Here's a link to an article that references a column of mine and refers to thought leadership as a key to marketing consulting services. "Gartner: Thought Leadership is Key to Marketing Consulting Services; Consulting service expertise is reflected in client marketing but needs to be an organized discipline".
Information Management Online, February 1, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Party with the Cowboy
I’m watching a television commercial where the mother is all set for a pirate themed birthday party for the kids. Well, almost all set. Here comes the cowboy mascot and the insinuation is that the party is doomed. In the idyllic commercial, this was no problem. She is able to call in a real pirate (a real fake one that is) and the party is saved. The solution fits into the 30 seconds.
Maybe I’m just being too practical or like to pick my battles. First, I think it would have been fun to have a cowboy at an otherwise pirate-themed party. Second, if you make it out to be fun and no big deal, the kids would go for it. But finally, and most of all, the chances of getting that changed at the last minute and having the pirate make it to party with the kids with any time at all left in the party is slim and none. I would make the call and try, but when you see the writing on the wall, you might as well party with the cowboy.
How many of us are being sidetracked spending time working on enhancements to projects that ultimately will not materialize into productive work effort towards the project goals and deadlines? Many projects I review are immensely burdened by such activity. Instead of partying with the cowboy (reality), we keeping calling for the pirate (impractical wishisms) while the kids (clients, internal customers) get increasingly annoyed at not having a mascot (project deliverables).
Maybe I’m just being too practical or like to pick my battles. First, I think it would have been fun to have a cowboy at an otherwise pirate-themed party. Second, if you make it out to be fun and no big deal, the kids would go for it. But finally, and most of all, the chances of getting that changed at the last minute and having the pirate make it to party with the kids with any time at all left in the party is slim and none. I would make the call and try, but when you see the writing on the wall, you might as well party with the cowboy.
How many of us are being sidetracked spending time working on enhancements to projects that ultimately will not materialize into productive work effort towards the project goals and deadlines? Many projects I review are immensely burdened by such activity. Instead of partying with the cowboy (reality), we keeping calling for the pirate (impractical wishisms) while the kids (clients, internal customers) get increasingly annoyed at not having a mascot (project deliverables).
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Looking forward, not backward
I was reading a piece of advice in Men’s Fitness magazine. It went something like ‘get rid of those stored phone numbers of your ex-girlfriends and move on’. That’s great advice I suppose, but I couldn’t help but think of its parallel to consulting. We consultants can tend to drag around a long list of hopeful clients and projects. When they fail to materialize “on time”, as many are prone to do, of course, we keep in touch with the client to see if/when the timing may be better. However, after a while, and especially after long periods of silence, it may be time to mentally and physically remove that project from the realm of real possibilities by scratching it off your list.
“Long” in this context will be defined by various factors including how much your list is growing with new activity, what a normal sales cycle has been like for you, as well as the effects on your temperament of looking at that client name on your list and just knowing nothing is going to come of it. That can be demoralizing. However, if you’re filling the pipeline, you’re not concerned with these ex-prospects.
“Long” in this context will be defined by various factors including how much your list is growing with new activity, what a normal sales cycle has been like for you, as well as the effects on your temperament of looking at that client name on your list and just knowing nothing is going to come of it. That can be demoralizing. However, if you’re filling the pipeline, you’re not concerned with these ex-prospects.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing
For those of you with teams on the ground at client sites, permit me to share some group development-think that has inspired me and given me a basis for effectively moving my teams to higher levels of maturity and performance. I first learned about the Bruce Tuckman Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing model in MBA school, but as with many things we learned in school, it is easy to forget or believe there is no applicability to it.
However, I recently used the model as a touchstone for a team’s development and, at the least, it helped to assure me that some of the early-stage team “forming” actions involving feelings, insecurities and other such controversies are NORMAL. The model also helped me see where the team can go, if things are handled properly. I recalled all the teams I’ve brought together over the years for client work and, by placing our team development against the model, it proved to be a roadmap we’ve followed, even if unconsciously.
So why not follow it consciously? I’m going to keep it handy. Moving onward into the mature stage of performing takes mutual trust, respect, lots of communication and having all members treat team decisions AS THEIR OWN. So, whether you’re forming, storming or norming, pretty soon you can be PERFORMING.
As the model says, and my experience bears out, each team MUST go through each stage. No skipping! So be patient and guide your teams to solid foundations at each stage, all the way to Performing.
Here is the Wikipedia entry for “Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing.”
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
In Business
I had to gently remind someone last week that I am in business. Many consultants face a quandary about giving away free consulting. I’m actually not talking about that. I’m pretty bad about that actually – call me and, when I become available, we’re talking. I enjoy my discipline and helping others too much sometimes, especially when I’m learning back.
