October, 2013

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IBM Consulting Interviews: Navigating the IBM GBS Maze

Management Consulted

'IBM Global Business Services (GBS). The history of IBM GBS is one of our very favorite business stories of all time, and one that reminds us that even the most enormous, boring and troubled companies can re-invent themselves. As the next installment in our popular Firm Profile series, we take a look at the evolution, reinvention, and current interview tactics of one of the world’s premier consulting firms – IBM.

IBM GBS 203
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Classic Consulting Quotes

Consultant Ninja

'"Give a man a fish, and he''ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he''ll eat fish for life. Teach a man to sell, and he''ll eat steak.

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The Ansoff Matrix

Tom Spencer

'A framework to help executives, senior managers and marketers devise strategies for future growth. 1. Background. THE Ansoff Matrix (referred to by some commentators as the Product/Market Expansion Grid) was developed by a Russian-American mathematician named Igor Ansoff , and first explained in his 1957 Harvard Business Review article entitled Strategies for Diversification. 2.

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How To Go It Solo at a Networking Event

Women in Consulting

'By: Sandy Jones-Kaminski Networking occurs at practically every event we attend, whether it’s on the schedule or not. As the featured speaker at the October WIC General Meeting, I thought I’d share some of my tips to help with your pre-meeting preparation. These tips are most helpful if you’re attending an in-person networking event solo. Two proven tactics that I’ve seen help solo attendees again and again: 1.

How To 98
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What Your Financial Statements Are Telling You—And How to Listen!

Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker

Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.

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Crazy Airline Gobbledegook Nonsense

The Crazy Lives of Consultants

'The airline business is like nothing on earth, and airline people are some of the most common interactions we consultants have. I thought I would take a minute to note some of the crazy words that come out of their mouths. Note that I''m not talking about jargon - every field has special weird words for weird things. I''m talking about weird words for common things that didn''t need renaming.

More Trending

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Our crystal palace

Seth Godin Blog

'Thanks to technology, (relative) peace and historic levels of prosperity, we''ve turned our culture into a crystal palace, a gleaming edifice that needs to be perfected and polished more than it is appreciated. We waste our days whining over slight imperfections (the nuts in first class aren''t warm, the subway isn''t cool enough, the vaccine leaves a bump on our arm for two hours) instead of seeing the modern miracles all around us.

Sales 55
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A Tribute to Four Elders: Engelbart, Seashore, Seashore, and Burns

Strategy+Business

'These four excelled at making meaningful connections in a world where that matters more than ever.

53
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Tim Minchin’s Nine Life Lessons

Tom Spencer

'“It’s an incredibly exciting thing, this one meaningless life of yours” (Tim Minchin). “TIM Minchin is a genius, pure and simple. He is to musical comedy what Charles Darwin was to evolution” (Tim Arthur, CEO of TimeOut Magazine). We tend to agree. For those of you unfamiliar with Tim’s work, you can check out some of his amusingly irreverent musical comedy here.

Exercises 102
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Thank you to our 2013 Silent Auction Donors & Volunteers!

Women in Consulting

'By: Melissa Stacey On behalf of Women in Consulting, thank you for your generous donations to the silent auction! Your participation and collaboration helped make the 2013 silent auction a huge success. Women in Consulting is grateful for your support. Colleen Bataille, Inspired Events by CB: www.inspiredeventsbycb.com. Pamela Bender, Planning Showcase: www.planshow.com.

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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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How Does Service Design Relate To CX And UX?

1 to 1

'Service design is critical to customer experience (CX). (If you''re not sure why, please check out my post from earlier this week called Service Design: The Most Important Design Discipline You''ve Never Heard Of, and then come back and continue reading.) But what exactly is the relationship between the service design and CX? And how does the field of user experience (UX) factor into this picture?

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France Vows to "Save the Bookstores", Fixes Price of Books, Bans Free Shipping by Amazon

MishTalk

'In yet another act of economic stupidity, France targets Amazon to protect bookshops. France’s parliament has passed a law preventing internet booksellers from offering free delivery to customers, in an attempt to protect the country’s struggling bookshops from the growing dominance of US online retailer Amazon. On Thursday, Aurélie Filippetti, the culture minister who originally proposed the move, denounced Amazon for its alleged “strategy of dumping”, claiming that the company used offers of

Retail 78
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On owning it

Seth Godin Blog

'If you announce what you want, if you are clear about what''s on offer, if you set goals. the chances of accomplishing your goal go up, and so does. the chance that you will be disappointed. For many people, apparently, it''s better to not get what you want than it is to be disappointed. The resistance is powerful indeed. Every time you use waffle words, back off from a clear statement of values and priorities and most of all, think about what''s likely instead of what''s possible, you are sell

55
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Small Talk, Big Results

Strategy+Business

'Keith Ferrazzi, author of Who''s Got Your Back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success--and Won''t Let You Fail , introduces a passage on the value of connecting with co-workers from The Necessity of Strangers: The Intriguing Truth about Insight, Innovation, and Success , by Alan Gregerman.

