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Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

654 episodes — Page 11 of 14

154. Kevin Stoneham on robotic process automation

Our guest today is Kevin Stoneham, an independent consultant who is the former COO of PwC IT Services. Kevin's current focus, DigiServ LLC, focuses on digital transformation, and we discuss in particular Kevin's experience with robotic process automation. Learn more about Kevin at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinstoneham/ Ask a question, download transcripts of previous episodes, and sign up for the weekly Unleashed email at: askunleashed.com

Mar 25, 201952 min

153. Peter Winick on building an effective thought leadership platform

Our guest today is Peter Winick, who runs a firm called Thought Leadership Leverage. His firm enables thought leaders, authors and gurus to monetize their content through books, keynote speaking, the creation of training services and products and consulting and assessment tools. In our discussion, we start with the mistakes that people most often make when they think about building a thought leadership platform. And then we go through Peter's process step by step, from setting a strategy for your thought leadership, to product design and monetization. To learn more about Peter's work, visit https://thoughtleadershipleverage.com/ To ask a question or subscribe to the weekly Unleashed email, visit askunleashed.com

Mar 18, 201950 min

152. Matt LeMay explains why Agile is for everybody

Our guest today is Matt LeMay, the author of Product Management in Practice and his most recent book: Agile for Everybody: Creating Fast, Flexible, and Customer First Organizations. In this episode, Matt discusses Agile for Everybody, which shows how to apply the principles of agile development from the world of software to the world of consulting and knowledge work. You can find out more about Matt on his personal website: mattlemay.com Matt is partners with Sunny Bates and Tricia Wang in a consulting firm named Sudden Compass, and you can learn about their work at https://www.suddencompass.com/ Sunny Bates is one of the master connectors of the 21st century, and you can hear from Sunny on Episode 64 of this show. Sign up for the weekly Unleashed email at: askunleashed.com

Mar 13, 20191h 5m

151. Nick Sonnenberg on leveraging off-the-shelf tools

That is Nick Sonnenberg, a serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, and consultant. Nick and a partner, Ari Meisel, founded Leverage, a high-end freelancer market place, and they built the business by using off-the-shelf tools such as Slack, Trello, and Zapier. Nick and Ari wrote a book about the experience titled Idea to Execution: How to Optimize, Automate, Outsource Everything in your Business. Nick now regularly consults with clients on team productivity and how to get the most out of team productivity tools. You can learn more about Nick's freelancer staffing firm at: getleverage.com You can ask a question or sign up for the weekly Unleashed email at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Mar 12, 201926 min

150. Dave Nelson, audio engineer for Unleashed, on podcast equipment

Our guest today is Dave Nelson, who, if you've ever listened all the way through the credits of this show, you'll recognize as the audio engineer of Unleashed. Dave and I normally communicate by email, and this was the longest discussion we've had since we started working together 150 episodes ago. In this episode, Dave shares tips on audio equipment for podcasters and some process tips for working with an audio engineer. If you are looking for an audio engineer for your own podcast, Dave has expanded his team and does have some capacity available, and you can learn more at: https://www.lensgroupmedia.com/ Here is a link to download the list of podcast equipment Dave recommends on the show: http://bit.ly/DaveNelsonEquipment You can ask a question and sign up for the weekly Unleashed email at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Mar 11, 201936 min

149. The Constitution of the United States

March 4, 2019 was the 230th anniversary of the day that the United States started operating under the U.S. Constitution. Which seemed like a good occasion to do a reading, out loud, of the full text of the Constitution and the 27 Amendments, something I had never done before.

