One thing that you can always count on is change. Change is a constant both in life and in business. You can’t expect that the things that are happening today will be happening tomorrow. Things change. Key team members get promotions. People move into different positions. Management shifts. Processes get overhauled. I could go on and on. The point here is that you have to figure out how to process and manage change for yourself and your team.
One thing that you can always count on is change. Change is a constant both in life and in business. You can’t expect that the things that are happening today will be happening tomorrow. Things change. Key team members get promotions. People move into different positions. Management shifts. Processes get overhauled. I could go on and on. The point here is that you have to figure out how to process and manage change for yourself and your team.
As a consultant, there is a litany of expectations that you are required to meet at any given time. Meeting appropriate expectations and jumping into multiple roles on any given day are just a part of the job. What does this mean for the day to day work of a consultant? Well, it means that you must be able to wear multiple hats. As most corporate dress code doesn’t allow a wide array of hats, let’s assume that these hats are figurative.
Although, if it helps you get into character, by ...
It’s hard to believe, but we’ve reached the halfway point already for 2016. We’ve been writing new content weekly for you and have compiled a list of the top ten articles with the most views so far in 2016. This is a great way for us to take a look back and get a great idea of what are readers are interested in. Take a look back and catch up on any great articles you may have missed.
We’ve all been there before. The meeting that won’t end. The meeting that serves no real purpose. The meeting with so many important issues to cover and none that are getting fully addressed. The meeting that is nothing more than a lecture. All of these are unproductive, uninspiring, and unfulfilling. What are the real costs of these meetings? What are the consequences of an unproductive meeting?
As a consultant, you are constantly being pulled in different directions. Often, you have multiple projects, and people, who need your attention at once. It can be overwhelming and some consultants can drown in it. The key to managing your workload, and your sanity, is effective time management. For consultants, time management looks a little bit different than for those with one job. You wear multiple hats, you juggle multiple roles, and you need to think outside the box a little to ...
When building software, there are many times that you will be negotiating with other companies or clients. Negotiation is a business within itself. If done properly, it can really benefit you. If done improperly, it can really hurt you. Negotiations will come up in countless areas of development. For example, when developing software you may be negotiating with a company for the honor of using their own software inside of yours. This type of deal is a mutually beneficial one. My company ...
As a consultant, I observe a lot of corporate culture. Coming into an organization as a third party gives a unique perspective. Many times, I am brought in to assess the needs of an organization. In this position, I’m looking at staff, I’m looking at processes and I’m looking for opportunities to incorporate change and improvement. What I see, a lot of the time, is ample opportunity for advancement. When a company is actively searching for solutions while seeking to be more efficient and productive, a door is opened up for existing employees to step in and step up. The key is to seize opportunities to create advancement.
As a consultant, it’s my job to give the advice that people don’t want to hear. When I am advising a company, they’ve brought me in for my outside perspective. Consultants spend a lot of time making sure that they are giving the advice that businesses need to do the right thing. When it comes to businesses having to make tough decisions, a consultant needs to be there to remind them that you have to manage the business for the business. You are not managing the business for the people.
I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage, “It takes money to make money”. You have to spend money to make money. It may sound cliché, but it’s true. When it comes to managing your business, you’re going to have to spend money in order to grow. Does this mean being completely irresponsible? Of course not; but, you can’t build growth by managing your budget.
No matter what kind of business you have, the relationship between the business and the client is number one. Without clients and customers, your business wouldn’t exist. As a consultant, you come into organizations taking on a variety of roles. Sometimes you are selling services, sometimes you’re a project manager, and sometimes you’re adding a technical touch. The job of a business relationship manager is an extremely important one. If you head into an organization that is hurting in their relationship with clients, you have to go in and wear that hat.
As a consultant, I often get asked to take part in employee reviews. When a consultant has been working with a company for a period of time, it’s often considered to be a good opportunity for a set of third party eyes to evaluate employee performance. From this perspective, you’ll get good, honest and unbiased feedback. What I gather from participating in so many employee performance reviews is that many employees fall into a category of having either temporal or seasonal issues.
I read an article recently that centered around the idea that people should immediately stop saying buzzwords and using euphemisms in the workplace. This article is called, “Please STOP Saying These Ridiculous Buzzwords at Work" and the author is Dr. Travis Bradberry. With all due respect to the author's thoughts and opinions, I absolutely disagree.
It takes a lot to be a subject matter expert. That point is worth repeating –it takes a lot to be a subject matter expert. In a time where millions are picking up topics and writing articles online, it’s important to know the difference between someone who knows the presentation of the material and someone who actually knows the material. In any career, you have to truly know the material to be an expert in your field.
Let's take a look back at your favorite articles of 2017. Revisit your favorites and catch up on any you missed. See something you like? Forward to a friend!
The key to a winning team will always be effective leadership. As a leader, whether as a business owner, management, or a business consultant –learning to build a winning team is an invaluable skill. A team that works successfully and cohesively together is a team that takes productivity to the next level. As a consultant, I’ve had the pleasure of spending mass amounts of time with different organizations. I’ve been able to watch businesses grow and change from the ground up. Whether a business is just starting out or has to be completely restructured, building a strong team is the biggest resource to success.
There are many things that you must get right in order to have a successful business and to achieve it can be a difficult balancing act. One of the most important factors for success is customer service. B y getting this correct it will enable everything to run smoothly along with increasing your bottom line. To get this right, you will need to be able to upsell along with making sure the customer is fully satisfied with every aspect. There are many ways you can do this without having to use aggressive sales tactics that could hurt your customer satisfaction. In this article, I will talk about this problem along with offering solutions.
Whether as a consultant, as a manager, or generally in business when you have people who report to you –you have to be good at the art of delegation. You cannot take on every single task and every single project. There simply aren’t enough hours in a day to allow you to successfully accomplish every task that needs tending to. Delegation is key to the success of a business. Even if you are coming in as a consultant, you want to be an asset to the team. Productivity, time management, and efficiency are necessary. The way to accomplish all three? Delegation.
