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| The Right Question |
By now, you've probably heard enough about New Year's resolutions and predictions. But this is a natural time to reflect on the year ahead.
Maybe you are refining your marketing strategies, planning to renew relationships, or turning a critical eye on the services you bring to market. Before you finalize your plans, answer one question that should guide your efforts: Who do you really want to work with?
Your answer could be specific individuals or an organization. You may have an industry you'd like to work in or a business process you'd like to focus on, such as financial management, for example.
The point is to examine who you're working with now and decide if that's where your passion is. It's easy to get caught up in doing work that pays the bills. If you don't also enjoy what you do, you're on a sure track to burnout.
If you're not passionate about your work--and the people you work with--you'll stop growing as a professional. Once that happens, it's just a matter of time before others leave you in the dust.
I'm not suggesting that you jettison your clients and run off to search for greener pastures. Instead, I think it's a good time to be sure your work is still inspiring you. See if you can add more of the work that challenges and excites you, and try to reduce what is drudgery for you.
It may be easier than you think, but you have to ask--and answer--the right question.
Enjoy this month's issue, and have a great New Year!
And send me an email if you have comments.
Mike McLaughlin
Editor
Join the Conversation:
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| Special Offer: Winning the Professional Services Sale |
Some months back, we offered readers who purchased a copy of my book, Winning the Professional Services Sale, an opportunity to receive our most popular webcast, Creating a Killer Web Site, at no charge.
We've been asked about the special offer so many times that we've decided to run it again.
So here's the offer: If you purchase (or have already purchased) a copy of Winning the Professional Services Sale by January 22, 2010, we'll give you complimentary access to download and replay Creating a Killer Web Site (a $79 value). This offer also includes the 50+ page companion workbook for the webcast.
Follow this link to find out the details and take advantage of this offer.
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| MCNews 12 Index of Professional Services |
As the world economy wobbled toward the New Year, the global services industry sprinted through the finish line in December.
Accenture, unlike some of Tiger Woods' (now former) sponsors, easily shrugged off the negative impact of that relationship, and helped lead the MCNews 12 Index to its highest point in more than a year.
IBM, CSC, Hewitt and Watson Wyatt also delighted investors by shaking off the recessionary doldrums that plagued the industry earlier in the year.
Even executives in the outsourcing business had reason to celebrate. Wipro and Infosys, for example, report that demand is beginning to stabilize in some areas, and grow in others. The result: their share prices more than doubled in 2009.
Others also believe the future for IT services is bright. In a recent Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey of 358 executives from global telecom and IT firms, almost 60 percent of the executives expect demand to improve during the next six months. This finding was in stark contrast to a survey by EIU earlier in 2009, when only 20 percent of the participants expressed optimism about demand recovery.
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MCNews 12 Index |
YTD
Change |
| December 2009 |
990 |
+46.1% |
| November 2009 |
932 |
+37.5% |
| October 2009 |
897 |
+24.4% |
In other news, HR consultancies Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt announced that their shareholders agreed to the terms of the merger announced earlier this year. The new firm, Towers Watson & Company, will be led by former Watson Wyatt CEO, John Haley.
When the Galleon insider trading case made headlines, it was obvious that the well-heeled defendants would kick off years of legal wrangling. But in a recent development, Anil Kumar, a former McKinsey director accused of leaking information, has agreed to waive indictment in the case.
According to legal experts, this action often signals that the defendant has reached a deal with prosecutors that could include a guilty plea. Kumar may want to get this episode behind him and move on. But, so far, there are no reports that Kumar has reached any agreement with prosecutors. Kumar, who was initially placed on indefinite leave from McKinsey, has now left the firm.
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| Interview: Daniel Pink |
"For creative, conceptual undertakings, the science shows that if-then motivators often don't work and, in fact, can do harm."
This month, our guest is Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Pink's previous books, including A Whole New Mind and Free Agent Nation, placed him among today's leading thinkers about the modern world of work.
Pink examined decades of research on human motivation and reveals the mismatch between what science knows and what business does--and how that affects every aspect of life. He shows why the carrot and stick approach is precisely the wrong way to motivate people for today's challenges.
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| What to Do Now for 2010 |
By Vickie Sullivan
I love January--it's the time we start with a blank slate. Anything feels possible. But before we can create great new things, we need to compare our upcoming efforts to what decision-makers are buying now. To hit the ground running, here's my suggested to do list:
Check out your brand: Based on market conditions, ask yourself several questions. Do you need to change how you describe your services? What problems do you really solve? Does your bio show your prominence, or make you a safe bet? The answers are a great barometer for how you'll win or lose in the market. Change your bio, your approach, and your message accordingly.