Mar 10, 20191h 4m

148. Tobin Slaven on conversations at scale

Our guest today is Tobin Slaven. Tobin helps entrepreneurs build email lists, conduct conversations at scale, and then monetize those lists. He is the host of a podcast that I've been enjoying: Stop Marketing Now, Do This Instead. Tobin emphasizes the importance of engaging in a conversation with potential customers and building a relationship. In explaining to me his approach to building remarkable, successful email lists, Tobin recalled his own sleepless nights, worrying about where his next client would come from and what he could do to move beyond word of mouth. In this show we cover the nuts and bolts of which email platforms to use and how often emails should be sent as well as techniques to use email as a continuing conversation from which business can grow. To learn more about Tobin and to find plenty of useful tips, visit tobinslaven.com To ask a question or sign up for the weekly Unleashed email, visit https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Mar 4, 201948 min

147. Gregory Albertyn on GDPR and privacy compliance

Our guest today is Greg Albertyn, an expert in data governance, risk, and privacy compliance programs. In this episode, we discuss, among other topics, aspects of GDPR that independent consultants should be familiar with. (GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation enacted by the European Union) Among my questions to Greg was, "Can a person send an email to someone without their prior approval?" To learn more about Greg, visit his LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-albertyn/ To ask a question or subscribe to the weekly Unleashed email, visit https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Mar 4, 201942 min

146. Podcast setup - how to record a phone call for podcasts

I'm often asked about the setup I use to record phone calls for the podcast, so I recorded this video. There are plenty of tools to record a call on your computer - I wasn't able to find a good guide on how to set up equipment to record two separate tracks when using a phone, so I had to figure this out through a bunch of trial and error. Here is a link to download the page illustrating the setup: http://bit.ly/PodcastSetup

Feb 26, 20193 min

145. Amy Gross helps athletes get in the zone

Our guest today is Amy Gross, a performance psychology consultant who runs a coaching practice called Pillars4Performance. Many of her clients are elite athletes, and that's where we focus our discussion. In this episode we cover how to focus on the controllables (instead of fixating on things outside your control) how to using visioning exercises effectively how to identify and overcome self-defeating narratives how to identify your zone – and how to get into it To learn more about Amy's work, visit pillars4performance.com To ask Will Bachman a question or sign up for the weekly Unleashed email, visit: askunleashed.com

Feb 26, 201930 min

144. Kevin Terrell set up a non-profit to help kids start reading now

Our guest today is Umbrex member Kevin Terrell, a McKinsey alum and independent consultant based in Minneapolis St Paul. In addition to his consulting work, Kevin is the co-founder of Start Reading Now, Kevin read an article on how lower-income students tend to lose ground academically over the summer, and part of the reason is because they don't read as much, and part of the reason for that is that lower-income households have fewer books in the house. In this episode, Kevin shares the story of what he did next. To learn more about Kevin's non-profit, visit startreadingnow.org To learn more about Kevin's consulting work, visit katanaconsulting.com To ask a question or sign up for the weekly Unleashed email, visit askunleashed.com

Feb 25, 201936 min

143. Jonathan Stern's firm SnapStrat applies predictive analytics to recurring strategic decisions

Our guest today is Jonathan Stern, a former partner at Bain and the CEO and Founder of SnapStrat. SnapStrat builds tools for its clients to bring prescriptive analytics and machine learning to the tasks of regularly recurring strategic decisions. In this episode, he shares a case example of SnapStrat's work with a top beauty products retailer, helping them use analytics to determine which free samples to give out. To learn more about Jonathan, visit his firm's website: https://snapstrat.com/ To submit a question or sign up for the weekly Unleashed email, visit: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Feb 19, 201947 min

142. Mary Kate Scott

Our guest today is Mary Kate Scott, a McKinsey alum who has been running her own boutique healthcare consulting firm, Scott & Company, since 2002. She has been a close friend and mentor of mine for years, and in this episode we cover a wide range of topics including: - Three things MK does before every proposal, including her five-factor rule for evaluating potential projects - The three phases her consulting practice has gone through over the past 17 years - Maintaining relationships with clients over time To learn more about MK's practice, visit: http://www.marykatescott.com/ To ask a question for me to answer on a future episode, or to sign up for the weekly Unleashed email, visit: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Feb 18, 201935 min