But I’m not talking about that kind of free consulting. I’m talking about matchmaking consultants to projects. It’s a part of my business. So, when a colleague calls to see if I ‘have anybody’ or ‘know anybody’ who fits a profile, I want to be sure some things are understood early before we get too far into the process. I will ask many questions. If I happen to ‘know someone’ who may be a fit, that knowing is borne of many years of relationship building, industry study and record-keeping. It’s a developed asset. Most understand this. Since I place consultants, I take the paper, the risks, etc., and a fee.
Unfortunately, it’s not always understood and somebody was offended when we started talking rate and it was apparent my firm would factor into that equation in some small way. Fortunately, I made this clear early in the process before I spent too much time on it. And so should you.
Whenever the fee for what you think is a ‘service’ is questioned, you have to question whether you have truly differentiated that service. And placing consultants alone is hard to differentiate. My differentiator there, again, is my years of relationship building and industry knowledge. I know who does good work in all the nooks and crannies of my space and I know how to take a job order and make sure people are a fit, technically and otherwise. Some will still see this as ‘easy’ or a naked ‘contribution’ I make to their cause.
The experience also reminds me of a time when a company owed me a payment and tried to escape the responsibility by appealing to that fact that ‘I have savings’ or some such thing. To which I replied “Whether I need the payment to keep from starvation or not tomorrow may be evident, but my charities need it more than either one of us.” I don’t know how clever it was, but that’s what came out.
But I’m not talking about that kind of free consulting. I’m talking about matchmaking consultants to projects. It’s a part of my business. So, when a colleague calls to see if I ‘have anybody’ or ‘know anybody’ who fits a profile, I want to be sure some things are understood early before we get too far into the process. I will ask many questions. If I happen to ‘know someone’ who may be a fit, that knowing is borne of many years of relationship building, industry study and record-keeping. It’s a developed asset. Most understand this. Since I place consultants, I take the paper, the risks, etc., and a fee.
Unfortunately, it’s not always understood and somebody was offended when we started talking rate and it was apparent my firm would factor into that equation in some small way. Fortunately, I made this clear early in the process before I spent too much time on it. And so should you.
Whenever the fee for what you think is a ‘service’ is questioned, you have to question whether you have truly differentiated that service. And placing consultants alone is hard to differentiate. My differentiator there, again, is my years of relationship building and industry knowledge. I know who does good work in all the nooks and crannies of my space and I know how to take a job order and make sure people are a fit, technically and otherwise. Some will still see this as ‘easy’ or a naked ‘contribution’ I make to their cause.
The experience also reminds me of a time when a company owed me a payment and tried to escape the responsibility by appealing to that fact that ‘I have savings’ or some such thing. To which I replied “Whether I need the payment to keep from starvation or not tomorrow may be evident, but my charities need it more than either one of us.” I don’t know how clever it was, but that’s what came out.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Rich Dad Education
I attended one of the Rich Dad Education “teaser” “seminars” in Dallas this week. My perspective in going was perhaps unique among the attendees. I give seminars and was interested in experiencing a small part of the RDE business model. I had no intention of buying anything beyond. I knew there would be selling involved, but this was old school 1980s hard sell, not unlike something you would find at a MLM seminar.
I can’t add much to what others have said about what happens at these seminars, except maybe from the perspective of the business model. I counted the people there and noted about how many signed up for the $500 training. Then, there’s the other training. It’s a good business model, if you choose to do business this way.
First of all, it was deceptive advertising that got the attendees out. The advertising did not say anything about real estate. It said they’d be teaching you “what the rich dads tell their children that the poor dads do not.” In looking around, and talking to my seated neighbors a bit, it was evident to me that these people were looking for a short cut in life. They were expecting a “rich man” to share his “secrets” with them tonight.
They probably would not come out to hear one of us who own one or a few measly properties. They fall for the over-the-top personality and star power of the mega-rich celebrity - even if one does say so themselves – people who would never have a cup of coffee with them.
Speaking of personality, this was a carefully crafted seminar, from the announcement of “we’re starting late due to traffic” (nothing unusual about the traffic that night) to herding us into the front seats (to establish their ability to control us) to the embarrassing “I’m learning to be rich” or some such message on our stickers. Nothing spontaneous about it. No questions allowed since “there’s so much information to share.” No audio or video allowed since “we’re giving away so much valuable intellectual property.” The speaker was Jessie Connors, whose claim to fame is she was on season one of The Apprentice. That, plus her attractive looks, were all that was needed to pull rank on most of the attendees and set up the intimidation from the start.
She showed pictures of her with celebrities – all byproducts of being on the show – and certainly intimidating to some. I can see Robert K. sitting at home watching The Apprentice and seeing his next “trainer.”
