April, 2020

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How You Should Reach out to Your Consulting Firm’s Contacts Now

David A Fields

Your clients and prospects need help right now, no matter what industry they’re in. And your consulting firm has needs too. Little things like projects, revenue and Kreuther’s chocolates. You know that your consulting firm’s contact list—clients, prospects, influencers, partners, etc.—is the lifeblood of your business and the source of a better future.

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6 COVID-19 Induced Reasons Why You Should Scrap Your Current Strategic Plan

Leadership Planning with Liz Weber CMC

When things start to settle a bit in your world as you adjust to the new reality caused by the global COVID-19 Pandemic, be prepared to dramatically revise your strategic plan. It’s no longer strategically viable. Whether your operations experience a positive or negative impact for two weeks or two years, the future work world you were envisioning when your plan was created no longer exists.

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Business Development and Networking During a Pandemic Lockdown

Successful Independent Consulting

The #1 FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) among independent consultants involves business development. Will I be able to find enough work? How can I develop a steady pipeline of leads? I don’t know how to do sales! And now, with everyone stuck at home because of the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders, business development and the networking that fuels it seem impossible.

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Making Unbiased Decisions

Tom Spencer

Despite increasing levels of educational attainment, one of the things that remains consistent across time are the biases that influence the decisions that we make when faced with questions and challenging problems. While this is nothing new, the issue is gaining renewed interest (due to the increasing use of artificial intelligence systems) that automate decisions that were once negotiated by mere mortals like you and me.

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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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Building resilience – it’s a journey

The Management Centre

It’s a strange new reality that we’ve all been plunged into since Covid-19 reached our shores. Nearly six weeks into the lock down and people are starting to discover how resilient they feel. And let’s be clear about that: resilience is not something absolute, that you either are, or are not. Resilience is something you can build up and work on. Think of resilience as your personal emergency store cupboard.

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 “Additional Responsibilities” in Consulting

Tom Spencer

During both consulting recruiting and the initial months working in consulting, experienced by myself and my friends, the top priority for a consulting career which has been consistently emphasized has been delivering excellent client work. Arguably, the second priority has been persistent learning. Both of these are pretty self-evident to understand and appreciate.

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Privacy and Security Using Zoom During the Pandemic

Women in Consulting

By: Sharyn Fitzpatrick. By Sharyn Fitzpatrick at Marcom Gurus. When virtual communication platforms like Zoom were developed, they probably didn’t think of how to safely use their platforms during a pandemic. Because of Zoom’s growing popularity with all of us, they have opened themselves up to intense scrutiny about privacy from the FBI and state Attorney Generals.

Meeting 71
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10 Ways to Use the Fool Archetype to Increase Your Consulting Success

Consulting Matters

Today is April Fool's Day. Doesn't feel like a day to be pranking each other given the current global health and economic crisis. But that doesn't mean we can't celebrate the Fool archetype. I am a massive fan of mythology and archetypes. In fact, I love the archetypes so much that I became a certified archetype consultant through Caroline Myss' CMED program.

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5 Partners Your Consulting Firm Should Call This Week

David A Fields

Many of your consulting firm’s prospects are caught in the eddies of crisis and battling to stay afloat. While they appreciate your relationship-building calls, unfortunately, they’re too preoccupied to fully engage in deep conversations with you. On the other hand, you know who’s in the same boat as your consulting firm and casting about for … Continued.

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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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COVID-19 is the Best Thing to Happen to Your Company. Seriously.

Markovitz Consulting

You’ve heard it countless times before: “People don’t like change.” “Change is hard.” “Change activates people’s lizard brain. They’ll fight you or run away.” “People don’t mind changing. They don’t like being changed.” You hear these complaints so often that you’d think they’re inscribed in the 10 Commandments by now. (They’re not, by the way.) Sure, there’s plenty of truth in those sayings, but the good news is that right now—in the middle of the Covid-19 outbreak—they’re less relevant than ev

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An Insider’s Look At Change Management Consulting With Paul Gibbons: Podcast #134

Consulting Success

Better leaders are those who adapt to change and use the right resources to promote success for their employees and organization. Here to talk about change management consulting with host Michael Zipursky is keynote speaker Paul Gibbons. An expert on the crossover of business science, ethics, and change, Paul has authored multiple books, including the.

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Creating Value Through a Great Customer Journey Map

Tom Spencer

It is said that to really understand somebody you have to walk a mile in their shoes. Analysing a customer journey, from prospect to buyer, allows the business to step into the customer’s shoes and experience the whole process from their perspective. Professor Bernd Schmitt of Columbia Business School is credited with creating the concept of Customer Experience Management (CEM), which he defined as : the process of strategically managing a customer’s entire experience with a product or company.

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The COVID-19 Scalability Problem

CaseInterview.com

Most of my client work over the past decade has been centered around helping software companies scale up to become bigger companies. My work helps clients create surges in market demand and then adapt to sell to and service those new customers. (This is the topic of my book Extreme Revenue Growth.). While the concepts to do this are simple, pulling it off in the real world is very complicated.