141. Robin Albin on building brands

Our guest today is Robin Albin, a brand strategist and brand sherpa based in the New York area. Robin has invented – or reinvented – over fifty brands for startups and major corporations across many categories, with particular expertise in cosmetics, health and wellness, and fashion. In our discussion Robin shares some case studies of how she works with clients to help them express the promise that the brand wants to make to its customers. To learn more about Robin, visit her website, www.insurgents.io Submit your question to be answered in a future episode. Record and submit at: askumbrex.com The weekly Unleashed email includes the transcript of each episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips. Sign up at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Feb 13, 201931 min

140. Jay Martin on the benefits of maintaining a project list

Our guest today is Jay Martin, who's got over 25 years of management consulting experience, including time at Arthur D. Little and IBM Global Services and nearly 18 years as an independent consultant. Jay has done a better job than anyone I've met at maintaining an exhaustive list of all his projects – the document is 18 pages long and includes the details on well over a hundred projects. In this episode, Jay discusses how he started building this list and the benefits of keeping such a document. To receive a copy of Jay's project list, sign up for the weekly Unleashed email at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/ To learn more about Jay, visit his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-martin-99a69812/

Feb 11, 201914 min

139. Brad Clark with financial tips for independent professionals

Our guest today is Brad Clark, who is a former management consultant – he was a Principal at Oliver Wyman. Later, he was the Chief Marketing Officer at The Motley Fool, and he has now built a holistic financial planning and investment management service, where many of his clients are consultants. In our discussion, Brad describes the five financial planning tips he believes are essential for independent professionals: entity conversion, retirement planning, insurance, paying for college, and tax planning. You can learn more about Brad's services on his website: www.bradleyclark.com The weekly Unleashed email includes a transcript of each episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips. Sign up at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Feb 4, 201944 min

138. Are you selling water or chicha?

There are two types of products: Ones where we already know the story. Example: water. And ones where the customers needs to hear the story. Example: chicha. Are you selling water or chicha? The weekly Unleashed email includes a transcript of each episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips. Sign up at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Feb 3, 20192 min

137. Michael Frankel on interim CFO roles, AI, and more

Our guest today is Michael Frankel who has an amazing background – he's been a corporate attorney at Skadden Arps, an investment banker, a private equity advisor, VP level business development roles at GE, LexisNexis, CFO of two companies, and held board positions. Michael is currently the Head of the Deloitte New-venture Accelerator. Michael shares his perspective on a range of topics including how large consulting firms are setting up talent pools of independent consultants interim CFO roles how consulting firms are investing in Artificial intelligence to enable experts with technology Here is Michael's profile on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankelmichael/ Sign up to receive the weekly Unleashed email that includes a transcript of each episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips, at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 28, 201932 min

136. Fredrik Thomassen on the future of work

Our guest today is Fredrik Thomassen, CEO and Co-Founder of Konsus.com, an on-demand creative outsourcing service. Fredrik shared his ideas on the future of work (hint: he says that it's remote work), as well as the way that he runs his own company using a hybrid structure where half his team is located in Oslo and the other half are based in San Francisco. We chatted about the tools he uses to coordinate his company's activities, how remote work is going to change the employee evaluation process, the challenges of being able to work 24/7, and how his team's ambition is for every company in the world to eventually have a Konsus subscription. Fredrik says he is always open to chatting, and he values the many interesting conversations that have started with a simple email. You can reach him at his website: www.konsus.com or email him directly at [email protected].

Jan 21, 201939 min

135. Alisa Cohn on being a wise partner

Our guest today is Alisa Cohn, an executive coach, a writer, and a member of Marshall Goldsmith's 100 Coaches. Marshall Goldsmith is considered by many to be the leading executive coach in the world, and Alisa shares the story of how she got to know him and get selected to join this exclusive group. You can learn more about Alisa through her website, www.alisacohn.com, and while you're there you can sign up for her newsletter, which she calls a "barrel of goodness." You can also reach out to her on Twitter, @alisacohn. The weekly Unleashed email includes transcripts of each episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips. Sign up here: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 15, 201938 min

