Stuck between mediocrity and excellence

In order to make the most out of my days, I reduced my caffeine intake and am now on this FRS kick. For those of you that don't know what FRS is, just go to a sportsite web page and look for Lance Armstrong on the right looking ripped as usual. It's supposed to be this all natural energy booster that will help you through work outs and playing sports. Since I play a lot of soccer on Sundays, I take it because I'm one of the oldest guys on the field and after one run, I get exhausted. I'm at the point where I would like to make two runs and still be standing. Just as athletes may have been on the HGH, I highly recommend that consultants try FRS. Right or wrong, I figure the firm would work me 24/7 if they could. So why not take some type of performance enhancing supplement? It makes me wonder what life would be like if all consultants went after every billable hour during weeks and weekends. I think it would be like having a bunch of Terminators running the world. I...

I think that in a down economy, the true culture of an organization reveals itself. I've come to the conclusion that an organization has two choices when the going gets rough. 1.) Everyone takes an every man for him/herself mentality and it becomes survival of the fittest (and luckiest); or 2.) The organization buckles down as one and prepares itself for the upswing. As a consultant, I could say that some organizations do a hybrid of both. But for the sake of discussion, let's deal in absolutes. A wise partner said to me - before the recession hit - that when the economy picks up, we're going to have a severe shortage of people and everyone will be working double and triple time. This turned out to be true. The same wise partner then told me that we are going to start ramping up quickly to meet anticipated demand, and because our "average" performers were let go and would not want to come back to us and our higher performers are disgruntled and will leave - we...

Recruiting top talent is a big deal for us. I'll be honest. We hire a lot of smart people. I swear there are a few that have some type of microprocessor in their head or a photographic memory. They have the ability to remember details, process information and think of things that are unimaginable. It's amazing. Being on the front end of the recruiting process, I think that there are the slam dunks (the ones that you know will excel, get what they want out of the management consulting profession, and then leave to move on to bigger and better thing) and then there are the ones that work hard, figure out the game, have a little bit of luck, and move to the type of the pyramid. Here's the thing that puzzles me. We place a huge emphasis on making our top performers happy knowing that there is a high probability that they will not stick around. I remember asking the question of how long our formers stay after they come back from grad school. The only answer that I really got w...

Once you get to be my level in management consulting, you have to learn how to be the bad guy. My personality is far from being the bad guy, but I quickly need to learn how to become an as*hole. So how do you develop this personality of as*holedness. It's actually quite easy because there are numerous examples to model yourself after. In one of my previous blogs, I talked about how there were a lack of role models. The exception to that is if you are looking for leaders that don't give a sh*t what they say and will steamroll anyone in the process - there are plenty of them to model yourself after. My opinion is that before you can do that, you have to gain the trust of your client. The flip side of that is sometimes you start a project already in progress and it's so messed up, you have to take the risk and make that jump before you even know the client. Taking that risk is calculated because you don't want to get kicked off a project. But my hope is that clients bel...

Yesterday was a day of awakening for me. As I was doing my favorite thing, shopping for clothes, I went into Banana Republic looking for some new clothes that I planned to wear to work. Thankfully, I am not working on a federal project which meant that I didn't have to buy a bland suit that makes me feel stuffy as soon as I put it on.  As I was trying on clothes, I tried on a pair of pants that had a waist size that I thought would never fit me. Let's put it this way, it was 6" bigger in the waist than what my waist size was in college. Lo and behold, those m-f'ers fit! It was at that point that severe depression kicked in. Do you ever keep clothes around with the intent of losing weight so that you can fit in them once again? Well, I do. (And as my wife will attest, they've been hanging in my closet since we were dating 3 years ago). Now I find out that not only will I not fit in them, but I'm going the complete other way and I have to buy more pants that wi...

Going to a conference a while back, I remember attending a breakout session on professional and written communication. Because of my poor retention skills, I only remembered about 5% of it. I remembered that you shouldn't use the word "Hopefully" to start a sentence. The reason escapes me. But I now start sentences with "I hope." I also remember hearing that everytime you use the word, "But," you are negating everything you said before you said "But." That said, I encountered a coworker that would use the "But" everytime I said something. I could have made a recommendation. Immediately I would get a response, "But...." It could have just been a statement. Hell, it could have just been a joke. I would still get a response starting with, "but." In my mind, I thought she was discounting everything I said - and literally, she said it after every sentence that came out of my mouth. I know that we tell our consultant...

