It’s all about communication
Consultants work with their clients to provide advice and support. Whether it’s just a short-term project or a consulting engagement lasting over many years, the best consultants know how to add value to the client relationship. They understand that the …
September 22, 2020 |
Knowledge |
Helen S. Cooke
Questions to ask when starting a project
Because projects address situations not faced before, or strive to deliver results under circumstances not experienced before, there will always be unknowns. Planning can occur in the face of unknowns, but the more you know, the better your plan can …
Change can be difficult. Here are ways to make it happen.
One of the challenges of being a consultant is helping your client make needed or desired changes. Consultants can identify the required change, but they don’t have direct control over its implementation. They need to work with their clients as …
Thoughts on how to become a valued consultant
Many people have chosen the path of being a consultant. Businesses hire internal or external consultants to help them achieve their goals. But sometimes it’s not clear if being a consultant is “a good thing or a bad thing.” Not …
These 13 questions will help you navigate difficulties and disagreements
Clients and consultants sometimes encounter difficulties when they don’t share a common understanding of how to improve a situation. They may not have a clear handle on the goals. The client might have a better understanding of their business than …
Flexibility is key in a changing work environment
From mom and pop shops to major corporations, businesses are dealing with the effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic crisis. More than half of Americans are now working from home whereas less than 25 percent worked from home, even occasionally, …
Ideas for making your next online meeting more effective
The topic of “meetings” is one that usually elicits groans, that then lead to lots of bad, cringe-worthy meeting stories, with rarely good outcomes. As we know, meetings don’t always require physical attendance. The COVID-19 pandemic social distancing has found …
February 13, 2020 |
Knowledge |
Denise Gifford
these 14 questions will help you assess the strength of the relationship
Developing a partnership with your client—one built on mutual trust and understanding—is essential for establishing a long-term working relationship. If you aren’t trusted, your advice won’t be trusted. If you don’t understand the client as a person, you won’t know …
December 19, 2019 |
Knowledge |
Helen S. Cooke
These strategies will help you bring out and understand stakeholder needs
Stakeholders all have expectations, whether they’re expressed or subconscious. For project managers, understanding these expectations throughout the course of a project can help create a successful project conclusion. While meeting every expectation from each stakeholder is impossible, identifying what people …
July 10, 2019 |
Interviews
A deep dive into the future of work with The Atlantic correspondent Ellen Ruppel Shell
We’ve all been hearing a lot lately about the economy: unemployment is near a record low, the stock market is at a record high, and job creation numbers have been relatively steady. Yet behind these reassuring numbers lurks a troubling …
6 tips for successfully managing surprise in a negotiation
Like it or not, we are all negotiating, all the time—and at some level, all negotiations involve an assessment of the balance of power: how much do I want what the other party has to offer, and how much do …
These questions will clarify your client’s perspective, current situation, and future vision
As a consultant, one of your key objectives is to fully understand your client’s situation so that you can offer advice, solutions, and support as needed. This means taking the time to not only understand your client’s current reality, but …