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Who do you want to meet?
It's a simple enough question. One I ask of consultants early on ... when they're telling me
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Memos written for consultants Aug 2014 - June 2024.
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Steal this interview and questions. Then figure out how they work.
[Written October 2021]
The predictors suggest opportunities for consultancy will soar over the next three years. In that context it’
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How to get unconsidered issues onto the client's agenda.
Assuming you're not order taking. How would you introduce clients to an unconsidered issue, where you might be
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Some thoughts on referrals.
This is all simple. That doesn't mean it's easy
Main referral sources.
* Your clients, current and
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Influence without selling ...
You'll see consultancy business developers in client meetings, mostly 'selling' their services. It's a
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The client is the crib sheet
Here's what a reader said about the previous brief on subtraction. They're applying the second of
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Subtraction and consulting skills
Less is more.
Flour. Water. Salt. Those are the only ingredients you need to make tasty Sourdough bread. Supermarket bread
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Three consulting skills ...
Three things where we, as consultants, can aim for continuous capability improvement.
1. Asking great questions.
Imagine you have a
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Straight-talkers build client confidence.
As consultants our work has lots of variables and stakeholder perspectives. We have to sort through, and make sense of
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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ...
... I ran workshops for leaders in large corporate organisations. They wanted change.
Sometimes their situation was remedial, where something wasn&
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Pareto Principle is the ultimate performance hack.
80% of people know about the Pareto Principle. Only 20% apply it. And only 20% of that 20% apply it
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A big mistake leaders make with their team
Here's something you might find useful in your consultant, business developer, or leadership role. It's wisdom
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Are you building a consulting business, or a practice?
Important question, because there's a difference.
Practice building people are always busy, with delivery work. They never seem
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The first sign you're a trusted consultant
The first sign you're a trusted consultant is when a client calls you to talk about their issues.
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Can I get some Valium?
"Sure no problem."
Imagine a teenager goes to their Doctor and asks for Valium, they say they need
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Do you short change yourself?
Many consultancy owners price work using a time-and-effort model. It’s simple, but is it fair? What if fees were
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The extremes of buying consultancy
Seems to me there are two extremes when clients buy consultancy.
At one end of the spectrum there are complex
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The dangers of different and similar
In my SAP consultancy days a client came to the office for an Export Invoicing demonstration.
He arrived wearing flamboyant