The one thing that I've noticed over the past few years is that everyone has an agenda. Maybe I've just been blind to it since I see the good in everyone. Or maybe it's been amplified due to the current economic environment and the shift in culture that our organization has gone through. I talked before about loyalty to the company you work for. We all know that Generation X and younger no longer really believe in company loyalty. I think that everyone in my B-school class is on their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th + job. There are obviously some exceptions. My mom once told me to never trust anyone. For those of you that have Asian moms, they are extremely demanding and usually 100% right. It's very frustrating. I have a problem of being completely transparent with everyone that I meet. The issue with that is that individuals with agendas can use that against you. For example, I know that as soon as I give any indication that I am thinking about pursuing  outside opportunities, t...

Sometimes when you get so focused on metrics, you lose sight of the end goal. Let's say that my end goal is to be a partner of the firm. This to me means that I need to have a brand that is in demand within the marketplace and that the firm understands. (It really doesn't help to have a skill set that no one in the firm understands -- even if it's worth a few bucks here and there.) Not only does this brand have to be demand, it has to be worth a certain amount - let's say at least a few million dollars year over year. As a Sr. Consultant chasing utilization, I will tell you that this is the last thing that I thought about. Part of it is because I think so many of us get into this profession thinking that we'll burn a few cycles for a few years, get the experience, and then live somewhat of a normal life. For others of us, this is all we know and this is that we do. Before you know it, a decade has passed. The other factor in all of this is that at certain periods ...

For those of you that meet me, what you see is what you get. I'm about as transparent as they come. I would probably lose a lot of money at poker. I talk to my cat the same way that I would talk to another person - within reason of course. Sometimes the cat requires me to repeat things. This is both a positive attribute and a curse. I believe that it's viewed from above as, "You're not drawing the line between levels of our hierarchy." I think it's viewed from my peers and those that don't have as much experience as, "Wow, he's someone that I can talk to openly. That's pretty cool."  From my perspective, as a Generation X'er, I can understand both sides of the equation. I understand what it means to have pounded in your head that you need to work hard and perform and you will succeed. I understand what it also means to grow up in this age of multiple networking avenues and the influence technology has had on relationships. I also un...

I have dreams occasionally of being in a place for a day or two that represents the antithesis of everything that I write or talk about in my blog or that's on my mind. Unlike Jerry Maguire, I'm hoping that a conversation with my mentor in a crowded place about my future doesn't trigger an event like that. Continuing my thought, I think that if I actually did something similar to what Jerry Maguire did - write a mission statement, mass produce it and distribute it to the firm, and then go into the office on a Friday to accept the reaction - my gut feel is that this would not be a good idea. For the same reasons that it may be what people are thinking, but it's not something anyone wants to make publicly known. This is one of the reasons that I blog, but you still have to watch your back when you blog. It's easier to phase out a person that is a thorn or irritation than it is to get a massive organization to change (In my opinion). That said, I think ...

In my profession, we have labels. Almost every internal meeting starts with some form of name, rank, and serial number. Except in our case, it's name, level, service area, current project. Within each of these labels are sub-labels. To oversimplify a heavily matrixed structure - how you are labeled plays a large part in how you are evaluated. I learned a long time ago, that I didn't necessarily have to align myself within a bucket that I was known for (e.g., supply chain), I had to align myself within a group where people knew me (e.g., industry). This helped me get through the review process without much pain. Fast forward a year later where everything has changed. Leadership has changed. Our labels have changed. Our matrix is still a very complicated matrix with leaders having different levels of power depending on the situation.. I now find myself aligned to a bucket where I do very little work and where those leaders wouldn't know me from that next Thai / American g...

As I look across the landscape of leaders that I work with, I continue to search for a role model. I sometimes think that there are a lot of folks with Charles Barkley syndrome - "I am not a role model." I remember during one performance review period I received the feedback that since I am a sr. manager, I need to act like a firm leader. I have an easy going get along with everyone type of personality, so I took this to mean that I should not fraternize with the staff. Keep in mind that I am the guy that when hired in as a Manager spent his first weekend going to a club with the Business Analyst class. (Now those Analysts are either back with the firm as Sr. Consultants or have moved into industry in fast track positions). An effective leader in today's day and age breaks down the imaginary line of hierarchy that exists between the levels. I've worked with leaders that want to establish, "I'm the king, you're not. Now that we have the lines of authorit...

