Wow, it's August already

Pictures from my merry-go-round series

Wow, July and August whizzed by with a lot of work, a flu, a few emotional challenges and a fair bit of client work for me. Last week I ran an "Open Space" workshop for 120, which was a bit of fun, and also did a short training on how to make No sound like Yes for clients.

About to enter full-on marketing mode for my January 08 public NLP workshop (subtitled Mind reading, influencing and questioning). It's restricted to smart decision-makers and influencers. Also check out the companion program Become a Fearless Facilitator [pdf] run by the inimitable Jill Chivers in December 2007.

Special ezine offer is this: Enrol in both programs by Sept 30 2007 and bring a client or colleague for free to both programs. This effectively halves the price. If you're just interested in one of the programs, contact me, I'm sure we can cut you a special deal!

In this month's ezine we have:

• Improving your consultancy: must haves for your website; a French perspective on the basics of consulting
• Managing better: When not to email; chief emotional officers and happiness at work
• Fascinating: White board white goods; What's in your library
• Fun: speak with authority, tie your shoe laces and Impro in Sydney.

May the rest of your August be productive, healthy and fun!

Cindy

p.s. the future is "e". I have made the difficult decision to not reprint any of my books from now on. I have 10 hard copies of Make your consultancy a business not a job and 3 hard copies of Ten more ways to promote your consultancy business. Alll of my other books will be e-books from now on. So if you want one of the last hard copies of these two books, I'll take your order now!

Your Consulting
business

Must haves for your website

If you're thinking about building or upgrading your website, consider the Seven things every web page should have, according to Microsoft. The seven things are, in short:

• a Contact page
• Testimonials
• Privacy policy
• FAQs
• A "gimme" page - sign up here and we'll give you this
• About us
• Confirmation for any orders or sign ups.

Does your web page have all of these?

A French perspective on how to consult

One of my friends sent me the link to this French "Five guidelines for independent consultants setting up". If you don't read French, they are:

1. Let the project ripen - plan, test your plan, know what you're in it for, and what you want to do. (This is chapter 2 of my Consultant's Guide: You can read the intro and chapter 1 here)

2. Target an offer that people want - don't sell stuff no one wants to pay for, talk to people about what they want, what they're already buying. And make sure to be specific - generalists are very hard to sell.

3. Fix an appropriate price - city pays more than country, big companies pay more than small ones, public service has fixed and lower prices (chapter 6 of my Consultant's guide, and you can find the magic charge-out formula spreadsheet here for calculating the minimum you need to charge).

4. Keep on prospecting for work - they suggest in the early days at least 40% of your time should go to looking for work (see my article getting more and better clients)

5. Get a network - they suggest consultant organisations, getting some business partners or network members, talk to old clients, old work mates. (This is in chapter 7 - 10 of the Consultant's Guide - 13 ways to market without cold calling, and also Ten more ways to promote your business).

You can also check out the Ten Commandments for Novice Consultants. And if you're Sydney-based, you can see me do the ten commandments live at Small Business September, in Parramatta on September 17 2007 and Sydney City on September 21 2007.

Managing better

When not to email

I loved this precis of when you should absolutely positively not use email. Includes tips like don't email when you're wrong, when you're right (don't rub their face in it), when you're uncertain, mad, drunk, gossiping, when the "re's" pile up, at 3am, when you're bored or when you're supposed to be concentrating on something else. Read it, you'll like it!

Chief emotional officer?

Family firms make up anywhere from 80% to 90% of business enterprises in North America. Wharton has an article about the Chief Emotional Officer who provides emotional support in these types of businesses, smoothing out problems, keeping communication open. The Chief Emotional Officer also helps in-laws into the business, protects family traditions and values, and makes sure the family gets together to socialize and have fun.

Often this function is served by the HR department in non-family based firms. Who does it in your organisation?

Happiness at work

Last week I had one of those days - you know those days, where you just have to say, out loud "I love my job". Here's a happiness manifesto for the other sorts of days.

Fascinating

White board white goods

In Brazil, GE is making fridges coated in the same stuff as dry erase whiteboards, so you can write directly on your fridge. One of my friends assures me that he's been using his own as a white board for years.

What's in your library?

New York Times had an article on July 27 2007 about what CEOs have in their personal libraries. There's more literature and poetry than business best sellers, and they say that serious leaders who are serious readers build personal libraries dedicated to how to think, not how to compete.

It seems Steve Jobs of Apple has an “inexhaustible interest” in the books of William Blake (18th-century mystic poet and artist). Dee Hock, founder of Visa, searched for the ONE book, that contained the thoughts of all the great philosophers, and found it in Omar Khayyam’s Rubáiyát Shelly Lazarus, the chairwoman and chief executive of Ogilvy & Mather, recommends books which give other perspectives on how to think or solve a problem, like How Doctors Think; John Cornwall’s autobiography, Seminary Boy; The Wife, a novel and Team of Rivals - the political genius of Abraham Lincoln. What's in your library? How do you learn to think differently about your business problems?

And Fun, fun, fun

You gotta speak, like with authority?

If you have a moment, you'll enjoy this 3 minute stand up bit on the "aggressively inarticulate generation", the use of "like" and "you know" and rising intonation at the end of our sentences. Funny, and clever!

Shoe laces - who'd have thought it?

Check out this site on shoe laces. Dozens of different ways to tie your shoes, tips on why bows might hang sideways or laces might come undone, and how to fix it. Plus photos of shoe laces and trainers - who'd have thought shoe laces could be interesting?

And impro, of course

Scared Scriptless' Theatresports®, famous as the show which I'm actually in most Friday nights, continues at the Clarence Hotel, Petersham (in Sydney). Doors open 7:30, show starts at 8. Drinks at pub prices, food available.

I would be interested to hear from you if any of these ideas spark something good for you and yours!

C

Cindy Tonkin The Consultants’ Consultant
Certified Management Consultant

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This month's images are original acrylic paintings ©2007 Cindy Tonkin. See more here.

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