January, 2019

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Human and machine: What the player piano has to teach us about the future of consulting

The Source

My husband likes the music of Conlan Nancarrow , who was one of the first composers to write music for machines rather than people. His work for the player piano, a piano with no pianist, where the music is “played” by feeding in a roll of punchcard data, is extraordinary. Extraordinary because the machine can do things that a pianist can’t: It has more than 10 digits, and its “hands” can stretch to wider chords and play impossibly fast.

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How to make a compelling case

Consultants' Consultant

Consultants Consultant: Here are some essential communication skills for making a compelling case. You probably spend a large chunk of your life getting others to things for you. Persuading your boss to give you time off. Influencing your spouse to spend time with you, convincing the kids to go to bed. But right now we are talking […]. The post How to make a compelling case appeared first on Consultants' Consultant.

How To 40
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Time To Declutter Marketing That Doesn't Spark Joy Per Marie Kondo

Henry DeVries

Is it time to apply the Japanese art of tidying up to your marketing? My advice is to take Marie Kondo’s declutter-the-home approach and go through your marketing tools and tactics. What sparks joy in you should be kept, and what does not spark joy in you should be thrown out.

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The Top 10 Things You Can Do in 2019 to Grow Your Consulting Firm

David A Fields

The whole year is open for your consulting firm to accelerate to new heights of success. Twelve full months of opportunity. How can you make the most of them? The Top 10 Things You Can Do in 2019 to Grow Your Consulting Firm 10. Get on the phone There’s a direct correlation between the time … Continued. The post The Top 10 Things You Can Do in 2019 to Grow Your Consulting Firm appeared first on David A.

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State of AI in Sales & Marketing 2025

AI adoption is reshaping sales and marketing. But is it delivering real results? We surveyed 1,000+ GTM professionals to find out. The data is clear: AI users report 47% higher productivity and an average of 12 hours saved per week. But leaders say mainstream AI tools still fall short on accuracy and business impact. Download the full report today to see how AI is being used — and where go-to-market professionals think there are gaps and opportunities.

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2019 Management Consulting Salaries for Undergraduates, MBAs/PhDs, & Interns

Management Consulted

Welcome to 2019, and our annual management consulting salaries report! The consulting industry has been evolving rapidly over the last few years. Consulting business models have adapted as firms respond to their clients’ needs for digital solutions, advanced analytics, and AI. … Continue Reading. The post 2019 Management Consulting Salaries for Undergraduates, MBAs/PhDs, & Interns appeared first on Management Consulted.

More Trending

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2019 Instructional Design Trends

Clarity Consultants

As we say goodbye to 2018, we also welcome a new set of emerging instructional design trends.Here are some 2019 instructional design trends that should be on your radar. The post 2019 Instructional Design Trends appeared first on Clarity Consultants - Training Development.

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Speaking Engagements For Consultants with Tony Chatman: Podcast #68

Consulting Success

Business doesn’t always have to be all about the technical processes. It’s also about the people running it. Professional speaker and corporate relationship expert Tony Chatman works with the people side of business to determine the kind of leadership that either makes the business succeed or fail. He points out how, too often, people are trained for very specific technical expertise, failing to give them the proper skill set to navigate the relationships that help.

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Is It Time to Consider a Fixed Fee for Your Consulting Services?

Successful Independent Consulting

Generally, the more experience you have as an independent consultant, the more likely you should move from billing by the hour to a fixed fee. At some point you’ll master your specialty and work much more efficiently than others. This means to earn what your services are truly worth, you’ll have to keep raising your hourly rates. But at some point, you’ll reach an invisible rate ceiling when clients think you’re too expensive, even if it takes you half the time to do the work.

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An Easy, 7-Step Relationship Plan for Consulting Firms

David A Fields

Relationships. The lifeblood of your consulting firm, and the foundation on which 95% of advisory engagements are won. Plus, the more, strong, healthy, vibrant relationships you have, the wealthier you are. Since “working on relationships” is a bit vague, what should your consulting firm do to strengthen personal bonds? I mean, other than sending boxes … Continued.

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Less Stress, More Success: Accounting Best Practices & Processes for 2025

Speaker: Duke Heninger, Partner and Fractional CFO at Ampleo & Creator of CFO System

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Duke Heninger, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.