For those of you that read my blog, I have a quote that I keep top of mind. It's, "Performance is always the point." For those of you that work with me, you know that I'm not going to sweep our mid-year process under the rug without expressing some type of opinion around the process. We advise our clients to simplify their processes and drive designs from the voice of the customer. As a customer of our new midyear forms and process, I must have given feedback like this: Please change the framework and provide me with multiple options and ratings to choose from so that I can spend more time picking and choosing my self-worth. Instead of being able to attach files in a matter of seconds, please let the system take 30 seconds to upload a file or delete a file, ask me if I'm sure that I want to upload or delete it, and then let me wait another 30 seconds to continue the action. When I ask about the change, give me an answer like, "In the end you guys are ju...

Sad to say, one of the most exciting times in my career was when my computer's lease ended. This meant that I would get a new super duper computer. More importantly, I would be able to get one of the smaller computers that I saw so many Sr. Managers and Partners carry. Wouldn't you know that as soon as I got that computer, I ended up with no projects and started the run of practice development projects that would rival Babe Ruth's home run streak. It's now November and I am finally getting traction at a client. I am in no way close to my utilization or revenue managed number, but you have to start somewhere. It's now my job to grow the relationships at the client and continue to add value / sell work so that I can eat (and now my family) can also eat. Here's my thought for the day. With small computer, comes great responsibility and expectations becoming that small computer. Just as easy as I was given the small computer, I honestly believe that it can be tak...

When I first started in management consulting, my friends would ask me, "What is it that you consult?" The assumption being that in order to provide someone with advice, you would expect to have some foundation or experience to draw upon in order to provide that advice. One of the first challenges new hires (with a conscience) coming into the firm think about is selling themselves so that it justifies what a client is paying us per hour. Some have the perception there is no way they can be worth that much, so they bust their ass proving that they are worth that per hour charge. THEN there are those that expect to be billing that much per hour and already think they are partners. I don't want to call it a sense of entitlement, but maybe that's what it is. Clients pay consultants for a variety of things-- but I think there are three key ones. We actually have expertise in an area where they need advice They lack resources with the skillset to get a job done To dri...

My mom told me a story of when I was a kid beginning swimming lessons, all of the kids would be in the pool while I sat outside of the pool being strongly encouraged to jump in. When I did finally get in, I was an ok swimmer and hung with the other kids, but it didn't really captivate me. Another story is when I got to high school, I had just transferred from another high school where I was establishing my popularity. I was so mad at my parents for making me transfer that it was probably one of those periods for my parents where it sucked having a teenage boy. The encouraged me to run for student body president and I really didn't want to. But I did it anyway and won. So based on those two stories, I have a strong tendency not to jump into something with both feet because of fear of failure (or just not wanting to do it). But if/when I do actually do it, I'm one of the lucky ones to either hang tough of excel. Those two stories lead me to this. I believe that in order to...

There is one common question that rears its head on every engagement, "Where are we going to eat?" This question is the common bond that brings teams together. In a universe where there are competing priorities of clients and firm, it never ceases to amaze me that this question goes through a rigor of thought, debate, and effective decision making. The reason I bring this up is that I find myself comparing cafeterias at clients. It is actually a huge factor and correlates directly to whether I am actually having fun on an engagement or not. The better the cafeteria, the more excited I am to be there. The worse it is... well, let's just say that I'm counting the days to roll off. Here are some observations: Big pharma - These guys are the benchmark for cafeterias. I remember a project that I did for a pharma client in London and the US. These guys had people at the door ready to open the door for you. There were 3 different restaurants, a cafeteria, AND a grocery ...

I went to the University of Tennessee for my MBA.  It's obviously not Harvard or Wharton. But I sometimes find myself at work defending the fact that I spent 2 fantastic years in Knoxville pursuing higher education. And that includes a football National Championship. It's the same feeling that I used to get when the rich kids at school had clothes from high end retailers and my mom at one point in time made my clothes. Psychologically, I wonder if I am putting myself behind the 8 ball at the firm that I work for or if that perception truly exists. I recruit all of these b-school kids with the 95th percentile  GMAT score and the great GPAs and I wonder if we are hiring short timers or long termers. In the past 6 years that I've been with the organization, there was a shift to hiring new consultants based on the numbers. What happens when you do that is that you miss out on the folks that are "good enough". (Refer to Malcom Gladwell's book, Outliers, for muc...

