Consultant Ninja

OCTOBER 10, 2013

'"Give a man a fish, and he''ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he''ll eat fish for life. Teach a man to sell, and he''ll eat steak.

Consulting 113

Consulting Management 113

Tom Spencer

OCTOBER 8, 2013

'A framework to help executives, senior managers and marketers devise strategies for future growth. 1. Background. THE Ansoff Matrix (referred to by some commentators as the Product/Market Expansion Grid) was developed by a Russian-American mathematician named Igor Ansoff , and first explained in his 1957 Harvard Business Review article entitled Strategies for Diversification. 2.

Productivity 113

Productivity Transportation Development Marketing 113

Women in Consulting

OCTOBER 1, 2013

'By: Sandy Jones-Kaminski Networking occurs at practically every event we attend, whether it’s on the schedule or not. As the featured speaker at the October WIC General Meeting, I thought I’d share some of my tips to help with your pre-meeting preparation. These tips are most helpful if you’re attending an in-person networking event solo. Two proven tactics that I’ve seen help solo attendees again and again: 1.

How To 98

How To Meeting Media Consulting 98

The Crazy Lives of Consultants

OCTOBER 21, 2013

'The airline business is like nothing on earth, and airline people are some of the most common interactions we consultants have. I thought I would take a minute to note some of the crazy words that come out of their mouths. Note that I''m not talking about jargon - every field has special weird words for weird things. I''m talking about weird words for common things that didn''t need renaming.

Airlines 81

Airlines Operations Travel Engineering 81

Advertisement

Mastering data visualization in PowerPoint will help accelerate your career because it positions you as someone who can present data that drives business decisions forward. think-cell's PowerPoint Best Practices eBook was created specifically for professionals aiming to master the art and science of data-driven storytelling. What’s inside: Practical Insights: Uncover valuable tips for crafting engaging and persuasive presentations.

Data

MishTalk

OCTOBER 28, 2013

'There is little to no incentive in the healthcare industry to hold down costs. Worse yet, the rewards for performing unnecessary surgeries is huge, while the risks of doing them are essentially nonexistent. Here are a couple of articles that show what I mean. Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy Rises as Doctors Profit. Bloomberg reports Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy Rises as Doctors Profit.

Healthcare 78

Healthcare System Insurance Insurance 78

Seth Godin Blog

OCTOBER 23, 2013

'Thanks to technology, (relative) peace and historic levels of prosperity, we''ve turned our culture into a crystal palace, a gleaming edifice that needs to be perfected and polished more than it is appreciated. We waste our days whining over slight imperfections (the nuts in first class aren''t warm, the subway isn''t cool enough, the vaccine leaves a bump on our arm for two hours) instead of seeing the modern miracles all around us.

Sales 55

Sales Culture 55

Tom Spencer

OCTOBER 11, 2013

'“It’s an incredibly exciting thing, this one meaningless life of yours” (Tim Minchin). “TIM Minchin is a genius, pure and simple. He is to musical comedy what Charles Darwin was to evolution” (Tim Arthur, CEO of TimeOut Magazine). We tend to agree. For those of you unfamiliar with Tim’s work, you can check out some of his amusingly irreverent musical comedy here.

Exercises 102

Exercises Education Consulting Strategy 102

Women in Consulting

OCTOBER 31, 2013

'By: Melissa Stacey On behalf of Women in Consulting, thank you for your generous donations to the silent auction! Your participation and collaboration helped make the 2013 silent auction a huge success. Women in Consulting is grateful for your support. Colleen Bataille, Inspired Events by CB: www.inspiredeventsbycb.com. Pamela Bender, Planning Showcase: www.planshow.com.

Insurance 75

Insurance Insurance Banking Media 75

The Crazy Lives of Consultants

OCTOBER 16, 2013

'Ever notice the eerie similarity of consulting deliverables to Mad Libs ? It seems that as a firm gets more "mature" ( in the procedure sense ) all of its output becomes a massive game of "fill in the blanks." Just like Mad Libs. Need a deliverable for a small backwoods paper company? Fill in the blanks. How about a Wall Street financial? Same deliverable; just fill it in.

