Tag Archives: objectives

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Vive la Difference: Coaches and Consultants

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Freelance professionals are external consultants who bring agile talent to mission-critical special projects at thousands of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations throughout the world.  Freelance consultants play an increasing role in many organizations, providing vital ad hoc staffing as full-time work forces contract.  We are highly effective,  reliable and adaptable.  We work alone, usually from a home office, and that keeps our operating expenses low and our billable rates affordable.

We are disciplined self-starters who treasure our independence, but there is a downside. Every once in a while, it would be helpful to have team members in the office with us.  We have no one readily available to duck out and have a quick cup of coffee with, no one to help parse a tricky question or lend a sympathetic ear when we hit a rough patch.  We most likely have a support system of colleagues and friends,  but they are not on site and may not have the wherewithal to help us address some of our most important questions.

As a result, many Freelancers consult with a professional to help sort through the array of challenges and decisions that we all eventually face.  Working with the right coach or consultant can bring many benefits to one’s business or personal life.  You may feel the need to receive some expert guidance, but wonder which type of specialist you should hire?

Follow the wisdom of the late management guru Peter Drucker and ask (yourself) questions that will reveal the right answer. Before you call in a specialist, clarify your desires or dilemmas, at least superficially.

For example, you may have a time management problem that results in a work overload that undermines your ability to have a social life.  Your task is to determine its source.  Might you need to hire a bookkeeper to compile the monthly financials, or an administrative assistant to do your billing, or some other professional to take certain tasks off your plate? To resolve business matters,  a business consultant is the go-to person.

If your time management problem results from your inability to set boundaries and understand that you cannot say yes to everyone, which then results in a work overload that undermines your ability to have a social life, then it will be useful to see a business coach to help you to identify priorities and establish boundaries.

Let’s take a look at the focus of each specialty. A business coach will:

  • Help you to enhance competencies you already have and help to bring out the best in you.
  • Help you to identify your passions, acknowledge what motivates you and then brainstorm with you to discover avenues for their expression.
  • Acknowledge and remedy a fear of success, fear of failure, or self-sabotage that you may fall victim to.
  • Provide encouragement and accountability to ensure follow-through of the action plan that the two of you develop.

OUTCOME: An action plan that addresses business and personal development goals and strategies.

A business consultant will:

  • Work with you to assess business strengths and weaknesses and evaluate its preparedness to take advantage of opportunities and overcome obstacles.
  • Improve the viability of the business and position it for growth, scalability and sustainability.  Operational efficiencies, strategy development, the business model, customer acquisition and retention, packaging of services, strategic partnership possibilities, the marketing message, niche market development, pricing, technology needs, staffing and customer service protocols are among the areas that will be examined and evaluated.
  • Work  with you to set reasonable short and long-term goals and objectives for the business, devise strategies and create action plans and time tables to ensure that strategies are implemented.  Follow-up and further consulting services to support and enable your plans can be arranged.

OUTCOME: SMART goals for your business and a way to make them happen.

So which do you need? A coach is like a partner and a consultant is like an adviser. If working on aspects of your personal life, that is if behaviors are the issue, then a business coach may be the better choice, at least initially.  But if you would like to grow and optimize your business , then a business consultant is the way to get the best results.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

 

 

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Step It Up: Taking Your Business Venture To the Next Level

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You might be doing fine and dandy with your business revenues and profits, or you might feel the need to generate more of both. Regardless of your particular circumstances, it is a well-known business axiom that like a shark, organizations (for-profit or not-for-profit) must continually move forward. Growth = Survival.

Growth in any aspect of life requires well-considered and attainable goals, objectives, strategies and an action plan. Be mindful that what you set out to do, while perhaps far-reaching, has the best chance of success if things are kept quite simple and not complex at all. Here are some strategies that may help you to achieve your goals, whatever they are.