She slipped in many “offhand” comments that were clearly part of the act – that she didn’t attend college, spends time in Florida, Europe, wherever, that “you don’t want to look back and kick yourself”, “I started like this”, etc. Then, there was the repeated insincere flattery: “but you all know about that.”
Her favorite thing to do was to say something and then say “do you guys want an example?”. Then, act dumbfounded when someone chirped from row 3 “yes”. She acted like the whole audience just shouted “YES!” all at once. And then she proceeded to give the example she was going to give all along.
Now, people that get on The Apprentice are not simple. Her folksy act meant she was acting less smart than she is in order to have the people relate to her.
She even slipped in a reference to a Warren Buffet book. The believers in this audience will never be reading a Warren Buffet book so all she had to do was reference it and people would believe her message was similar to Warren’s. Nice!
Some people were buying the whole thing, believing she is super-smart in real estate. Folks, she was only throwing around some terms. If you have some charisma and spent 1 day with the head of education at RDE coaching you, you could GIVE that seminar. Remember, there were no questions she had to answer! She was just the speaker here.
But that is the problem, now isn’t it. These people going back to “buy now before the cost goes up” because we “usually do this just in blah, blah, blah, but we’re holding a special workshop in Dallas on ___” do not want to do what it really takes and are all too happy to turn over their dreams to anyone who says they will help them. They don’t want to READ. They don’t want to work. They don’t even want to research the internet before they plunk down $500 (the “cost of a TV” Jessie reminded us a few times.). And they don’t want to crawl (i.e., get 1 property) before they run (be ultra-rich).
Jessie said she had a lot of income property and gave some examples. This is just a hunch, but she could get away with NOT actually owning those properties. Now, I’m not saying there’s no property out there in her name, but if there is, there’s no proof she did it using the RD approach or that RDE didn’t deed it over to her to cover that base so she could do the seminars without lying too bad. Who knows?
No, I cannot say I took the $500 3-days of training (which, in reading posts on the internet seems like a waste) and you can say therefore I don’t know if it’s valuable, but I could say back that you also did not try this-or-that class to see if it is valuable also. I wouldn’t be looking for a tidbit or 2 of value, while sorting through the selling messages for 3 days, for my $500 and my 3 days of time.
I would advise:
1. Get past the idea that there’s a magic formula you haven’t tapped into and get mentally prepared to provide value to your fellow human beings for your return
2. Find out which, of the many ways there are to make it, will work best for YOU
3. Learn about money and ROI (by reading and self-study)
4. Assuming you’re looking into real estate, learn about real estate (by reading and self-study)
a. Whatever you’re looking into, find books, and people doing it who will help you, who are not into manipulation techniques (my book and advice for example if you're doing consulting)
5. Target 1 transaction that’s profitable
6. Repeat
I can’t add much to what others have said about what happens at these seminars, except maybe from the perspective of the business model. I counted the people there and noted about how many signed up for the $500 training. Then, there’s the other training. It’s a good business model, if you choose to do business this way.
First of all, it was deceptive advertising that got the attendees out. The advertising did not say anything about real estate. It said they’d be teaching you “what the rich dads tell their children that the poor dads do not.” In looking around, and talking to my seated neighbors a bit, it was evident to me that these people were looking for a short cut in life. They were expecting a “rich man” to share his “secrets” with them tonight.
They probably would not come out to hear one of us who own one or a few measly properties. They fall for the over-the-top personality and star power of the mega-rich celebrity - even if one does say so themselves – people who would never have a cup of coffee with them.
Speaking of personality, this was a carefully crafted seminar, from the announcement of “we’re starting late due to traffic” (nothing unusual about the traffic that night) to herding us into the front seats (to establish their ability to control us) to the embarrassing “I’m learning to be rich” or some such message on our stickers. Nothing spontaneous about it. No questions allowed since “there’s so much information to share.” No audio or video allowed since “we’re giving away so much valuable intellectual property.” The speaker was Jessie Connors, whose claim to fame is she was on season one of The Apprentice. That, plus her attractive looks, were all that was needed to pull rank on most of the attendees and set up the intimidation from the start.
She showed pictures of her with celebrities – all byproducts of being on the show – and certainly intimidating to some. I can see Robert K. sitting at home watching The Apprentice and seeing his next “trainer.”
She slipped in many “offhand” comments that were clearly part of the act – that she didn’t attend college, spends time in Florida, Europe, wherever, that “you don’t want to look back and kick yourself”, “I started like this”, etc. Then, there was the repeated insincere flattery: “but you all know about that.”
Her favorite thing to do was to say something and then say “do you guys want an example?”. Then, act dumbfounded when someone chirped from row 3 “yes”. She acted like the whole audience just shouted “YES!” all at once. And then she proceeded to give the example she was going to give all along.
