There are 6 reasons why executives hire consultants In America, and other Western countries, senior executives often hire management consultants for strategic advice. Given that consulting advice can sometimes sound like a statement of the obvious, albeit very well power-pointed, and tends to come with a shockingly high price tag, you would be forgiven for […]
Category: Skills, Tips, and Tactics
The take away lesson: pick your consultants carefully We had an interesting conversation with Tat Biswas today about whether consultants should provide “shrewd insights”. The catalyst for the discussion was yesterday’s post, in relation to which Tat made the following remarks: I am wondering why you … decided to use the term ‘shrewd insights’ in today’s post? “We […]
Sometimes you don’t need to say anything, to get your message across
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Some People Will Get it
And Some Won’t FOR those of you who missed it, we made a small typo on the previous post. Instead of writing “weigh your options” we wrote “way your options”. Kind of embarrassing … especially given the painstaking hours that we spend trying to make each post perfect. Thankfully, many of you were good enough […]
It’s not the load that breaks you down; it’s the way you carry it This guest post is from Naked Business Consulting, a firm based in Melbourne. They specialise in capital raising, international expansion and strategic planning. IT’S NO SECRET that a lot of startups begin life with a single employee – the proprietor. If […]
To be persuasive your pitch will need to contain the right building blocks EARLIER POSTS looked at the elevator pitch and tips for creating an effective pitch. The elevator pitch, as you may recall, is a high-level overview of whatever it is that you are selling and is designed to just get the conversation started. […]
Successful businesses use the Rule of Three to help them drive sales or raise awareness PREVIOUS posts looked at the Rule of Three, how you can improve your speeches with the Rule of Three, and a few amusing examples of where the Rule of Three has been used in comedy, storytelling, and the movies. This post provides […]
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The Three-Question Rule
“I Can’t Stand to Be Asked the Same Question Three Times” ~ Mustafa Part 1: The Rule of Three Part 2: Improve Your Speech Writing with The Rule of Three Part 3: The Three Question-Rule THE PREVIOUS two parts looked at The Rule of Three and how you can improve your speeches with The Rule of […]
The Rule of Three can make you more persuasive, memorable and entertaining Part 1: The Rule of Three Part 2: Improve Your Speech Writing with The Rule of Three Part 3: The Three Question-Rule EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION is a skill like any other, and the Rule of Three is a simple tool that you can start […]
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The Rule of Three
Omne Trium Perfectum – everything that comes in threes is perfect Part 1: The Rule of Three Part 2: Improve Your Speech Writing with The Rule of Three Part 3: The Three Question Rule OKAY, you may be thinking, what’s so special about the number 3? Good question. The “Rule of Three” is the name […]
This guest post is by Rob Ashton, chief executive of Emphasis – a business writing company that runs report-writing courses for consultants. No matter how knowledgeable you are as a consultant, you’re only as good as your last report. Meetings come and go, but reports last. You may meet five or ten people while on an assignment, […]
Good management consultants follow the scientific method A GOOD scientific experiment will follow 7 steps. The type of science can change: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computing, management consulting – but the steps remain the same. 1. Aim Clarify the questions that the organisation is trying to answer: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How? For example, the organisation may […]
TODAY MAY 1st 2011 (US time) the news of Osama bin Laden’s death circled the globe. According to the New York Times, Bin Laden was shot in the head when he resisted capture and his body was later buried at sea. And there was much rejoicing! Bin Laden’s death is a popular outcome for the US and its […]
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Relationships Matter
IN THE English-speaking world, we have issues when it comes to relationships. There is only one word for friend, which begs the question: “are you a friend, or aren’t you?” Facebook has helped us go some way towards solving this problem by providing a new class of friend, you can now have “real life friends” […]
Consultants make a god damn difference Teachers and consultants are alike in many ways, one of the more striking similarities is that great teachers and great consultants both make a god damn difference!
Good presentations are clear, relevant, structured and provide the audience with a takeaway message YOU have probably seen a presentation at school, university or at work that you would describe as “less than successful”. The presentation was probably unsuccessful because it failed to meet your expectations. You may have found yourself asking one of the following questions: […]
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Don’t boil the ocean
THERE is a term that consultants use which is called “boiling the ocean” (I borrowed this idea from Victor Chang). If you want one cup of hot water, there are two ways you can do it: go and collect one cup of water, and heat it up; or try and boil the entire ocean. As […]
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The Rule of 70
WORLD GDP is growing at 4% per year, how long will it take for world GDP to double? Your company’s revenue is growing at 10% per month, how long will it take for your company’s revenue to double? There is a simple rule of thumb that you can use to figure out roughly how long […]
An elevator pitch needs to be clear, concise, provide a solution and generate interest in order to just get the conversation started AS WE discovered in the previous post, an elevator pitch is a high-level overview of whatever it is that you are selling and is designed to just get the conversation started (Elevator Pitch […]
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The Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is a high-level overview of whatever it is that you are selling and is designed to just get the conversation started.
Consultants can help an organisation by supporting organisational change, accelerating information gathering and ensuring rigorous analysis FOLLOWING on from the previous post which considered whether consultants are just highly paid scapegoats, let’s consider a common consulting stereotype which sheds some light on where consultants add value. Consultants are people who borrow your watch, tell you what time it is, and then walk off with the watch. Attributed to Robert Townsend, this well known […]
Consultants charge huge sums for superficial but well “powerpointed” presentations in return for the company executives’ right to take full credit for any successful outcomes MANAGEMENT consultants are often loudly criticised. Why is this so? A large part of the reason is that consultants are paid a lot of money to provide recommendations which may […]
FORMER McKinsey consultant Victor Cheng provides us with an interesting insight. The skills that get you hired as a consultant are not the same skills that get you promoted, and the skills that get you promoted are not the same skills that take you to the top. You get hired for your analytical skills, you […]
1. The golden ratio THE golden ratio is believed to have aesthetically pleasing properties. The golden ratio is a naturally occurring number that has been the subject of interest since ancient Greek times, and has been used in architecture, art, books and music since at least the time of the Renaissance. For example, artists have […]