Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Ali Ahmed is the founder and principal of Green Strategies, a company that helps clients discover sustainability opportunities. He is a recognized sustainability and energy management leader who has developed and managed more than 50 global energy and sustainability programs. In today's episode, we discuss carbon.  Key points include: 01:37: An overview of carbon credits 06:27: The companies buyin...

Stacy Sifleet, an alum of A.T. Kearney, helps manufacturers, distributors and service-based companies improve their profit through targeted price strategy while providing customers with the services or products they want.  She is here with me today to explain how she implements and improves customer value strategies. 01:34: How customer value applies to the B2B realm 07:54: Defining groups of cust...

Tami Lucey is an independent travel consultant, or as she describes herself, "a worldwide business travel hassle remover."  We talk about her four decades of work as a corporate travel agent, how the industry has changed, and her focus on working with the entertainment industry and individual consultants. 02:06: The benefits of a personalized service  04:57: The limitations of Google search in boo...

Lessons learned from collecting payment on over 1,500 invoices: 1. What to include in the contract 2. Questions to ask after the contract is signed 3. What to include on your invoice 4. How to follow up after sending your invoice Unleashed is produced by Umbrex. To learn about our global community of independent management consultants, visit www.umbrex.com

You get an email with an article you want to read, but you don't want to be distracted right then. The solution is a "read-later" app. The two most popular are Instapaper and Pocket. Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn...

There are a few reasons why you should check how your email name appears to others, and in this short in-between-isode, I explain how it should be done in G-Suite and Microsoft. Key points include: -The professional impression -Search solutions Check this link to Gmail and Microsoft for more information. Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management cons...

Divya Agarwal recently left McKinsey to become an independent consultant. At McKinsey Divya was an Associate Partner in Organization and Transformation. "Transformation" is a bit of a buzzword that can be hard to pin down. In today's discussion, Divya explains what McKinsey means by the term, the types of transformation projects, and how to set up a successful transformation office. Key points inc...

Cactus Raazi is a former Managing Director at Goldman Sachs who has been a successful entrepreneur in credit trading. He is also the author of the recently published book Price: Maximizing Customer Loyalty Through Personalized Pricing .  In today's episode, Cactus shares his perspective on personalized pricing - and how he got his distinctive first name. Key points include: 06:05: Researching his...

Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman had a trick of always maintaining a list of his twelve favorite problems. Anything new he learned he tested whether it could be used on any of those twelve, and he attributed his success to this technique.  This episode gives a short overview of Feynman's approach and how you can apply it. I learned of this tip from Tiago Forte's course, Building a Second Brain ....

Robyn Bolton is a leading innovation consultant. A BCG alum, she was a partner at Innosight, a top innovation consulting firm that was founded by Clayton Christensen.   She has been an independent consultant focused on innovation since 2018. You can reach out to Robyn or follow her thought leadership blog on her website at milezero.io. Key points include: 01.03 How innovation differs from R&D 04.1...

Kyle Sturgeon, an alum of Alvarez & Marsal and McKinsey, is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of MERU.     He has led complex transformations and restructurings for companies across industries, with a focus in retail and consumer, healthcare, and materials.  Today we discuss what's involved with guiding a company through bankruptcy or restructuring. To find out more about Kyle's company visit: wea...

In today's weekend edition of Unleashed, I share a list of 20-25 questions that David A. Fields and I usually ask our clients during the initial conversation to help engage the client and secure the project. Key points include: Focusing on the client's needs Understanding the scope of the project Understanding the client's expected outcomes Insight into the internal team and the stakeholders invol...

As independent consultants, we often look for ways on how to grow our business. In today's episode, you'll find a round up of 21 business development ideas that can help build your business this year. You'll also find all the relevant links to Unleashed episodes where we explore these items in more detail. Create a portfolio of sanitized work (Episode 121) Create a project list (Episode 140) Updat...

In this week's episode, I talk to Tekla Back, McKinsey alum, former senior vice president of strategy at PepsiCo., and founder of the snack, Keho . Tekla reveals how she got into nutrition, the truth behind the nutritional labels, and how she developed the Keho snack bar. You can learn more about Tekla's campaign on nutrition by emailing her at tekla@keho.life or visit her company website at keho....

While it's great to pursue excellence, there's a strong argument for getting bad at something. -- Unleashed is produced by Umbrex. To learn about our global community of independent management consultants, visit www.umbrex.com  

I was inspired to launch Umbrex after reading Seth Godin's book, Tribes. So, I am delighted to talk to him today. In this episode, Seth discusses his career trajectory, his books, his daily practices, his view on content marketing, and why he made the decision to avoid social media. I'm also giving away 100 copies of Seth's new book, The Practice. To receive your free copy of The Practice while su...

Rudra's family has been growing tea for over 100 years. They have tea estates in Darjeeling and Assam in India, and in Rwanda. They also manufacture handmade carpets and furniture. He is also an adjunct professor in International Management Institute in Calcutta, and writes for several publications on history and business. Rudra can be reached through his website, RudraChatterjee.com. To find out...

James Carbary is the founder, executive producer, and co-host of Sweet Fish Media, a company that produces podcasts for B2B brands.  Today, he shares his expertise on creating, distributing, and getting the most mileage out of your podcast. Key points include: 01:28: Tips on how to create a great B2B podcast 07:07: The naming philosophy of a podcast 10:33: Common mistakes people make when setting...

In this short episode of Unleashed, I share a process that I use in my consulting practice and have found to be hugely valuable for both myself and my clients. Key points include: Creating categories of companies The power of the list Identifying the missing gems

In this short episode of Unleashed, I share a few valuable ideas taken from David A. Fields and his book, The Irresistible Consultants' Guide to Winning Clients, which I highly recommend, to help identify your core group. Key points include: Creating a master list Segmenting groups Identifying the weak ties

Daryl Tulimieri is a McKinsey alum. He has been at Owens Corning, and GLG, where he helped create and grow a group. Darryl is currently an independent consultant and Umbrex member, and he advises on M&A. But today Daryl is sharing his experience in recruiting and building a team in different contexts. Daryl can be contacted at  dtulimieri@ligeradvisors.com or through LinkedIn . You can visit his w...

In a weekly email to Unleashed subscribers in the fall of 2019, I asked, "What you are doing this fall to get better at what you do?" Umbrex member J. Andrew McKee sent me the following extraordinary response, and I asked him to be a guest on the show to discuss.  To learn more about Andrew's consulting practice (which we don't discuss), visit:  HeadlandStrategy.com. Here is Andrew's answer on wha...

Philipp Humm is a storytelling coach who teaches how to apply the fundamentals of storytelling to sales, marketing, management and connecting with your business audience. Philipp on LinkedIn or learn more from his website, power-of-storytelling.com Key points include: 03:41: Why storytelling matters to consultants 06:03: What makes a compelling story 07:24: Six elements of story 13:33: Who approac...

A common question independent consultants ask is what type of entity they should use to establish their practice. In this episode, Jonah Gruda reviews the most relevant aspects of the five types of entities that are most commonly considered: Sole proprietorship Partnership Limited Liability Company S-Corporation C-Corporation For each entity type, Jonah reviews: Formation requirements Liability Ex...

After years of professional work experience, how do you leverage your knowledge and put it to good use? After a 30-year career as a global strategic business advisor, including 20-years combined as partner at Ernst & Young (EY) and A.T. Kearney, Jeffery Perry decided to found Lead Mandates where, as an independent advisor, he helps organizations improve business and leadership performance. Today,...