Consultants Saying Things

The year has come and gone. Lot's of interesting stuff happened this year in the world of technology and business. Transformations occurred. Lessons were learned. We spent an hour talking about none of those things.

I give you the second Christmas Special episode of Consultants Saying Things.

Warning: Drinking was involved.

This is our attempt at an annual retrospective. What did WE learn that might be applicable to YOUR consulting career.  Think of it as a riff on a Christmas Carol. Only you don't have to visit the ghost of Christmas yet to come.

In this final episode of 2019, our second season:

Seriously though. Thanks to the viewers who keep showing up to listen to us opine. 24 episodes so far. It's pretty cool that anyone cares.  We'll see you in 2020.

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How often have you seen consulting job descriptions that contain things like "10 years of health claims processing experience required" ? Ever thought that it sounded like a bunch of crap?

Well I sure do. So I got my smart friends on the line and asked them, is domain or industry specific knowledge REALLY necessary in the consulting industry? Or is it possible that any half-decent consultant could figure out what they needed to know?

Surprise. We didn't all agree.

In this episode:

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You're a consultant. You've been doing your thing. Suddenly Big 4 Firms and various magazines and LinkedIn rivals tell you you've been doing it ALL WRONG!

Consulting 1.0? No no no. You should be doing Consulting 4.0!!

You know your stuff. No one has ever told you that what you were doing was so out of date it needed a version number attached to it.  It's like cell phone speed hype (that never lives up to the promise, let's be honest). Are you still on 1xRTT? Holy crap, you should be on 20G! How could you be so backward!

Ok. Maybe it isn't quite that bad. But seriously, the big firms are talking Consulting 4.0 like it is something so new and so different that if you don't do it you are simply Neanderthal.

I call bullshit. And so did at least one of my friends. But there are always so many sides to these things that it warrants discussion. So I asked the panel, is Consulting 4.0 real and if so, what the hell is it?

In this episode:

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Consulting practitioners aren't often asked by prospective clients about their value system. But if we're real about it for a split second, our values dictate the work we do and how we do it.

And outside of work, people seem to make a big deal about their values and how they guide their life decisions. But if we're going to walk the talk, I want to know how one's value system tangibly impacts how they work.

So I got on the line with my friends and we talked everything from ethical flexibility to Stoicism.

In this episode:

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Let's be honest, if you aren't digitizing right now, you're probably platform modernizing.  In fact, Platform Modernization is a key part of all 10 of CIO Magazine's top issues for 2019. And probably 2020. And probably 2021.

But as practitioners, we've all been part of plenty of 'modernization' efforts that have gone off the rails. You know what I'm talking about. The plan to modernize XYZ that somehow just ADDS a new technology system instead of REPLACING it.

I asked my friends what they thought about Platform Modernization. Guess what? We didn't talk much about technology...

In this episode:

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If you're a consultant, there's a good chance you've thought about starting your own consulting business at some point. What are the key things you need to know to have a shot at success? What should you avoid doing?   

I wanted to get the perspective of some of my smart friends that have started companies and been around plenty of people who have both succeeded and failed.   

You want practical advice on how to make your consulting business a winner? Grab a seat and watch the latest installment of Consultants Saying Things.   

In this episode:  

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Project Management is a roadblock to rapid execution and transformation. It is outdated and serves only to tie up the agile enterprise in red tape.

Or so many folks believe.

I've had many experiences with Project Management, Project Managers, and Project Management Offices and I was curious what actual PMO practitioners thought about the PMO in the modern digital enterprise. So I asked my friend Hussain Bandukwala to join myself and my smart friends to discuss whether the PMO is a net hindrance or enabler of business and technology initiatives.

In this episode:

Hussain is the Founder & CEO of Parwaaz Consulting and he helps high-growth companies with their Project Management efforts by coaching, mentoring and advising. His approach helps his clients bring order to chaos in 90 days.

Be sure to check out his website and other online PMO resources:

****WARNING:  I should point out that the language filters are totally off for this episode. Perhaps mature audiences only...

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The concept of "work-life balance" has got to be one of the most meaningless, wink-and-nod, overused career tropes out there. Right?

Some say it is all about living life and finding a job that fits into that life while others claim it is about figuring out how to shape your life around your career. In fact, so much has been written about finding work-life balance that the term has become virtually meaningless. A simple search will serve up countless books and endless blogs that give you tips and tricks to magically find inner peace. 

Of course, as everyone knows, it isn't that simple. 

While some folks in 9-5 jobs might find structure in hours and expectations that TEND to be more predictable, consulting can often be all night/all day affairs with shifting timelines and demands that can rapidly lead to mental and physical exhaustion. 

There's also the reality of what consulting can do to personal relationships. Ask around. There are plenty of divorced consultants out there. 

So what on earth could anyone possibly add to the endless amount of words already spilled on the subject of work-life balance? To be honest, I didn't think we could really add to the body of knowledge on the subject. 

I was wrong. 

In the latest episode of the Consultants Saying Things video podcast, we take on Work-Life Balance from the perspective of the consultant. 

Spoiler alert: We didn't even agree on even the existence of the problem, let alone what to do about it.

In this episode:

- What the heck is work-life balance? Does it even exist?

- How do people manage time? What are some tips to help?

- Do we take on too much work? How do we prioritize?

- What are some tips for staying sane and avoiding burnout?

- What are the generational differences in approach to work-life balance?

- What happens when Shashi says Phil is old?

Add your thoughts to the conversation!

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For many folks in the business, the centralized 'legacy IT' group is just too damn slow and expensive and has too many rules. So why not fire up Excel and nab a few SaaS accounts and just get stuff done? 

With the accelerated adoption and normalization of cloud computing, consumerization and no-code applications, there are many parts of the business that are operating as a quasi-technology groups. 

Pockets of the enterprise are independently running their own little IT fiefdoms without any real central oversight and no one is the wiser.

Sometimes this is okay. Sometimes it really really isn't. 

We got deep into this topic in the latest episode of the Consultants Saying Things video podcast.

In this episode:

- What exactly is Shadow IT in 2019?

- When does it make sense to let Shadow IT do its thing?

- What are some of the risks of Shadow IT?

- What are the implications for a practitioner? For a leader?

- What does the use of Shadow IT imply for the culture of the broader organization?

- Is there a correlation between Shadow IT and business competitiveness?

Add your thoughts to the conversation!

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Tired of nonstop social media posts urging you to 'hustle' and 'grind' to get ahead and stay ahead? 

Feel like you need a dozen certifications and maybe a couple published books in order to demonstrate your expertise to potential employers or clients? 

If you aren't networking and branding and selling constantly, how on earth do you stay relevant in your field?

This topic came up with some of my smart friends. We decided to tackle it in the latest episode of the Consultants Saying Things video podcast.

In this episode:

- What's the value of networking?

- How do you sell without being artificial and seedy?

- What are some proven ways to make yourself relevant?

- Do you really need degrees and certifications to be relevant?

- How is the recruiting industry failing everyone?

- What's the difference between knowledge and understanding?

Add your thoughts to the conversation on LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.

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Check out more business and technology topics at www.consultantssayingthings.com