Ask a consultant "How are you?" and you'll probably hear a sigh and the response, "I'm really busy." Unfortunately, most people don't feel they have enough time to do what they want and need to do.

Often, though, it's not just that we need more time to address the items on our to-do lists. What we really need is the chance to think, plan the future, and come up with new ideas for our businesses. And that takes much more than a bit of extra time to accomplish. It takes mental bandwidth so you can focus and think straight.

To do your best thinking, first and foremost, you've got to clear your mind. Of course, you can find tons of advice on quieting your mind through disciplines like yoga or meditation. But here's a simpler way to get started--and you don't have to know how to chant.

If you want to create more mental bandwidth, wherever possible, get rid of the clutter in your life. Few things distract the mind more than the perception of unfinished business, and that's just what clutter often represents.

We are awash in clutter, and it takes a toll. Consider this, for example: In a US government report, researchers found that 25 percent of people with two-car garages can't park a car in their garages because they have so much other stuff in there.

You don't have to become a neat freak (not that there's anything wrong with that) or totally reorganize your office to make a dent in the clutter. But most of us have too much stuff, including unread books, papers, old reports, computer files, and emails that distract us from concentrating on the things that matter most.

Do your mind a favor: Recycle those old books that you've promised yourself you'll read someday. Get rid of unneeded files, both paper and computer ones. Dump email that you'll never read. You don't have to do it all at once, but make a start.

Once you tame the clutter, your mind will have fewer distractions and you're likely to be a faster, more focused thinker. Maybe you'll even be able to squeeze your car into the garage.

Enjoy this month's issue.
And send me an email if you have comments.

Michael McLaughlin
Editor

The Buying Spree Continues

As the recession drags on, professional service firms continue to pursue acquisitions as the path to growth. In a bold move, accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers agreed to an all cash offer to buy Diamond Management & Technology Consultants for $378 million. The transaction represents a premium of 31 percent over Diamond's closing stock price the day the deal was made. Diamond will join the PwC Advisory practice.

Executives on both sides of the deal said all the "right" things about the shared values of the two firms, and about the opportunity the combined firm creates for its people and clients. But this acquisition is a leap for PwC and former Diamond employees. Expect some bumpy days ahead as Diamond's people make the transition to a firm that is largely led by accountants, not technologists.

You can be sure that Diamond's shareholders are happy with the deal, especially in today's market.

The End of Outsourcing?

Prognosticators at BusinessWeek served up a bold prediction last month by claiming that, in the next five years, outsourcing as we know it will disappear: "The outsourcing market is on the verge of experiencing its most massive transformation since the concept arose more than 20 years ago."

According to the prediction, the legion of Indian service providers will be sidelined or absorbed. And a similar fate awaits US and European companies who fail to heed the signs. Who will emerge as the new leaders? Google and Amazon--because they are well poised to deliver low-cost, "scalable" applications via cloud computing in ways that current service providers can't.

As with any technology forecast, there's as much speculation as reality in this prediction. Don't expect the big outsourcers to stand idly by as their businesses are gobbled up by new entrants. Sure, Google and Amazon could reshape the outsourcing landscape; but their path to outsourcing domination is far from assured. Still, the article raises interesting issues that our clients will grapple with very soon.

Trends in Consultant Travel

How are clients managing their consultants' travel expenses these days? According to a recent Consulting magazine survey of nearly 100 consultants, most are not asking consultants to make significant changes to their typical travel expenses.

But consultants continue to feel that clients are micromanaging their business travel. Survey respondents reported that clients are "more aggressively reviewing" their travel expenses this year than in 2009. Even if clients aren't demanding reductions in travel, they are keeping a close watch on those expenses.

In the bigger scheme of a consulting engagement, some clients devote a disproportionate amount of time to monitoring their consultants' travel receipts. Sadly, clients have learned the hard way that some consultants abuse travel policies. So it's no surprise that clients feel they have to keep an eye on the numbers.

The study also reports that consultants are traveling a bit less than they used to, and includes some suggestions from consultants on how to improve their firms' travel policies.

