Middlemen
Note: I'm posting an article which I've recently posted on my private web site, Alan's Forums. I thought it would be of interest here, and I also wanted to demonstrate the kinds of issues debated there 24/7 globally. If you're
Oh, Those Billable Hours!
Here is some great food for thought from Timothy Wilson: Alan, In reading your blog today the following made me laugh: 3. “Your time is your value. One guy at a conference, whose name I saw on one of these
Amateur Hour
Every morning I receive Google Alerts telling me where my name or Million Dollar Consulting and similar phrases of mine are used. Most of the time I find very complimentary citations, rarely I find someone ripping me off (who is
The Impossible Question
A few of us who have been fortunate enough to reach the heights of keynote speaking periodically chat, and agree that the dumbest questions we are asked are things like, "What should I know about professional speaking?" and "What good
The 13 Greatest Mistakes Consultants Make and How to Avoid Them
1. Dancing with non-buyers, gatekeepers, and nonentities. Consider yourself a peer only of the true buyer, the person who can authorize a check. That philosophy is inside your head. If you want to avoid ever having anyone upset with you and
Progression in A Recession
I’ve been asked to comment on how to “make it through” tough economic times. For example, if housing starts are radically down, what do you do when Home Depot suffers and stops using consultants? Oh, boy. First, the preventive: Your clients and prospects
A Penny for Your Thoughts, A Million for Your Results
Someone explain this to me: If a client is best served by a problem being remediated quickly, or an innovation being implemented rapidly, or an improvement being installed momentarily, then why isn’t the consultant charging for the velocity of the work
What’s Ethics Got To Do With It?
Some time ago, I received a call from someone at Toyota. He said that they needed a keynote speaker for a major conference, and that someone referred him to me. He liked what he saw, but asked if I could
Who’s Your Boss?
Does your boss demand that you fill in all free time on your calendar with business appointments? Is he or she tyrannical to the point of demanding excessive travel and incursions on your personal and family time? Does the boss
No Frequent Flyer Points for Me
In 2007 I made only 31 business trips by air, logged only 37,497 miles (our of a total lifetime of 3,124,000) and had my best year ever with the least air travel ever (and my wife often with me). That