tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54261485438751140922024-03-07T23:37:20.135-08:00We Are All ConsultantsWilliam McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-74065154057597680202013-01-11T13:57:00.000-08:002013-01-11T14:19:30.539-08:00Start at the End<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Dave Lavinsky, co-founder and president of Growthink, has a new
book out called “Start at the End”.
Below are his top 12 tips, with a little commentary from me. Start at the End is available for $7.95 shipping
costs at </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.startattheendbook.com/free"><span style="color: #0042c2; font-family: Arial;">http://www.startattheendbook.com/free</span></a></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">.</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Start at the end – if you don’t know where you want your
business to go, you’ll never get there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – There are many good outcomes for a business if you’re
open to them. In a consulting business,
for example, you may be willing to make less than your ultimate goal if you are
traveling to interesting places, learning new technology or get to work with
interesting people or on progressive projects.
However, as Dave mentions, it is important to establish that “true
north” for your business – and subgoals that mark the milestones to get there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">SWOT analyses are obsolete; realize there will always be threats
and company weaknesses that don’t warrant fixing. Rather, focus on
opportunities that leverage your strengths (SO analysis), and build your
strengths further so they give you sustainable long-term advantage<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – Great advice!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Forget your P&L; that’s short-term thinking; need to also
think longer-term; building business assets that allow you grow your business
and reap better P&L later and forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – I’m not too keen on this one. The P&L shows the funds that are
sustaining the business. If your efforts
are not yielding a positive P&L, pretty soon you won’t have a
business. Be agile. Find a way to make the concept deliver
P&L early and often, even if you are building to a larger payday later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">If your business doesn’t have a scorecard, you will lose EVERY
time. Your scorecard needs to include the detailed KPIs that underly your
revenue and profit results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – Absolutely. And
that scorecard could be multi-faceted, but don’t let it get too complex that it
gets overwhelming. Usually a few key
metrics are all that is needed and the rest will naturally drag along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">If your business doesn’t operate without you, it’s not a
business; it’s a miserable job. You must systematize your business so it works
for you, not vice-versa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – I get it! Work
yourself out of a job. Your time is the
most uber-valuable thing you have and if you have to spend it operating a
business you don’t like, then life is hard.
However, the “job” could be (and should be) something better than
miserable if you happen to be operating it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">The most important marketing metric in a business is PPI –
profit per impression. To maximize it,
you need a fully optimized marketing system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – Flies in the face of the “this is a numbers
business”. This is worth thinking about,
although Grant Cardone, sales expert, says (paraphrased) that your #1 problem
is not enough people know about you and what you do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Business owners don’t need more leads (even though all of them
think this will solve all their problems). Rather, they need a better marketing
system that converts leads into lifelong customers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – There’s no doubting that you’d better be ready to
deliver, but generating leads is a huge problem for most. When you convert one, it better pay off,
which is probably Dave’s point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">8.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Most business owners don’t have even one organization or “org”
chart when in fact you need to have 3 to succeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – I haven’t read the book to know what these 3 are, but
I’ll be interested in finding out. I
agree with the concept that the team needs to know who to go to for any need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">9.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Successful business owners don’t run businesses. They have
employees that run their businesses; they grow them. To be successful, you need
to build an org chart that includes the necessary personnel and structures to
allow your business to run without you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – Yes, see #5 above.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">10.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Because of poor management, most small business owners’
employees focus on the wrong things. Ask your employees how they think their
performance should be judged, and make sure that agrees with your thinking. If
employees don’t understand what success is, they can’t possibly achieve it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – Excellent point, but let this Q&A be
non-judgmental and if you ask, be open to the answer as input to your view of
how their performance should be judged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Business owners should stop innovating. Rather, do more of the
things that are proven to work and less of the things that haven’t worked.