I have this motto that started last year at a client engagement as I was working for a very Sr. Partner. Simply stated, "DFU". It stands for "Don't F**k Up". In this business, you don't get 3 strikes, you get one -- and that's overstating it. In reality, I think that it's better to go unscathed. This probably explains why so many of us can bob and weave better than Muhammad Ali. But very few people get through many years of consulting without losing a piece of their ass here and there. That said, a couple of years ago I worked with another Sr. Partner and we were never on the same page. He zigged. I zagged. He went left. I went right. Have you ever been working with someone that just didn't get it? Well -- I was that person- on the wrong end of that relationship. As a result, I was unceremoniously rolled off and to add insult to injury, the partner gave me the kiss of death - a less than average rating. To put this in perspective, the result of...

When I'm 'in between' engagements, I like to read a lot of business books. So many in fact, that I have a stack that go unread but would look good if I could ever afford to turn one of our rooms into a library. I also find myself turning to motivational CDs such as those from Tony Robbins. If there is anyone that will drop kick you in the ass, it's definitely him. He definitely lives with passion and purpose each and every day. One of my old faithful reads is Think and Grow Rich by Napleon Hill. It's a timeless piece that is an easy read and I appreciate one of my friends at work recommending that I read it.  I honestly think that every self-help philosophy is based on some of the key tenets presented in this book. To that point, I have noticed that the more negative I am, the worse things get. The reason I say this is because one of the first chapters in Hill's book talks to the power of positive thinking. Very simply, if you think it and believe it - whate...

I found an index card from 2004 in my closet that I thought was worth capturing in the posterity of my blog. I've always wondered what the first step to getting unstuck was. In the search for my humidifier, fate pointed me to a shoebox where I found the index card. First I thought, "Wow. These are pretty good." Then I thought,"Wow. What has happened in 5 years?" I have no idea where I got these from. I apologize in advance for not identifying the source. If you are feeling stuck in a job or situation, or just need to take the first step executing an exit strategy, here are some useful next steps. Set weekly goals for yourself Do one thing each day to help you reach your goals Give yourself "me time" before work Create a diversion for yourself in the office Use your time to develop your skills Blow off some steam Treat yourself Maintain your performance Keep your bridges in tact Realize that this too shall pass I'm open to other tips as...

A partner once told me that I had to always stay relevant. I think that's true no matter what you do - especially in business. In an environment where the next management consultant is right behind you ready to take your lunch money, you always have to be a step ahead. I'm at a point in my career where I tell people that I have been in consulting for 9 years. It probably takes 10 years for the average consultant to make partner. It will probably take me 11 or 12. You would think that after 9 years, I'd have an established network and my career would be on cruise control with a trajectory this trending upward. That is far from the truth. Every year is a crap shoot (with slightly better odds). I've written before about placing bets and having a little bit of luck. Given the single digit % odds of making partner, I still hold to those statements.  Staying relevant to decision makers - old and new - is a continous process. My advice to those entering the management consu...

It's not Friday yet. I'm just getting amped up for it. Have you ever made things sound worse than they appear just so it sounds better? This past year has been a very rough year. In economic times like these and in the business that I'm in, your friend last year could be your frienemy this year. It a business governed by metrics that promote a Darwinism type of mentality and culture (at the top). I sometimes wonder what will happen when times get good. The obvious prediction is that attrition goes through the roof. In my opinion, there is a lot of pent up emotion on high performers being ranked as average and the lack of recognition for those of us that have made it this far. I've learned that situations like these are not as bad as they are told. However, I wonder what would happen to our business and culture if a core group of future leaders leave the firm. Does the culture remain the same because the partnership is still in tact and there are always new worke...

This weekend was a recruiting trip to NSHMBA in Minneapolis, MN. This is one point in time where a group of hopeful MBA's hit the networking trail hard to try and find a job in Corporate America. Given the location, Target was a prominent sponsor. They had red carpet, red flashy bobbles, and the Target logo everywhere. I'll admit, I almost want to go over there and talk about potential opportunities. This year, I was recruiting for potential Sr. Consultants at our firm. If there is one thing I enjoy, it's definitely talking to smart and hopeful candidates. There are definitely some impressive ones and many of them have pretty incredible resumes. As I was sitting on one side of the desk reading the same case for what seems like the umpteenth time, I thought to myself, "Man, I'm pretty lucky to have a job." Then I quickly thought to myself, "Man, how lucky can I stay?" The one thing about my job is that for it to be a career, there is luck involved....