Consulting 50

Consulting Construction Conference Financial 50

Advertiser: ZoomInfo

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

How To

MishTalk

OCTOBER 24, 2013

'Security founder John McAfee of McAfee Associates, a computer anti-virus company, reflects on Obamacare: " This Is A Hacker''s Wet Dream ". NEIL CAVUTO: What do you make [of Obamacare]? Obviously, a lot of people have been focusing on the law but not really cognizant of the privacy part of the law, and how hackers could have a field day with it. Is it that bad?

System 78

System Software Banking Government 78

Strategy+Business

OCTOBER 8, 2013

'Conventional wisdom says that the bigger the difference between what CEOs are paid and what their employees are paid, the more the employees resent their leaders, and the less hard they work. However, a new study has found that higher pay differentials can actually motivate employees to work harder as they strive for their own promotions.

Study 50

Study 50

Seth Godin Blog

OCTOBER 8, 2013

'is to assume that they are uninformed, and that once they know what you know, they will change their mind. (A marketing problem!). The second easiest way to disagree is to assume that the other person is a dolt, a loon, a misguided zealot who refuses to see the truth. Their selfish desire to win interferes with their understanding of reality. (A political problem!).

Marketing 55

Marketing 55

Tom Spencer

OCTOBER 19, 2013

'Loss aversion is a widespread behavioural trait which causes people to experience the suffering from a loss much more deeply than the joy from a commensurate gain. Background. Everyone knows that people don’t like to lose things. People are reluctant to give their old clothes to Vinnies, to leave dysfunctional relationships, or to throw away an old pair of slippers.

Study 92

Study Development 92

Advertisement

Savings Consultants are needed in today’s market more than ever. With an increase in expenses, businesses are looking for opportunities to save. Often unknown to businesses are savings in expense reduction, specialized tax savings, specialized savings including medical underpayments, health benefits cost reduction, zero cost processing, and more. Blue Coast Savings, with over 20 years in business, assists Savings Consultants in helping these companies move toward more profitable businesses.

Consulting

Women in Consulting

OCTOBER 8, 2013

'By: Renee Daggett The number of people working from home has increased, yet claiming the home office deduction has been a burden and filled with many rules in order to qualify. However, for 2013, the IRS has implemented new home office rules to make it SIMPLE! Taxpayers can choose between the regular method and the new simplified method. For the regular method, you must use a portion of your home regularly and exclusively as a principal place of business, as a place to meet with clients or in

Meeting 69

Meeting Consulting 69

1 to 1

OCTOBER 10, 2013

'Service design is critical to customer experience (CX). (If you''re not sure why, please check out my post from earlier this week called Service Design: The Most Important Design Discipline You''ve Never Heard Of, and then come back and continue reading.) But what exactly is the relationship between the service design and CX? And how does the field of user experience (UX) factor into this picture?

Strategy 52

Strategy Strategy Strategy& 52

MishTalk

OCTOBER 30, 2013

'In spite of a 12.8% annual return, with an 8% return assumption, the Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) fell another $3.5 billion in the hole. TRS pension underfunding grew to $55.73 billion as of June 30, 2013. Via email, the Illinois Policy Institute explains the growing liability. First, TRS only has $0.40 in the bank for every dollar it should have today to make necessary pension payouts in the future.

System 78

System Government Sales Policies 78

Henry DeVries

OCTOBER 25, 2013

The biggest marketing mystery for professionals, consultants and small service businesses is how to attract high-paying clients on a regular and consistent basis. Clients want to hire the authority in the field. The key is to be a thought leader who is sought and bought, not just another professional who [.

Marketing 40

Marketing Consulting How To 40

This White Paper targets opportunities for Management to develop proficiency in the Decision Framing and Analyses element of input to Decision, & Risk Analyses for Major Project Funding Decisions.