134. Lindsay McGregor helps clients achieve Total Motivation

Today's guest is Lindsay McGregor, McKinsey alum and co-author of the book Primed to Perform. She and her co-author and former McKinsey Partner Neel Doshi created the concept of Total Motivation – or ToMo for short. Lindsay and Neel founded a consulting firm, Vega Factor, that works with clients to help implement the ToMo principles they describe in their book. In this episode, Lindsay talks about her path to understanding what drives motivation, and the impact that it has had on her own life. Lindsay views each day as an opportunity to play, and helps organizations see how that same mindset can drive productivity and profitability. Total Motivation is a measure of the degree to which individuals feel a sense of play, purpose and potential minus the degree to which they feel inertia and emotional and economic pressures. Lindsay talks about how we all can use Total Motivation techniques to manage our personal productivity and aspirations, shifting our focus from numerical, outcome-based goals to performance-oriented ones, including learning new skills to help us get where we want to go. Lindsay sand her co-author Neel Doshi are on a mission to introduce ToMo to the world, and hope that by 2050 everybody on Earth works in a high ToMo organization. To learn more about Total Motivation and Lindsay, visit the website: www.PrimedtoPerform.com. It has a short survey you can take to gauge your own ToMo, and a contact form that you can fill out to learn more about their company and their mission. To receive the weekly Unleashed email, that includes a transcript of each episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips, sign up at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 14, 201942 min

133. Improving the client's experience: post-project phase [part 6 of 6]

This episode concludes our six-part podcast miniseries on how to improve the client experience. In this episode, I share tips on how to provide a great client experience during the post-project Episodes 129-133 cover the five phases of a project lifecycle: The proposal phase Onboarding / kickoff phase Project execution Wrap-up Post-project I learned this five-part framework from David A. Fields, and encourage everyone to visit his website: https://www.davidafields.com/ If you subscribe to the weekly Unleashed email, you'll receive a summary checklist that includes the points from the whole miniseries https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 13, 20197 min

132. Improving the client's experience: wrap-up phase [part 5 of 6]

This is part five in a six-part podcast miniseries on how to improve the client experience. In this episode, I share tips on how to provide a great client experience during the wrap-up phase. Episodes 129-133 cover the five phases of a project lifecycle: The proposal phase Onboarding / kickoff phase Project execution Wrap-up Post-project I learned this five-part framework from David A. Fields, and encourage everyone to visit his website: https://www.davidafields.com/ If you subscribe to the weekly Unleashed email, you'll receive a summary checklist that includes the points from the whole miniseries https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 13, 20195 min

131. Improving the client's experience: project execution phase [part 4 of 6]

This is part four in a six-part podcast miniseries on how to improve the client experience. In this episode, I share tips on how to provide a great client experience during the project execution phase. Episodes 129-133 cover the five phases of a project lifecycle: The proposal phase Onboarding / kickoff phase Project execution Wrap-up Post-project I learned this five-part framework from David A. Fields, and encourage everyone to visit his website: https://www.davidafields.com/ If you subscribe to the weekly Unleashed email, you'll receive a summary checklist that includes the points from the whole miniseries https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 12, 20198 min

130. Improving the client's experience: kickoff phase [part 3 of 6]

This is part three in a six-part podcast miniseries on how to improve the client experience. In this episode, I share tips on how to provide a great client experience during the onboarding / kickoff phase. Episodes 129-133 cover the five phases of a project lifecycle: The proposal phase Onboarding / kickoff phase Project execution Wrap-up Post-project I learned this five-part framework from David A. Fields, and encourage everyone to visit his website: https://www.davidafields.com/ If you subscribe to the weekly Unleashed email, you'll receive a summary checklist that includes the points from the whole miniseries. Sign up here: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 11, 20198 min