Today I had the opportunity to sit through a review of our current proposal response. What happens is that a team of leaders in our firm come and read through the current state of what we have written and provide feedback from an outside of point of view. They give us pointed feedback as to what is missing, what they think of it, and any other thoughts that run through their head as they go through what we have developed with a fine tooth comb. In the end, it's a valuable process that has it pros and cons, but you have to believe that everyone is doing it with a common purpose of winning the work- at least that's what you should believe. One of the hardest things to do is sit in a room and listen to the feedback when you've spent days, nights, and weekends writing page after page putting what you think is important and trying to answer the mail. It's like have multiple professors grade your paper at once -- but coming from different departments. You are never going t...

It's been two weeks since I've had a Starbucks anything. It's insane. I work downtown in DC and there is a Starbucks on every corner. I work in suburbia VA and I can't figure out how to get across the darn street. In our office building there is an Au bon Pain where I've spent time and money for breakfast, snacks, and lunch. You want to talk about a captive audience... As I am writing this, I'm staring at an empty Diet Mountain Dew bottle and a mini Diet Coke bottle. For those of you that stay at Courtyard Marriott properties, here are the things you need to know: There is free wireless You get free breakfast coupons The work out facilities are par to mediocre They have a ridiculous number of channels on TV The beds aren't exactly comfortable They serve Diet cokes in those little glass bottles that make my hands look like Shaq's But I digress. I don't know when I became addicted to Diet drinks or just caffeine in general. I've heard an...

We are currently in the midst of writing volumes and volumes of information that dump the bowels of our firm on to paper so that our target client can evaluate us and thus,choose to spend a lot of money with us. The target client's request for proposal was pretty close to the size of the Bible. It looked like it was written by a lawyer and probably exceeded the weight requirement required by any airline before they charge you a baggage fee. That said, there are some lessons learned from this process to pass on so that I don't forget what I did wrong this time around. Figure out what the applicable sections or pieces of information are. We had a team member boil down the request to a book that fit in a 1" three ring binder. I think we spent 2 weeks trying to figure out what we needed to answer. Manage the process. Don't let the process manage you. We have a "proposal manager" that is trying to impose a process that has all of these steps and that actually ...

In the profession that I am in, "What have you done for me lately?" is becoming more common than not. It's amazing how quickly our leaders forget that they made a decision that impacted my direction and others and then forget about it weeks later. My job is about chasing clients and delivering work. Our organization is divided among several services and industries that claim ownership of one practitioner or another. If there are not any opportunities in your industry or service, you have to go to another one so that you can hit your goals. I actually think that it's a positive to go across industries because you can expand the pool of opportunity in which to sell and deliver work. The unfortunate thing is that every leader must protect their own kingdom or cell (see previous blog). It's kind of like being part of the mafia- my only reference being the Sopranos. If you go out and help a captain, it better be for the right reason of the boss or you'll end up ...

One of my favorite lines when I'm recruiting is that potential applicants should evaluate the consulting firms by the people. If you can develop a connection with the people that are recruiting, then you've met the likability criteria. Business is half how smart you are and half how many people like you. In the business that I am in, if you have an advocate this is powerful enough, you can almost get away with anything - up to a point.  I actually think that there are people liked so much, that others are willing to look past the content and knowledge of the individual simply because they like working and hanging out with them. I remember a project that I would consider a 'failure' on my part simply because I could not see eye to eye with the lead Partner. He was an extreme on the spectrum of knowing he didn't want, but not knowing what he wanted - or maybe I was too thick headed to understand what he wanted. Anyway, I remember his exact words were, "Perry,...

Today is what I will call a representative day of being a Sr. Manager. Keep in mind that I am being measured on 2 things: 1.) How much I sell (with a team); and 2.) How many people I manage on a billable engagement. Those two things drive my priorities as it pertains to work. So that means I go where there is an opportunity, sacrificing any personal or professional plans (up to a point), that I have in place. At the end of the day, I have to pay my bills and support a family. That's just life. Today, I cut my weekend with my wife in NYC short by getting on a plane out of La Guardia at 10 AM. Despite the intent of working, I instead slept until we landed in Dallas. At that point, American switched gates on us 4 times as we encountered a 3 hour delay for maintenance. For those of you that travel, 'maintenance' is one of THE worst reasons of all because you have no idea what that means except that it will be the longest delay you can experience. Upon arriving in San Dieg...