Avoid shiny object syndrome of constantly wanting to try the latest thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – I get the spirit of this – play up your
strengths. Just make sure you don’t
avoid shiny objects at the expense of innovation. I need to make half my revenue this year
doing things for which I made nothing last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">12.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Humble yourself by building an advisory board. You’ll be amazed
by what other successful people know that you don’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">William – This is one of the key functions to do outside of
direct business-making functions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-11062318030637585762012-12-27T16:50:00.000-08:002012-12-27T16:50:06.618-08:0090 Days to Success in Consulting is Available Again on KindleAfter a year or so hiatus from Kindle due to a dispute between my publisher and Amazon, 90 Days to Success in Consulting is once again available for Kindle.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Days-Success-Consulting-Edition-ebook/dp/B0038U0U72/ref=tmm_kin_title_0/183-7005285-7084135?ie=UTF8&qid=1248916588&sr=1-12">http://www.amazon.com/Days-Success-Consulting-Edition-ebook/dp/B0038U0U72/ref=tmm_kin_title_0/183-7005285-7084135?ie=UTF8&qid=1248916588&sr=1-12</a>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-46389795654478133182012-12-14T12:42:00.001-08:002012-12-14T12:42:14.287-08:00Guest Post: Why Book Publishers Hate AuthorsWhy Book Publishers Hate Authors<br />
<br />
Michael Levin<br />
<br />
Michael is a New York Times best selling author and Shark Tank survivor. Michael runs <a href="http://www.businessghost.com/"><span class="s1">www.BusinessGhost.com</span></a>, and is a nationally acknowledged thought leader on the future of book publishing.<br />
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It seems so…unliterary. But publishing houses despise authors and are doing everything they can to make their lives miserable. Here’s why.</div>
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Authors are admittedly a strange lot. There’s something antisocial about retreating from life for months or years at a time, to perform the solitary act of writing a book. </div>
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On top of that, authors are flaky. They promise to deliver a manuscript in April and it doesn’t come in until October. Or the following April.Or the April after that. This leaves publishers with several options, all of them bad: revise publishing schedules at the last minute; demand that authors turn in projects on time, regardless of quality; cancel books altogether; or sue the authors (as Penguin has begun to do) for undelivered or poor quality work.</div>
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Authors are also prickly about their work. There are few jobs on the planet in which people are utterly free to ignore the guidance, or even mandates, from their bosses. Yet book authors are notoriously dismissive of their editors’ advice. When I was writing novels for Simon & Schuster back in the late 1980s, my editor, Bob Asahina, used to tell me, “You’re the only writer who ever lets me do my job.”</div>
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Also, annoyingly, writers expect to be paid. Maybe not much, but something. The Authors Guild produced a survey in the 1970s indicating that writers earned only slightly more, on an hourly basis, than did the fry cooks at McDonald’s. Publishers were still responsible for paying advances to authors, hoping that the authors would turn in a publishable manuscript – which doesn’t happen all of the time.</div>
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So it’s understandable that publishers might feel churlish and uncharitable toward authors, on whom their entire publishing model depends. But since the 2008 economic meltdown hit Publishers’ Row, the enmity has turned into outright warfare.</div>
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The three R’s of the publishing industry, the strategy for survival, quickly became, “Reduce royalties and returns.” Returns are books that come back unsold from bookstores. Printing fewer copies typically ensures fewer returns. Reducing advances and royalties—money publishers pay writers—was the other main cost that publishers sought to slash.</div>
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And slash they did. More and more publishers moved to a minimal or even zero advance business model. They said to authors, “We’ll give you more of a back end on the book, and we’ll promote the heck out of your book. We’ll be partners.”</div>
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Some partners. Zero advance combined with zero marketing to produce…that’s right. Zero sales.</div>
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And then who caught the blame for the book’s failure? Not the publisher. The author. </div>
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Today, any time an agent or acquisitions editor considers a manuscript or book proposal from an author, the first place they go is BookScan.com to get sales figures. These numbers used to be proprietary to the house that had published the book; now they’re out in the open for all to see. And if an author’s sales numbers are poor, no one thinks to blame the house for failing to market the book. The author’s career is essentially over. One and done. Next contestant, please.</div>
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It’s completely unfair, but destroying the options of a writer actually has some benefits for publishers. Which leads me to think that maybe publishers are actually <i>happy</i> when authors fail.</div>
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As authors gains traction in the marketplace, their fees go up. They can charge a publisher more money for their next book. The problem is that there’s no guarantee that the next book will sell well enough to justify the higher advance the publisher had to pay the author. So if publishers can turn writing into a fungible commodity, they no longer have to worry about paying more, or potentially over-paying for a book.</div>
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If publishers can commoditize writing, they’re no longer at the mercy of unruly, unmanageable, and unpredictable writers. They can lower their costs, they can guarantee that their schedules will be adhered to, and they can keep the trains running on time.</div>
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The problem is that they destroy the uniqueness and creativity that readers expect when they buy a book. As the quality of books diminishes, book buyers are less likely to turn to books the next time they need to get information about a given topic. They’ll go to Wikipedia, they’ll do a Google search, they’ll phone a friend. But they won’t buy another book.</div>