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Delta Boarding Zones Change: Business Travelers Get Shafted

Management Consulted

Attention frequent business travelers: the next time you board a Delta Airlines flight, your experience will be drastically different. On January 23, you’ll see a substantial Delta boarding zones change that is sure to rankle frequent business travelers, and quite … Continue Reading. The post Delta Boarding Zones Change: Business Travelers Get Shafted appeared first on Management Consulted.

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10 Tips to Increase Your Close Rates

Consulting Matters

It takes a lot of effort to get to the point where you as a consultant are meeting with a buyer to discuss the potential of a strategic partnership. The true payoff for all of your hard work is when you and your future client are able to come to shared agreement on the work involved and your equitable compensation for the value you create. It is for this reason, mastering your ability to close the deal is critical.

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What Top Writers Know About Instructional Learning and Microlearning

Clarity Consultants

Technical writing and instructional learning have many similarities. As microlearning becomes more popular, the approach technical writers use when creating content often aligns with the creation of these modules, creating an intersection of two fields that may not seem so aligned on the surface. The post What Top Writers Know About Instructional Learning and Microlearning appeared first on Clarity Consultants - Training Development.

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Selling Consulting Services Using High-End Value with Mark Pierce: Podcast #69

Consulting Success

Mark Pierce, owner, operator and founder of E5 Leadership Academy, has been teaching people how to fish rather than giving them a fish. For 35 years, Mark has been in the coaching and mentoring business teaching, training, educating, and motivating people how to be successful in life through a platform of five pillars – spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically and financially.

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PowerPoint Best Practices for Creating Stellar Presentations

Mastering data visualization in PowerPoint will help accelerate your career because it positions you as someone who can present data that drives business decisions forward. think-cell's PowerPoint Best Practices eBook was created specifically for professionals aiming to master the art and science of data-driven storytelling. What’s inside: Practical Insights: Uncover valuable tips for crafting engaging and persuasive presentations.

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The Perils of Internal Disruption (Part 1)

Markovitz Consulting

“Disruption” has become another business buzzword that obviates the need for prudent, careful thought and consideration. If something is “disruptive,” then it must by definition be good. But when it comes to internal operations at least, disruption is often both bad for business and for employees, because it causes unevenness in work. Taiichi Ohno, one of the fathers of the Toyota production system, described three manufacturing evils that companies should avoid: mura (unevenness), muri (overbur

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These 5 Reports Will Help Your Consulting Firm Succeed

David A Fields

Since you’re a consultant, chances are you’ve produced a report or two. In fact your consulting firm may dazzle your clients with artfully designed presentations and printouts, chock-a-block with clever analyses, pithy insights, and/or progress updates. At the very least you’ve summarized your progress on three pages with your logo on the bottom and dessert … Continued.

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How to answer, “Why consulting?”, in an interview

Management Consulted

How to answer, “Why consulting?”, in an interview is a must have skill for any prospective consultant. The question is so common, you can pretty much take it to the bank that you’ll hear those words from the person interviewing … Continue Reading. The post How to answer, “Why consulting?”, in an interview appeared first on Management Consulted.

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How Prophetable is Your Consulting?

Consulting Matters

There's two types of consultants. The ones who are drawn to the profession because of the potential for making great money and the prestige that comes from working with the executives. Then there's the ones who are in it for so much more than money. They also want to make a real difference in our overly stressed workplaces. Both types of consultants want and need to be profitable and deserve equitable compensation for their contribution.

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Savings Consultants Are Needed in Today's Market More Than Ever

Savings Consultants are needed in today’s market more than ever. With an increase in expenses, businesses are looking for opportunities to save. Often unknown to businesses are savings in expense reduction, specialized tax savings, specialized savings including medical underpayments, health benefits cost reduction, zero cost processing, and more. Blue Coast Savings, with over 20 years in business, assists Savings Consultants in helping these companies move toward more profitable businesses.

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Next Gen Training: Building the Right L&D Team

Clarity Consultants

When you need to build a winning learning and development (L&D) team, composition is key. Not only do you need the ideal positions filled - ensuring that critical skill sets are covered - but you also need to focus on professionals with the right mindset. The post Next Gen Training: Building the Right L&D Team appeared first on Clarity Consultants - Training Development.

