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It’s
that time of the year again—the Holidays.
Peering
into the envelope, I saw my first card of the season.
The typical, forgettable corporate “Season’s
Greetings” card depicted an idyllic, but generic,
winter scene. And it wasn’t signed. Instead, the
card had a machine-produced signature.
I’m
on the sender’s bulk mailing list, and that card
had about the same impact on me as the other junk mail
I get—none. The only humans to touch those cards
and envelopes are the people who have to print mailing
labels and stuff envelopes.
Why
bother?
Maybe
you feel compelled to send something to your
business contacts at this time of year. And cards are
a great way to let people know you’re thinking
about them. But if you rely too much on technology to
make it easy, it becomes more about you than your clients.
If you don’t have time to sign a greeting card,
in your own hand, it’s probably not worth sending.
By
the end of this month, an executive’s credenza
may be covered with greeting cards. So, if you want
to make a real impact this year, pick up the phone and
call your past and present clients. Tell them how much
you appreciate their business, and wish them the best
for the Holidays.
You
can be sure that call will be remembered more than the
impersonal Holiday cards that end up in the trash can.
And you may just save a tree in the process.
We’re
closing out this year with an all-star cast of contributors.
David Lax, coauthor of the new book, 3D
Negotiation, explains why much of what
we know about negotiating is off the mark. Industry
pundit Fiona Czerniawska brings us up to date on her
recent research on thought leadership, and Alan Weiss
talks about finding your market.
Jeff
Thull, the bestselling author and sales strategist,
points out that you’ll be more successful if you
focus on helping clients design an effective decision
process, instead of simply trying to sell. And we’ve
got articles on the power of free reports, why change
management is essential to our clients’ success,
and an analysis of an intriguing market opportunity
for consultants.
Enjoy
the issue. And send me an email
if you have comments.
Mike
McLaughlin
Editor
Management Consulting News is a publication of
MindShare
Consulting, LLC
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| Interview:
David Lax |
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  Most
people focus on just the first dimension of negotiation,
which is what’s happening at the negotiating table.
Before
you establish your next win-win negotiation strategy,
be sure to read our interview with master negotiator,
David Lax. He believes that most negotiation strategies
are obsolete, and he tells us why and what to do about
it. Lax and Harvard Business School professor James
Sebenius are the co-authors of the new book, 3D
Negotiation.
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| The
Writing on the Wall, by Alan Weiss |
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 Wake
Up and Smell the Coffee
The
so-called “Java Giants”—Dunkin’
Donuts and Starbucks—have launched simultaneous
national expansion plans in the US. That might seem
to portend the battle of the morning monoliths but,
interestingly, the initiatives present no such traditional
competitive warfare.
Dunkin’
and Starbucks have come to the conclusion that they
are appealing to vastly differing cults, or tribes.
Starbucks is the “welcome to our wireless living
room, park your Beemer between the lines” venue,
where people delight in using bizarre language to describe
the most prosaic of drinks. (Does “vente”
really help the process at all?) It is a place to chat
and show off your Mac 17” Titanium, or the fact
that you’re reading “The Stranger”
in the original French.
Read
the article
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| Memo
to Managers: It Is about the Money |
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by
Mike McLaughlin
In
the US last year, the rate at which employees left their
jobs hit an all-time high. A modest unemployment rate
and continued tinkering with employee health benefits
and pension plans are part of the reason people seek
greener pastures.
According
to a recent study of employees and employers by Watson
Wyatt, many employers are clueless as to why employees
choose to resign. When asked why employees leave their
companies, 68 percent of employers said they thought
lack of opportunity for promotion was the number one
reason. But only 31 percent of employees cited promotion
opportunities as the reason they headed for the door.
The
number one reason chosen by 71 percent of employees
for leaving their jobs: money. Employers chose pay as
the third most important factor in turnover, indicating
a dangerous disconnect between employer and employee
perceptions.
Of
course, it’s possible that employees tell their
bosses that a lack of advancement is the problem, while
hiding the real reason for their departure. No matter
what they say, money is higher on the priority list
than most managers think. Forget this reality and employee
retention threatens to become even more difficult.
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| Thought Leadership: Are You Making It or Faking It? |
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 by
Fiona Czerniawska
Thought
leadership has always been a no-brainer for consulting
firms.
Marketing brochures are greeted with howls of derision
from cynical clients. Brands are horrendously expensive
to build. Looking to raise awareness? Why not knock
out a couple of thousand words on your latest assignment,
call it a white paper, and send it your clients?
The
problem is that this no-brainer has become precisely
that: something with (almost) no brain in it. And that’s
not good enough any more.
How
can you achieve the promise of thought leadership?
Read
the article
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| Coming
Attractions |
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 One
sometimes sees corporate visions these days that promise
the world but don’t provide a clue as to how or
why a transformation is feasible.” - John Kotter
One
of the highest hurdles to success in most consulting
assignments is leading people through change. More than
a few projects fall flat because consultants—and
clients—believe that change can be “managed.”
Next
month, we’re joined by Harvard Business School
Professor John Kotter, who is widely regarded as the
world's foremost authority on leadership and change.
Kotter’s international bestseller Leading
Change, which outlined an actionable,
eight-step process for implementing successful transformations,
became the change bible for managers around the world.
His latest book, Our
Iceberg Is Melting, illustrates the
eight-step change process within an allegory, making
it accessible to the broad range of people needed to
effect major organizational transformations.
Don’t
miss our interview with John Kotter in the next issue
of Management Consulting News
on January 2, 2007.
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