November, 2022

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Secrets of Consulting Excellence

Consulting Matters

Ready to take your place as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to the C-Suite? Today, I am sharing my secrets to working with the C-Suite in this first episode of my new Organizational Consulting 101 Series. More and more people want to leave corporate to start their own consulting or coaching businesses for so many reasons: They want control over their career, time, and earning power.

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Inflation vs. Recession. The Fee Trap for Consulting Firms

David A Fields

Oh wow, you’re a contestant on the new game show, Set Your Fees! Let’s listen in on the cheesy announcer. He seems to be giving you a choice of three doors.… “Door #1 is sponsored by Recession. Faced with uncertain revenues and reluctant prospects? Lower your consulting firm’s fees, to help you lock in projects! … Continued. The post Inflation vs.

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Every Solopreneur Should Know Their Why

Successful Independent Consulting

Solopreneurship is not the right career choice for everyone. You have to do things you’ve never done before and push your boundaries, all while trying to earn a living. It takes courage, persistence and grit because fear, uncertainty, and doubt—FUD—is always lurking, trying to coax you back to the safety of a “real job.” That’s why it’s extra important to understand why you’re taking the path of self-employment.

Exercises 195
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Planning Your 2023 Projects and Projections

Kai Davis

As a friend reminded me this morning, there are only 31 days left in 2022 ( ). What do you want your 2023 to look like in terms of projects, clients, and projected revenue? Here’s how I approach answering that question and plotting out my projects and projections for the coming year. Projecting Projects and Profit. In addition to the habit of doing an annual review ( [link] ), I think it’s helpful to sit down and plan out what you want next year’s projects, projections, and profits to look like.

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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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Celebrate This Year’s Wins to Set Up Next Year’s Successes

Makarios Consulting

It’s that time of year again – the time when leaders review the past year, frequently introducing the task with phrases like “What are the lessons learned?” or “Where can we do better?” or even “Let’s sit down and do a postmortem.” Such sober reflection is important – critical, in fact, for business success. But to really end the year well and set yourself up for a great start in the new year, we encourage you to pair reflection with its oft-neglected sibling: celebration.

Meeting 77

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The Pair of Hands Trap: What Keeps Consultants From Strategic Client Partnership

Consulting Matters

Today I'll discuss the positioning traps that hold consultants back from their impact and earning potential. To set the context for what I mean by positioning traps – I need to take you back in time to 1997 when m y mentor and professor told me – people don't get what you do and what you can offer as an organizational consultant. His feedback was impactful; I will share what he taught me to do and the powerful results!

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Exactly How Much Effort to Put Into Your Consulting Firm’s Proposals

David A Fields

Good news: your consulting firm has been asked to submit a proposal by Phil Yerwiech, CEO of herb eradication giant, Thyme Begone. Bad news: developing that proposal will consume time, and you’re already busy. What’s the most effort your consulting firm should invest in developing the proposal and/or proposal presentation? It depends. Before we establish … Continued.

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Be Solopreneur Savvy: Insist on a 1099, not a W-2

Successful Independent Consulting

"As a solopreneur, does it matter how I get paid?” Absolutely! In the U.S., being paid on a 1099 tax basis as a business instead of on a W-2 tax basis like a temp worker makes a huge difference to your profitability for two key reasons: You can pay less tax. You can save more for retirement. Here’s how I figured this out. Several years ago, as a solopreneur I did my taxes two ways using TurboTax software.

Software 195
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26 Exceptional Employee Engagement Quotes

Rick Conlow

You can measure employee engagement by the performance of employees, or a company compared to the competition. Highly engaged employees, according to research: Sell more. Serve customers better. Stay longer at their company. Share more ideas and input. Overall, are 240% more productive on key measures. Their companies make 22% more profit. Despite these stellar numbers, 85% of employees worldwide are disengaged.

Cash Flow 111
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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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Stop Boring Strategic Plan Updates

Leadership Planning with Liz Weber CMC

An association executive director asked during a recent coaching conversation, “Am I doing something wrong, or why are the strategic plan review meetings I hold with my senior staff so boring? My Director of Operations said yesterday, ‘It feels as if all we’re doing is tracking stuff so we can mark it off this […]. The post Stop Boring Strategic Plan Updates appeared first on Weber Business Services, LLC.

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How To Build An Elite Consulting Business With Brian Oulton: Podcast #265

Consulting Success

Everybody strives hard to become successful. But what does a successful consulting look like? In today’s episode, Brian Oulton, a top consulting coach, reveals everything. He shares his path of business development through pivoting from the challenges he faced. As a consultant, Brian discusses that you must market some potential clients. Because marketing and sales.