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Publishers have begun to hate authors. But seeking to squeeze out the individuality and admittedly the eccentricity of authors is just one more reason why book publishing as we know it is going over the cliff.</div>
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William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-59378560422953031472012-09-28T10:38:00.000-07:002012-09-28T10:38:08.505-07:00Should You Start a One-Person Consultancy?Here is a checklist, courtesy of Marty Nemko, on 14 questions to ask yourself before starting a one-person business. I thought they had a lot of applicability to the one-person consultancy business, so I'm sharing the list here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://martynemko.blogspot.com/2012/09/should-you-start-one-person-business-14.html" target="_blank">Link to questions.</a>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-91420056504664491532012-02-29T15:20:00.000-08:002012-02-29T15:22:32.882-08:00How to Predict the Future and Act with Certainty<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">Does it sometimes seem like very little is certain? Does that make it hard to plan – to the point where you don’t plan and just take care of what’s required immediately? I had a chance to speak with Daniel Burrus, one of the world's leading technology forecasters and business strategists and author of “Flash Foresight” a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller. He has an approach that helps you bring “the certain” into focus and then act on that certainty.</span> <br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px;">Here is a <a href="http://www.information-management.com/infodirect/2011_227/change-management-BI-analytics-mobile-McKnight-10021828-1.html" target="_blank">link to the article</a> about Dan's approach to certainty (and the explanation for the picture of the chair.)</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-osisX0ih1wM/T06yqnw4b5I/AAAAAAAAAEs/scv5BHakpDM/s1600/chairphoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-osisX0ih1wM/T06yqnw4b5I/AAAAAAAAAEs/scv5BHakpDM/s320/chairphoto.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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</span>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-91337910268528029562012-02-23T13:48:00.000-08:002012-02-23T13:53:35.192-08:00Where's Jeremy?<div class="MsoNormal">
As a Golden State Warrior fan, I am watching in amazement the “Linsanity” that Jeremy Lin has created. As most everyone is aware, Jeremy Lin has exploded onto the NBA scene. As the Knicks ran out of options at point guard, in what might be considered a desperate move, Lin was thrust into the starting lineup. There’s been no looking back. His exploits on the court have been nothing short of amazing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, roll it back 1 year when Lin was a Warrior and he was the last guy off the bench – when he was actually on the team and not in the developmental league that is. I was asked by an Asian-American friend about Lin then and I said that we don’t see him in the games very much, he must not have proven himself to the coaches and that he would probably be out of the NBA soon. Well, I was right about the first 2 things, but I suspect he will be playing in the NBA for quite a while now. At least I couched my statement with “we don’t see him in the games very much.” Otherwise, I would be a very poor judge of talent. And nobody could really disagree that he was probably headed out of the league then.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Circumstances intervened and now we have “Linsanity.” What about your clients? Do they have Jeremy Lin’s that have been suppressed and just need a chance?<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have often remarked that one of my main jobs at a client is to unearth the great ideas that are present in the staff, refine those ideas and turn them into productive action. Often times, people don’t speak up out of fear of stepping on a superior’s toes or because they’ve otherwise been “put in their place” when they have stretched. Sometimes they’re pegged below where they should be because it takes some people a while in their career or new job to shine. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Organizations should support and facilitate idea development from all corners. Leaving a client better means finding the Jeremy Lin’s in that organization and seeing to it that they get credit for their ideas and are able to improve the company condition. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Find the Jeremy Lin at your client. What better way to improve the client condition than to give the client access to its hidden talent?<o:p></o:p></div>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-88674622623798292252012-01-29T12:21:00.001-08:002012-01-29T12:21:41.639-08:00What I’m Reading: Grow Smart, Risk Less<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">It is easy to forget that when it comes to some of the needs of a consulting business - like small business growth, marketing, sales, speaking and client communications - some of the best advice will come from the leaders of those domains across all industries, not just from consulting. Taking that mentality a step further, I picked up “Grow Smart, Risk Less: A Low-Capital Path of Multiplying Your Business Through Franchising” by Shelly Sun. While most consulting operations are not franchised by the definition of the Federal Trade Commission (are there any?), nonetheless the approach to business growth by many is through multiplying successful offices or practices into different geographic locations or practice areas. The franchising approach is very analogous to expanding a consulting business.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">This led me to “Grow Smart.” In this book, Sun talks about how to build each practice from a “ground floor” perspective, honing them to the point where they can run without the founder involved daily. Sun gives readiness criteria for expansion of the concept in this way. She talks about the skills and capabilities that should be evident in those buying into a franchise and how to support them in the opening process, such as “Join-the-Team” days. Finally Grow Smart is about how to maximize revenue from the “divide and conquer” approach of franchising. Sun bases her advice on her experience growing her company from $1 million to $100 million in five years.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Expanding a consulting business from being an Oracle partner to a Microsoft partner or from Chicago to Seattle is obviously going to have differences from opening your first non-company owned franchise restaurant. However, the mentality is the same. As Sun, who has been on Undercover Boss, states, “the success of the franchisees and that of the franchisor are interdependent.”