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INSTITUTE
OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS |
Memo from the Prez |
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 Fall 2004 |
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Last spring, our IMCNE platinum sponsor Deltek offered us all a marvelously useful free webinar that focused on tips for operating smartly in the recovering economy. Called "The New Reality: Where Are We Now" (www.deltek.com), I tuned in out of interest in the topic but also because I'd never "attended" a webinar before. Scrupulously clicking in precisely at the appointed time, I was quite attentive for the first 15 minutes until my phone rang. Though I resisted the temptation to answer it, I couldn't help listening to the resulting voice message while the Deltek webinar was still going on. The format gave me the option to multi-task so I took it! Midway thru the webinar I also checked my email, bouncing back a few replies, then getting back to the webinar at full attention. When the program ended, I had gotten a lot out of it without having to leave the confines of my office, neither physically nor psychically. Even better (to my surprise!) the webinar automatically started up again giving me the option to pay attention to those gaps I had missed first time around. The next day, out of curiosity, I clicked through the Deltek website again and, lo and behold, there was the webinar link for me to click and attend yet again! Such opportunities available to us today imply a capacity to wipe out all our previous notions about what it means to get together. Now we can attend a seminar along with thousands of others without seriously interrupting the daily flow of our operations. And even when we do physically venture out, now we can easily check voice mail and even take phone calls via our cell phones from wherever we are. We can also work on documents on our laptops between meetings and keep emails flowing just by dipping into such hot spots like Starbucks, Kinko's, Borders, Panera Bread and Rebecca's Café or by hooking up cell phone to laptop and double-clicking Verizon office software. But we dare not forget a rather old-fashioned alternative: human bodies in the same room! While we do require the flexibility of new technologies today, we also, from time to time, must physically come together for reasons of both professional and psychological health. Recently our guru Alan Weiss reminded us that if we haven't "spoken to a client in six months, you're doing something wrong." That kicked me back in touch with many of my current and past clients—for lunch, coffee, whatever—to catch up on what's been happening with them, and see what might transpire as a result. Frequently what followed was my current/past client volunteering something like, "I really need some help with XXX and would like you to help me with it." Suitable compensation was agreed-upon next, with far less tension than one experiences in the usual new client sales meeting. Translation: A pleasant lunch with a "business friend" (client) often easily and naturally transmutes into satisfying new business. How can your buds at IMCNE help? As always, we are ready: If you prefer small seminars, check out our new "The Thriving Consultant" Seminar Series in partnership with The Center for Entrepreneurial Growth: http://www.imcne.org/events/2004/ceg_home.html Larger
formal programs your bag? Don't miss our regularly scheduled events:
http://www.imcne.org/calendar.html High
tech or low tech, IMCNE resources abound to assist you with your
professional needs. Remember that our IMCNE mission is to "serve
the New England consulting community." Via get-togethers large
or small, we are attempting to deliver on that simple yet significant
worthy goal. Ken
Lizotte CMC PS:
Could we be doing something for you that we are not? If so, shoot
me an email and let me know. I'll probably pick up your message
at Starbucks! |
Bodies
in the Same Room