David A Fields

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

The first step in becoming a successful, independent consultant may surprise you. Before I tell you what it is, let’s start with a couple of quizzes. It doesn’t matter whether you get these “right” or “wrong”… it’s just for fun (and reveals how different people think). Let’s start with the answer to Quiz #2. Your most valuable consulting asset is actually… (drumroll please)… a tie between “Your proven, business development approach” and “Your client base.

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Consulting Development 183

Tom Spencer

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

(Source: Flickr ). What do the painter, the author and the tech entrepreneur all have in common? They are all in the business of creation ; producing new works for the benefit of their target audience. And what about the professional gambler or the Wall Street prop trader? They are both in the business of appropriation ; placing calculated bets in order to appropriate more of what already exists in their direction.

Consulting 71

Consulting Management 71

MishTalk

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

Illinois Threatens to Halt All Health Insurance Payments Unpaid bills in Illinois now stand at $8.5 billion. Some project the total will reach an all-time high of $10.5 billion by December. Total accumulated liabilities counting pensions are on the order of $163 billion. Illinois is flat out broke, and without a budget cannot legally pay some bills.

Insurance 61

Insurance Insurance Journal Healthcare 61

Chad Barr

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

This week’s reflection point: It’s widely known that content marketing is critical to business success. But in this day and age, creating valuable, relevant content for your target audience isn’t the only marketing strategy you need. You must also give your audience an authentic experience—and you can do this with experiential marketing.

Marketing 52

Marketing Transportation Hotels Productivity 52

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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

David A Fields

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

A consultant asked me the following question: How can I best manage project changes to avoid scope creep while pleasing clients? What would your advice to this consultant be? How do you stay flexible, delight clients yet avoid costly scope creep? Please share your thoughts below. In a few days I’ll post the answer I gave the consultant. Text and images are © 2015 David A.

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Consulting Management 174

MishTalk

SEPTEMBER 12, 2015

Now that the US has destabilized Iraq and Syria, and a four-way battle over both countries is underway, I have a simple question: What the hell is the mission? In Iraq, Isis, the Kurds, the Shia, and the Sunni all fight for portions of the country. In Syria, there are pro-Assad forces, Al-Qaeda rebels, and Isis fighting over a badly splintered country.

Construction 61

Construction Course Policies Financial 61

Strategy+Business

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Online peer-based fundraising tools have the potential to disrupt traditional investing models, but entrepreneurs and investors must overcome existing cultural and government barriers.

Government 44

Government Tools Culture 44

Martinka Consulting

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

A recent Business Brokerage Press newsletter featured an article titled, “ What Serious Buyers Look For. ” It mentioned seven topics, in which they say business buyers will be interested, other than the financial statements, and which sellers often don’t think about. Those topics were the industry, inventory, cut backs in spending on marketing, R&D, etc.

Cash Flow 43

Cash Flow Financial Industry Marketing 43

Seth Godin Blog

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

The bureaucracy is no longer your enemy. The bureaucracy is you. And it's easy to blame your boss, or the dolt who set up all these systems, or the one who depersonalizes everything. The policies and the oversight and the structure almost force you to merely show up. And to leave as early as you can. But the thing is, the next job, like the last one, is going to be like this.

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Policies System 42

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

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

If you are looking for evidence that QE has done anything to improve income for the bottom half of the nation you will not find it in data released today from the Census Bureau. Please consider the census report on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States for 2014. Highlights Median household income was $53,657 in 2014 [down 1.5% from 2013].

Insurance 61

Insurance Insurance Government Data 61

Strategy+Business

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

University of Michigan professor Kentaro Toyama, a self-proclaimed "recovering technoholic," believes that society is putting too much stock in the transformative power of technology. In this interview with strategy+business, he argues that to solve human problems, human skill is needed more urgently than ever before.

Interviews 44

Interviews Strategy Strategy Strategy& 44

Gina Abudi

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

There are five factors in particular that enable for the success of workplace teams. Sufficient resources: There needs to be sufficient resources to support the efforts of the team. This includes the members of the team, but may also include additional resources brought in to help the team achieve its goals. Leadership: A strong [.]. The post Factors that Increase Team Success appeared first on Gina Abudi.