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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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Coronavirus COVID 19 – What’s next for Management Consulting recruitment?

Management Consulting Prep

When the world finally turned its gazes on the deadly Coronavirus, it had already done irreparable damage to the economy. Unfortunately, the management consulting industry is also under this crossfire. As a consultant-to-be, one can't help but wonder “How big will the impact be on the recruiting process of the major firms like McKinsey, Bain, BCG,” The short answer is: Yes, they are going to be affected.

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10 Common, Avoidable Mistakes Consultants Make on Video Calls

David A Fields

Are there video call-specific rules of etiquette? Of course. Remember the old days, when people left their houses? Consultants would frequently travel thousands of miles, sardined next to strangers (crazy, right?). Even then, your consulting firm’s best, everyday outreach tool was your telephone. However, in the modern, no-travel era, video calls have become totally acceptable … Continued.

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Are Your Values Worth the Paper They’re Printed On?

Markovitz Consulting

The unprecedented technical, logistical, and financial stresses placed on organizations today make the coronavirus crisis a crucible for an organization’s commitment to its values. There’s not a company around—not even the ones doing well during this time, like Netflix or Zoom—that isn’t wrestling with the new reality of Covid-19. And clearly, the stress is exponentially worse for companies in industries like travel and leisure that aren’t thriving in the current environment.

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How To Become A Consultant: Quit Your Job & Get Your First Client

Consulting Success

Do you want to know how to become a consultant? If you’re looking to quit your job and start a business, a consulting business is one of the best businesses to start. With a consulting business, you can leverage the skills and experience you already have from working as an employee in the corporate world. How To Become A Consultant: Quit Your Job & Get Your First Client is a post from: Consulting Success.

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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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Going into Consulting in a World Changed by COVID-19

Tom Spencer

First of all, I am not going to presume that I can see the future, but I’m going to base my thoughts upon two broadly appreciated assumptions about COVID-19’s impact on the future. Any recessions brought on by COVID-19 will have effects that persist at least through 2020. Aspects of social behavior initiated as part of the response to COVID-19 will partly normalize.

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Optimize for Respectful Remote Meetings

Johanna Rothman

I've had the pleasure—and displeasure—of many remote meetings over the past few weeks. The difficult meetings had a common root cause: the meeting leaders attempted to do a direct transfer of how they lead an in-person meeting to remote/WFH meetings. When that occurs, they miss the ability to optimize on our separation by choosing how to treat people and by how we create a meeting environment.

Meeting 99
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How to Foster a Culture of Innovation: Interview with Timothy Clark

Strategic Planning and Management Insights

In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast , we were joined by Timothy Clark, author of The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety , and founder/CEO of Leader Factor - a boutique consulting firm focused on creating innovative cultures and organizational change. Are you preparing for a strategic planning meeting?

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How to Gracefully Manage Your Consulting Firm’s Shell-Shocked Clients

David A Fields

What do you do when your well-intended outreach call crashes into a brick wall of negativity? Like many consulting firm leaders, you may have been burning up the phone lines the past week or two, reaching out to your clients and other contacts. Your motives are pure—admirable even. You’re checking in, showing support during a … Continued. The post How to Gracefully Manage Your Consulting Firm’s Shell-Shocked Clients appeared first on David A.

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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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Crisis Leadership = Salesmanship

CaseInterview.com

In a crisis, leadership and salesmanship (or saleswomanship) are the exact same thing. Think about it. What are the attributes of strong leadership in a crisis? The leader has a clear grasp of the nature, magnitude, and complexity of the problem. The leader has a plan to solve the problem. The leader has confidence that her plan will work. You agree to follow the leader because she clearly grasps the problem, has a well thought out plan to solve the problem, and has confidence in her ability to

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How To Develop Self-Mastery In Consulting With Mike Kitko

Consulting Success

A lot of consultants are hired for their expertise in a certain field and their familiarity with specific subject matters or jargon, but one of the more underrepresented aspects of consulting is building mastery over oneself. Developing self-mastery in consulting is important because self-mastery is the one secret you can hold on to when you’re.

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How to Stay Productive Working from Home

Tom Spencer

The past couple weeks have been a crazy time – millions are getting sick, cities are on the verge of shutdown, and firms are having all non-essential personnel work remotely. COVID-19 has certainly changed the way many are living and working all over the world. As my firm and project team have adjusted to working from home, I’ve compiled a list of best practices that have helped me maximize my productivity during this strange time. 1.

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Checklists for Hiring Remote People

Johanna Rothman

As we move to more remote work, especially in these pandemic times, how do we integrate people so they can succeed? See Hiring Geeks That Fit for all the new employee checklists and how to use them. (Want to preview the checklists and templates? Download the HiringGeeksThatFitTemplates for yourself.). I updated the checklists with a middle column, contrasting the actions for remote employees.

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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.