My latest analogy is comparing the business that I am in to a clandestine cell system. By definition, a clandestine cell - "only accounting for the leadership, can also be viewed topologically as a ring or chain network, with each leader/node heading their own particular hierarchy" [paraphrasing Wikipedia]. As I look across my profession, this is what I see - right or wrong. Let me go through a checklist as I continue to read the supporting paragraph in Wikipedia:  "Such networks function by having their sub-networks provide information and other forms of support (the ‘many-to-one’ model), while the core group supplies ‘truth’ (of interpretation of [said religion] in this case—spiritual and political) and decisions/directions (the ‘one-to-many’ model)." Check "Trust and personal relationships are an essential part of the [said group] network (a limiting factor, even while it provides enhanced security)." Affirmative "Even while cell members are ...

Call me lazy. But I'm posting a link to a blog that I can relate to. Bottom line for me is to not say 'yes' to every ask of me -- or better yet, not volunteer prematurely. (Although I think that is strongly encouraged at my level). At the end of the day, the only one that ends up suffering is me (or you) depending on who is reading this. There is a balance that needs to be struck among taking care of yourself, helping other people, and working the job. There is also nothing wrong with saying 'no'. However, if you love what you do, then I think the balance comes much easier. One day I plan to find that balance. http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/corkindale/2009/09/is_work_taking_over_your_life.html

As a person raised in an Asian household, there were a number of things that I learned.  Education is not an option. Going to college was not an option. Getting a Master's degree was strongly encouraged. Pursuing a PhD was on the master to do list. Work hard and you will be recognized. Somewhat true. But in the business that I'm in, you need to let people know that you are working hard. Place more of an emphasis on the team and not on yourself. Also somewhat true until performance review time. Somehow you have to make yourself look better than the person next to you. Kill or be killed I guess. A company or organization that you work for should align with your values. I have poor reading comprehension skills, but I believe that in the book, Tribal Leadership, aligning with values is one of the higher stages of leadership. One of the issues that I have - yet am fully aware of and understand - is that I have targets to hit and that could mean boxing out a peer o...

I was informed last week that we lost a bid for a multi-million dollar project. It was a proposal that I worked weekends and long nights on while managing and coordinating 40+ consultants to develop content. There were a number of things that should have led me to believe that we did not have a chance. But I had convinced myself that I should march to the orders of leadership and do the best job that I could. Let's start with my list of why things didn't pan out. We had no preexisting relationship with the target client or the company's decision makers. 9 out of 10 of these where we compete with a certain other competitor, we'll lose because of price (we knew this from Day 1) The team that put together the response was switched out with another team to do the orals presentation. The team that did orals had no idea of the effort or detailed content that went into the response. The client asked for local resources (i.e., New Jersey). We sent resource from Texas to le...

Flying home today, I thought to myself, "Why does it feel like Friday?" Is it the lack of sleep where days and hours are running together? Is it the fact that days are flying by because of the number of people that I have to interact with and the marathon meetings? I don't know. All I know is that I'm able to get coffee at Starbucks, but am skipping lunch. I can go for a run at 8:00 at night and eat late while I am reading a 90 page document, but I oversleep. There is absolutely no way that I could imagined my life like this 10 years ago. I have a number of Facebook friends and I have to think that their lives are normal. I see pictures of their kids. I see pictures of people on vacation. I see status updates that tell me that they are able to watch TV during prime time and not have to catch up on it on DVR. Lately, I've been getting very intimate with Kimmel, Letterman, and Fallon. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, "What is driving this t...

A former Sr. Manager that has since left the firm told me that as a Sr. Manager I had one of two choices - using a tennis analogy: I could stay back and play the baseline or I could rush the net. His key message was to never, never get caught in no man's land. That basically means one thing. Don't get stuck being someone's lieutenant. That said, I think that to compress your time at Sr. Manager, you have to continuously rush the net. Staying back and playing the baseline only prolongs the pain of being where you are. Here are my three things today: There is a way to work micromanagement into a process. I never thought it could happen in the environment that I work in. But by god, it's been done. There is such a thing as a 30 minute attention span - and that's pushing it. There is work to be done. Meetings should be scheduled to effectively manage the work and produce. The paradox of the government. How can an entity produce the largest RFP in the entire univ...

