Consultants should have imbibed rule #15 with their mothers’ milk: Be prepared. Assume, you get a speaker placement at a conference. As a matter of course, you should use time – a lot of time – to prepare your presentation. … Continue reading #15: Be prepared

Success is the sum of all failures. To turn failure in success, one has to learn from mistakes. And to learn from, means to admit failure. First admit. Then analyze. Find the cause. Find out when and what went wrong. … Continue reading #14: Admit failure and learn from it

Michael Jordon – probably the best basketball player ever – ones stated “I can accept failure, but I can’t accept not trying.” Thomas Edison – mostly known for inventing the light bulb – told “I have not failed. I’ve just … Continue reading #13: Accept failure

All business is personal. Especially consulting business. Clients often do not hire consultants best fitting to a certain job. Clients normally hire consultants they like having around; those they feel most comfortable being with; those they will probably enjoy working … Continue reading #12: Be human, not superhuman

Growing up on the streets, kids learn to fight at an early age. They go through some hard lessons. They fight. They win sometimes. They loose often. Getting older og streetwise, these kids become more and more cynical. Reputation, status … Continue reading #10: Avoid the fights you know you’ll loose

And another quite typical setting in a consultant’s daily life: You’ve been working hard for several days, weeks or months with an improvement program or a business proposal. You described concrete actions. You defined a detailed implementation plan. You calculated … Continue reading #9: Repeat, repeat, repeat

Rule #8 has its origin in farming. A cattle herd would never accept cows which do not have the same stable smell. Cows need a special stable odor which signals the rest of the herd that they belong to the same … Continue reading #8: Dress like your client, speak like your client, smell like your client

Almost everyone has been in this situation before: You try to explain your case but the listeners don’t understand it. You try again. But still – no understanding. You try again – this time with other words. But still – … Continue reading #7: Make yourself understood

Everybody is nearly constantly connected to internet services. Sales of smartphones and tablets rise. Every minute new mobile apps are released. The “cloud” is getting bigger and bigger. Smartphones are not longer just a gadget but for some people a … Continue reading #6: You must be present to win

Tennis players know this for real. Consultants should know this rule too: Who serves, rules! Writing a meeting protocol doesn’t really sound like the most exciting task for a consultant. Preparing some nice Powerpoint slides for the Top Management neither. Setting … Continue reading #5: Who serves, rules!

“One who walks in another’s tracks leaves no footprints.”  This proverb fits perfectly for consultants too. For a consultant it’s important that clients recognize your results, perceive your contribution and appreciate your work you do with them or for them. … Continue reading #4: Leave footprints

Consultants love talking. Mostly in big words. Mostly accompanied by Powerpoint or Keynote presentations. But actions speak louder than words. So here’s rule #3: Walk the talk. It’s quite easy to propose actions when you don’t have to perform them. … Continue reading #3: Walk the talk

It may sound pretty trivial – but this should be the most important consulting rule ever: Customer is king. It’s that simple. It’s that obvious. Nevertheless many consultants forget that customers’ needs should come first. Therefor – rule #1: Customer … Continue reading #1: Customer is king