<o:p></o:p></div>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-30737260687935328622011-12-18T17:10:00.000-08:002011-12-18T17:10:19.155-08:00Shirts and Prospects<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I received some wonderful sports shirts last year for Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To this day, I am careful about where I wear some of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Exercising in them, in particular, would cause more strain than I want to put on these shirts I still perceive as nice and in good condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I also recall that last year at this time I felt the same about another batch of shirts which are now in the “anything goes” pile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those are shirts from Christmas 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems once the new shirts came in, the older shirts looked a little less nice and candidates for soccer, basketball, yoga, the gym or something quick to put on for quick errands.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I notice the same thing about prospects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their status is often evident and we can tend to hang on too long to the hope of conversion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best remedy is new business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I keep a list and recently got very liberal at removing prospects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Incoming prospects with quick conversion and work I enjoy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than hold onto hope of conversion in vain, it behooves us all to develop new business.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Prospects are going to convert to clients regardless of the condition of the rest of our business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it sure is easier to set them aside when something of higher value takes their place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-70876446799205831202011-10-29T13:17:00.000-07:002011-10-29T16:09:35.629-07:00Are You in the Top 1%?I know I'm usually helping pump up your consulting income here, but occassionally we need to look at the bigger pictures of happiness and true wealth.<br />
<br />
With the Occupy Movement sweeping the country, a lot of attention has been given to the 99% vs. the 1%. The movement is really about attitudes, values and policy and not income. There are those in the 1% of money that identify with the movement and clearly many in the 99% that do not. However, occassionally we see a media emphasis on a "top 1%" in terms of money, which in this consumptive society usually means income. You may have heard the number $343,927 being used. According to <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/20/news/economy/occupy_wall_street_income/index.htm">this article</a>, and many others, $343,927 is the 99th percentile for adjusted gross income (AGI) on a tax return, as of 2009.<br />
<br />
However, before you compare your AGI to this number, I suggest that AGI is not the true measure of comparative monetary wealth. Net worth is. After all, the word millionaire specifically refers to someone with over $1 million in net worth. Net worth is highly misunderstood and largely uncalculated by the 99% (now using the term to mean top percentile of AGI). The 1% know theirs and use it as the true measure of comparative wealth.<br />
<br />
While income is obviously important in terms of growing a net worth, the spending side of a ledger is very important as well. Books like "The Millionaire Next Door" and a recent read of mine, "Enough" by John Bogle speak to this.<br />
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So if your're comparing yourself this way, what is the threshold for top 1% net worth? This is harder to find! We are so geared to spending, not saving. Below are some nuggets from the internet. Naturally, some are in contradiction. <br />
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">America's richest 1%, as surveyed by U.S. Trust have an individual net worth greater than $3.75 million.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The couple’s net worth of roughly $3.5 million places them in the top 2 percent of families in the United States</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mr. Kremen estimated his net worth at $10 million. That puts him firmly in the top half of 1 percent among Americans</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fewer than 1 percent of Americans are millionaires<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A household with $1 million net worth, excluding primary residence, is in the top 6%<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The number of American households with a net worth of $1 million or more… fell 27% to 6.7 million in 2008 (2007 estimate of households in the US: 111,162,259)</span></span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: auto auto auto 0.5in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 594px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); height: 12.75pt; padding: 0in; width: 445.5pt;" width="594"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span> </td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
So, now you know some parameters of comparison. Comparision may be fun, but it shouldn't define your happiness. Let's drop the word "comparative" and when you just look at "wealth", know that it's personal and your primary goal is to stay above your happiness threshold.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-83171306938205131442011-09-26T09:09:00.000-07:002011-09-26T09:10:59.376-07:00Interview on Business Info GuideHere is some Q&A with me about the book and consulting in general. The rest of the interview can be found at <a href="http://businessinfoguide.com/interview-william-mcknight-author-of-90-days-to-success-in-consulting/">http://businessinfoguide.com/interview-william-mcknight-author-of-90-days-to-success-in-consulting/</a>.<br />
<br />
<strong>What is your book about?<o:p></o:p></strong><br />
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It’s about how to be a great consultant and have a thriving consulting business.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<strong>What inspired you to write your book?<o:p></o:p></strong><br />
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This is a “write what you know” book. I’ve been through a complete lifecycle of consulting. I’ve taken the bumps and bruises along the way, but I’ve also won several awards and been able to leave each client better, many times salvaging business-critical situations. I enjoy consulting and I’d like to see it pursued in the right way too, which will elevate the profession. There’s also more where the book came from, and obviously every situation is different and requires some personalization and I have some value-added services for that.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<strong>How did you come to do what you’re doing today?<o:p></o:p></strong><br />
