Consultants always want to do the coolest projects. The most innovative ones. Challenging ones. For the hippest customers. Everybody wants to try the newest technologies. Use the hottest frameworks / methodologies. Develop from the scratch. Attend the most abroad conference at the … Continue reading #65: Do what is required

“Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.” Mark Twain is often credited this quote. There might be doubts whether he’s the originator or not. But there are no doubts at all: There’s a lot … Continue reading #64: Never argue with an idiot

Elimination of waste is the number one principle in lean manufacturing and lean software development. Essentially, lean focusses on adding value and reducing everything else which does not contribute to create value. Consultants produce a considerable amount of rubbish. No … Continue reading #63: Eliminate waste

“In writing, you must kill your darlings” is a key advice to upcoming authors from William Faulkner, an American writer and nobel prize winner in literature. In consulting, you must kill your darlings too. At least sometimes. Why too often, consultants get … Continue reading #62: Kill your darlings

Kids do it. Always. Constantly. Without mercy. They ask why. Follow-up with a next why. And a next why. And a next why. Consultants can learn a lot from kids. To find the root cause to any problem or defect, … Continue reading #60: Ask 5 times why

Every consultant should at least once visit Lisbon to see and listen to Fado in one of the traditional restaurants. Fado is a Portuguese folk music featuring a singer and two guitarists. Mournful style. Mournful tunes. Mournful lyrics about loss and sadness. Performed … Continue reading #59: Live your story

Referring to wikipedia, the Viennese Waltz is a rotary dance where the dancers are constantly turning either in a clockwise (natural) or anti-clockwise (reverse) direction. In business, the Viennese Waltz is performed too. Often. Way to often. People keep going … Continue reading #58: Break the waltz

Rule #57 has its roots in an old indian telling: One evening an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, ‘My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all. One is … Continue reading #57: Feed the good wolf

Turn back time and remember your freshman years at college or university. Think about the final days before an exam. The closer the date, the harder you work. The more you rehearse, the less you think you know. The more you study, the … Continue reading #56: Accept the gap

“Wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools because they have to say something”. Unfortunately, many consultants do not know these words from Plato. There are way too many meetings or workshops where some people mean they just have to say … Continue reading #55: Have something to say

In his book “Leaderhip and the One Minute Manager”, Ken Blanchard describes a quite common management style with: “Seagull managers fly in, make a lot of noise, crap on everyone and everything, then fly out leaving a big mess behind”. This seagull behavior can … Continue reading #54: Don’t be a seagull

Once again a rule which applies both private and business life. People often don’t dare to explicitly speak out something as it is. Often people avoid calling things out. Honestly and directly. People  struggle to call things by its right … Continue reading #53: Call a spade a spade

Every now and then people just get stuck. Struggle with making decisions. Unable to do the choices needed. Small ones. Basic ones. Day-to-day decisions like which outfit to wear today. Or tough decisions with an unhappy private situation. Or in … Continue reading #52: Make them decide

During landing and take off in a sandy dessert, a helicopter makes an excessive noise and stirs up dust. That much noise and that much dust that everyone nearby gets completely distracted and neither can hear, see nor do anything … Continue reading #51: Don’t be a helicopter

Every single day one has to handle challenging situations. Minor ones. Like an unfortunate misunderstanding with a buddy to be straighten up again. Difficult situations. Affecting personal relations to be taken hand on. Or business critical problems to be solved … Continue reading #50: Grab the bull by the horns

Time again for a short but nevertheless important one – rule #49: Make a difference. One of the core qualities of top notch consultants is a burning desire to make a difference with their work. To heavily contribute to their clients’ … Continue reading #49: Make a difference

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.” is a famous chinese proverb. Benjamin Franklin modified and stated: “Tell me and I’ll forgot. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I’ll … Continue reading #48: Involve people

Every company has its own organization. Its culture. With certain routines and procedures. Its own way of doing things. Its own working speed, pulse, rhythm and beat. Consulting business is sometimes like dancing. To achieve your goals, deliver valuable results and … Continue reading #47: Feel the beat

Hamsters, are by nature, afraid of anything that is not a hamster. Confronted with a snake or any other potential enemy, a hamster will be paralyzed and play dead until danger has passed. As a consultant you’ll meet a lot … Continue reading #46: Don’t scare the hamsters

Think about a little boy waiting for christmas. He wrote a wishlist to Santa Claus with only one dream on it –  a radio controlled race car. Finally christmas is here. Instead of a radio controlled toy, there’s only a … Continue reading #45: Set realistic expectations

Crocodiles have small ears, a big mouth, sharp teeth, a huge head and a quite small brain compared to its size. And they haven’t developed themselves that much during millions of years with evolution. Crocodiles are hardly to tame. They can … Continue reading #43: Don’t play games with crocodiles

Management by fear and intimidation is still going strong in many companies and businesses. As a result, a sharp-edged “covering your ass” culture sprawls in projects. Employees’ and team members’ driving force is to make sure that they aren’t to blame when … Continue reading #42: Refuse “cover your ass” culture