Million Dollar Consulting® Mindset
From Alan Weiss
Volume 1 Number 12
December 2011
A monthly newsletter with the objective of quickly and pragmatically helping consultants to improve their craft, results, and lives.
Some Thoughts for the New Year
It’s hard to believe this is already issue 12 of the Mindset and Volume 1 is complete. I hope you’ve picked up some good ideas for your practice.
Going into the New Year, it’s a good time to “clean house.” Get rid of the stuff sitting around that you never refer to and never use. The chances are such that even if you suddenly had cause to refer to it, the material would be out of date! End subscriptions that stick to you like gum on your shoe.
Remove yourself from boards, associations, mastermind groups, and any other obligation that is no longer providing a dramatic return on the time investment. There are always points of diminishing returns, and the longer you are in the profession and improving, the more quickly they tend to arrive.
Find yourself some new and challenging colleagues. Marshall Goldsmith points out that if you want to be a thought leader, you need to hang out with thought leaders. Find people who are provocative and edgy, not those who get together to lie to each other about how good they’re doing.
Shake out the cobwebs, clean up the room, create a renewed mental space for yourself. Don’t allow the baggage of the past to determine how you’ll look in the future.
Case Study
I worked with a consultant who complained that he simply did not have enough time in the day to market, create new intellectual property, work on his book, and so on. I asked him to keep a detailed log for two weeks.
Here’s what we eliminated on a weekly, workday basis after we analyzed the log: free help to colleagues (5 hours); social media posting and reading (3 hours); doing his own technical work (e.g., slide creation) instead of outsourcing (2 hours); rewriting and editing his own work instead of using the original (2 hours); useless upgrades and apps (1 hour).
You read that correctly: 14 hours a week. Shake the place up. Free up almost two complete working days. Use someone to help you if you need it.
Frequently Asked Question
Q. What kind of goals should I set for the coming year? What standards should I set?
A. Don’t be too hard on yourself with “win/lose” kind of goals. Instead, try to maximize (revenues, profits, new client engagements, publishing) and minimize (delivery time, travel, acquisition costs). The problem with fixed goals is that you often hit them, but you could have done much better!
Happy New Year and Season’s Best!
Upcoming
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP 2012
October 22-24, 2012
The Breakers, Palm Beach, FL
The third annual conference, limited to 20 people, which has featured Marshall Goldsmith and David Maister the past two years. Learn how to rise to thought leadership in your field with practical techniques and ongoing support. The graduate session is already sold out a year in advance! Fifteen spots remain. There is no other opportunity like this in the world. The finest venue, great interaction, top people. All lodging and meals are included, discounts only until December 15, 2011.
Read about the 2011 session here.
Sign up for 2012 here.
SPEAKING WITH ALAN
March 6-7, 2012
Alan's Home, East Greenwich, RI
We have space for only 6 people in this session which provides six months of growth in two days. Create a powerful speech, practice it, set the right fees, and establish a marketing plan. Extensive prep work. All meals, lodging, local transportation included. A unique, intensive opportunity with ongoing and detailed feedback from Alan. Three spots remain.
SEALING THE DEAL
Miami, February 7, 2012
London, May 8, 2012
In an extensive day of recorded role-plays and case studies, learn how to establish objectives, metrics, and value that will gain conceptual agreement with a buyer and lead directly to large proposals with almost guaranteed acceptance. We will provide everyone with videos of their simulations, and everyone is encouraged to record their own and others. I�m buying dinner for the first ten registrants in each city.
© Alan Weiss 2011. All rights reserved.
You may reprint and excerpt this newsletter provided that you include our copyright, the source, the author, and �reprinted with permission.�
ISSN: 2159-306X
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