<br />
About 13 or so years ago, when I took a position as an IT Vice President in a large company, I inherited dozens of consultants from a big profile consulting firm. Owning the budget, I came to understand what they were making and was astounded to understand it was more, sometimes way more, than I. I also knew what their real contribution was and knew I could do better. I furthermore was looking to leverage my abilities across multiple situations and consulting seemed to be the way to do that.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<strong>Can you describe a typical day in your life?<o:p></o:p></strong><br />
<br />
There are multiple profiles to my days. I might be heads down with a single client or I might be working many client situations. Clients could be short-term, high-impact or they could be my primary client over multiple months for a project. I might be at client sites or at my office or both. I might be presenting live or in a webinar. I might be on the phone a lot or a little. It depends on client priorities, but I make my commitments and am always responsive. These clients I speak of could be local, domestic or international, which obviously impacts the day’s profile. Either way, I’ve been 100%+ as busy as I’ve wanted to be in all my years of consulting. I’m very time conscious and try to apply my time to productive and/or fun activities and not time wasting activities.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<strong>What do you most enjoy about what you do?<o:p></o:p></strong><br />
<br />
I enjoy making a big difference to clients. What I do can have tremendous impact if done well. I enjoy stepping away knowing that people and the company will be on a different and better trajectory as a result. On a personal basis, I enjoy seeing people more engaged in their daily work and their life as a result of some direction I’ve helped with.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<strong>Are there any people and/or books that have inspired you along your journey?<o:p></o:p></strong><br />
<br />
There are so many. I’m always trying to learn more through reading, podcasts and audiobooks. Some of my favorite authors for business and success have been Tom Peters, Barry Posner (my MBA instructor), Peter Drucker, Dennis Waitley and Steven Covey. I’ve been inspired authors out of my field as well such as Jared Diamond, Ayaan Hirsi and George Orwell and noteworthy books <em>In Cold Blood</em> and <em>The Black Swan</em>.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I read a bunch of good blogs through my reader, as well as news online, daily. It’s an efficient way to take in the daily information I need.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
And I’ve had several people who have believed in me including former bosses, clients and employees. They inspire me to continue to be the person they believed in.<o:p></o:p>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-38136362707150098062011-07-05T13:13:00.000-07:002011-07-05T13:13:42.679-07:00It Seems Like the BasicsI'm often amazed at the degree to which otherwise smart people mess up on the basics over and over again, despite that fact that it is costing them serious business. I know that many prefer the technical aspects of their field over the running of a business, be it their consulting business or their personal "business within" the corporation they work for. However, doing some basics well is important in making the distinctions necessary to transcend the look of a potentially-outsourced skillset to one that is a competitive advantage for the company. The company could be the company one works for or the clients they are working for.<br />
<br />
It's almost true that "all I really need to know I learned in Kindergarden." Different basics I've seen that need some work lately include:<br />
<br />
1. Not responding to email the same business day<br />
2. Not responsing to voicemail the same business day<br />
3. Not being courteous and understanding of the other's situation, keeping the focus on their issues<br />
4. Parading knowledge that's irrelevant or is about self-interest<br />
5. Looking to partners to take care of you<br />
6. Doing easy, low-risk, last-decade activities and calling it marketing<br />
7. Fear to actually consult or take risks versus being directed by largely misinformed guidance<br />
8. Fear to learn new methods for achieving client success <br />
9. Spening inordinate time in comfortable relationships with those who cannot make things happen for you<br />
10. Treating others as antiseptic barriers to your goal instead of the people they are<br />
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It seems like the basics, at least to me.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-53543657275064403952011-04-17T12:03:00.001-07:002012-03-22T09:10:18.118-07:00The Flight of the BluebirdI just finished “Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond for the second time. It talks about the real causal events in history. That, combined with some work I came to agreement on with a client this week, led me to think about some causal events in consulting and a term that sometimes gets thrown in with it – bluebird.<br />
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In consulting, the ‘bluebird’ term is used to refer to a nice piece of work falling from the sky onto your lap for you to sign and go. It’s a somewhat pejorative term used to indicate you did not do the necessary work to earn that business. I don’t use the term because the work that goes into coming to a consensus with a client over some business doesn’t have to have been yesterday or even this century, but there usually was work involved. This starts with the fact that you have to have taken the risk to start a business in order to win business.<br />
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Sure, some business comes easier when you have built the reputation. For those pieces of business that don’t come with a real sales cycle, I think back to starting in consulting 15 years ago where most everyone starts – with not much – and working pretty hard to build my knowledge, abilities and reputation. Unwinding the real causal events that led up to the business has always revealed a complicated cycle of awareness to contact to contract. Sometimes it’s years later when I get the call but I earned the awareness at some point.<br />
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What are the causal events of your business? Are you creating your ‘bluebirds’ of tomorrow?William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-49067103249765940182011-02-19T08:45:00.000-08:002011-02-19T08:45:18.996-08:00Doing More With Less? Calendar ProtocolAre you being mandated, like so many, to do more with less? If not, do you realize that is always the unspoken assumption?<br />
