Family Businesses: Eduardo Caballero, from family business to family business

Family Businesses series.
Today we continue our ‘Family Business’ series with Eduardo Caballero, Strategy, Planning and Development Manager at Petroland. He talks to us about what the negotiation and joining process look like for a family firm, about developing and adapting strategy in the time of COVID 19, and the benefits of turning a consultancy project into a full time role.

About Us
Many students come to an MBA from banking, consulting, or MNC backgrounds, but what about those that don’t? The Modern MBA podcast with Marie Kirwan and Kristen Rossi shares the stories of those transitioning from or using their MBAs in unorthodox MBA sectors including the arts, healthcare, not-for-profit, academia, and more.

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Podcast Music Credit:
Limit 70, courtesy of Kevin Macleod

Transcript

The Modern MBA
Welcome to the modern MBA podcast with Marie Kirwan and Kristen Rossi. Our mission is to help MBAs coming from going into or merely considering more unorthodox career paths. We're a community to find inspiration and share stories. Today we're speaking with Eduardo Caballero, who before the MBA was working in his family business, high performance petroleum services, post MBA, he's used the skills he's gained and move to another family business, Petra land, a strategy Planning and Development Manager. Hello, Eduardo, if you can tell us  a little bit about yourself your name, where you're from, and why you decided to do an MBA.

Eduardo 1:01  
Okay, so my name is Eduardo Caballero. I am from Colombia. Um, so why did I decide to do an MBA? Well, I mean, basically, because of tracing, three things. So first of all, I felt that I just needed an upgrade of my skills. I had been working for over 10 years, and I felt I needed to look for some new knowledge or refresh my knowledge. The second reason is that I, I felt that I needed to enhance my career. I was working at the time in the family business, but I felt the necessity to strengthen my CV, and the MBA offer me the perfect opportunity to do that. Um, the last one, is, as I told you, I had been working for almost 10 years in a row, and we no rest. So I needed I needed time off, you know, to think about my life objectives, or my career.

The Modern MBA  2:18  
And then, can you tell us a little bit about your family business high-performance petroleum services that you worked in prior to the MBA? Can you tell us who was involved? And what was your role?

Eduardo 2:30  

Yeah, sure. So high-performance petroleum service. It is a SME, it's a small, medium enterprise. They provide service for the oil and gas industry. So that industry itself, it's called ours. So it's basically engineering, a specialised service for the oil and gas industry. At the time, I was working as fan, a manager, financial planning and analysis manager, I had control over the budgets, I was in charge of doing all the projects, assessment, projects, planning as well, I had to prepare all the financial reports, I had to conduct all the financial modelling. At the time, I had just finished my master's degree in finance. So it was perfect, because I could apply all my financial knowledge and expertise on the company. So I had the freedom to implement a lot of measures in that sense. So he mainly the company, we had people from outside, let's say, not involved with the family. But they were all decisions were made by the board. And within the board, I had my father and two uncles. So the big shots were called from them. But in the company, I had some sort of freedom, so to speak, to make my own decisions and to make decisions of other projects. So that was kind of appealing. Because in that sense, I could implement on, I could pursue projects on videos of my own.

The Modern MBA  4:21  
Yeah, absolutely. I think that's one of the great things about a family business is that you have that you have that freedom 

Eduardo 4:28  
That's totally right. 

The Modern MBA
Okay. And then so what was the catalyst for moving away from your family business?

Eduardo
So you get when you are in your family business, to a point where you are no longer learning something new, or someone you know, because that's it. I mean, it's your family and you working together, but at that point, I realised that I wasn't learning something new. I wasn't learning from Anyone. So I kind of, I kind of needed to get up a fresh perspective and see something new to see. Something let's say not boring. I mean, yeah, very interesting, but rather new. So that was a catalyst, I think, a new challenge. Yeah. new challenges here. Yeah. Because you know, if you're working in the same industry over some time, and you get the feeling that you are no longer being challenged, you are no longer learning. You're no longer you are no longer learning something new. You're stuck on this feeling is just horrible. So, yeah,

The Modern MBA  5:45  
So now you're You are the strategy Planning and Development Manager for petrol land in Colombia? And Petro land is also a family business. Yeah. What was the joining process like compared to your past experience?