Save time

Productivity is a key component of success in life and business. Whether you prefer to view productivity as working hard or working smart (I say a bit of both!), nothing happens unless what must be done is actually done.  Plans must be conceived, discussed and implemented and then measured for efficacy and impact.

Assess your technological capabilities and make sure that you are using devices and protocols that are time-saving.  Examine also the way you deliver your products and services. Operational efficiencies save time and money and allow you to direct your creative energies toward  money-generating activities, such as performing market research and competitive analyses, or just plain old resting and refreshing your energy stores.

Making it possible to bring in as many customers as possible as your organization quickly and inexpensively provides their products and services is the ultimate goal of productivity. How can you do what you do faster and Continue reading →

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Achieve Business Objectives With Facilitated Strategy Meetings

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Attracting and retaining customers and ensuring that an organization remains competitive in the marketplace are the primary responsibilities of for-profit and not-for-profit organization leaders.  Organizations run on revenue,  regardless of tax classification.  Every three to five years,  savvy leaders review their organization’s current state and the environment in which it operates,  the organizations’ customers,  the delivery of products and services,  the competitive landscape,  obstacles and threats to success and apparent opportunities and use that information to identify and prioritize goals that will set the organization on a path to a sustainable future.

It is imperative to create the conditions for a successful strategy planning or process improvement retreat/meeting.  The world has changed and there is no time to waste on possibly unproductive  “brainstorming sessions”  that may have sufficed in the past.  More than likely,  the results of the planning retreat are vital to the organization and it would be unwise to allow the winds of fortune or internal politics to control outcomes.

Engaging a professional meeting facilitator to guide your strategy planning or process improvement retreat will guarantee that participants will identify goals and objectives that are SMART  (specific,  measurable,  attainable,  relevant and timely)  and earn the support of mid-level managers and other key staff.   A facilitator allows all stakeholders to fully participate in the meeting,  rather than confining a key decision-maker to the role of meeting overseer and time-keeper.

The facilitator creates a positive meeting environment for the participants and lays the groundwork for teamwork and productivity.  He/she  keeps participants focused on the topic and momentum flowing.  Should a strong personality attempt to high-jack the agenda,  or if  the meeting somehow drifts off topic,  the facilitator employs techniques to re-establish focus without offending or squelching participant engagement and creativity.

A skilled facilitator knows how to bring forth the wisdom in the room.   He/she knows that most leaders already have the answers to the challenges their organization faces because they are its leaders.  They only need the right flow of energy to bring wisdom and good ideas to the surface.  If the group gets stuck,  the facilitator will help participants to consider the questions that should be asked,  which is another way to access the right answers.

One competency at which your meeting facilitator will be particularly adept is building consensus around a common vision and  priorities,  even if interpretations of these matters are divergent.  Helping opposing camps to listen to the reasoning behind the concerns and choices of the other side can lead to the discovery of a  “third way”,  alternatives that incorporate the key strengths of each viewpoint,  address what is important to each camp and allow the group to coalesce around this new hybrid approach.

Identifying long- and short-term goals that when implemented will grow market share;  overcoming business challenges;  improving service delivery and other process systems;  creating or more effectively utilizing competitive advantages;  and improving  bottom line profitability over the approaching 3 – 5 years is how organization leaders fulfill their responsibilities and behave like good stewards.  Contracting with a professional meeting and strategy planning facilitator ensures that leaders will meet these obligations and dispatch them appropriately.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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The ABCs of Time Management

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Setting priorities and establishing boundaries are the heart of time management.  These behaviors are closely linked to productivity and the achievement of important goals and objectives.  There are inevitably instances when conflicting responsibilities and demands threaten to overwhelm us.  Deadlines loom.  Manipulative people scheme to insinuate themselves into our lives because they enjoy the attention and control.

Procrastination ushers in avoidance behavior that sabotages the fulfillment of obligations and may prevent us from reaching our full potential.  We may disappoint those who deserve our support.  The cold fact is that certain responsibilities and people are more important than others and we must be mindful of that reality when allocating the most precious resource we possess,  next to our health.