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<br />
If you find yourself running a team or in a team with such a mandate, or ready to place one on yourself, it’s time to get more efficient rather than immediately resort to cutting heads and continuing with current inefficiencies and a “work longer” mentality. Some of the easy levers to look at are the basics - which account for a lot of inefficiency in team dynamics. <br />
<br />
Team members need to meet. Frequently. If calling said meeting constitutes more time than is actually needed for the meeting, team meeting protocol needs to be reviewed. <br />
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Are central calendars kept up to date and shared? Are meetings accepted when realistically there is little chance of making it? Are there unspoken calendar blocks that aren’t reflected on the calendars? Do meeting invites sit for days without response?<br />
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If calendars are double-booked or meetings are frequently declined when calendars are open, the calendar is effectively useless since it is obvious it does not reflect reality and it is not being managed proactively. <br />
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I’m not advocating over-doing meetings. Meetings, their participants and their durations should constantly be monitored to ensure they are necessary. In a small-team world, ideally they are unnecessary and people just work together. But that is not the reality of the modern Fortune-level enterprise with people spread out, with consensus-building cultures and people seldom able to completely focus on one project.<br />
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Openly discussing and agreeing on calendaring and meeting protocol is required as one of those mandates for efficiency, whether it is for your project teams or your consulting team.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-2016824115689510052011-01-29T08:49:00.001-08:002011-01-29T08:49:32.096-08:00Knowing versus DoingI was exiting my yoga class at the gym last week when someone struck up a conversation with me at the water fountain. He noticed I had just come from the class and he was curious about it. What style of yoga did we do? Did we do the chattamarangya (or something)? When we did said pose, did the instructor have us put our arm in front or behind our leg? Embarrassingly, I had no answers. I just “do” the yoga. I asked him about his yoga practice. He’s never done yoga. He’s been curious for years. He’s read up (obviously more than me) on the various styles and poses, even signed up for some classes, but just never was able to go through with one.<br />
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<br />
Now I ADMIRE his knowledge of yoga and he could certainly help me out there (actually he already has me scurrying to the books). I probably could not help him out primarily by talking ABOUT yoga with him. I could only help him by encouraging him to actually do what he knows to do.<br />
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And so it goes with a good consulting practice. How many consultants know stuff but don’t actually do it? And which is more helpful to a client – knowledge or results? It’s results. Are you observant enough to know when to pull back on the knowledge exhibition and ready to DO what it takes to make sure the client gets their end result? That is what it’s all about.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-2679780538315801752011-01-23T15:28:00.000-08:002011-01-23T15:28:12.383-08:00Interview on AfterThoughtsThis podcast is an hour long conversation with S. Denice Newton and Thaddeus. We had a very spirited discussion about consulting and the domain I practice in - Information Management.<br />
<a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/show.aspx?userurl=s-denice-newton&year=2011&month=01&day=23&url=consulting-expert-william-mcknight-1">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/show.aspx?userurl=s-denice-newton&year=2011&month=01&day=23&url=consulting-expert-william-mcknight-1</a>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-78855005892119370712011-01-21T13:08:00.000-08:002011-01-21T13:23:22.402-08:00Interview on Biz Talk<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This podcast is a 45 minute conversation with<span class="yiv641994596yiv2016358751msid7228"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> I. <span data-attr="mark" id="misspell-37"></span></span><span class="mark"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Vitt</span></span></span><span class="yiv641994596yiv2016358751msid7228"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> Argent, "</span></span>Dr. Ande." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The abstract: An expert on the ever-growing consulting career option and subject author, “90 Days to Success in Consulting”. William McKnight will be joining us this week with some insight and tips on how to handle modern consulting and career trends.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ivaradionetwork/2011/01/19/kiva-biz-talk-wguest-william-mcknight">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ivaradionetwork/2011/01/19/kiva-biz-talk-wguest-william-mcknight</a>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-59401589770606278542011-01-10T11:12:00.000-08:002011-01-10T11:12:05.041-08:00The Creeping Death of ProductivityWhat a year 2010 was when it came to optimizing your entertainment. Hitting mainstream was the fact that you can easily access most any movie, any YouTube video, any podcast, most any song, hundreds of games, service reviews, facebook updates and tweets on any reasonable medium (TV, computer, PDA, tablet) and you can do it anytime for very reasonable fees. Most of the aforementioned are used strictly for entertainment and not business. <br />
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<br />
Now I’d like to believe I put a business spin on a lot of these activities, but that only goes so far and the unproductive side of all these goodies can creep up on you. I’ve had to adopt a “Time Blocking” type of strategy, like what Chris Brogan discusses <a href="http://myescapevelocity.com/time-blocking">here in his blog</a>. For me, this includes the business and the fun side of using the new technology.<br />
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I believe that there is a serious new element in determining success now. It’s something that has always been there, but is ever more important and that is avoiding procrastination and maintaining focus in a world where the distraction possibilities have exploded. <br />
