February, 2017

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Why and How Personal Branding is Vital for Independent Consultants

Successful Independent Consulting

Everyone in business recognizes strong brands and understands their importance. Coca-Cola. Nike. Apple. These brands represent certain values. Their branding helps drive sales by keeping their products or services fresh in the consumer’s mind. Independent consultants need to think the same way. You need to be top-of-mind when the need for your expertise pops up so the client thinks to call you, or their colleague thinks to refer you.

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10 Endless Sources of Inspiration for Your Articles, Blogs, and Speeches

David A Fields

The third most common question I’m asked by consultants of all stripes from all types of firms is, “Where do you get the ideas for your articles week after week?” I keep hoping that will be followed up with, “May I donate a new Tesla to your collection?” but no one’s popped that question. Yet.

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Top 10 Consulting Firms In New York

Management Consulted

This week, we bring you the Top 10 Consulting firms in New York – the power center of the world. How do we know New Yorkers think the universe revolves around them? Well, for one, when we set our calendar in West Coast time, they show up on East Coast time – because who (that matters) lives outside the Big Apple? Jokes aside, we love the great city of NYC.

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Feedback is Essential in the L&D Process Playbook

Clarity Consultants

Feedback is arguably the holy grail within the world of corporate training and development. It's often high value, actionable, and comes at a low cost of acquisition. Feedback can give you the opportunity to self correct quickly and effectively is you are not on the right course (whether with customers or partners). The best part is that many people are happy to provide feedback because they know that it can directly impact their own experience, creating a mutually beneficial "win-win" scenario.

Training 154
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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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The Rise of AI Makes Emotional Intelligence More Important

Harvard Business

The booming growth of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), like most transformational technologies, is both exciting and scary. It’s exciting to consider all the ways our lives may improve, from managing our calendars to making medical diagnoses, but it’s scary to consider the social and personal implications — and particularly the implications for our careers.

More Trending

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For Independent Consultants, Business Development = Relationship Development

Successful Independent Consulting

The biggest stressor for self-employed management consultants is business development: how to cultivate meaningful regular work. It’s vexing for a variety of reasons. First, consultants are good at helping clients solve problems but usually aren’t trained in sales or marketing. Second, when knee-deep in projects and facing deadlines, consultants are hard-pressed to find time to publish thought-leadership articles or create, launch, and manage marketing campaigns.

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A Proven Method to Lock in Meetings with Consulting Prospects

David A Fields

Consultants and consulting firm leaders are still trying to secure appointments with their prospects as if they’re in the stagecoach era. There’s a better way. Remember when people would travel from town to town in a stagecoach? I don’t either, but I’ve seen it in the movies.

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Job Hub: CHG Healthcare Services Jobs and Culture

Management Consulted

Today we highlight tremendous business analyst and post-consulting leadership jobs at CHG Healthcare Services. CHG Healthcare Services is a Utah-based company that has been ranked as high as 3rd in Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 Companies to Work For. With 30+ years of staff legacy, they have a reputation for putting People First and functioning from a strong set of core values.

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You Can Use L&D to Build a Culture of Support For Your Business Strategy

Clarity Consultants

Your learning and development programs can be an amazing source of support for your business strategy. They offer a way for leadership to nurture and shape the minds and culture of the employees who will be the foundation of the business in the coming years.

Culture 133
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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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What Great Managers Do

Harvard Business

Exceptional managers find and capitalize on their employees’ unique strengths. Learn how they do it with this 6 minute video slide deck. Download a customizable version in Subscriber Exclusives.

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Why Paid Family Leave Is Good Business

BCG

Article Tuesday, February 07, 2017. A growing number of companies are moving to provide paid family leave for their US employees—and they're not all in industries you might expect. In addition to technology, financial services, and professional services firms, such organizations include food and beverage manufacturers, retail and food services companies, and even the US Department of Defense.

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Do Independent Consultants Still Need Résumés?

Successful Independent Consulting

With LinkedIn and personal websites widely used to promote careers, the idea of independent management consultants having a printable résumé may seem old-fashioned. However, in most cases it’s still necessary. This article explains why and how a consulting résumé should differ from a traditional corporate résumé. It also has tips for crafting résumés to help you get consulting work.

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The Answers to Two Persistent Consulting Questions

David A Fields

Jesper (actual name of the consultant) tried for ages to land a project with Astra Zeneca (actual name of client; a.k.a. AZ). His firm had a history of work with AZ, particularly in North America; however, they had never been able to win an consulting engagement in Europe (actual names of continents).

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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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Introducing our Free Case of the Month!