Methodologies

Seth Godin Blog

OCTOBER 30, 2013

'If you announce what you want, if you are clear about what''s on offer, if you set goals. the chances of accomplishing your goal go up, and so does. the chance that you will be disappointed. For many people, apparently, it''s better to not get what you want than it is to be disappointed. The resistance is powerful indeed. Every time you use waffle words, back off from a clear statement of values and priorities and most of all, think about what''s likely instead of what''s possible, you are sell

55

55

Tom Spencer

OCTOBER 26, 2013

'By addressing social issues with sustainable business models, business leaders have the potential to provide scalable solutions MICHAEL PORTER makes an astute observation – the world is full of social problems. From environmental degradation and disease to unemployment and inequality, solving social problems has traditionally been the domain of NGOs, the government and philanthropists.

Enterprise 83

Enterprise Government Engineering Efficiency 83

Chad Barr

OCTOBER 30, 2013

This week’s reflection point: Here is a question I often pose to my clients: “If your clients were to follow your recommendations and do exactly as you recommend they do, would that guarantee their success?” The answer I hear is always, “Absolutely yes!” So why aren’t all of our clients as successful as they should and could be?

Groups 40

Groups Examples Strategy Strategy 40

1 to 1

OCTOBER 7, 2013

'Today marks the start of Customer Service Week where thousands of companies will honor and award their employees in an effort to boost morale and celebrate those committed to delivering exceptional customer service. In an effort to encourage continuous improvement for companies'' service organizations beyond October 11, I''m making the following recommendations.

Strategy 51

Strategy Strategy Strategy& Company 51

Advertisement

Case studies are proof of successful client relations and a verifiable product or service. They persuade buyers by highlighting your customers' experiences with your company and its solution. In sales, case studies are crucial pieces of content that can be tailored to prospects' pain points and used throughout the buyer's journey. In marketing, case studies are versatile assets for generating business, providing reusable elements for ad and social media content, website material, and marketing c

Case Study

MishTalk

OCTOBER 8, 2013

'A few days ago, a reader sent me a chart of the price of gold vs. the national debt. The chart was a bit out of date so I asked Nick at Sharelynx Gold (my favorite proprietor of historical and current gold charts) if he had a similar chart. He did. And here''s the chart. Debt and Debt Ceiling vs. Gold. click on chart for sharper image. Please note that the current debt limit is $16.699 trillion.

Management 78

Management Strategy Strategy Strategy& 78

Henry DeVries

OCTOBER 15, 2013

Too often a college graduate hears “congratulations” and then asks themselves “now what?” It may take months for the implications of “now what?” to sink in. For some, it may take years. A few springs ago I was at a college bookstore signing copies of my latest career advice [.

Study 40

Study 40

Seth Godin Blog

OCTOBER 24, 2013

'I have no idea what caused the guy in front of me in traffic to be having a bad day. Maybe he has a stressful meeting coming up, or his butler burned his bacon at breakfast. Maybe he''s having trouble paying his rent, or his industry is under seige. All I know is that he''s weaving in and out, giving people the finger and yelling at other cars, all at the same time.

Course 54

Course Industry Meeting 54

Tom Spencer

OCTOBER 30, 2013

'“Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.” (E.B. White). TODAY, over coffee with a friend at an alfresco cafe in Sydney, our conversation turned, as if by chance, to consider the nature of luck. As an Australian, I have always considered myself lucky. After all, if you grow up in a country with good food, great beaches, and free health care and education, then dwelling on small misfortunes would seem to suggest a slight lack of perspective (although s

How To 76

How To Education Consulting Meeting 76

Advertisement

Just because we're working with a distributed team doesn't mean we have to abandon time-tested tools and methods like whiteboarding. Digital look-alikes often cramp creativity and all but eliminate the humanity of shared interactions. Hardware solutions are also limiting and, of course, expensive and immobile. In an increasingly digital and remote-first world, it’s important for us to select tools and processes that allow us to mitigate if not eliminate the above problems.

How To