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Stay focused on task. List your goals. Block your time, giving yourself ample time for fun. And when you feel like you’re falling victim to an unwanted distraction, recognize it and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-91721350097489934402011-01-05T13:59:00.001-08:002011-01-05T14:00:04.443-08:00Mind the Gap2 consultants of equal delivery ability in the eyes of the buyer.<br />
<br />
<br />
Consultant 1 is independent or from a boutique consultancy and consultant 2 comes from a large, well-known, branded global consultancy. All too often, although happening less frequently, the buyer is willing to pay more, sometimes substantially more, for Consultant 2. <br />
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Little of the largess goes to the consultant herself. It goes to the consulting organization, specifically the management of that organization. The question is “Is the employment of the consultant by a large, well-known, branded global consultancy worth the gap?”.<br />
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Some of the anticipated additional benefits of hiring the large consultancy include access to an internal network of experts, ability to be replaced quickly from within the firm, and motivated consultants because they have a career with a big firm.<br />
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What if these were largely untrue or not valuable? I’m just saying. <br />
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What if the independent has a much richer network of experts? What if the client is better off re-sourcing any replacement that might be necessary than accepting who the firm provides? What if big firm layoffs and revenue distribution are causing consultants to re-think loyalties? Heck, what if the client knew that the consultant boarding process was essentially the same for both profiles – or even better for the independent profile? Or that independents were more motivated to attain client satisfaction than billing hours?<br />
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And then there’s the “no one ever got fired for hiring ____ (large, well-known, branded global consultancy)”. However, I see the consulting economy moving to “no one ever got fired for hiring results.” Keep delivering results, whatever consulting profile you are in.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-52325897810074372692010-12-31T08:00:00.000-08:002010-12-31T08:00:41.506-08:00Happy New YearHappy New Year to consultants everywhere. New years give us the chance to turn over a new leaf. 2010 was absolutely fantastic for me. I'm grateful for all the gifts of friendship and creative outlet that I was afforded, but I'm looking forward to starting anew in 2011. I can say "I'm ready." Are you? Hopefully you have been able to (and will still be able to) think about your consulting a little broader than normal during the holiday lull. I hope to see many of you in 2011. William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-27810986519254887262010-12-21T09:13:00.001-08:002010-12-21T09:13:56.889-08:00What’s Wrong with Work?I had a conversation with a client recently and we were talking about holidays and vacations. We talked about what the company granted in terms of holidays, sick days and vacation days (btw, did you know that companies are not required to give 2 weeks of vacation? They give it to compete in the work marketplace.) <br />
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<br />
She asked about what I, as a consultant, take. I was about to say I take “a lot” of vacation when, after doing some mental math realized that, by most people’s use of the language, I had negative vacation this year. I was thinking vacation meant contentment and fulfillment, not the usual definition of hours spent working. It seems when I have squeezed out unproductive hours from work somewhere, I immediately apply those hours back to work somewhere else. For a moment, I felt a self-imposed, obligatory fatigue setting in. <br />
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But why should it be so? If you enjoy what you do, it is not work in some sense of the word. Smart hard work is generally rewarded and work can be a prime area of life where you can make a difference, have varied experiences and generally feel useful. So, similar to my last post, I’m suggesting today, when many people are taking a break from work, to head into 2011 mindfully about work, however you do your consulting, and the value that it brings.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-89697003855778984362010-12-13T11:52:00.000-08:002010-12-13T11:52:04.013-08:00Count (von Count) through the needed tasksIf you’re on Facebook, you may have noticed a rash of profile pictures changing over to old cartoon images. The origin is a campaign to raise awareness about Worldwide Violence Against Children and Child Abuse. My choice was The Count, or more formally Count von Count. I know he’s not a legitimate cartoon, but he’ll do. He got so much enjoyment from counting things and hey, that guy could count to 20!<br />
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I still count, but I’m not counting things as much as counting the time away occasionally when I find myself doing that which falls into the category of “need to do, can’t avoid, but it will pay off.” Usually I don’t even know what I’m counting to. If I need to be “present”, this is not preferred. It’s just a mental distraction while the task completes so I can get to those fun and rewarding tasks. <br />
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Here are some counting situations for me:<br />
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1. Changing the litter box<br />
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2. Twisted into a painful yoga position<br />
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3. Get dressed<br />
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OK, get it? The bigger picture here is how you spend your time. Are you doing it consciously? The litter must be changed and the body must be exercised and clothed, but if it doesn’t earn and it’s not truly fun or needed, you should make plans to count those tasks out for 2011.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-32478944866198267452010-12-05T14:49:00.001-08:002010-12-05T14:49:57.855-08:00Limiting Options to Increase SatisfactionI have a friend who is building a house. At first, he was heavily into the relatively small decisions that need to be made such as light fixtures, how many outlets in each room, toilet features, doorknobs, etc. There seem to be dozens or even hundreds of possibilities for each decision. A month into that level of detailed decision making and the choices now are being made much quicker and based on principle. Some high-level color schemes, preferred vendors and price/performance preferences have emerged from the dozens of decisions already made and those are allowed to bear heavily on the ongoing decisions. If he didn’t recognize the need for patterns, the build would take five times what it now should.<br />
