Abstract
In his first appointment as a member of the Expertise Consultant Co. Inc., Donald Peterson was assigned to the Weaksley Paint Company located in Omaha, Nebraska. The young man, an ambitious fellow who had just earned his M.B.A. from Creighton University, noted with interest the preliminary inquiry forms his client had recently filled out and returned to Expertise. The form was merely an introductory fact sheet, the highlights of which are shown on the next page. | Mr. Peterson quickly arranged for the initial meeting with his client and carefully prepared his interview format for the meeting. He was well aware that first impressions were important in the consulting business. | On his drive to his first meeting with the owner of the company, Mr. Peterson was careful to note the location and surroundings of Weaksley Paint Company. The firm was situated on the North Side of Omaha, roughly two miles from the downtown area and in the midst of a rapidly-changing neighborhood. This area was once the scene of lower-income housing and now was subject to a fair amount of renovation» Many of the old warehouses were very much in use. On the other hand, N. 1,9th St. had lost many shopowners from the district. | Mr. Peterson was impressed with his first scruitiny of Weaksley. What initially impressed him the most was the extremely neat and orderly warehousing facilities below the main structure and the efficiently laid-out customer area with rows of paints to one side, painting equipment to the other, with the tile and carpet section in back with the office. | Equipped with a taperecorder at that first interview, Mr, Peterson obtained the following history of Weaksley Paint Co., the interview was obtained from Mr. Kevin O'Brien the fifty-eight year-old owner who spoke proudly yet guardedly about his enterprise.