Now, people that get on The Apprentice are not simple. Her folksy act meant she was acting less smart than she is in order to have the people relate to her.
She even slipped in a reference to a Warren Buffet book. The believers in this audience will never be reading a Warren Buffet book so all she had to do was reference it and people would believe her message was similar to Warren’s. Nice!
Some people were buying the whole thing, believing she is super-smart in real estate. Folks, she was only throwing around some terms. If you have some charisma and spent 1 day with the head of education at RDE coaching you, you could GIVE that seminar. Remember, there were no questions she had to answer! She was just the speaker here.
But that is the problem, now isn’t it. These people going back to “buy now before the cost goes up” because we “usually do this just in blah, blah, blah, but we’re holding a special workshop in Dallas on ___” do not want to do what it really takes and are all too happy to turn over their dreams to anyone who says they will help them. They don’t want to READ. They don’t want to work. They don’t even want to research the internet before they plunk down $500 (the “cost of a TV” Jessie reminded us a few times.). And they don’t want to crawl (i.e., get 1 property) before they run (be ultra-rich).
Jessie said she had a lot of income property and gave some examples. This is just a hunch, but she could get away with NOT actually owning those properties. Now, I’m not saying there’s no property out there in her name, but if there is, there’s no proof she did it using the RD approach or that RDE didn’t deed it over to her to cover that base so she could do the seminars without lying too bad. Who knows?
No, I cannot say I took the $500 3-days of training (which, in reading posts on the internet seems like a waste) and you can say therefore I don’t know if it’s valuable, but I could say back that you also did not try this-or-that class to see if it is valuable also. I wouldn’t be looking for a tidbit or 2 of value, while sorting through the selling messages for 3 days, for my $500 and my 3 days of time.
I would advise:
1. Get past the idea that there’s a magic formula you haven’t tapped into and get mentally prepared to provide value to your fellow human beings for your return
2. Find out which, of the many ways there are to make it, will work best for YOU
3. Learn about money and ROI (by reading and self-study)
4. Assuming you’re looking into real estate, learn about real estate (by reading and self-study)
a. Whatever you’re looking into, find books, and people doing it who will help you, who are not into manipulation techniques (my book and advice for example if you're doing consulting)
5. Target 1 transaction that’s profitable
6. Repeat
Monday, January 4, 2010
Should I stay or should I grow now?
One of the major decisions an independent consultant entertains is whether to stick with a single, fulltime, lone-ranger client situation or focus on multi-person projects only. You can pursue both strategies at once if you have a flexible anchor client and are willing to work hard, but let’s face it, some leadership positions during intense project activity times require fulltime effort. So do some clients who may not have that level of need, but are only comfortable with that manner of working. So, should you take it/stay or go to pursue something bigger for your consultancy?
Some of the factors that should induce you to stay:
1. It is your business model – nothing wrong with that!
2. The client is local and you prefer your own bed
3. The technology to be used is an entry point to a career-enhancing opportunity
4. The prospect is an entry point into a career-enhancing industry.
5. The technology to be used is an entry point into a career-enhancing technology.
6. The client location is highly desirable, either from a personal standpoint or from a career-enhancing standpoint.
7. The application is an entry point into a career-enhancing application.
8. You see that the personal service you are providing can lead to multi-consultant services from your firm following this service.
9. The work is for a charity or a small firm doing good for society that you want to support.
10. Despite your best efforts following the direction of my book, you’ve been on the bench for longer than your comfort level
These are similar to the factors I present in chapter 7 of the book where I talk about when you would reduce your rate. This is no surprise since, for many, taking the lone-ranger situation is tantamount to reducing your (overall) rate by limiting your ability to grow multi-person projects.
Some of the factors that should induce you to stay:
1. It is your business model – nothing wrong with that!
2. The client is local and you prefer your own bed
3. The technology to be used is an entry point to a career-enhancing opportunity
4. The prospect is an entry point into a career-enhancing industry.
5. The technology to be used is an entry point into a career-enhancing technology.
6. The client location is highly desirable, either from a personal standpoint or from a career-enhancing standpoint.
7. The application is an entry point into a career-enhancing application.
8. You see that the personal service you are providing can lead to multi-consultant services from your firm following this service.
9. The work is for a charity or a small firm doing good for society that you want to support.
10. Despite your best efforts following the direction of my book, you’ve been on the bench for longer than your comfort level
These are similar to the factors I present in chapter 7 of the book where I talk about when you would reduce your rate. This is no surprise since, for many, taking the lone-ranger situation is tantamount to reducing your (overall) rate by limiting your ability to grow multi-person projects.
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