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Sometimes, choice is good. However, many of us have too many choices and can tend to be overwhelmed. When you perceive 10 choices instead of 2, it is difficult to ultimately be satisfied by your decision, regardless of which decision is made. You can just feel like you left too much on the table.<br />
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This is why it’s important to plan as a consultant. When you make plans, you decide what choices and options will really belong to you as decisions come up. It’s easier then to make the decisions – and feel good about them.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-55274325461258038052010-10-21T11:25:00.000-07:002010-10-21T11:25:24.816-07:00Interview on Conversations LIVE!This podcast is a 30 minute conversation with Cyrus Webb. I talked about my background, the book, finding your path, producing return on investment, keys to success, referals and the applying the consulting business model to a domain of expetise.<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/conversationslive/2010/10/10/consultantauthor-william-mcknight-and-recording-ar">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/conversationslive/2010/10/10/consultantauthor-william-mcknight-and-recording-ar</a><br />
/William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-77366597800653367242010-10-02T11:48:00.000-07:002010-10-02T11:48:50.152-07:00Chapter 1: What is Consulting? available free of chargeCurious about consulting? Read what I have to say about what consulting is, the difference between a consultant and a contractor, consutling in hard times and adding real value to clients in Chapter 1 of my book.<br />
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I've made "Chapter 1: What is Consulting?" available free of charge at <a href="http://www.williammcknight.com/filedownload.html"><span style="color: #888888;">http://www.williammcknight.com/filedownload.html</span></a>. <br />
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Get the rest of the book at Amazon <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Days-Success-Consulting-William-McKnight/dp/1435454421/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248916588&sr=1-12">here</a>.William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5426148543875114092.post-6360622903510326312010-09-22T10:45:00.000-07:002010-09-22T10:45:42.996-07:00McKnight Mentor ProgramNow William brings consulting to the consultant. <br />
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My six-month retainer-based Mentor Program offers access to help the individual or organization create total business transformation. With my focus on your success, I provide you full, end-to-end solutions leveraging where the practice is and where it needs to be. <br />
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Designed to support independent consultants, consultants employed at consulting firms, those who operate as consultants but without the title and entire firms, practices and project teams, this program allows you to gain insight, advice, mentoring and knowledge transfer. Be ready for business transformation.<br />
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Topics covered during the program include any of the following, with a focus on your issues:<br />
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• Client management<br />
• Staffing decisions and issues<br />
• Marketing challenges<br />
• Client engagement<br />
• Engagement execution<br />
• Reputation building<br />
• Publicity ideas and outlets<br />
• Social media and internet strategy<br />
• Business instantiation<br />
• Long-term planning<br />
• Fee strategies<br />
• Service planning<br />
• Exit strategies<br />
• Life balance<br />
• Goal-setting and achievement<br />
• Image makeover<br />
• Collateral review<br />
• Critical business decisions<br />
• Managing capital<br />
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There are two options. <br />
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<strong>Option 1</strong> is access via scheduled phone calls and guaranteed-response email as needed. <br />
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<strong>Option 2</strong> is less client-directed. With Option 2, I will create a program of consulting mastery for you, based on your situation. The program will consist of milestone-based structure and review towards those specific goals. It is designed for complete and intense acceleration of your concept. <br />
<br />
I propose a conservative approach to business spending in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Days-Success-Consulting-William-McKnight/dp/1435454421/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248916588&sr=1-12">my book</a>, but I can see no better place to invest for consulting success than in the McKnight Mentor Program I’ve designed.<br />
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Given the personal nature of the Mentor Program, space is limited. Contact me today to discuss the option that is right for you.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">"I wanted to thank you for the mentoring that you have given me over the past few years and helping me mature as an entrepreneur. In my opinion, the program will improve the quality of consultants and ultimately benefit the clients better.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">William has been Mercury's go to person for shifting the perception of our value and empowering us with the tactics needed for success. He offers an unbiased opinion and cuts a lot of the noise.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">Mercury in turn passes on this valuable advice to our clients uses it to build the organization to support the industry trends, ultimately helping us grow stronger."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Vinay Balasubramanian</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: red;">President</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Mercury Software Consulting,Inc.</span></strong></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;">“My consulting business, Netra Technologies, Inc., has benefitted tremendously from William’s advice on a variety of topics including adoption of a better business model, improved profitability, business expansion, etc. It was really nice to get mentoring from someone who has been there and done it like, William McKnight. The value we received has far exceeded our costs and we look forward to continuing the mentoring service for the foreseeable future.” </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Madhur Limdi</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Managing Principal</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Netra Technologies, Inc.</span></strong></div>William McKnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262372036955594599noreply@blogger.com0