It’s a challenge to find the time to stay in shape when you’re running your own consultancy business. In other posts, I suggested using a treadmill desk, or enrolling in a Baguazhang—or other martial arts—class. But if you just don’t have room for a treadmill desk, or you just don’t want the hassle and bother, and if martial arts just isn’t your cup of tea, then you might want to try “nagara workouts.” Don’t worry. It’s nothing weird or fancy or exotic. It’s … [Read more...]
Where Has All the Good News Gone?
March 30, 2010 By 6 Comments
I have tons of blog post topics on my to-do list, and a lot on my overall to-do list as well. BUT I felt compelled to stop and write a quick (hopefully!) post on the despair and irritation I have on this ever-increasing tendency to focus on bad news. I follow CNN on Twitter. It's actually the one Twitter feed I have sent to my iPhone. I rarely have time to read the newspaper (sigh!), and I've given up on the evening news because the rare good news is so fleeting as to be nonexistent. With … [Read more...]
Walking in Circles
March 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Do you ever find yourself going around in circles? Even if you’re a gem of a consultant, even if you’re a whiz at planning and mapping out strategies for your clients, you may still feel that you’re not making much headway in your business, or that you keep repeating frustrating patterns. Why not get out and practice actually walking in circles, then? What? It makes no sense? It does if you know anything about Baguazhang (Eight Trigram Palm) circle walking. Baguazhang is one … [Read more...]
Lessons for Consultants from March Madness
March 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Yes, I admit it - I become a rabid sports fan for two weeks of the year, for March Madness. For those of you who never lived in the Midwest, that is either the Indiana high school championship series or the NCAA men's and women's basketball championship series. There are lessons outside of the bracket business that apply to consultants. Here are a few thoughts: Stick to your core strength - whether you play zone defense, man to man, or blockout, know what got you to this level and … [Read more...]
Branding A WordPress Template
March 23, 2010 By 2 Comments
Want to build a Wordpress blog or website, and have it match your company's brand, without all the effort of designing and coding your own Wordpress template from scratch? Consider finding a template that you can then apply your brand to. You can find great templates that will allow you to edit the look considerably. Some tips: 1. Look for a template that allows for a header graphic. 2. Change the colors of headlines, links, backgrounds, etc. in the style sheet. 3. Consider a pattern … [Read more...]
5 Easy Time Saving Tips
March 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment
There are, and always will be, only 24 hours in a day. How you spend that time is up to you. Here are some easy tips to help maximize those hours: Give everything a "home". If you put your keys in the same place every time you come home, you will spend less time looking for them when you leave the house. Prioritize your tasks for each day and limit or say NO to time suckers. Be strategic about running errands. Map them out ahead of time so that you are maximizing your … [Read more...]
Lose Weight and Gain Time with the Treadmill Desk
March 18, 2010 By 4 Comments
What should you do if some days you feel like you’re on a treadmill to oblivion? I’m sure every consultant has felt that way sometimes, even if she absolutely loves her work. Here’s a way to blast through that cobwebby stuck feeling: get on a real treadmill and get some exercise. There’s nothing like a workout to oxygenate your brain and body for clearer, sharper thinking. No time to hit the gym? No problem! Just rig a treadmill desk and double your efficiency: convert your … [Read more...]
Benefits of Membership?!?!
March 17, 2010 By 1 Comment
I joined Women in Consulting (WIC) almost two years ago. I joined because of the meetings. I’ll be honest – I went to one South Bay meeting and then joined. The next week I went to my first General meeting and I was hooked. I started volunteering. And soon I started working with women who weren’t even in the Bay Area! This year, when I joined the Board, we all thought it would be helpful to put together a mini meeting (Member Orientation) that is both for members and for those … [Read more...]
WIC Program Highlight: New WIC Website
March 16, 2010 By 1 Comment
Roughly a month ago, Women in Consulting's (WIC) Web team launched a new website. Now launching a new site can be a time-consuming and daunting task for teams whose primary focus is maintaining an organization's website. But when you're doing it as a side gig -- and pro bono yet! -- it adds a whole other element to the picture. I'm beyond grateful to the efforts put forth by WIC's online marketing team to create such a fabulous new site for WIC and its members. They poured their creative … [Read more...]
Active Listening Tips
March 11, 2010 By 3 Comments
Active Listening Can be Your Secret Weapon If you do active listening well, you can establish yourself as someone who "gets it" and who delivers tailored solutions to your clients. It also enables you to take more targeted and effective actions. To begin, it's important to have the proper set of expectations about the Active Listening process. Active listening is a skill, and like any skill, it takes time, effort, and practice. And, it's not always easy or convenient. The tips for … [Read more...]
