Recently, in a spurt of ‘abundance thinking’, where I was convinced that 2010 is going to be a MUCH better year than 2009 (I can’t afford to think otherwise, can you?!), I decided to do an inventory of people/resources I can turn to when my workload is too heavy to do it all myself.
Like many fellow consultants, I can perform every function needed to support most client projects myself, but have found it very wise to outsource certain portions of my research projects when I have a heavy client load in order to ensure that my time is spent on the things that are: 1) high value activities, worthy of my $100+ hourly rate and 2) things that only I can do based on my unique talents or the client relationship.
In an effort to streamline the process when I need to turn to other resources, I created a spreadsheet that provides me with a quick glance at the resources I’ve qualified and established relationships with over the past 10 years. Some of the features of the spreadsheet:
- Every row is a different person/resource
- The first few columns include contact information, notes about the resource and their specialty
- The rest of the columns are categories of resources such as Interviewing, Analysis, Recruiting, Panels/Lists, etc.
- I put an X in each column/category that a given resource can help with
Having this quick reference allows me to rapidly scan a given column when I have the need for support in any given area. When I meet/qualify new resources, I add them to the spreadsheet, which ensures that I think of them when the need arises. This saves me a LOT of time and helps me make sure I make the right choice for each project, which helps ensure high quality results for my clients.
Let’s all think ‘abundance’ for 2010 and do a similar inventory of our resources…and if you don’t HAVE back-up resources, be sure to find some…WIC is a great source of qualified people who can partner with you to help in almost any element of your work.
I need to do this more! It’s true that so often I can get bogged down doing things that could so easily be done by someone else. I need to get cracking on your ideas!