Want some noteworthy blogs to add to your newsreader? Have a look at these four exceptional blogs.

Andrew Sobel is an authority on the skills and strategies to build resilient, long-lasting client relationships. In a recent post, he offers four steps for adding more value to your client relationships.

Fiona Czerniawska is a keen observer of trends and issues impacting the global services industry. Recently, she asked, "What on earth does the consulting industry have in common with the golden age of Hollywood?" Her insightful post makes a case for how the organization of consulting firms is inching toward something that looks like the film industry.

Adam Hartung offers market-savvy insights on how organizations can innovate and grow. His posts usually examine the competitive dynamics in specific markets (or companies), and he lays out what organizations can learn from understanding the strategies of others. Last month, for example, Hartung wrote about the fallacy of the "fast-follower" strategy, using Microsoft's stumbles in the Smart Phone market and Amazon's success with the Kindle to illustrate the point.

Social Media Examiner looks at the trends, issues, and implications of using social media for businesses. Technorati and AdAge rank it as one of the world's top 100 business blogs. Recently, the blog's authors published a case study showing how Cisco used social media applications to trim more than $100,000 from a product launch initiative.

If you know of other relevant blogs or newsletter, feel free to send them along to me.

Thomas DeLong is coauthor of When Professionals Have to Lead: A New Model for High Performance. He's also a Professor at the Harvard Business School.

DeLong is a leading thinker on organizational behavior and strategic human resources management. And he designed the first course at the Harvard Business School on understanding and leading professional service firms.

I asked DeLong: "If you could give a professional service firm leader just one piece of advice, what would it be?"

DeLong said: "Surround yourself with professionals who are better than you are and who speak the truth to you. Many firm leaders say I have smart people and they figure out what I want to hear very quickly. After a while, it all sounds the same. So my advice is to hire and promote the people who are secure enough to be candid with you."

Read the rest of my interview with Thomas DeLong.

Nonfiction book publisher, Adams Media, announced a book publishing opportunity for business professionals. Adams is conducting the "Make a Book Your Business" contest to find a great business book writer. The publisher is looking for professionals who have great ideas and want to see those ideas in a published book.

The competition started on August 2, 2010. Participants must submit a 200-250 word description of their book ideas and 150 words describing their intended audiences by November 15, 2010. Adams will announce the winner on December 31, 2010.

The winner will get a book contract, the help of a professional business writer, and a PR campaign. The contest offers a chance for Adams to discover a new business writer and for aspiring authors to get their proposals in front of an appropriate publisher, which is a challenge in today's publishing world.

The cost of entry is $250, which includes a free tutorial with the Writer's Digest webinar, "3 Secrets to Getting Your Nonfiction Book Published."

To learn more, visit adamsmedia.com/writing-competitions.

The Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) is holding its annual shindig, Confab 2010, October 23-25, in Reno, Nevada. If you register by October 1, you get a $100 discount on the conference fee.

The theme of this year's Confab is "Build Your Business." The lineup of speakers includes a keynote address by Dr. Sarah Layton on how Blue Ocean Strategy can drive business growth for you and your clients.

More than half of the Confab's breakout sessions feature sales and marketing topics, so there'll be no shortage of advice on ramping up your practice. And you'll have opportunities to meet your colleagues right away, as the conference kicks off with a new networking program, Biz Talk Blender, created by IMC member, Alice Heiman.

For more information, visit www.confabusa.org.

"The people you're calling on suffer from a severe case of Frazzled Customer Syndrome, a debilitating condition brought on by excessive workloads, 24/7 availability, information overload, lack of sleep, and job-related stress."

Next month, we'll talk with Jill Konrath, the author of Selling to Big Companies, and SNAP Selling: Speed Up Sales and Win More Business with Today's Frazzled Customers. In the book, Konrath offers powerful strategies to help you reach the right client, with the right offer, at the right time.

We'll ask Konrath how today's services buyers view sellers and their offerings, and how we can be responsive to the realities of this market.

Look for the next issue of Management Consulting News on October 5, 2010.