All Things Consulting
What stops you, or your team, from achieving your goals? You might be surprised by the answer. Sometimes the biggest reason you're blocked from achieving success is...you. Do you scoff at the mere possibility that this is true? First, think back on difficult times and experiences. Perhaps these were times when: - You became overwhelmed - Your work - or life - became excessively complex - You fell short of your goals and expectations Now, consider how, and why these … [Read more...]
The process of change is largely the same, no matter whether you're trying to transform a company or just streamline one process or a part of your own life. To make successful change requires that you also change: - Expectations The "story" you tell yourself about what's likely to happen in the future has a lot to do with the opportunities you can even see. - Focus of attention If you believe change is possible, you'll look for small but steady signs of progress. And if you … [Read more...]
Connections can make you if you have them. They can make success take far longer to achieve, if you don't. To connect for success and results, follow these four basic steps: 1. Strategize 2. Be creative 3. Be prepared to exchange 4. Plan ahead - things always take longer than you think they will Let's take a closer look at each step: 1. Strategize You have a vision or goal (whether you realize it or not, you do). Knowing that, what resources do you need for success? Of these … [Read more...]
The Fall 2010 WIC Mentoring Group is quickly taking shape, with just a couple of spots still available. Again this Fall, WIC Members Desiree Lehrbaum and I will lead the Mentoring Group. We developed and piloted the program in 2009, and also led the Spring, 2010 group. If you think a peer-to-peer mentoring experience may be right for you, take a close look at this opportunity. We will meet by webinar (and have an in-person kickoff session, if we can) on Wednesdays, 10-11 am, starting … [Read more...]
Recently, I had a big ‘personal event’ in my life (I got married!) and for the week before and the week after the wedding, it was difficult to stay as focused on my work and my clients as I normally am. I had every intention of working on client projects right up until the day before the wedding and to return to work the following Tuesday since we weren’t taking our honeymoon right away—I wanted to minimize the impact of my marriage on my clients. However the clients I had active … [Read more...]
What do great project managers do that other people don’t? That was one of the questions I asked the WIC Community list recently as I researched an article I was writing. Knowing that WIC, as a community, includes many great project managers, I wanted to hear what WIC list readers thought about great project management skills. I asked these questions, as well: Can great project management skills be taught, or are they just natural for some people (i.e., "you have to be born that … [Read more...]
We created a new Women in Consulting member benefit late in 2009, the WIC Mentoring Program. Our successful six-week pilot run ended in mid-October. The pilot included seven mentees who agreed to help us test the new program. These were WIC members who were interested in the program, but also ready to invest some time (and do some homework!) in order to apply the information we shared with them to help improve various aspects of their businesses. Desiree Lehrbaum (Lumen Consulting) and I … [Read more...]
I had the pleasure of attending WIC's general meeting last Thursday, where Kate Purmal shared insights into how we can make 2010 our best year yet...without breaking our necks! I particularly like that last part! As part of the networking exercise, everyone was asked to answer the following question: If you could choose between the following, which would you choose: You double your revenue in 2010 but work the same amount of time You keep your revenue at the current level but work … [Read more...]
As consultants, we often capture short interviews with clients or leave ourselves digital messages on our smart phone. If your smart phone is an iPhone, there's a nifty application that allows you to capture those short audio messages (up to five minutes) and share them: AudioBoo out of the UK. Now, thanks to integration with the Spinvox API, a voice-to-text company, users will be able to automatically convert these audio files to text. I just love handy little tools like this and can't wait … [Read more...]
Welcome back to work, everyone...hoping that everyone took some good family time off over the holidays since it sure seemed like our clients did! The great thing about taking a little break is that it gives perspective--and I come back optimistic and eager about the new year...I saw trends over the holiday that are quite promising...I was asked to submit 3 different proposals, which doesn't normally happen...I have 3 projects booked for this month, which doesn't normally happen. With those … [Read more...]