Eduardo  6:06  
So when I finished my MBA, I decided to make my own path. And I start to do some recruitment process. So I got back to Colombia, because I was doing a process with McKenzie. And with another consulting firm, he was doing pretty well, I mean, I got to the final stage and all that. But in December, as I was doing these processes, I got in touch with my family. They were having some problems in petrol. And so I started to, to dig deeper into the situation of petroleum. And I started to, let's say, a kind of consultant project. So he identified some problems on some structural problems. And I started to develop some, some solutions for them. And then, after some weeks, I talked to them and we negotiated, let's say, good conditions, with salary, and let's say some, some sort of freedom to implement all these solutions. So I say, why not? You know, it's a different business. I have no different perspective. I kind of, I was so into consultancy. So this was the perfect opportunity to implement some of the techniques that are learning the MBA about consultancy, on how to implement projects. All that so I took the chance.

The Modern MBA
So you're really at the core of driving the strategy of the business.

 Eduardo 7:59  
Yes, exactly. So everything started with this consultancy project. So I, I developed a strategy, and I developed a roll up plan and all that, and everything was going well was going perfect. But then this year, you know, because of this the industry is going through a hell of a crisis. So I had to, let's say, interrupt the implementation plan, and then redo a plan, because in this case, we needed to survive this crisis. And it's what I've been doing this time. It's planning for these crises, not only in terms of financial, but also the strategy of the company.

 The Modern MBA
And it's really interesting after you have so much, you're so pivotal, actually in kind of bringing everything forward. And so then what was the actual joining process? Like? Was it very informal? Because most So, so you join an MNC. The joining process is very formal. Was it different for Petro land or do they have a specific joining process still? Or did your kind of just get kind of slowly come in because you're on a consultancy project?

Eduardo 9:16  
So okay, let's say it was like, two or three-pronged process. So I started to, let's say, to, to set to set myself as skilful when, you know, because it's important if you're negotiating your salary or your position on anything else, you have to persuade the board in this case, the board that you are the guy for the job. So in that matter, I started to when I was doing my MBA, I developed some kind of ideas. So I started to talk to them to let them know that that I have a couple of ideas about what can be done to Because I was conducting the process with McKenzie, it was not my only choice at the time. So that allows you to position yourself that allows yourself to better position yourself in a negotiation. First of all, position yourself as a very skilful, skilful guy. Secondly, let them know that they are not your tribe assumption, right? Because I was, I was doing all these processes. In addition, yeah, yeah, hurt. I kind of start this project with then this consultancy project, to see how it went to achieve the kind of like my job, and if I like the position, it was mainly, let's say, non-traditional recruitment process, quite natural process. I think it's actually more authentic. And, yeah, well, you know, in a way, it's better because I had the chance to see by myself or was the job like, yeah, or I kind of felt that it was the right thing to do, you know, because it was, I was applying all the knowledge that I gained through my MBA, because I had the shot to support my family. And third, not only that, but also do have the time to spend with your family as well, because you know, your job place is something that you have to enjoy. Really, yeah. Because it's like your second, your second home, right? So it's important to be surrounded by people you care about.

 The Modern MBA 
Do you feel like you have a better work life balance and that kind of position, then you would have done with, say, a big consulting firm like McKinsey.

Eduardo 11:59  
Way better. Mary actually was one of the, let's say, breaking points, or tipping points, let's say tipping points, because as I was going through this process with McKenzie, I got the chance to talk to a lot of people that was involved in consultancy. And everyone told me that they live work balancing consultancy, it's just horrible. A lot of long day's long times job. So that was actually one of the impressions that I got from them. Many people like talk about it. consultancies about a lot of a lot of work and a lot of hours in the office.

The Modern MBA
 I think it's such a, it's really easy when kind of you're doing an MBA and everyone's applying for consultancy roles, I think it's easy to kind of get caught up in that and think about how exciting the workers but the work life balance and the travel and stuff is, is such a big part of it as well

Eduardo 13:04  
And I actually have no the time, I mean, I, I have the opportunity to set my own schedule my own agenda. So if I want to work from home, I can do it from here because I have the confidence from the board, from the manager that I will do my job, because I have shown to them that I really I mean, I am a very disciplined person. So I can do it either here or from the office or it doesn't matter. 

