Reminder: Website address

Have you visited the website lately?   


 http://www.lxdi.com

Don't Leave Home Without It!

You are about to attend another networking event.  You do this so regularly, it has become routine, automatic. You know how to ready yourself: plenty of business cards at easy reach, a few brochures tucked away in an inconspicuous pocket, pen and paper to jot down those workable contacts, and the right attire.    Beyond these basics, how are you preparing?  Are you preparing?  What’s missing?

Don’t walk out the door until you are ready to make the complete impression that counts! 

To maximize our effectiveness at every networking event, we need to prepare for how best to project our competence. 

Demonstrating competence in a networking setting is unrelated to how competent we are in our job function.  Rather, it is embodied in how well we can discuss what is happening at our firm or in our area of expertise.  It includes selecting accomplishments, milestones, progress, visions, trends, policies  – taking selected happenings (that might not seem so exciting on a daily basis) and making them newsworthy by discussing these items as news!  It is how we discuss them that counts.  Since the rule for chatting at networking events is to let the other person do 70% of the talking, we must carefully craft our statements to get the most impact in our time allotment!

Before we walk out the door, prepare targeted statements – at least two versions – one to use with people you see often or run into frequently at these events, plus one to use with “just-mets” or more casual acquaintances.  Have two versions of these statements.

1.  The “sound bite” –  This is similar to what we might hear in a media interview – a statement of about 2-3 sentences that briefly encapsulates the essence of your topic and what is "newsworthy" about it.  This “sound bite” needs to be carefully planned so you are engaging the listener with just the 2-3 points that  make you and your firm shine.   Brief and to-the-point, it provides a tidbit or two of good information that grabs the listener.  The distinguishing feature is to guide the information away from yourself and express it so it is relevant to the interests of the listener.  

2.  The “education” – When we are ready to engage in a real discussion on our “news” topic, then we need to be prepared with substantive information, not just conversational descriptions.  The “education” is a good paragraph, seemingly casual but actually tightly planned!  it contains the classic who, what, when, where, and why, with the added distinguisher of what we will be doing about it, going forward. 

By structuring and practicing what we will say, we will project our competence in a subtle, understated way.  It is not so much about promoting ourselves or our firm’s accomplishments, but rather planning before we walk out the door to ensure the information is engaging and makes the impression that counts.

Enhance Your Presentation for the Win!

Key elements that enhance the presentation to make it a “winner” :

Attitude. When you are presenting for the purpose of winning work, you are in “sell-mode” and you become energized when you psyche yourself into that mindset. We are not talking about pushy, harsh sales pitches or the rah-rah of over-zealous salespersons. With the understated “sell” attitude, each presenter demonstrates sincerity and concern for the success of the project, for the pleasing of all stakeholders.

Language and voice, together. We all recognize the importance of choosing the “right language” and a using a confident voice. So, during rehearsal, really listen. Listen carefully to the word choices and vocal emphasis of the other presenters. Does the project manager really make his/her approach to the job

sound important, with results beyond expectations? Is “on-time-on-budget” just a slogan or is it a driving force that propels the principal-in-charge or PM to achieve at a level of excellence?

Team! The real messages about team compatibility and comfort levels are expressed non-verbally and with subtlety. What do the body language, tone of voice, word choices say? Do the team of presenters share the same “work vocabulary” in discussing issues and problem-solving approaches?

Does there appear to be respect for each other, especially during the question-and-answer section of the interview?

So You’re A Consultant Now? Hints for Getting Up and Running in Your New Role in Today’s Economy

If you are finding yourself working for yourself, short or long term, by choice or not, you need to get in gear so you can be a viable consultant.  Here are the 5 basics:

    1.  Define your skills as services a prospective client needs. 

    Rather than thinking of what you can do and what you have done, remove that resume mentality and start thinking like an entrepreneur. Turn your thinking around so you see your skills as a service you can perform to help a client be more effective at their work.  Think of your abilities as a sort of "product" that you can sell. 

2.  Set up your workspace, contacts, and resources.

Just because you've decided to hang out an "open for business sign", doesn't mean you're ready to roll.  Set up a real, defined workspace.  If you are working from home, create a place that is your "official office" -- even if it is one section of the dining room table.  This space should not be violated or invaded; this is YOUR separate and personal workspace just as it was at your former employer.

    Gather names: 

    All your contacts, resource persons, vendors, professional organizations -- everyone you ever knew -- these folks are your network.  Be methodical about putting these names in a usable form -- excel spreadsheet, email distribution list, index or rolodex cards (for those old fashioned types), phone contactslist, and even subscribe to a service in "the cloud" such as Constant Contact.  The important thing is to keep every contact you ever had while working -- this is your database.

3.    Create an appealing “brand” and identity.

Do it yourself or hire someone, or even barter services -- but get a business name, an image, a brand, and a "look".  Start getting known and being readily identifiable.  And get business cards with this look -- there are plenty of online or instore places that will help you design and inexpensively print cards, letterhead, or whatever you need.

4.    Choose suitable marketing approaches to get the word out.

Don't be shy -- proudly promote the new you -- the consultant!  Create your own marketing campaign with a 6 month timeline and go for it!  Decide on a number of techniques and use them, including in-person strategies such as attending meetings, joining committees from your new consultant role, and volunteering.

5.   Say the “right thing” at the right time.

Get your "elevator speech" perfect.  In fact, create a couple different versions so you have a ready statement for each type of service you offer or each type of client/market you want to serve.  Have two lengths -- the quick one-liner and a longer description that is dynamic and concise!

Becoming a consultant can be fun -- it may be a new life and it may be only until you find a job within a company again, but let the entrepreneurial spirit carry you enthusiastically into a new world of doing business. 

Got Training?

Your firm’s inhouse training program can be very effective in providing courses in technical topics, human resources information, presentations, and IT software – personnel will be trained and the professional development program will be evaluated as being successful. 

Building skills is, of course, the essential reason to run an inhouse training program.  Excellent professional development efforts not only provide required CEUs, but also keep your personnel up-to-speed, sharpen their problem-solving and decision-making expertise, and provide an important perk for attracting and retaining professionals who deliver excellent client service.  So, what’s missing?

Take advantage of the time individuals spend in a structured learning setting and focus on how training can deliver something else. Firms that want to maximize the contribution that each employee can make to the growth of the company, need to view training with a broader agenda.  Each course you conduct, each lunch-and-learn you offer, each seminar you present allows an often overlooked opportunity – the forum for promoting your firm’s vision and corporate culture.

The best inhouse training programs blend big-picture thinking with practical applications.  The big-picture includes infusing staff with the corporate culture – subtly.  Maintaining and promoting the vision means planning courses and seminars that dovetail directly with the firm’s business plans.  When you assess needs and set quality standards, match your decisions with your vision for the firm in the next five years, not for the next big job.  Integrate the vision into all instructional sessions – weaving in messages that reinforce the firm’s mission, greater goals, and philosophy. 

The key to spreading the vision-message is to educate all inhouse instructors in how to integrate corporate culture into their technical, HR, marketing, and IT subject matter.  Formal train-the-trainer seminars work, as well as informal discussions among principals, senior managers and instructors.  Provide a forum for discussing ways to incorporate the global objectives and growth-thinking into ongoing continuing education efforts.

Expand your training goals.  Allow professional development to include the firm’s broader ideas so design professionals at every level develop an even greater commitment to helping the firm build its reputation and achieve its growth goals.