Stuck between mediocrity and excellence

The reason to get into the management consulting business is that change is always constant. Most of us have projects with a discrete beginning and end. We get to work in a variety of industries. We get to be on teams with a diverse group of people. We never have the same boss twice -- that is unless you find someone that has latched on to you and you now you are a part of that particular sleeper cell. All of these things are the reason that I got into management consulting. The biggest asset that management consulting firms have is the people and intellectual capital. So it's in a firm's best interest to retain as many people as possible and professionally grow those people into future leaders. Turnover is inevitable - but at the end of the day, you have a consistency in the culture that becomes pretty apparent over time. The culture is what clients, customers, and competitors recognize. Now what happens when an event such as an acquisition of another consultancy occurs and...

"To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven." - Ralph Waldo Emerson As I look back on my posts, I realize that if anyone actually reads them, it probably appears that I am about as indecisive and whiny as the people that I hate to be around. I can see people thinking that the reason that I haven't made it anywhere is because I am hating (for lack of a better word) on the people that have actually made it or are making it successfully in this business. I am not sure if that is necessarily true though. I associate the word "hate" in the slang sense as being jealous of a person because of what they have or what they do and then proceeding to talk disparagingly of that person in order to feel better about myself. In my head, I honestly believe that I'm making candid observations. But maybe - subconciously - I really am hating. As a result, I need a serious attitude adjustment. After all, you should never bite the hand that feeds you. I'...

“ The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not  arrogant ; have humor, but without folly. ” - Jim Rohn, Leadership Guru I am not the smartest guy in the room. I don't claim to be. That sometimes hurts me when it comes to perception and overall value to a conversation in a meeting of 20 or more people. I find that in big meetings like that, people jockey for position by being the most outspoken whether they are saying something meaningful or not. For those of you that know me, you know that I read a lot of business management books. My wife actually rolls her eyes when a box from Amazon comes in or I make a run to Borders and buy $100 worth of books. She even bought me a Kindle, so now I have another avenue to get business management content. Every leadership or business management book that I reads says that a great leader is authentic. In my ...