What advice do you often give?
This is one of my favorite questions. It’s interesting to learn from others. The advice is usually pithy and to the point (no book purchase needed). It usually says a LOT about the person, where they are in life, and what’s important. It also gauges the level of engagement, intimacy, and vulnerability.
- Is it a mucho, macho, let’s “go get them” pep rally?
- Is it something deep – about legacy, parents, children, and eternity?
- Is it timeless Buddha wisdom, or practical Wall Street corporate ladder climbing tactics?
What is your -ism?
- What is your “ism?”
- What would your direct reports quote you as often saying?
I asked my friends, contacts on Linkedin
This is a sample of what they said. I took half of the ones which were more corporate (yes, this is a blog about consulting, professionalism, doing good work, building a craft, creating a network of like-minded relationships, winning). Some people left their names, email addresses (to me), so I added initials where I could. If I didn’t attribute it, or if you have additional color (this is why it’s important to me); feel free to email me at jkstrategy@consultantsmind.com and I will add an addendum, P.S. to the saying.
Listen and learn
- Listen more than you talk. (ES)
- To my managers – always speak last. Let the client speak. (JM)
- Learn to pause in client meetings and guage reactions (SB)
- It’s all about relationships (ES)
- Build relationships and practice this skill. Communicate. State the assumptions.
- Check your thoughts with someone else you trust. Ask for advice.
- Always listen for understanding. No matter your experience or education, you never have all the answers. (AJ)
- Stay relevant (BW)
Do great work; be remarkable
- Be intentional (DA)
- Be reliable (WK)
- Perception = Delivery – Expectations
- Be consistent, patient and disciplined. (YY)
- Barriers are there for those who want it the most (BS)
Dig for answers; really understand it
- Start from a blank sheet and then refine (SB)
- Ask why many times in a row.
- Stay curious and ask more questions. (TKT)
- Find the metric the business cares about and move it. Don’t worry about all the small KPIs, everything on the dashboard. Focus on the one that your VP/CEO cares about (CSC)
Simplify
- Curate, curate, curate – you will need this at some point (SB)
- It’s your job to make the complex, simple. More is less. No one wants a 100+ slide deck. (ES)
- If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough (ES)
Be confident
- Ask what’s the worst case scenario if you have any doubt about a decision. If you can live with the answer, jump pronto
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Confidence is the most important thing on earth. It eats strategy for breakfast, culture for lunch, and some other fancy theory thing for dinner.
- Confidence matters.
- People accept what they think they deserve (SB)
- Develop and maintain self confidence, while continually demonstrating humility and eagerness to improve. You have to believe in yourself in order to take risks and ensure your voice is heard. Everyone has some level of self-doubt, so we must learn how to control it and prevent it from hijacking our potential. (GN)
Be decisive, when its time
- Start.
- Always focus on what you control (AS)
- Get comfortable with being uncomfortable! (AG)
- When making change you only trade one set of problems for another (AG)
- Trust your gut. Consultants are trained to draw conclusions from data driven analysis, but frequently there isn’t time for that. Facing ambiguity and making decisions based on intuition is key. (MP)
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The importance of making a decision. Because strategy consultants have never run a business, this can get lost and analysis = paralysis prevails. Most of the time when leading in entrepreneurial situations, you don’t have the time or money, you make gut-feel decisions with the best knowledge available. (JRS)
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Live the BDA way of life: Before, During, After. Think about upcoming work projects, presentations, or events in three categories as you plan. Most people tend to focus only on the “during”. (RL)
- Numbers tell us where we stand, and how far we should go.(MA)
- Telling the truth is an act of courage. Be courageous, especially with friends. (JK)
Be a little stoic
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This too shall pass. Everything is temporary, whether it’s good or bad.(DK)
- Do not worry about something unless you have a decision to make (BS)
- Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. (JM)
- Comparison is the thief of joy (LS)
- Give advice to family and friends only when advice is asked (JM)
- If it feels good…..don’t say it ( or write it)! (AG)
Be human
- Lead with kindness. (TKT)
- Always assume positive intent. (ES)
- Breathe and relax your shoulders. (SP)
- Have empathy—walk in your customers’ shoes. If your solution considers HOW to improve their position, you’ll get better outcomes than simply telling them WHAT they should do. (ES)
- You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself so you can take care of others (JF)
- Life is too short to work for an a**hole (AS)
- The people you work with are much more than their jobs. Get to know the person behind the job and your relationships will be richer and more fruitful for it (AJ)
Be yourself
- Know your North Star and anchor your decisions to it. Take time to identify the values, priorities and principles that matter to you and hold to them (AJ)
- Specifically, live your life, make plans and set your priorities in a way that aligns with YOUR values, not someone else’s. Also, the best way to communicate is in YOUR own, authentic voice (and not in a way that you think others may want to hear you). (CO)
- There are many ways to be successful – learn from others and then be your authentic self (BR)
- Know who you are and what you represent (BS)
- Family over your job every time, me after kids (BS)
- Getting lost is the key to finding answers— explore the unknown while you can & have fun while you’re at it (AY)
- Define what success is for you personally and professionally and follow your own path. Think about what you want to be remembered for and put your time and energy into that. (DW)
- Invest in a coach (BE)
Hire well
- Hire people who are curious and hard workers. Pedigree doesn’t matter. You learn on the job and most of us are working in fields where we haven’t figure it all out yet – the curious are the ones who will (CSC)
- When hiring, look for reasons to say no. (JM)
Be structured, be clear
- Bottom line up front. (JM)
- Frame strategic thinking. Keep it simple and tried, tested e.g., Minto, Situation / Complication / Resolution (JRS)
- The person who writes down the thing has tremendous power (ES)
- A consultant’s job is to make the complex,….simple (AG)
- Before beginning any project……make sure everyone understands the problem to be solved. (AG)
- Always consider the long-term. So many times, a decision or action may feel right (or OK) in the moment, but could be way out of bounds if you consider the impact longer term. Even if you don’t change your mind, it’s always best to think it through. (CO)
Play the long game
- Habits create excellence and excellence is a habit (AJ)
- Be grateful for feedback, and stay humble enough so people are willing to give it. (TKT)
- People will not remember all the things you said “yes” to doing, but they will remember the things you said you would do and didn’t do. (DK)
- Build a solid foundation in learning before you try to grow too quickly.
- Developing people is one of the best uses of your time. It takes patience, but the payoff is immense (AJ)
- Always prep for the next job (AS)
Lead by example
- Consider the essential 3 V’s of leadership, qualities that can be displayed regardless of title (BR)
* Vision – define a future picture of success and frame a strategy that achieves it
* Values – consistently demonstrate respect, accountability, and trust to empower those around you
* Voice – speak clearly and listen intently – convey “what? so what? and now what?” - It’s not enough to solve a client’s problems; you have to convince them to accept the answer and then own it. (BR)
Iterate
- Progress over perfection. In tech, this often means shipping the feature even if it isn’t perfect and learning how people use it, what they want from it, etc (CSC)
- There are no mistakes only lessons, and lessons will be repeated until learned. (AC)
- Focus feedback on the future, not the past. (JM)
Some of John-isms:
- Work smart and lazy; find what gives you flow
- Be useful; create massive value and take your share
- Make the boring MORE boring; automate, delegate, delete
- Strategy is finding your unfair advantage
- Strategy = what you say “no” to
- Wisdom is taking your own advice
- Throwing is more important than catching (from Seth)
- Winning