Author Archives: Ian

A prodigious client of mine once gave me this advice. “I want bad news fast and good news very slowly”. It’s good advice. Most consultants fret about giving their client bad news, they delay or worse yet they never communicate … Continue reading →

High value consultants when completing an engagement leave the client with the capability to continue to operate successfully after they leave.  In order to facilitate this capability within your client, you may need to take many positions or roles during … Continue reading →

I had dinner this evening with a friend that I have known and worked with for many years. He taught me many things about consulting so when he called today to say we should meet, I made room in my … Continue reading →

Think of IT consulting having four dimensions: Technical knowledge Behavioral skills (soft consulting skills, interpersonal, presentation, writing, communication, collaboration etc.) Business knowledge (understanding the client’s domain/industry, terminology, processes, objectives, resource models etc.) Sales and Marketing knowledge (ability to represent and … Continue reading →

A challenge faced by every consultant is setting their rate. A few of us are in the business for charity (or so it would seem), but most of us consult for a fee to live at a reasonable standard.  As … Continue reading →

  When I first joined Microsoft, this was the third most popular question people asked me behind “can you fix my PC"?” and “can you get me Office for free?”.Surprisingly the answers are yes, no and yes I have met … Continue reading →

Advice. A hiker was seeking advice on the safety of hiking a particular trail. He met an old guide and asked him whether a certain path was safe or not. The guide replied yes mostly but you do have to … Continue reading →

Today in Hollywood there is a good example of being in demand.  Here is the current list of Hollywood’s “most wanted”. They receive more offers for films and command more compensation on a consistent basis than any of their peers. … Continue reading →

It must be terrible  to wake up each morning chronically perplexed. (CP) CP is a condition which affects a broad spectrum of the population. It occurs randomly in children, adults, blue collar, white collar workers and yes even in the … Continue reading →