129. Improving the client's experience: proposal phase [part 2 of 6]

This is part 2 in a six-part podcast miniseries on how to improve the client experience. Episode 128 introduces the series. In this episode I discuss 29 suggestions for how to improve the client experience during the proposal phase. In Episodes 130-133, I'll be covering the next four phases in a project lifecycle: The proposal phase Onboarding / kickoff phase Project execution Wrap-up Post-project I learned this five-part framework from David A. Fields, and encourage everyone to visit his website: https://www.davidafields.com/ If you subscribe to the weekly Unleashed email, you'll receive a summary checklist that includes the points from the whole miniseries. Sign up at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 10, 201915 min

128. Improving the client's experience: introduction [part 1 of 6]

This episode introduces a six-part miniseries on steps consultants can take to improve the client's experience across the five phases of a consulting project: The proposal phase Onboarding / kickoff phase Project execution Wrap-up Post-project I learned this five-part framework from David A. Fields, and encourage everyone to visit his website: https://www.davidafields.com/ If you subscribe to the weekly Unleashed email, you'll receive a summary checklist of all the suggestions from this client experience miniseries. To sign up, visit: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 8, 20194 min

127. Ciaran Bossom on digital marketing

Our guest today is Ciaran Bossom, a digital marketing expert and independent consultant. Ciaran was the SVP of Strategy at VaynerMedia and most recently the Chief Digital Offier at Brown University. He has worked at several other digital agencies and held roles on the client side as well. Connect with Ciaran at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ciaranbossom/ To receive the weekly Unleashed email that includes transcripts of each episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips, visit: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 7, 201951 min

126. Not every job has a fixed location

Not every job has a fixed location, but job-posting websites seem to think they do. There should be an option to list "Remote" as the location.

Jan 6, 20193 min

125. No more Texas email intros

Best-practice email introductions.

Jan 5, 20192 min

124. Invite your clients to an open rehearsal

Right before Christmas, I went with my family to an open rehearsal of the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. It was a lot more fun than going to the formal, black tie performance later that evening. It made me think - how can I make my interactions with clients more like that rehearsal - loose, creative, fun, authentic, human - instead of like the formal performance. If you haven't already, consider signing up for the weekly Unleashed email - you'll receive a transcript of each episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 4, 20194 min

123. Chutzpah and humility

I discuss four quadrants on a classic 2x2 matrix Vertical axis: willingness to take the initiative Chutzah = high willness Compliance = low willingness Horizontal axis: openness to new information Humility = high openness Arrogance = low openness

Jan 3, 20196 min

122. Five decade time horizon

Adopting a five decade time horizon allows you to make rewarding investments in skills, relationships, knowledge, and your health that a shorter time frame would suggest won't pay off.

Jan 2, 20194 min

121. Consultants need a portfolio of sanitized sample work

You probably wouldn't hire a graphic designer or a wedding photographer without looking at their portfolio. Independent consultants ought to have a portfolio as well - samples of sanitized work you can share with potential clients. I've found that many independent consultants do NOT have a portfolio, however, and here are some thoughts on how to create one. To receive the weekly Unleashed email, which includes the transcript of every episode, consulting tips, and book recommendations, sign up here: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Jan 1, 20194 min

120. Michael Zipursky on Consulting Success

Our guest today is Michael Zipursky, who runs a firm called Consulting Success. Michael has written multiple books on consulting and he serves as a coach to consultants, helping them grow their practice. You can learn more about Michael and get in touch via his website, consultingsuccess.com To receive the weekly Unleashed email, which includes the transcript of every episode, consulting tips, and book recommendations, sign up here: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Dec 31, 201840 min