It's good to be home. There's something to be said for working in a city like D.C. But there is a lot more to be said to actually be in your own home and the city that you call home. It almost angers me to know that I have to get on a plane Labor Day evening - only to be quelled by the fact that I get to come back Thursday early night. To get on with my Labor Day weekend, here are my 3 things. I love college football. I will always love Tennessee football. Thank you dad for getting me hooked on Volunteer football. I can't wait until I have kids so they can do the same. A guy sat beside me on the plane today and asked me curtly to turn my cell phone off as the plane was taxiing to take off. He said, "please." But for some reason it rubbed the wrong way. I have yet to figure out why. What is the new normal in terms of work life balance. My philosophy has been that if you love what you do, then work life balance is a non issue. I still fear the day where I wake up...

It is now September and proposals are coming and not going anywhere. In a make or break year for me, it looks like things are breaking. If I had to estimate my time and what I did in the sales process, I would say that it's 95% written word and 5% potential client interaction. Wait a second -- I'm just a glorified Word or PowerPoint jockey! One of my rules is that clients buy people, they don't buy documentation. I'm breaking that rule! Every business development experience has been a new one for me this year. On this particular one, I have people working remotely. But there is something to be said for sitting in the same conference room and talking to a live person while you are working. It just seems more effective. Here is what I've come to realize: I know within 2 interactions with a person whether I like them, whether I can deal with them, or whether they are a waste of space. People take care of their own. Align with those type of people and you can do n...

As a counselor in my firm, I think that there is a fine line between communicating the party line and communicating what I think the reality of the situation is. I've found that people that I think are good mentors are becoming more and more representative of the party line and not giving me a straight answer. It's the proverbial, "They have done drank the Kool-Aid." So my question is, "Do I sacrifice giving the straight answer in order to march to the same drum as the group that I am theoretically trying to be a part of?" Is the collective really that cohesive, that there is a group that marches to the same drum beat? Not being on the up and up with people that I work with goes against everything that I believe makes an authentic leader. In the world that I live in, I think that top performers need to be challenged, otherwise they will go wherever they want. Even if they aren't challenged, the odds are that being at the top of the consulting food cha...

The end of August is here and 8 months of 2009 sure have flown by. College football season is about to start. The EPL has already started. It feels good to get back in to a whirlwind of activity. I feel like I have a mid-life crisis at every birthday. When the real thing comes, I'm bound to have a nervous breakdown. Anyway, it's good to get through another birthday and another great month of August. Here are my 3 things for today: If there is one core competency that I have, it's PowerPoint. I've been using it since 1992. That is a long freakin' time. Wanting to win and being in a competition is healthy. If self-motivation doesn't work. Have a punk start talking smack to you. That should fire you up. I keep hearing about all of these youngsters being told that they are all winners. When I have kids, they are quickly going to know the difference between winning and losing. Keep an idea book. I get these random thoughts of what I think a Big Idea is at the mos...

Reposting for my good friend Ben. Original post on my D Street page - Memorial Day, 2009. -------------------------------------- For the first time in my career, I will see a good friend leave from the time I interviewed him in B-school, through the time he's worked with me at a client, to the time he moves on. You learn a lot about people in this business. Granted, the situation is compounded by this down economy, but one of the things that I've learned is be aware of how you manage people - they may be your clients one day. In this case, the Sr. Consultant that is working with me is taking an executive position at a $Billion corporation overseas. Watching how different people react to his good bye email or communication is interesting to say the least. The responses range from a superficial "keep in touch (because you may be a client some day)," to genuine happiness that he is moving on; to just plain ignoring him. If you are on the receiving end of a variety o...

I've narrowed down the image of Consulting to three what I'll call "power" things. These are the things that every consultant must have so that everyone in the airport knows that you are a management consultant and you feel confident in yourself throughout the day. They are: A power watch. Every consultant must have a watch with a price tag that has a comma in it. A quality watch is a must have. Tag Heur is a good choice, if you do technical code for a living. Shoot for an Omega, Rolex (not gold until you are 50 please), Cartier, or Panerai. A power business casual combination. Given how our weight fluctuates depending on what dinner is that night in a different city, find the combination that always fits. We all have one. It needs to look tailored -- not baggy. What usually screams consultant is the Banana Republic light blue shirt with black slacks. A good pair of shoes is also a must. A power pen. You would think Mont Blanc would sponsor consultants at the rate ...