Julian Birkinshaw,   Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School and Jordan Cohen,   Productivity Specialist at the global firm PA Consulting Group,  have  spent the past three years studying how knowledge workers can become more productive.  The two found that knowledge workers spend 41%  of their time on discretionary activities that don’t necessarily bring much value.   To make the most our time,  it is not enough to merely draw up a to-do list and throw oneself into as many items as hours and energy allow.   It is necessary to give some thought to the implications and potential impact of what must be done,  as well as the consequences of failing to do it.

In his 1973 time management classic How to Get Control of your Time and Your Life,  Alan Lakein recommended that we evaluate each task by establishing SMART — specific, measurable, achievable,  realistic and timely- — goals when deciding where to devote our time and what to do first.

SMART goals are used to rank and label what we must do as an A,  B,  or C task.   A-level tasks /goals are the most important.  Lakein says A-level tasks are where one devotes 80%  of available time.   The remaining 20%  of available time will be divided between the B-level and C-level tasks,  with C-level tasks receiving the smallest percentage of time.

To achieve important goals and objectives and in general accomplish whatever it is you intend to do,  make a to-do list and start with A-level tasks.  Lakein emphasizes that in order to get beyond mere efficiency,  in which a laundry list of essentially unimportant tasks are completed,  and on to productivity,   we must understand and do what is most important.   He urges us to work smarter,  by doing what brings value-added and not harder,  by frittering our time on busy-work that could either be ignored or out-sourced.

Birkinshaw and Cohen suggest that we sort the C-level tasks into three groups:  quick kills,  meaning it’s possible to discontinue these tasks with little or no negative consequences;  off-loads,  meaning what can be delegated or out-sourced;   and long-term redesign,  meaning projects that need to be restructured or re-thought before they can be assessed for value-added potential.   The idea is to make more time available for A-level tasks or leisure activities that allow us to re-charge our energy stores,  relax and enjoy ourselves.   Work – life balance is an important component of quality of life,  preventing burn-out and enabling us to operate at our productive and creative peak.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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You Are the President

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Today is Election Day in the US and an 18 month long  (or thereabouts)  presidential campaign will finally draw to a close.  I take voting seriously and view it as both a right and a responsibility.  It is only in the past 50 years or so that true voting rights were extended to the general population.  For 150 years,  only land-owning males of Euro-American descent who were literate in English were eligible to vote.   As a result,  the vast majority of citizens have been unable to vote for most of our history.  Vestiges of restrictive voting laws linger today, unfortunately.  For example,  why isn’t Election Day a paid holiday for all workers,  full-time,  part-time and contract? 

In our last episode,  I left you with a cliff-hanger and promised to take a look at what is most likely the most important part of your Personal Presidential Campaign.  Dear readers,  that would be relationships.  Pay particular attention to whom you know and who knows you.  Business is political and politics is all about relationships.  Identify and affiliate with organizations that will bring you into contact with people you need to know.  That could mean the chamber of commerce,  house of worship,  nonprofit organization board,  or a fitness center.   Figure out where the right people congregate and then evaluate where you will have the best chance of access and acceptance.

Something else you can do: search your VIP’s name and you might discover that he/she will speak at a local conference.  Be there if it’s open to the public and within your budget.  If you’re able to attend,  take notes on the presentation so that you can ask a good question during Q & A.  Your intelligent question will pave the way for a post-talk conversation that will set the stage for relationship-building.

Along the way,  you must also get a handle on what you can offer the VIPs you want to bring into your camp.  Objectively evaluate what it is about you that higher-ups will appreciate.  Maybe you have a skill that nonprofit boards covet  (beside check-writing ability):

  • Are you a silver-tongued salesperson,  who might therefore be an adept fundraiser for the VIP’s favorite charity?
  • Do you possess the  excellent organizational skills that would make you a key player on an event committee?
  • Can you build a website or put together an e-newsletter?