53
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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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Loss Aversion

Tom Spencer

'Loss aversion is a widespread behavioural trait which causes people to experience the suffering from a loss much more deeply than the joy from a commensurate gain. Background. Everyone knows that people don’t like to lose things. People are reluctant to give their old clothes to Vinnies, to leave dysfunctional relationships, or to throw away an old pair of slippers.

Study 92
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New Home Office Deduction

Women in Consulting

'By: Renee Daggett The number of people working from home has increased, yet claiming the home office deduction has been a burden and filled with many rules in order to qualify. However, for 2013, the IRS has implemented new home office rules to make it SIMPLE! Taxpayers can choose between the regular method and the new simplified method. For the regular method, you must use a portion of your home regularly and exclusively as a principal place of business, as a place to meet with clients or in

Meeting 69
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6 Tips for Taking Service Beyond 'Customer Service Week'

1 to 1

'Today marks the start of Customer Service Week where thousands of companies will honor and award their employees in an effort to boost morale and celebrate those committed to delivering exceptional customer service. In an effort to encourage continuous improvement for companies'' service organizations beyond October 11, I''m making the following recommendations.

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US Debt Already Exceeds Debt Limit by $48 Billion Minimum; Gold vs. Debt Ceiling

MishTalk

'A few days ago, a reader sent me a chart of the price of gold vs. the national debt. The chart was a bit out of date so I asked Nick at Sharelynx Gold (my favorite proprietor of historical and current gold charts) if he had a similar chart. He did. And here''s the chart. Debt and Debt Ceiling vs. Gold. click on chart for sharper image. Please note that the current debt limit is $16.699 trillion.

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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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The easiest way to disagree with someone

Seth Godin Blog

'is to assume that they are uninformed, and that once they know what you know, they will change their mind. (A marketing problem!). The second easiest way to disagree is to assume that the other person is a dolt, a loon, a misguided zealot who refuses to see the truth. Their selfish desire to win interferes with their understanding of reality. (A political problem!).

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Exceed Customer Expectations--and Get Home for Family Dinner

Strategy+Business

'Sheryl Sandberg is wrong: Women who want to "have it all" should consider smaller companies that better fit their lifestyle.

Company 53
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Why business can be good at solving social problems

Tom Spencer

'By addressing social issues with sustainable business models, business leaders have the potential to provide scalable solutions MICHAEL PORTER makes an astute observation – the world is full of social problems. From environmental degradation and disease to unemployment and inequality, solving social problems has traditionally been the domain of NGOs, the government and philanthropists.

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Consulting Mad Libs

The Crazy Lives of Consultants

'Ever notice the eerie similarity of consulting deliverables to Mad Libs ? It seems that as a firm gets more "mature" ( in the procedure sense ) all of its output becomes a massive game of "fill in the blanks." Just like Mad Libs. Need a deliverable for a small backwoods paper company? Fill in the blanks. How about a Wall Street financial? Same deliverable; just fill it in.

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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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3 Mobile Trends on the Rise

1 to 1

'It''s no secret that mobile is changing the traditional marketing funnel and transforming the way customers interact at every stage throughout the customer journey. Mobile has propelled us into an environment that not only allows us to express a need through any device at any time, and also one that has customers expecting a contextually relevant response to those needs.

Trends 50
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Security Founder John McAfee: "Obamacare is a Hacker’s Wet Dream"

MishTalk

'Security founder John McAfee of McAfee Associates, a computer anti-virus company, reflects on Obamacare: " This Is A Hacker''s Wet Dream ". NEIL CAVUTO: What do you make [of Obamacare]? Obviously, a lot of people have been focusing on the law but not really cognizant of the privacy part of the law, and how hackers could have a field day with it. Is it that bad?

System 77
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Does anger follow the laws of thermodynamics?

Seth Godin Blog

'I have no idea what caused the guy in front of me in traffic to be having a bad day. Maybe he has a stressful meeting coming up, or his butler burned his bacon at breakfast. Maybe he''s having trouble paying his rent, or his industry is under seige. All I know is that he''s weaving in and out, giving people the finger and yelling at other cars, all at the same time.

Course 55
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Forgive Them for They Are Young Employees

Strategy+Business

'Let''s not be so quick to damn an entire generation as narcissists. Maybe they''re just inexperienced.

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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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How to Make Stress Your Friend

Tom Spencer

'Viewing stress as helpful can foster courage, and connecting with others under stress can aid resilience. KELLY McGONIGAL explains that merely believing that “stress is harmful” can increase your chances of premature death. The good news is that by changing how you think about stress you can change your body’s stress response and improve your physical resilience.

How To 76
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Enabling Virtual Team Relationships – Part IV

Gina Abudi

'The first team problem Read Part I, Part II and Part III of our story for background information. The team has been moving along well and, as Alice predicted, during the first team meeting, they really did seem to come together as a team. However, Alice began to notice an issue. Similar to what happened [.].

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Exploring the Retail Contact Center: Past, Present, and Future

1 to 1

'For years, brands referred to the contact center as the "cost center" of their organization. With their focus geared toward short-term ROI, many were reluctant to spend money on improvements because they neglected to consider sales beyond the brick-and-mortar store or website. Such companies failed to take full advantage of their customer service agents, for they were not trained as sales agents, thus missing the opportunity to nurture relationships, encourage repeat purchases, and upsell durin

Retail 48