The Modern MBA
What about the skills? What skills do you have that you think have crossed over from your previous role? And were there any skills that you felt you didn't have that you had to kind of build on for your new job?

 Eduardo 14:07  
Okay, so I think I think I have been using, I have been using all my set of skills from the previous job, because even if you don't want to, when you're in a managerial position, you have to build constantly with financial numbers with financial ratios with produce assessment. So that was the skills that I used to do in my previous job. Let's say I haven't had the need to cross over any old skill. But in terms of new skills, I in this position, I really have to learn negotiation skills and persuasion skills as well because even though I have some ideas, or I want to implement some new processes, I have to I have to present them in a very Let's say, in a very appealing way to the boardroom. So even though I have a good idea, I have to be persuasive, persuasive enough to sell that idea to the board. So negotiation persuasion, it's a must in this position. Also, in this case, I have to, let's say, improve my planning and strategy skills. Most of most of all, in during this crisis, I have lost more than two months, I had to develop a multi scenario So based on the oil price, I have to develop various scenarios. So in that sense, it was kind of strategy and planning, which I like the mouse, but I didn't have the skills before the MBA,

 The Modern MBA  15:54  

Would you say the MBA gave them to you? Or were even after the MBA, you had to continue to build them? 

Eduardo 16:00  
No, I have to continue to build them. Because in this case, I have to base all this strategy and planning on very specific information about the industry. So I have to continuously feel this. This is kills, but the MPAA gave me, let's say them, the base rock for dogs. I mean, if you go to an MBA, it's you're not going to, you're not going to have gone to learn absolutely everything, you are given a solid base of knowledge from that you can build on the last set of skills. So I'll say I have to develop here. It's the, let's say, this was in on the MBA per se, that consulting skills. That was something I learned from my processes with McKenzie and with the other firms. What is actually very helpful. So you guys, remember when we did all these strategy project during the MBA? So I realised that if you if you reveal the consultancy theory, you kind of put all this together in a very compelling way. Yes, we had these classes and all these frameworks and strategies, but it's really by learning how consultants put this together. That really nailed it.  You have to build a roadmap, when you build a strategy and these is what consultants do, they first they analyse the problem in a very structured way, in a logical tree. And then based on that, you take all the information, you make your analyses, and based on your analysis, you use any of those tools. So that's, that's what I like the most, this kind of very structural way of conducting a review or looking at a problem. So I actually applied that to the company. So I took the company, I first did an initial review, and then I conducted some interviews with people. And then after that, I developed, let's say, a hypothesis on what the problem is. And based on that use, you start to build your strategy, and then your implementation. That's the process and would ask which framework she found the most useful. In this case, I, I kind of took many concepts from frameworks. So one of the problems in their organisation, it was the organisational design. So there was a problem with organisational design. So I couldn't help. I suggest that because I could, I haven't been able to implement that. But I have suggested to change some of the operational hierarchy and change the structural design, find them into teams, most like a circles type of organisation. It's Yes, mixed, because you cannot fully implement, let's say a team's organisation because you will have problems. But in this in this specific problem, I was having issues with the people from operations because they were not very well aligned with the organisation station. And then the other one. The other one was because they were having problems with the budget. On their financial planning, I had to develop a, let's say, a tool to, to keep track of all the financial standing. I honestly think that this tool is supposed to gather the information and the data and to see how is the how are we financially exploiting our opportunities? Hmm. Because the data that they have right now is not very reliable. So that was one of the issues when I first tried to dig in the organisation.

The Modern MBA
And so now you have the data?

 Eduardo 
Yes, because I have to design a tool to gather data. And now I have the data and I have been finding some incredible problems that, let's say they are not very obvious at the beginning. But then when you see the data, you realise where the pitfalls are. Yeah.

 The Modern MBA  21:03  
All right. So I guess at what our final, our final question for now, is, what would your tips be for any MBA students or graduates who are in the same position as you?  