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Resources Leadership Management 40

Seth Godin Blog

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

Anything worth shouting about is worth shouting into the wind. Because if enough people care, often enough, the word spreads, the standards change, the wind dies down. If enough people care, the culture changes. It's easy to persuade ourselves that the right time to make change happen is when it's time. But that's never true. The right time to make it happen is before it's time.

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Culture 42

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Consulting

MishTalk

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Some are just beginning to figure out there are manufacturing sector troubles. The late-to-the party quote of the day come from Bloomberg who just now realized " There may very well be something wrong with the manufacturing sector." The quote is in response to the Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey where the Consensus Opinion was for a "respectable" 6.3 reading but the actual reading was -6.0, well below the consensus range of 2.50 to 10.50.

Survey 59

Survey Report Trends Data 59

Strategy+Business

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

The health insurer is leading the way for the reformation of the U.S. healthcare system by saving consumers money and testing innovative ideas.

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Healthcare Strategy& Strategy Strategy 46

Henry DeVries

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Back in March Walt Disney Studios released “Cinderella,” a live-action version of a 1950 Disney classic. This Hollywood reboot, which did boffo at the box office, is an updated retelling of a story that I think does more harm than good to young women. This is a classic underdog story; [.

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Seth Godin Blog

SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Every day that you begin with a colleague, a partner, a customer. it might was well be a fresh start. There's little upside in two strikes, a grudge, probation. When we give people the benefit of the doubt, we have a chance to engage with their best selves. If someone can't earn that fresh start, by all means, make the choice not to work with them again.

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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

MishTalk

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015

As the refugee crisis in Europe builds, inquiring minds may be wondering where the refugees are coming from, where they want to go, and where they are blocked. Here's a map I put together starting from a map posted in the Financial Times. Anecdotes in red and purple are mine. Chain Reactions! After being shut out of Hungary, Croatian Army on Alert as Almost 9,000 Migrants Surge into Croatia.

Journal 59

Journal Construction Report Government 59

1 to 1

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

October may be mere weeks away, but Major League Baseball (MLB) fans still have one riveting post-season ahead of them. Thus, it's not surprising that audiences are taking to social media to express loyalty to their favorite team. For marketers, however, amplified data may also serve as an opportunity to knock their engagement strategies out of the park.

Marketing 40

Marketing Media Data Strategy 40

Strategy+Business

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

A leading business author talks about the books that shaped his thinking and career.

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Seth Godin Blog

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

In our culture, our instinct is to fill the bowl. We get used to having a coffee that nearly reaches the rim, or a level of debt that's just below our credit limit.  If you want to do less of something, then, get a smaller bowl. It's the simplest possible hack, but it truly works. And if you want to do more of something, the path is just as obvious.

Banking 41

Banking Culture 41

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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

SEPTEMBER 14, 2015

Border Controls in Austria, Slovakia, Netherlands After twice upping the number of refugees it would accept, the German pot is overflowing. 12,000 arrived in Munich on Saturday alone. Germany was forced to institute border controls. It can no longer handle its safe-haven status. In response to German controls, More EU Members Impose Emergency Border Controls.

System 58

System Travel Management Financial 58

1 to 1

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

In April, I posted a blog about the difficulties that sales, marketing, and customer care leaders face in obtaining a truly comprehensive view of customers. This view includes the full stream of transactions that a customer has had with a company, the most recent touchpoints she used to interact with the company, feedback she shared about her experiences in social media or in the contact center, etc.

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Sales Marketing Data Media 35

Leadership Vision Consulting

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

The past few years have been a great time to be involved with StrengthsFinder team training and development. More and more, organizations are making the investment into helping their people live and work out of areas of strength. When I began working with StrengthsFinder in 2002, it was a foreign concept to many, now it is part of over 13 million people’s lives.

How To 33

How To Examples Groups Leadership 33

Seth Godin Blog

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Show me your bookcase, the ideas that you've collected one by one over the years, the changes you've made in the way you see the world. Not your browser history, but the books you were willing to buy and hold and read and store and share. Every bookshelf tells a story. You can't build one in a day or even a week. it's a lifetime of collected changes.

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Meeting Marketing Company 41

Advertiser: ZoomInfo

In times of economic uncertainty, account-based strategies are essential. According to several business analysts and practitioners, ABM is a necessity for creating more predictable revenue. Research shows that nearly three-quarters of marketers (74%) already have the resources needed to build successful ABM programs.

Strategy