The Consultants' Consultant: Article basic flowcharting

Nov 08 - Get out there!

Two porcelain ducks take a walk

A young maiden on a sculpture by the sea (Bondi, NSW, Australia)

Last month I changed my ezine database to an online provider. If you know someone who subscribes, but didn't get theirs, then they can re-subscribe on the front page of my web page. I went from more than 800 subscribers to just over 200 (wow, the cost of change!). Interesting!

Things are getting a little tricky for some consultants in the current economic environment. Others tell me they are flat to the boards. If you've got time available I hope you're taking the opportunity to "appreciate" your assets. Some are updating their materials or taking a well earned rest. Others still are stepping up their marketing or learning something new. Let me know what your own down time tip!

Last week I helped my mother move house (more than 30 years of junk!). I vowed to never have that much junk myself, so I've been cleaning out my business books (I freecycled them), and I'm slowly scanning 7 years of coaching notes (what's strange is when I scan someone's notes, I often hear from them - am I crazy, or is there something at work I just don't understand?)

Have almost finished updating the Consultant's Guide for 2008. Anyone who bought a copy in the past few months will get the updated ebook at no charge when it's done.

I'm looking forward to the Bathurst Conference for the Australian Facilitator's Network where I'm doing a session on improvising for facilitators (it's always fun working with smart people doing interesting things!). I'll be doing a simlar session at the International Association of Facilitators' conference in Vancouver in April next year.

Cindy

In this month's ezine we have:

Improving your consultancy: dealing with panic, negotiating, Consulting Mastery, Marketing secrets
Managing better: How your brain works, the Glass Ceiling
Fascinating: Jobs, smashing things, no one is tone deaf, obesity
Fun: Art, art and moustaches, white board shoes, and the way a bike is built

Your Consulting
business

One of my new collage and acrylic works (on paper); photographs of Florence plus some tissue paper, washes and gold pens.

Dealing with panic

This article on the brain in the Wall Street Journal takes about a minute to read, and talks about "reappraisal" (reframing) as a way of calming the frightened amygdala (in the context of buying/selling stocks, but possibly your business environment could find this useful too!). Similar ideas from the same scientist (Kevin Ochsner) on CNBC.

When negotiating - make the first offer

Here's some useful research: when negotiating it's best to name your price first - it sets an anchor around which negotiation begins. Let your negotiating partner name a low price first, and it brings your price down. This is mirrored in Jonah Lehrer's blog on anchoring and credit cards - basically the first price mentioned influences what comes after. So this is one of the reasons you may want to name a price for your consultancy, even if you do the classic "Normally I would charge $102,000, but because <insert reason here> I'm happy to do it for <insert smaller number>". You're starting with a number around which the price will revolve, and it will be generally higher than the price the client will begin with.

Although do remember my friend Barry's experience: he came to one of my talks in Brisbane years ago, where I suggested the "special price" tactic just mentioned. He got as far as "Normally I would charge $1000..." and the client said "that sounds fine". Upped his price from that day onwards (always wondering what price he could have charged!!).

Consulting Mastery even better value now!

During the Olympics in Sydney in 2000 I went away for a few weeks and wrote what became Consulting Mastery. It was published at a cover price of $50 in 2003 (how slow the publishing world moves!). I've decided to drop its price to be the same as my Consultant's Guide ($35). It examines the softer side of consulting - helping clients trust you, want to do business with you and make you their trusted advisor. In the current climate, things we all want to master!

And marketing secrets

Ashton Bishop and Simon Rutherford are eager to share their 30+ years of marketing secrets with you. They have an introductory night 7 - 9pm Wed 19th November in Sydney. For just $27.50, you'll have a really easy time finding a return on investment from it, I'm certain!

Managing better

Tiffany Ceiling at the Chicago Cultural Centre (formerly the Chicago Public Library, but now they have a lovely new one)

How your brain works !

Check out the 12 rules of how the brain works. It outlines 12 rules and matches them to "scandals" - how most schools and workplaces are designed to switch off the brain; how mid afternoon meetings in the "nap zone" are a waste of time and effort. They say Starbucks spends more on health care than on coffee beans (and suggests some in-workplace exercise options to change this). There is video on each of the rules, which include: Exercise boosts brain power; The human brain evolved (and continues to do so); every brain is wired differently; we don't pay attention to boring things; repeat things to remember them (for short term memory); remember to repeat (for long term memory); If you sleep well you think well; stressed brains learn differently; stimulate as many of the senses as possible; vision trumps all of the other senses; male and female brains are different.

If you have the time, it's quite well put together and there's a book to match.

The Glass Ceiling?

There is a "Hot Leadership Topics" breakfast on the Glass Ceiling - Myth or Reality and what it means to you. It's a Breakfast meeting, on 26 November 2008 at the Tea Room in the QVB (Sydney, Australia). Two executive women are giving their perspectives. If you have time and are a morning person, then go check it out.

Fascinating

Trust - collage and acrylic on canvas 60x60cm

Jobs in the future

Check out Daniel Dasey's Sydney Morning Herald article on the job-world of the future. The article suggest s businesses will be more "tribal" than global (100 or less) by 2033. And as an accompaniment, more people will participate in the decisions on who gets recruited to the tribe. "You don't just blow in, you get adopted". The article also suggests more part-time and casual work and more flexi-time, and time-based contract work (hey consultants!).

Smash and feel better

How about this business idea? You pay to smash things: Sarah's Smash Shack is in San Diego. You can buy from their menu (plates, glasses, ceramics) or BYO (with a "corkage" fee). Release your frustrations to your own favourite track, smash things with your team (what an interesting bonding experience!).

No one is tone deaf!

I could easily spend hours on Ted.com - untold marvels of interesting people talking about mind-expanding things. Check out Ben Zander, a conductor on the art of possibility at TED. He talks about "one buttock" and "two buttock" playing - and suggests we can run our businesses with a similar attitude as we play classical music. He says no one is tone deaf (if we were, we'd not recognise voices, we'd not be able to shift gears in a car). And reveals that the job of a conductor is to never make a sound (but make everyone else make better sounds). Sounds like a consultant or a manager or a leader, doesn't it? The video is around 15 minutes long, and you can mostly play it while doing other things (the visual isn't so important).

Obesity and taste

This blog posting just amazed me - there may be links between obesity and insufficient pleasure in food. And then read about how asking judges to think about their own death made them more morally outraged (and punitive) in setting bond. So much for that whole "impartiality" thing.

And Fun, fun, fun

"Faith" collage and acrylic on canvas, 20x30cm

Art, art and moustaches

Go visit an online art museum. Get some advice on displaying your art work on the web. And then visit this moustaches of the 19th Century blog.

And see Joe Cocker perform a song with sub titles which will have you giggling for days.

White board shoes

I have a whiteboard on my fridge, and James has one in his study. But how about whiteboard shoes? Reebok have designed them; their idea is to write a message pre-game. I'm wondering if they'd be a good alternative to writing on the back of your hand!

The way a bike is built

Check out this not-so-true-to-life video on triumph motorbike construction - including the addition of fun, argument juice, and a "room where the complicated bits are put in by men who read girly magazines". Hang out for the testing of "ways to get home if your front wheel is busted" towards the end. It's about 2:41 minutes.

Let me know what you like about this ezine - or anything you'd like to see more of!

Cindy Tonkin The Consultants’ Consultant
Certified Management Consultant