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Becoming A Consulting Celebrity and Building Your Brand with Chris Kneeland: Podcast #70

Consulting Success

Brand attachment is a metric that speaks to the level of emotional buy-in. People don’t just like these brands or these people, they adore them. They have a higher than normal word of mouth or advocacy, and thus tend to spend lower than their competitive set on traditional media. Chris Kneeland’s work aims to understand how to get somebody to pay more and be more loyal while spending less on advertising and discounts.

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The Perils of Internal Disruption (Part 3)

Markovitz Consulting

“Disruption” has become another business buzzword that obviates the need for prudent, careful thought and consideration. If something is “disruptive,” then it must by definition be good. But when it comes to internal operations at least, disruption is often both bad for business and for employees, because it causes unevenness in work. Last week , I wrote about how sales incentives cause salespeople to stuff the company’s distribution channels with inventory far in excess of consumer demand.

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The Best Way to Sort Consulting Clients into “Types”

David A Fields

As consultants, we are masters of a particularly human trait: simplifying. We boil down a confusingly multifarious muddle into orderly, digestible bites. We apply this ability to trends, situations, strategies, opportunities, and virtually everything else. Including people. Yep, we will happily reduce incomprehensible complexity (which pretty much describes humanity) into a handful of characteristics (which … Continued.

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TOOLS and METHODOLOGIES for developing DECISION SUPPORT PACKAGES

This White Paper targets opportunities for Management to develop proficiency in the Decision Framing and Analyses element of input to Decision, & Risk Analyses for Major Project Funding Decisions.

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To Improve Your Team, First Work on Yourself

Harvard Business

Are you part of the problem?

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Need Clients Now? 5 Strategies to Quickly Get More Consulting Clients

Consulting Matters

If you want to achieve sustainable success as a consultant - ideally you want to create a marketing system to ensure you have a consistently full pipeline of right-fit clients. However, there will be times when you have to feel the cash flow pressure and need to find clients.right now! This article is designed to give you some immediate traction while still setting you up for long-term success.

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What Does Your Training Plan Look Like for This New Year?

Clarity Consultants

Learning and development (L&D) programs ensure your staff remains competitive and productive. By becoming a learning-oriented organization, you have the ability to close skill gaps, embrace emerging technologies more effectively, and even differentiate yourself from the competition. The post What Does Your Training Plan Look Like for This New Year?

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Moving From Agency Work To Starting Your Own Consulting Business with Douglas Miller: Podcast #72

Consulting Success

Transitions and changes can be challenging at times. It may be a little bit rockier for a short period, but the sooner that you make that transition toward the better, the sooner that you will reap the rewards. Douglas Miller, business leadership development and change management consultant, shares his story about his journey upon transitioning from working through agencies and consulting firms to actually building his own business with clients.

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Why You Need to Use Case Studies in Sales and Marketing (and How to Start Now)

Case studies are proof of successful client relations and a verifiable product or service. They persuade buyers by highlighting your customers' experiences with your company and its solution. In sales, case studies are crucial pieces of content that can be tailored to prospects' pain points and used throughout the buyer's journey. In marketing, case studies are versatile assets for generating business, providing reusable elements for ad and social media content, website material, and marketing c

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The Perils of Internal Disruption (Part 4)

Markovitz Consulting

“Disruption” has become another business buzzword that obviates the need for prudent, careful thought and consideration. If something is “disruptive,” then it must by definition be good. But when it comes to internal operations at least, disruption is often both bad for business and for employees, because it causes unevenness in work. Last week , I wrote about how batch processing—whether in manufacturing processes, office processes, or even team management—creates unevenness and disrupts the sm

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Why On-Site Consulting Bites, And When to Do It Anyway

David A Fields

Are there consultants who love to sleep in impersonal hotel rooms, consume unhealthy food, miss family events and endure flight delays? Maybe. After all, there are people who love to eat crickets.It doesn’t amaze me that old, storied, brand name consulting firms primarily employ an on-site consulting model. After all, those firms are old. Their … Continued.

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What PwC Learned from Its Policy of Flexible Work for Everyone

Harvard Business

Working parents aren’t the only ones who need flex time.

Policies 133