119. Jonathan Mann, Conference Troubadour, has written a song every day for ten years

Our guest today is Jonathan Mann, who holds the Guiness World Record for Most Consecutive Days Writing a Song. He began his Song-a-Day project on January 1, 2009, and the upcoming New Year's Day will mark an even ten years of writing, and recording, and publishing online, one new song every day. His story is an amazing and inspiring example of how showing up regularly, creating content and sharing it with the world, can open up opportunities that we have not even imagined. In our discussion, Jonathan shares what happened on the day one of his songs was used to open a Steve Jobs press conference, and how that breakthrough moment led to him becoming the Conference Troubadour. As the Conference Troubadour, Jonathan is hired to attend conferences. He listens to the sessions over the course of the day and composes a song that includes the key messages of the event, and he closes the conference by singing the song with the attendees, since he always includes a chorus that he teaches to the audience. About 90% of songs on the radio are about love, as if that was the only topic worth singing about. Jonathan's songs are incredibly inventive and cover everything else. He was attended conferences, and written songs about, topics as diverse as the National Apartment Association, medical case management, and internal company communications. One of my favorites of the songs he has posted to Youtube is the iOS Autocomplete Song, in which the entire lyrics are composed by the autocomplete function on an iPhone. You can learn more about Jonathan on his website: https://www.jonathanmann.net/ There you can reach out to him about attending your next conference, or for a person or a business commission. In addition to his conference work he will compose a song to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or other special event, or a song about your company. In this episode we have a few samples of his work, and I hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I did. Side note: if you visit https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/ you can sign up to receive the weekly Unleashed email, that includes a transcript of every episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips.

Dec 17, 201853 min

118. Are your filenames right-side-up?

Do the filenames you use demonstrate right-side-up thinking? That is, are you naming your files from your perspective, or from your client's perspective? Small cues matter.

Dec 13, 20183 min

117. Is your business open when closed?

We all have a choice. Is your business closed when closed? Or open when closed? How will you choose?

Dec 12, 20186 min

116. Robin Colucci ensures the book you write accomplishes your objectives

Our guest today is Robin Colucci, who is a book writing coach. If you are thinking of writing a non-fiction book to advance your career, Robin is someone who would help you think through the strategy of the book to increase the odds that all the effort you put into creating the book will have the impact you hope to achieve. In this episode, we discuss the questions that Robin asks her clients and how to think through who is the audience of a book, what that audience is already looking for, and how to serve that need. You can learn more about Robin's services and get in contact with her on her website: http://robincolucci.com/ If you like this episode, consider signing up for the weekly Unleashed email, which includes transcripts of every episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips. Sign up at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Dec 10, 201848 min

115. Danna Staaf on squid and science writing

Our guest today is Danna Staaf, an independent science writer and the author of Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods. Danna received a PhD from Stanford University in Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography, and then rather than continuing on an academic track, she decided to become a science communicator, rather than a science generator. In this episode we discuss what makes squid so fascinating and how Danna has created a successful career as an independent science writer. You can follow Danna on Twitter at @DannaStaaf and on her website: http://www.cephalopodiatrist.com/p/home.html

Dec 3, 201838 min

114. This trick increases the chances of a client calling you

If you want to be contacted about opportunities, it helps to be contactable.

Nov 29, 20185 min

113. Nitin Rohatgi's firm provides fantastic research support to independent consultants

Our guest today is Nitin Rohatgi, who is the co-founder of Enroute Consulting, a research firm based in India. Nitin's firm supports independent consultants around the world, many of them McKinsey alums. I've been a client myself, and I've been very impressed by the quality of his firm's work. With about twenty employees, his firm typically will pull together background research using secondary sources as well as ten or so proprietary data sources they subscribe to. They have deep experience in the approach used by top consulting firms. You can learn more about Enroute and get in touch via their website: http://www.enroutellp.com/

Nov 26, 201837 min

112. Chris McKenna on The World's Newest Profession: Management Consulting in the Twentieth Century

Our guest today is Christopher McKenna, a Reader in Business History and Strategy at Said Business School at the University of Oxford. Chris is the author of The World's Newest Profession: Management Consulting in the Twentieth Century, which was an absolutely eye-opening book for me, and I'd say is a must-read for any management consultant interested in the history of our profession. Here is a link to Chris's bio page at Oxford: https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/about-us/people/chris-mckenna

Nov 19, 20181h 4m

111. Michelle Welsch on Founding a Social Enterprise

Our guest today is Michelle Welsch, a social worker by training, who is leading an extraordinary life – she has organized major events in New York City for clients including Seth Godin, and for the past five years, she has been running Learning House. Learning House is focused on education and leadership. To learn more, visit www.learninghousenepal.com. I got to know Michelle through dinners that she organizes in New York City – we talk about those dinners on the show, and you can learn more about them on her website: http://www.michellewelsch.com. If you visit her site, you can download a free ebook that Michelle wrote: How to host a dinner party that gets everyone talking.

