Different Is Good

Work isn't high school (well, hopefully not often). Being like everyone else is overrated. Different is good.

Different presents a clear choice. Imagine your potential client is a rock music-loving, baseball-obsessed, serious foodie starting a new company. Which attorney, accountant or consultant do you think he'd talk to first?

The one who has done over 100 start-ups.

The one who has done over 100 start-ups and mentions listening to a new band that weekend.

The one who has done over 100 start-ups, mentions listening to a new band that weekend and weaves baseball references into his/her materials.

The one who has done over 100 start-ups, mentions listening to a new band that weekend, weaves baseball references into his/her materials and can debate the difference between arugula and radicchio.

Yep, different—as long as it’s genuine—stands out. Go for it.

Where's The Brand Love?

Brand love is that passion we hold for brands near and dear to our heart. We plan our trips for years (Disney), pay more for beautiful design (Apple) and cross the country for a burger (In-N-Out). It’s more than loyalty—it’s love.

We don’t usually associate love with consultants and advisors--when was the last time you heard someone wax poetic about their accountant? But it does exist: Seth Godin, for example. Yes, a little brand love can make your days happier, your selling easier and your bottom line fatter.

The “secret” is simple in concept, although devilish to execute:

Say no to any project that doesn’t stir your deep interest. The best love is mutual and you need to enter into it with excitement and purpose.

Assume your clients will be with you for life. Continually investing in your relationships creates ideal conditions for love to flourish.

Get comfortable with being direct AND empathetic. The advisor who can tell the truth with integrity and consideration is highly valued.

Why settle for a good project reference? Go for the love.

You Can't Take Stupid Back

Social media offers us all some great opportunities to grow our practice. We can share ideas, forge new connections, learn something new. Real people having real conversations.

There’s just one thing: You can’t take stupid back.

A few examples from those who should know better:

A writer posted a 4-sentence discussion item. With 3 typos and 2 grammatical errors. Would you hire him?

A sales rep wrote a headline using slang for male anatomy (the word can have a second, less incendiary meaning). When those offended by his word choice challenged him, he insisted he meant the other meaning. Did digging his heels in win him any points?

A “professional” shared his extreme political views and attracted 2 others in an extended mutual rant. When appalled onlookers joined in to cool the fire, they were set upon with ethnic slurs. Would you connect with them?

Yep, you just can’t take stupid back.

Hall Monitors: A Short Leash

Hall monitor (Wikipedia): student volunteer charged with keeping order in the school hallways. Typical duties: “preventing running and rowdy behavior” and ensuring punctuality.

You know the type. They grow up and become the Nurse Ratcheds of bureaucracies everywhere. As keepers of the rules, maintaining the status quo is their art form. Sometimes, “he/she who must be obeyed” makes manipulation their stock in trade.

So how do you neutralize the influence of a hall monitor? It took a lobotomy and a feather pillow for Jack Nicholson to escape. Surely there are other options….

Isolate them. Keep them on a short leash and avoid giving them the power to impact your work. Caveat: if they are a critical link to your project, this is a recipe for disaster. He/she who must be obeyed will find a way to sabotage your project if they’re feeling unappreciated.

Charm them. Hall monitors want love too. If you listen carefully, make them feel heard and give them a detailed job that suits their nature, you can s-l-o-w-l-y get them to engage. The right balance of appreciation and tough love could convert them into solid team players.

Kiss them good-bye. If sustained charm didn’t work, it’s time to cut the hall monitor loose. Whether it’s your client, your boss, your teammate, they will be a major energy suck to you AND your team. Let them go.

Life is too short to spend it wishing for a lobotomy.

Consulting Toolkit: Courage

It’s easy to think small right now. The economy isn’t pretty: clients say no or wait weeks and months getting to yes. Salaried consulting jobs have disappeared, perhaps forever. Personal assets? We’re in nosedive territory. Being conservative and cautious is an understandable by-product.

It doesn’t however, lead to making great leaps with your consulting practice.