I was told by a seasoned consulting partner that I should be able to communicate two levels above my current level or the level of my client counterpart. I've gotten to the age and level where my client counterpart is either a Director or Sr. Manager. So this inevitably means that two levels above is a title that starts with a V or E (as in VP or EVP) or a C (as in CFO, CEO, CIO). So what about my communication style has changed since I was in my early 20's? The answer is -- not much. There is an air or aura surrounding executives with a certain title. In reality, I think the good ones are the ones that have an authentic communication style that can relate to people at all levels. Unfortunately, I think that those people are the exception and not the norm. I find myself struggling (right or wrong) to relate or connect to executives at large corporations either because I'm not like them or my communication style is just not "proper" enough. The one executive ...

I remember a few years ago when I was taking Harvard Management Essentials, that I took an online course that dealt with managing or dealing with difficult people. I think I remember the major steps, but don't quote me on it. Describe the behavior of that person to that person that makes you feel as though they are being difficult Tell that person how it makes you feel Ask that person what they think of your perception Offer to work with them to improve future interaction It went something like that. In all honesty, I think it's much better to be blunt and direct. Who has time to go through all of those steps? For example, let's say there is a person named John Doe that wants to drop a project on your plate and complains that nobody else wants it. Come to realize that the reason no one wants it is because John Doe continues to micro manage the project, even though John said he wants nothing to do with it! Now, I could follow the academic way of dealing with this person, or ...

I'm reading What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis and there is a line in there that got me thinking. "The notion of providing a one-size-fits all product that does everything for everyone is a vestige of an era of isolation." I wonder if that applies to consulting services as well. In my world of management consulting, I've spent the past 9 years as a generalist. Albeit I have a supply chain management or operations consulting label - but I still can't tell you that I have innate expertise in anything. We've all heard it before. "Jack of all trades. Master of none." As I begin to define my position in this profession or in business, I have come to find out that being a general problem solver doesn't really make you an attractive prospect. In sports, baseball players get drafted for a specific skill and basketball players get drafted for a talent (3 point shooting, slashing ability, scoring prowess). Why is it any different in our field? I don...

It has been a while since my last post. But it isn't for a lack of thinking. There is a post-it in my record book that has my handwritten three things at the time that I wrote it. Too bad I didn't date it. I rolled off of running a response a week ago and I think that I'm just recovering. My body and mind just can't take those 18 hour work days anymore. With much ado, here is what I came up with as key learnings from that ordeal: Business development or 'pursuits' as we like to call them can be painful. However they are the best way to expand your network and relationships exponentially. In a matter of 2 1/2 weeks, I think was in contact with or talked to over 100 consultants. It is easy to get caught up with the quality of work and not make a deadline. We always tell or ding our practitioners for not paying "attention to detail". You have to ask yourself when enough is enough. It's also easy to focus on the written word and not work the relationsh...

I'm wondering how many other people are in their hotel room with writer's block. The proposal writing and business development process is always a learning experience. The players change. The methods remain the same. Here are some of the keys that I've come up when in the process of putting together a response to a Request for Proposal: No question is a new question. In an organization as big as ours, somebody somewhere has answered that question before. Over plan the activities and what has to be delivered. Having a plan or checklist that is aligned with leadership is worth all of the time that you put into it. If you get a week extension, ignore it. Push like crazy to meet the original deadline. Any time left is a bonus. The best thing about the business development or pursuit process is that you can grow your network and meet people that you would never otherwise meet on a project. Everyone is interested in making more money.

Watching the Open Championship reminds me of how golf is analogous to life. There have been a number of books written to this and I can appreciate that. I wish that I had picked the game up earlier in life. I'm glad that it's something that I can play with friends and my dad and have fun doing it. Here are my three things (golf related): Tom Watson said that he didn't figure out how to win until he controlled his breathing. Never go into a situation with a lot of emotion. Take deep breaths and remain relaxed. Nothing is ever accomplished out of anger or extreme emotion. Visualize a good result. Nothing beats the feeling of hitting a shot as you have envisioned it. Right to left. Left to right. The sound of a solid shot is what keeps me coming back and playing. I forget about the other 30 shots that I may have hit into woods or rough. Just the fact that I can hit a shot like that means that I have the potential to hit many more. Have fun with what you do. Colin Powell says ...