Nov 12, 201836 min

110. Rosina Samadani on managing a physically dispersed team

Our guest today is Rosina Samadani, a long-time friend who was my second Engagement Manager at McKinsey, and who provided me with invaluable advice when I was starting out as an independent consultant ten years ago. For a dozen years, Rosina ran a very successful boutique consulting firm, Capella Advisors, after leaving McKinsey. She is the founder of Truth On Call, which provides fast turnaround quantitative market research for the healthcare industry, and DocNews, which was acquired by American Medical Communications and relaunched as DocWire. Since 2015 Rosina has been the CEO of Oculogica, an innovative medical device company that is building devices that use eye-tracking technology to detect Traumatic Brain Injury. You can learn more about Oculogica at http://www.oculogica.com Her team members all work remotely, and in this short episode we discuss the tools her team uses to stay connected, in particular, Zoom and Slack.

Nov 5, 201819 min

109. Anish Shah, professional comedian and management consultant

So a professional comedian and management consultant walk into a bar... Actually, that's just Anish Shah getting a drink. Anish Shah is a McKinsey alum and professional comedian who does corporate gigs around the world as well as independent management consulting. In this episode, Anish shares the story of how he built his comedy career, and we'll hear a clip from one of his performances. Check out videos on his website, https://www.anishcomedy.com/videos, where you can also sign up on his mailing list to get notified of upcoming shows, or reach out to him about booking him for your corporate or charity event.

Oct 29, 201848 min

108. How and why to travel around Europe by train

Earlier this month, I visited London, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich, and Zurich to meet up with independent management consultants. While I originally imagined I would fly from one city to another, I ended up taking the train from London all the way to Zurich, and it was fantastic. In this short episode, I share five reasons why you should take the train in Europe instead of flying between cities, and some tips from a train-riding novice.

Oct 25, 201816 min

107. Zachary Schrag on what consultants can learn from historians

Our guest today is Zachary Schrag, a Professor of History at George Mason University. Zach has been a close friend of mine for nearly three decades, and I asked him on the show to share some practical tips that management consultants can learn from a professional historian. Zach gives me some advice on how to read a non-fiction book to get the most value (hint – read the introduction and the conclusion first.) He also shares some book recommendations and discusses five core aspects of the historian's approach. Zach has prepared this list of recommended reading for the intelligent, generalist reader: https://historyprofessor.org/reading/a-laypersons-reading-list-in-american-history-2018/

Oct 22, 201834 min

106. How to pay a subcontractor

How do you pay a subcontractor? In this episode, I try to answer that question, sharing ten years of lessons learned, covering: 1) How do you actually transfer the money, covering options including check, PayPal, wire transfer, ACH, and bill.com 2) Tax implications, W9, 1099, and 'nexus issues' you need to be aware of 3) What to ask your subcontractor for in terms of an invoice 4) How to track payments to subcontractors

Oct 17, 201825 min

105. Marni Fechter on organizing "Go & Sees"

For over five years, Marni organized "Go and See" events for McKinsey, in which McKinsey clients or prospective clients would take a field trip to visit other McKinsey clients that had gone through some kind of transformation project with McKinsey's help. On this episode, Marni shares her suggestions on what it takes to run a successful go-and-see, and the benefits to the past clients, the potential clients, and the consultant who organizes the event. After this episode, perhaps you'll consider connecting two or more of your own clients. And if you'd like Marni's help with that, she is now an independent professional. Her LinkedIn URL is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marni-fechter/

Oct 15, 201841 min