The solution is courage. The courage to trust yourself (and your team) to continually develop your practice to suit your talents. The courage to care about your clients and bettering their condition. The courage to act while your competition is blinded by indecision and fear.

Clients still have work they need done right now—and the best opportunities will go to those who have the courage to:

Exquisitely focus on the results you uniquely deliver. Verbalize your niche, your “white space” and cast a tight net to those who most need what you have to offer.

Just say no. When a project—however enticing financially or to your ego—isn’t right for your talents, refer it to someone else. Your job is to spend your time where you can have the highest, best impact. Don’t waste it on work that someone less seasoned would do well.

When you say yes, mean it. Once you’ve agreed to a pivotal project, pour your head, heart and soul into it. Yes, it may mean some sleepless nights, some conflict over new directions and some worry over your bank account. But do it anyway.

If you need a visual, remember Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette’s emotional performances that brought her to the Olympic medals platform.

Real winners put it all on the line.

Consulting 2010: Think Hollywood

The latest recession has changed the consulting business model profoundly. It goes beyond slashing revenues. Deep staff reductions have created an unprecedented talent pool of freelancers and contractors. Meanwhile, those who are still employed (or busy as soloists) struggle to staff critical projects. Do you go with your in-house team to keep your numbers up or reach further—inside or outside your firm—to get the pivotal resource that will push the envelope in delivering great client work?

Two words: Think Hollywood. Daniel Pink, in “Free Agent Nation”, writes persuasively about the shift from the organization man (or woman) to free agent. And what better example than Hollywood? I propose it’s time to borrow a bit of their business model.

When Spielberg (or Eastwood or Scorsese) makes a movie, he starts with a key partner(s), usually a producer who manages the money and the business end so he can focus on his vision for the project. The next step is to assemble the key leads. Of course, he wants exactly the right talent for the roles. And while he may have some favorites, the cast never looks exactly the same twice. It can’t—every project is unique.

It’s not just those in front of the screen (client-facing) that matter to a great director. He will choose the cinematographer whose lighting best brings the story to life. The assistant director who creates the atmosphere that engages the full talents of the cast. The crew who can turn a foul day on set into a fun and successful shoot.

What would happen if you staffed every consulting project by only choosing the team that will produce the best possible result? Might you deliver the best, most fun work you’ve ever done? Might it open the door for more of the same? Would you make less money? Or more? Would you produce mediocre work or your best ever? Isn’t it worth it to find out?

What I Learned From David Maister

I read my first David Maister piece in the 90’s. And I was hooked. He was savvy, practical and unafraid to confront thorny issues inside professional service firms.

Recently, David announced his retirement after 30 years serving the consulting, legal and advisory professions. His has been an important voice, a man unafraid to challenge conventional thinking and a giving mentor to many. In his honor, here are the top 3 things I learned from David Maister.

Have the courage to care. It’s the only true inspiration for the discipline you need to invest regularly in your clients, your colleagues and your career. Develop your relationships with clients because you genuinely care what happens to them. Build an expertise because it intrigues you. Mentor a junior associate (or even a senior one) because you are excited by the possibilities. Many advisors learn to check their passion at the door in search of billable hours. Don’t do it!

Be a dynamo. You’ve got a choice. You can be a cruiser, which means doing high-quality work you are good at. Most highly competent professionals cruise at some point. But if you’re not learning something new, you will eventually become obsolete. Instead, be a dynamo. Act as though you’re still in the middle of an exciting career. Have a personal plan to grow your practice in new ways that excite you. Refer the highly repetitive work you can do in your sleep so you can move on to more exciting challenges.

Live your values. Stand for something that matters. Those words you write about mission and values need to mean something—and sometimes living up to them isn’t easy. You might have to say no to a lucrative assignment or ask a rainmaker to leave, or stop doing business with an alliance partner. But you do it anyway, because your values matter deeply.

So, thank you David Maister. May you enjoy a long, fulfilling retirement secure in the knowledge that you have helped so many of us be better at what we do. Anyone else care to share their favorite Maisterisms?