Financial Problems
When you can't pay your bills as they come in, or you deliberately wait until the current billing cycle on your credit card is over, you have a problem. It might be insufficient cash flow, or insufficient savings, or a
Equitable Treatment
The IP you bring into an engagement is yours to take out. The client can't prohibit you from using your own IP elsewhere and in the future. What the client brings to the engagement is the client's and you can't
80% Ready: Move
When you're 80% ready, move. You can fine-tune after that. You'll never be 100% ready, and that final 20% represents most of your labor and is seldom ever appreciated by a reader, an audience, or a client.
Time Out!
It's interesting how much more effective college ongoing coaching direction is in basketball than football. I think it's because fewer players are involved, the coach is closer to the action, the coach has usually been a former player, and they
What’s in it for Them?
Behind every corporate business objective are personal objectives of the person or people advocating the goal. Find out what they are (reduced stress, shorter hours, higher visibility, larger bonus, etc.) and you'll achieve an important emotional connection that will enhance
Anticipation
I love the server or bartender who says, "Would you like your usual drink?" One guy sets up my martini when he sees me parking my car outside. Or when they automatically bring my wife a diet soda refill when
Of Course You Have the Time
Time and money are not resources, they are priorities. That is, a buyer can "reallocate" them to higher needs. We do this all the time, deciding to spend money on an unanticipated opportunity and spend time at a newly-scheduled event. Hence,
Maybe THIS Is “Digital Transformation”
Once upon a time, people bought newer cars (used or brand new) based on improved performance and more modern styling. The technology wasn't greatly advanced. Push-button radios and automatic transmissions were hardly world-shaking. Today, cars that are very well built and
Are You A Guest or an Expense?
I can tell how well a hotel is managed by the staff, and whether they greet you in the halls or avert their eyes and pretend they don't see you. It's pretty obvious when a hotel (or restaurant) is trying
It’s “what,” not “how”
The best way to avoid questions about your methodology instead of your results is to stop talking to lower level people, especially HR. Talk only to true buyers. They're interested in outcomes. If you keep encountering this obstacle, it's you, not them.