Needs analysis is the part of the initial discovery phase of a project where you work with a client to define the problem that needs to be solved and explore possible solutions to that problem. On this podcast episode, Molly and Jason breakdown three important aspects of analyzing the needs of a consulting project: determining who is in the room and why, prioritizing a growing list of requirements, and dealing with ideas that have been proven to fail.

Ryan Waggoner is a successful mobile development consultant who has an interest in effective consulting and constant professional improvement. He joined Jason for a conversation about developing good habits, experimenting with systems to track and measure success, and executing a few personal techniques to maximum effectiveness around your consulting work.

Molly and Jason have both managed consulting teams and have implemented a number of productivity hacks over the years to increase billable hours and raise the overall efficiencies of their teams. On today’s episode they discuss common misconceptions that can lead to consulting firms leaving money on the table and a few suggestions to increase the productivity of consulting teams.

On today’s episode of the podcast, Jason is joined by special guest Roger Jacques, a long time software and web consultant and owner of Tek-Connect, a web development firm based in San Mateo, CA. Jason and Roger explore their project discovery processes and discuss some of the nuances of different approaches to this critical part of a consulting project.

Every client and every project presents a unique set of consulting challenges. The very nature of consulting involves working on projects and in scenarios that have never existed before. No matter how great your project management process is or how much experience you have working with clients, you run the risk of facing unexpected challenges that require confidence, courage, and tough skin.

There are many pain points that we have to deal with as consultants and leaders of consulting teams. Two of the primary pain points that Molly and Jason have experienced in their own work, or helped other teams work through are time tracking and meeting deadlines. In this episode Molly and Jason share anecdotes and advice for acknowledging and addressing these issues.

There are several billing methods out there for consultants to choose from when deciding how to get paid. This week on the podcast Molly and Jason discuss a few of the most popular, like hourly and flat fee billing, the more obscure target price method, and the emerging value pricing. Included in this episode is a clip from a recent expert interview with Jonathan Stark, a mobile consultant and value pricing advocate.

Molly and Jason discuss his recent Facebook purge, the lessons he learned from his experience, and why he's active on social media once again. Molly shares a personal story about how Facebook literally helped her build a family. The episode wraps up with a discussion around the Elusive Moose experience with various social media platforms.

On today’s episode, Molly and Jason explore the idea that creativity matters and explore some of the roadblocks to creativity in the workforce and in life as an adult in our western culture.

Elusive Moose podcast episode 13 introduces the concept of enjoying your work to new members, listeners, and visitors. For Jason and Molly, to “enjoy” doesn’t necessarily mean be happy or find pleasure in something. It means benefiting from or being fulfilled by work while experiencing a full-range of different emotions (both positive and negative).