Management Consulted

Do you know what’s better than practicing cases? (If you’re like us, then your answer is probably “nothing”). But actually, the better thing is feeling yourself getting better at destroying them, and practicing with real-world business cases you’re able to get for FREE. That’s where we come in. Not only do our world-class coaches and 100+ completely free articles help you become a case master, but our new Free Case of the Month will allow you to work through a

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Performance Consulting Is More Than Training Delivery

Clarity Consultants

If you are unfamiliar with the term, performance consulting is becoming a more important focus for organizations committed to making sure they are accomplishing their goals with as little wasted effort or resources as possible. It’s designed to help companies do more with less, stay competitive, and increase market share. The hyper-competitive market that businesses operate in today have learned that in order to stay ahead of the curve, they must increase pressure on their corporate training pro

Training 113
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The 3 Simple Rules of Managing Top Talent

Harvard Business

The general view in business is that top-end talent is highly sensitive to and motivated by compensation and that big monetary rewards are key to their management. There is a grain of truth to this — but only a grain. In my 36-year career, I haven’t met a single person truly at the top end of the talent distribution who is highly motivated by compensation.

Talent 134
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A Guide to Strategy through Execution

Strategy+Business

How to get the strategists and implementers in your company to work together effectively. For more insight, read "10 Principles of Strategy through Execution.

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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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Building a Resilient Global Enterprise Inspired by Biology

BCG

Article Wednesday, February 22, 2017. Many global enterprises today have succeeded by following a simple recipe: procure, manufacture, and assemble in the lowest-cost locations, link these using reliable, standardized logistics and information technology, market the resulting products globally, and book profit in low-tax havens. This powerful formula for economic arbitrage enabled by technology and supported by the politics of open borders is the fruit of several decades of globalization.

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8 Best Practices for Saving a Consulting Project or Client

David A Fields

Sometimes consulting projects go sideways, or south or downhill. Or all three. If you’ve been in consulting a while, you’ve faced an unhappy client. It happens. How you handle the situation makes all the difference to your consulting practice. (FYI, this builds on an article I published January, 2015.

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TCIP #059 – The Human Capital Component Of Crisis Management, With Sam Miller

Melissa Agnes

Welcome to episode #059 of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, with Melissa Agnes and Sam Miller. Earlier this week, I published a #crisisready video that discusses the emotional factors that can quickly escalate an incident to crisis-level. Remaining on the topic of emotional impact and the human factors of crisis management and preparedness, I’m excited to be sharing the latest Crisis Intelligence Podcast with you!

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2010s or 1920s – In the World of Work, the Only Constant is Change

Tom Spencer

How are you dealing with the 21st century? Those who’ve been in the work market for a couple of decades or more have witnessed a hastening evolution of how things are done and what you need to do just to get by – let alone to excel. Even millennials can find themselves somewhat adrift when new skills become outdated and employers experiment with workplace environments that are wildly different to what you were prepared for in school.

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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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How to Handle Interrupting Colleagues

Harvard Business

You’re giving a presentation on the company’s strategic direction when one of your colleagues interrupts you. You pause, address his question, and continue with your point — until he interrupts again. Sound familiar? All of us have known colleagues, friends, or romantic partners who seem unable to let us finish a sentence. How do you handle them effectively?

How To 134
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10 Principles of Strategy through Execution

Strategy+Business

Your company's identity (what you do) and implementation (how you do it) should be closely linked. Here are the precepts to keep in mind as you bring them together: Aim high. Build on your strengths. Be ambidextrous (sophisticated at both strategy and execution). Clarify everyone's strategic role. Align structures to strategy. Transcend functional barriers.

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The One Ratio Every Subscription Business Needs to Know

BCG

Article Thursday, February 09, 2017. Today, more and more businesses are migrating their products from a purchase-based to a subscription-based model. Ever since Salesforce.com pioneered software as a service (SaaS), companies across industry sectors—B2B and B2C alike—have made the move. In the entertainment business, Netflix ushered in monthly-DVD and online-streaming subscriptions, and Spotify supplanted iTunes.

B2C 68
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Over/with

Seth Godin Blog

You connect with someone. But you exert power over someone. You can dance and communicate and engage with a partner. It's a two way street, a partnership. On the other hand, you either exert control over someone, or you are under their control. If you want to be an Olympic wrestler, you need to be comfortable (not necessarily in favor of, but willing to live with) the idea that you will spend time under.

Media 55
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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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Should You Issue a Press Release In a Crisis?

Melissa Agnes

Many organizations are still struggling with this old mindset of “we need to issue a press release in a crisis” And yet, issuing a press release can actually hinder your crisis management success. Why? Tune in to this week’s #crisisready video to find out! How are you going about changing this dated mindset within your organization?

Video 67
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Wearable Technology: Implications for Entrepreneurs and Organizations

Tom Spencer

Imagine a world where one can rate the popularity of any individual from 1 to 5 using a mobile device. And in this imaginary world, these ratings are important for determining one’s employability, social status, and where one can live. Furthermore, each person’s name and rating is visible to everyone else through the use of a wearable contact lens. This world already exists in the Black Mirror episode, Nosedive , but is slowly becoming a reality in our world.

Data 60
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Companies Are Bad at Identifying High-Potential Employees

Harvard Business

A high-potential employee is usually in the top 5% of employees in an organization. These people are thought to be the organization’s most capable, most motivated, and most likely to ascend to positions of responsibility and power. To help these employees prepare for leadership roles in a thoughtful, efficient manner, companies often institute formal high-potential (HIPO) programs.

Company 134