November, 2015

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The Unexpected, Business Benefits of Gratitude

David A Fields

Each Friday I pause to consider everything I have to be grateful for. Family, friends, a thriving business, homemade banana-chocolate cream pie. Some wise folks do this exercise every day. Others limit their gratitude to a day here or there such as Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) or when they exchange gifts. Terrific. Warm and fluffy as rabbit fur. But how does gratitude help consultants’ businesses?

Exercises 224
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Navigating Behavioral Science Applications

Steve Shu Consulting

The concept of nudging and more specifically the behavioral science phrase of “no neutral design” has strong historical ties to social and public sector issues. The motivation for the phrase goes something like this. We have to provide people with information and choices, such as part of governing a country and during driver’s license application processes, social security claiming processes, and hundreds (possibly even thousands) of other processes.

Ethics 200
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Dinged From MBB Consulting Firms – Now What?

Management Consulted

If you’re new to consulting, it won’t take you long to discover that MBB firms are insanely competitive. There are only so many positions they can fill every cycle. There is no shame in trying and coming up a little bit short. But what do you do next if you underprepared, or just had bad luck, and received the dreaded rejection from (horror of horrors) the complete MBB tier?

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Practice Case Questions

Tom Spencer

(Source: Flickr ). If you want to practice case questions, I highly recommend Marc Cosentino’s book Case in Point. You can also access sample case questions from various consulting clubs here , and from the following consulting firm websites: McKinsey & Company ; Bain & Company ; Oliver Wyman ; Deloitte ; A.T. Kearney ; Accenture ; and. L.E.K.

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PowerPoint Best Practices for Creating Stellar Presentations

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.

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TCIP #055 – Life’s Most Important Question with Brian Willis

Melissa Agnes

Welcome to episode #055 of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, with Melissa Agnes and Brian Willis. The law enforcement industry has been struggling through a lot of heat lately. Many leaders within the law enforcement community are working very hard to overcome this industry crisis and to embed a corporate culture based on trust-building and transparency within their communities.

More Trending

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How Much Should You Reveal When Hiring Help for Your Business?

David A Fields

A consultant emailed me the following question: I want to get help developing a marketing plan for the assessment tool I developed, so I am posting an ad on Elance (now Upwork). But they’re asking me for a my budget. I’m leery of giving a number since I don’t want to discourage someone who is really good with a low number, but I don’t want people to inflate their fees based on my budget.

Tools 150
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New Resolutions and Fresh Starts

Steve Shu Consulting

As we approach the year-end, I wanted to share some thoughts from my book, The Consulting Apprenticeship: 40 Jump-Ideas for You and Your Business. It is a technique that I’ve seen a number of operating companies and management consulting firms use effectively. I’ve usually called it the Spring Cleaning technique, to connote a sense of renewal that often comes with the pastime of cleaning and refreshing a home early- to mid-year.

Meeting 215
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Management Consulted UK Tour – Fall 2015

Management Consulted

After our annual East Coast Fall Tour, we jetted off to the UK to host events with consulting clubs from King’s College London, University College London, London School of Economics and Political Science, Durham University and Manchester School of Business. Plus – we held our annual London bootcamp at the swanky Grosvenor House J.W Marriott. (8 lucky attendees had a full day’s worth of personalized attention and all of their consulting questions answered).

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4 Financial Innovations to Make Business Easier

Tom Spencer

This is a guest post from Sarah Smith. Overview. The competitive nature of business today is stronger than it has ever been, and so it is important for companies to use all of the tools at their disposal. There are many new innovations that allow companies to finance purchases creatively in order to meet their goals over the long term. Here are four (4) examples of financial innovations that can make your business easier to run. 1.

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How to Stay Competitive in the Evolving State of Martech

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

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The Challenge of Activation

Kates Kesler

There are only so many ways to design enterprise structure. The gravitational pull to greater complexity, and all the challenges that come with it, is powered by the need for new sources of growth in diverse geographic markets across multi-product divisions with increasingly demanding customers and consumers with lots of technology at their fingertips.

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An Hour A Day

Chad Barr

This week’s reflection point: Imagine what it would be like having one extra hour added to your day, each and every day of the year. This past weekend, we all got an extra hour of time to relax, create, waste or work. And there’s always so much hype leading up to the time change; constant media reminders to change the clock on the appliances, fall back, not to miss an early appointment and replace the smoke alarm batteries.

Media 52
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Should Your Marketing be Positive or Negative? Surprising Research Gives the Answer

David A Fields

We know we can assist our clients in two different circumstances: when they have an aspiration (e.g., “they desire an endless supply of chocolate”) or when they suffer with a problem (e.g., “they have run out of chocolate!”) Which scenario should we focus on, and how should we present it in our marketing and proposals? Pretend you’re about to invest $9,000 into equipment for your consulting firm.

Marketing 188
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What Part of Customer Service is Not Clear?

Women in Consulting

By: Linda Popky. It happened to me again recently: I was in a situation where I needed to contact the customer service department of a major company. You know the feeling – a product that’s not right, service that didn’t happen, promises that weren’t kept. You probably also know what happens next. That sense of dread and desperation: I’m about to waste a lot of my valuable time trying to resolve this.