Eduardo 
That's a good question. So when I first joined the MBA, I there was some pretty sure about what I wanted to do, if I wanted to pursue a career path, outside my family reasons, or if I wanted to contribute. So this kind of hesitation, during, during the me fully exploit the NBA, let's say, since the beginning, if I had this clear, since the beginning, that I was going to work on my family law firm, I was, I will have taken these into account and developed a project for my family business, let's say for the dissertation wise, I will have a job for my family business, you know, I have I will have worked better if I hadn't you. But that's kind of tricky, you know, because at the moment, I didn't have any clue about what, but what I do, so I needed to try. And by trying in different industries, or by applying to different jobs, I realised that, well, I have this space in my company, I had, I had the opportunity to implement all this knowledge. I because this has this is an SME, I have a huge opportunity of improving margins, improving sales, so I can take an SME to a big business. I didn't know Yeah, five to 10 years period. So that's a good thing. 

The Modern MBA  22:48  
I sometimes find myself thinking the same thing, or you know, if I'd come on to the MBA and known exactly what I wanted to do in the end. And in some ways, I did a lot of ways it would have made things easier, and you feel like you would get more from it. But then I also feel like one of the biggest things I took from the MBA was kind of having that time and that space to really understand what I wanted and why and what my priorities were.

Eduardo 23:11  
Exactly. That's, that's it. That's the point. And sometimes I wonder if it wasn't better to take the two years MBA, but I still don't know.

 AFTER THE CHAT

The Modern MBA 24:11  
You know, I think it's really interesting that Eduardo talked about how the process he went through for the consulting roles was actually really helpful when he went into this job. The process of when you're applying for consulting positions, the interview process is mostly consisted like case studies. And although I didn't end up applying for consulting positions, I did go through all the preparation and practising and learning to do those. And it is kind of like the ultimate test of all the stuff you've learned in the NBA because it's so practical. And it really does draw on like all the different areas I found. For me, it was so helpful, like not only for interviewing for jobs, because once you've done like consulting case studies, a lot of the other stuff just seemed a lot easier in comparison from a learning experience as well. I think felt like I got as much from practising those case studies as I did from some of the modules on the course.

 The Modern MBA  25:07  
Are there any books or any resources you'd recommend? For someone say they say they want to not necessarily go into consulting, but just use it as preparation.

The Modern MBA  25:19  
Yes, the booklet the booklet kind of everyone gets is the Victor Chang book. And I'm sure anyone who's looking at applying for consulting is already kind of aware of that. But yeah, that's kind of like the classic book that everyone has. And then there's also a website that he has as well, which has extra practice cases on also, very importantly, it has the, like, the mental maps practice. me was the biggest hurdle for sure, and those case studies. So it also has like opportunities to practice that as well. So yeah, that's the one to look at as a starting point, I would say.

The Modern MBA  25:57  
That's great. And it's funny, as Eduardo has said, from the consultants I've met, and the little material I've looked at, it does give you a very strong grasp of structure, and how to structure the problem and how to approach the problem in a very methodical way.

The Modern MBA  26:12  
Yeah, for sure. I think it's just a really good, a really useful skill to have.

 The Modern MBA  26:17  
Aside from that point, that you said, How, how the consultancy preparation, helped him, helped him move into this new role, just in some of the skills he learned and gained from that practice. But also, I just looking at his role. Now, a lot of people look at consulting with McKinsey and BCG, and they think, Oh, yeah, you know, this is going to be the dream job. But actually, from everything that our dough is telling us about his role. I think, actually, that's the dream job because you have so much freedom to do grow and to really work on it, sink your teeth into something.

 The Modern MBA  26:55 
 Yeah, absolutely. Like, as he was talking, I was kind of thinking, you know, how much of that experience and freedom would you get in like, your first two years at a big kind of big-name consultancy? And, you know, I think it's, I think it's a very different experience. And, and, you know, different things are right for different people.

 The Modern MBA 27:17 
And that's, well put. Yeah. 

The Modern MBA  27:25  
That's all for today's modern MBA podcast. I'm Kristen. And I'm Marie, and until next time, goodbye.