coordination, and helping people work out what to do next. Then, and this is the good bit, I help them do it. Yes, I help make it happen.

It's not quite Hollywood, but it does seem to help. It is usually very hands-on as well, so you're not left on your own.

Different situations. Different people. Different industries.

Different situations. Different people. Different industries. Yet the skill sets are the same and seem to appear again and again.

Listening. Proper listening.

Asking questions. The right questions.

Understanding what's really going on. And trust me, we've all been there at one time or another.

Breaking complicated problems into manageable pieces, which is not always as easy as it sounds, and is's a skill set in its own right.

And helping people move forward. Let's get this sorted together and move on with life.

The trouble with job titles

The trouble with job titles is they rarely tell the whole story, or even the right one.

I've been described as a consultant, advisor, mentor, trainer, project manager, education consultant, and business support professional, but never a fixer.

There is probably some truth in all of those descriptions, but none of them feels completely right.

Because they are the parts, and I am the whole. All of the parts fitted perfectly together, and the whole should always be greater than the sum of the parts.

If I had to describe what I do in the simplest possible terms, I would probably say this:

I help people move things forward.

Or, to put it another way, people come to me with a problem, and I help them fix it.

To me, that's what a practical right-hand person does.

So next time you have a problem that needs fixing, don't call the A-Team, Saul Goodman, or Winston Wolf.

Just call me.