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Savings Consultants Are Needed in Today's Market More Than Ever

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.

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Job Hub: Square Jobs and Culture

Management Consulted

Today we highlight tremendous business analyst and post-consulting leadership jobs at Square. Square is a San Francisco-based start-up that has been turning a lot of heads by “making commerce easy for everyone.” Their product suite includes Square Cash, which lets users send cash almost instantly, Square Reader, which allows anyone to accept credit cards anywhere, anytime for a low transaction rate; Square Register, which serves as a full point-of-sale system for businesses; Square W

Culture 109
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Man vs Chimp

Tom Spencer

(Source: Flickr ). Humans and chimpanzeees (our closest genetic relatives) are both social animals that have the ability to form groups and communicate between themselves. Why is it then that humans have populated the globe (7 billion and counting) while chimp numbers continue to fall (currently standing at around 250 thousand or less)? A key difference between us and our close genetic cousins is our ability to use, control and reflect upon language.

Journal 71
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Bridging Organization Design and Performance: Five Ways to Activate a Global Operating Model

Kates Kesler

Bridging Organization Design and Performance is a handbook for leaders looking to enhance the success of their organizations and themselves. Companies that compete globally require organizational operating models as robust as their strategies. Many companies have created elegant designs and consider their worldwide, matrix organizations sources of competitive advantage.

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Walk the line: faith rewarded in the energy sector—for now

The Source

By Alison Huntington. . I keep a close watch on the price of oil. Lest my consulting practice goes off the boil. I must admit, I felt worried for a time. But things are fine, I walk the line. . …is not what Johnny Cash sang, but does neatly sum up consulting to the energy sector over the last year or so. With the price of oil standing at around half of what is was a year ago, the oil industry is in a situation it hasn’t seen for decades.

Energy 45
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TOOLS and METHODOLOGIES for developing DECISION SUPPORT PACKAGES

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.

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How Do You Keep a Narrow Message and Win Broad Work?

David A Fields

A consultant asked me for some clarification: David, you say our mantra should be “narrow in my market and broad in my capabilities.” If I’m narrow in my marketing, how do I get permission from an existing client to take on other, broader projects? What would your response be to this client? How do you market narrowly yet win a broad range of projects?

Marketing 150
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EntreLeadership – Decision Making for Leaders

Women in Consulting

By: Renee Daggett. Dave Ramsey wrote the book EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches. In one of his chapters, he talks about the steps a leader should take when making decisions. “Leadership is not for the weak and timid; it requires tremendous backbone…EntreLeadership is simply not for wimps.”. For me, this chapter was a list of do’s and dont’s for making good decisions both personally and in business.

Ethics 65
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Please Disagree with Me!

Leadership Planning with Liz Weber CMC

With almost every client work session, coaching call, or leadership training session I’ve been involved with over the past two months, I’m seeing a troubling trend: Far too many managers are afraid to disagree with their colleagues, staffs, and others. Or if they do disagree, they can’t clearly and objectively articulate their reason for disagreeing.

Trends 44
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Restoring Derelict Spaces to Lease-Ready Condition

Tom Spencer

This is a guest post from Sarah Smith. Savvy investors know that there is a lot of potential in converting abandoned or derelict spaces into lease-ready properties. Below are five (5) tips on converting a vacant spot into a high-revenue lease property. 1. Pop-Ups. This refers to taking a small vacant space and converting it into a restaurant or shop.

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Why You Need to Use Case Studies in Sales and Marketing (and How to Start Now)

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

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Why Business Leaders Make Time to Write a Book

Henry DeVries

Being a published author is the quickest path to becoming an expert who attracts new clients. So why doesn’t every business leader have a book? To attract new clients, the best approach for professionals, consultants and those in a high-end service field is to demonstrate expertise by sharing valuable information through [.

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Volatile Stock Market & Business Buy-Sell

Martinka Consulting

For the last nine to 12 months I’ve been writing and saying business owners have their heads in the sand. One of my common lines is business owners think, “Recession, what recession? These good times won’t end.”. Now I don’t think the economy is in big trouble but the stock market’s violent correction is sure to spook some people (especially those who bought high and panicked, selling low).

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10 Obvious Mistakes Consultants Make

David A Fields

If there’s no highway exit for another 6 miles and you’re not passing anyone, there’s a handy lane on the right just for you. You know that. I know that. Every other adult knows that. Yet we see drivers dawdling along in the left (or middle) lane for miles on end as other cars are forced to pass them on the right. In consulting there are equally obvious rules of the road that are, nevertheless, inexplicably ignored by many of our colleagues.

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Overcoming Obstacles Using External Resources

Women in Consulting

By: Jen Berkley Jackson. At the end of last year, I conducted research to understand how market research is being used in organizations. We heard back from participants that there are three primary obstacles to doing market research: budget, time and lack of internal resources. This is a familiar story for us as consultants also. These are ALWAYS the obstacles to making huge strides in business whether it has to do with our marketing efforts, our administrative processes, or even in launching

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The Art of Remote Collaboration: How to Successfully Whiteboard with Remote Teams

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.