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How To Explain What You Do with Clarity and Confidence

Consulting Matters

Have you ever gotten tongue tied when someone asks you what you do? I know I have! Today, I’m wrapping up my "Brand You" series by sharing tips and a script that gets people curious and excited about what you do. "What do you do?" Is one of the first questions people ask, literally everywhere you go - networking events abound. And each time you go to the grocery store, meet neighbors, go to the kids' soccer match, attend holiday parties, it is a chance to meet clients or people who know yo

How To 156
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The ONLY Thing You Need to Start a Consulting Firm

David A Fields

As a consulting firm leader you encounter youngsters and corporate folks who gaze on your practice with admiration and ask you what it takes to start a consulting firm. Your answer can be refreshingly simple. A simple Google search reveals 13.83 bazillion gurus and marketers who offer tidy packages and courses for startup consultants. They … Continued.

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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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How to Best Manage an L&D Project

Clarity Consultants

When you’re overseeing a learning and development (L&D) project, ensuring it heads in the right direction every step of the way is essential. If you’re regularly running into issues during that journey – be it missing deadlines, going over budget, or not achieving the desired outcome – revamping your approach is essential. Fortunately, embracing the right best practices makes a significant difference, and most aren’t difficult to implement.

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The Decider vs. The Critic

CaseInterview.com

Any time a decision needs to be made, two roles often emerge. There’s the role of the decider versus the role of the critic. Anybody can be a critic. If a critic criticizes and is wrong, rarely does anybody go back and blame the critic. For the critic, there is no downside to criticizing. A critic only has to say your idea stinks. He doesn’t have to come up with a better idea.

Policies 103
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Big Data: An Opportunity for Data Scientists & Data Analysts

Tom Spencer

“Data is a precious thing and will last longer than the systems themselves”, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web. “The ability to take data – to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it – is going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades”, Hal Varian, Chief Economist, Google.

Data 88
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The “Anti-Corporate American” Approach For Building A Successful Consulting Business With Kim Crowder: Podcast #266

Consulting Success

Every entrepreneur wants their business to be a huge success. But sometimes, even the best entrepreneurs get tired of the rat race in corporate. In this episode, Kim Crowder tells us how to avoid the pitfalls that most people fall into when they try to build a successful consulting business and get started on your. The “Anti-Corporate American” Approach For Building A Successful Consulting Business With Kim Crowder: Podcast #266 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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8 Reasons to Invest In Your Strategy Execution

Strategic Planning and Management Insights

Your organization's success depends on its ability to execute on your strategic plan. Implemeting your strategic plan on your own can be difficult. Why? Because you are busy working in the business that it's hard to make time to work on the business. Because you've never done this before and strategic work is more complicated and unknown compared to operational work that is familiar.

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10 Rules to be Happier as a Consulting Firm Leader

David A Fields

You don’t have to run a consulting firm, you know. You could return to a corporate role or enter an entirely different profession like law, accounting or dairy farming. If you’re going to lead a consulting practice, consulting should make you happy. Just sayin’. Most consultants I encounter seem to enjoy the profession. After all, … Continued.

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With Gratitude

Chad Barr

Gratitude noun the state of being grateful: THANKFULNESS. This is the definition of gratitude according to Merriam-Webster. Simple, straightforward and easy to comprehend. THANKFULNESS. It seems like an easy concept to grasp and yet so often, when challenges arise, anger momentarily blinds us and thwarts our capacity to appreciate the beauty and the gifts around us.

Media 98
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Money & Power

CaseInterview.com

There’s an expression here in the United States that money changes people (for the worse) and that power corrupts people. I disagree. Instead, I think money and power merely amplify a person’s true values and beliefs. When you have money and power, you aren’t beholden to anyone. You can be yourself without fear of the consequence of what others might do in response.

Policies 102
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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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The Key to Success at Work: Remaining Present

Tom Spencer

Live for the moment, seize the day, carpie diem. These well cited cliches for stress management are based on the logic that by focusing intently on the present moment we can set aside past regrets and future anxieties. Doing so can provide us with a greater capacity to perform and succeed. Interestingly, such mottos directly contradict our fundamental human nature and daily experience.

Energy 88
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Consulting For Equity: 4 Factors You Can’t Afford To Ignore

Consulting Success

Should you provide consulting for equity? A few years ago, I was in New Orleans sitting by the pool at our villa. I received an urgent email from a Clarity Coaching client: “I have an early-stage prospective client and they really want to work with me. Before any pricing, he said that they might pay. Consulting For Equity: 4 Factors You Can’t Afford To Ignore is a post from: Consulting Success.

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Faster Management Decisions Can Lead to More Ease and Better Results, Part 4

Johanna Rothman

If we want more ease and better results, we need to be able to change when the world changes. Yet, we don't always notice these changes, so we don't create options and experiment. Too often, we feel as if the world drags us down. We double-down on what we've been doing. Instead, we need to generate options and see where we might experiment. When we do, and we learn something, we might feel better about our circumstances and become more open to change.

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Research Reveals How To Persuade Consumers To Use And Buy More

Henry DeVries

The boredom beast might be killing your future sales. Professor of marketing at UC San Diego's Rady School of Management On Amir tells you why, and what can be done about it.

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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.