Or maybe you know an influential person or two and you can connect your VIP to someone he/she would like to know?  Whatever it is that you can do,  discern your value-added and work it,  even if it’s helping out with crossword puzzles.

Social media can also play a role in your relationship-building strategy.  If your VIP has a Twitter feed,  definitely sign up to follow and eventually join the tweets and re-tweets.   If LinkedIn is your thing,  resist the temptation to right away ask your VIP to join your network.  Be more subtle and try to find out if you have any connections or groups in common.   If so,  tap your common connections to obtain some useful background info.   Follow group discussions to see if your VIP participates.  If you can intelligently add to discussions in the common groups then do so,  as your VIP could be following and it could be an opportunity to look good.  You can do the same in the general Answer forum.

In closing,  please know that I do not advise you to coldly manipulate those people whom you feel will be useful to your ambitions.  To the contrary.  Relationships must be a two-way street and win-win is the goal.  Take the time to build authentic relationships and provide value to others as you campaign to be the President of your professional life.

Thanks for reading. Cast your vote.

Kim

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Campaign for President

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I am rather a political junkie and pride myself on keeping up with important local,  national and sometimes international elections.  On Tuesday November 6,  those of us in the US will cast our votes for President in the culmination of a contentious and mind-bogglingly expensive race for the White House.  There are also a few important Senate races to resolve as well.

Dorie Clark  (no relation),  corporate strategy consultant and adviser to the gubernatorial campaign of MA Governor Deval Patrick and the presidential campaign of Howard Dean,  says that business owners and executives should pluck a few lessons from electoral politics to better position themselves for business and career success.

Clark urges those of us in leadership positions  (and every Freelancer is a leader)  to  observe and follow the behavior of the best politicians,  from Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan: set clear and reasonable goals;  identify and cultivate supporters;  build and exercise influence;  and execute relentlessly to achieve your ambitions.  You may not be running for public office,  but it’s a smart idea nonetheless to manage your career as if you were campaigning for president.

First,  choose a professional goal.  If you find it advisable to alter your goal down the road,  that’s OK;  you just need to propel yourself forward and start your campaign.  Those in business most likely want  to earn more money and that may mean acquiring more clients who dole out lucrative contracts.   So maybe your prime objective will be to sign three Fortune 100 clients,  to support the goal of accessing higher paying and more prestigious projects that enhance your brand and your bottom line.

However,  you may eventually decide that your organization is not ready to pursue Fortune 100 clients.  Instead,  you shift your sights to Fortune 1000 clients,  because that is more realistic for you.  The point is,  you’ll position yourself to sign clients who can offer bigger budget projects and maintain your goal of enhancing both your reputation and your revenues.

Next,  set important milestones for your campaign.  A presidential candidate is advised to win the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary because performance there impacts future campaign success.  Candidates who succeed in those races vastly improve their chance of reaching the White House.  What interim projects can you pursue and win,  projects that when on your CV will persuade bigger clients to  trust your expertise and feel comfortable enough to hire you?

While you work on getting yourself into some stepping stone projects,  take a look at your skill set,  your personal and professional network and your marketing materials.  Identify and resolve any gaps and need for upgrades.  Observe those who have arrived at the place you want to be and check out their skills,  education level,  marketing materials,  relationships,  professional organizations,  etc.  Fill in as many missing elements as possible.

Make an action plan and hold yourself accountable by attaching dates.  Maybe you should become a better public speaker or obtain a certain professional credential? Maybe there are books, blogs or magazines you should read to stay current in your business (or that of your target clients)?  Find out when and where the course will be offered and its cost.  Enter registration dates into your calendar.  Budget the money.  Visit the library or book store.

Next week,  we’ll take a look at what may be the most important component of your presidential campaign.

Thanks for reading,

Kim