Assess your infrastructure: How's your website? Is the language still accurate? Do your media and marketing tools position you well for 2010's picky buyers? If not, it's time to describe who you are and what you do differently. Remember, buyers form opinions about you based on the information you give them.
Plan your promotions: What are you planning to promote, when will you do it, and who are your target markets? Make a list and then step back and ask yourself: Is this enough? Too much? Will my community support this effort? Am I "getting out there" enough for all my target markets? This is a great time to get speaking engagements, set up article distribution, and the like. Always make sure these efforts tie back to specific next steps your listeners and readers should take with you.
With 2010 slated to be a hyper-competitive market, now is the time to be a "gotta have" consultant.
Learn more about Vickie Sullivan and her 2010 program for creating new revenue.
You might also be interested in our interview with Sullivan about how you can dive into public speaking.
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| What One Thing? Scott Berkun Answers |
For nearly ten years, Scott Berkun managed projects and teams at Microsoft. He also worked in Microsoft's engineering excellence group, teaching and consulting with development teams. He's the author of The Myths of Innovation and Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management.
McLaughlin: If you could give just one piece of advice for improving the performance of a project team, what would it be?
Berkun: Well, project teams are made up of people, so it's all about relationships, trust, and shared goals. Everything else is secondary. Get those three right, and avoid being distracted by methodologies, forms, procedures, and the rest of it, and you'll be just fine.
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| The Client Breakthrough System |
For the past sixteen years, Ian Brodie has been helping some of the world's leading organizations with their marketing and sales challenges. Based in the UK, Brodie has sold multi-million dollar consulting engagements across countries and cultures.
He's written about that experience in his ebook, The Client Breakthrough System: Seven Steps to More Consulting Clients. The ebook covers:
- What clients are really looking for when they hire consultants
- The eleven most effective marketing and promotion strategies for consultants
- How to craft compelling, client-focused marketing messages--and avoid the pitfalls that can drain your bank account
- Why most consulting firms throw away up to 80 percent of their leads, and how you can convert your leads into sales
- The three key areas consultants must focus on to close more sales
- A structured approach to business development that will ensure your strategies stay on track.
Brodie doesn't claim that he will magically transform you into a rainmaker. He's clear that you'll do the hard work. But his ideas will help guide you along the way. It's worth reading, even if you're an experienced marketer.
You can sign up to download a complimentary copy of the sixty-one page ebook at www.clientbreakthrough.com/mcn.
Learn more about Ian Brodie at www.clientbreakthrough.com and from his Get More Clients Blog and Outside In newsletter.
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| Opportunities in Project Management |
In a recent survey of more than 200 senior executives and project management experts worldwide, only about a third of the respondents believe they are very good at project management.
In spite of nearly unanimous agreement on the importance of effective project management, many respondents say more than a quarter of their projects are late or over budget. In my experience, that project failure rate seems low. Some experts say that the failure rate of IT projects is closer to 50 percent.
None of this comes as a surprise to executives. Most are aware of these shortcomings, but they struggle with how to solve the problem. More than half of the survey respondents (53 percent) say their companies are trying to improve their project management methods. But their efforts are often unfocussed and inconsistent.
It's clear from this survey why organizations aren't bringing more projects in on time and with the expected results: Only 29 percent of respondents said they plan to improve the way they measure qualitative and quantitative project outcomes; 29 percent plan to use better tools; and just 26 percent plan to increase training and certification. These numbers indicate a lackluster effort to build the necessary skills to succeed.
Consultants can help their clients by demonstrating how enhanced strategies for project planning, assessment, and measuring results can make the difference between a successful initiative and one that becomes an albatross.
Read the full report for no charge at www.eiu.com/sponsor/oracle/projectmanagementforsuccess.
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| Coming
Attractions |
"Those who get comfortable being vulnerable--or as I call it, naked--are rewarded with levels of client loyalty and intimacy that other service providers can only dream of."
Next month, we'll talk with Patrick Lencioni, bestselling author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Death by Meeting, and The Three Signs of a Miserable Job.
In his latest book, Getting Naked: A Business Fable about Shedding the Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty, Lencioni tackles the issue that every consultant faces: how to retain your best clients. We'll ask Lencioni about the strategies he uses to keep his client relationships vibrant and valuable.
Look for the next issue of Management Consulting News on February 2, 2010.
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