Tag Archives: Consulting

December 21, 2016 · 1:07 pm

Social, Smoke, And MIrrors

I’m frustrated. Some of the frustration is with myself because I can’t seem to explain why hiring certain people to work on your business is a bad idea when compared to hiring other kinds of experts. Some of the frustration is with businesspeople who don’t seem to grasp that the tools aren’t the business. In an effort to ease my aforementioned frustrations, let me vent a bit and, hopefully, in the process of doing so help clarify the issues.

With very few exceptions, a recent college grad is not an expert on how to use social media as a marketing tactic. I think the supposition is that since most of these kids have been on social media for a decade and are generally quick to adopt the next new thing that they’re qualified to lead your social media efforts. That is as ridiculous as assuming that I am qualified to repair my car just because I’ve been driving for 40 years. Rattling off buzzwords isn’t the same as understanding business goals. Doing things because they’re “cool” or because they appeal to the social media person isn’t a great strategy. Things are done because they serve the customer and in so doing, move the company toward one of more business goals.

The tools aren’t the business. We use the right tool at the right time for the right purpose in everything we do. We don’t decide “I’m going to use a hammer” when the goal is to cut meat. I’ve had discussions with potential clients who have no clue why they’re on Facebook or Twitter. I’ve had others who blast out a dozen pieces of content a day with no examination of their analytics to help refine the type of content they’re pushing, the frequency with which they do so, and the channel(s) they employ.

I’m open to suggestions for cutting through the smoke and mirrors. It’s not so much that my proposals to help aren’t chosen (and I know I’m speaking for several other senior consultant types here) but that the ones that get chosen are doomed to failure because they’re style over substance. This hurts everyone – platforms, clients, consultants, and ultimately customers. We can’t expect clients to invest in developing channels – particularly social – if we can’t produce results. We can’t produce results if we don’t understand the underlying business and its customer base.

Thanks for indulging me today. What’s on your mind?

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October 24, 2016 · 1:00 pm

The Hardest Part

As I’ve written before, I work with a number of startup companies. As part of my consulting practice as well as throughout my career, I also have worked with some very large organizations too. What struck me the other day as I was listening to a discussion between a founder and some other folks on the team was that the hardest part of being a startup isn’t necessarily finding the resources to keep the venture afloat until it reaches sustained profitability. It’s actually having to make a lot of decisions without a lot of certainty. Let me explain.

When I became a manager at the ripe old age of 23 many years ago, I worked under a guy who gave me some input but also let me figure things out for myself. I was working with a net in case I fell off the wire. When I reached a point where I really wasn’t certain about the “right” call, I consulted him. He, in turn, had bosses with whom he could consult if he wasn’t certain either. Over time my decision-making skills became better and my areas of expertise broadened, although there were still times when I ran for the help that was usually available to me. By the time I was managing managers I could make decisions fairly rapidly and I generally only hesitated when I thought the decision would involve corporate politics affecting more than just my department.

Most founders don’t have that luxury. Oh sure – the smart ones have a board of advisors that they consult regularly and that can help with the big decisions. But if you’ve ever managed you know that your day involves a lot of little decisions too. Should I let employee A take a vacation with a big project looming? Why is employee B struggling with an assignment? What is the best was to  help employee C learn something? Even things like what font works in the newsletter or how big should a headline be in an ad often require the boss to decide. Those aren’t things that you ask your advisors and yet those decisions are the ones that take away your focus on the main business of the venture: customers, revenue, expenses, and profits.

There isn’t an easy answer here. Yes, hire people like me (or even better: hire me!) to provide the kind of on-going sounding board that one gets in a big organization until such time as your feet are on solid ground across many areas. When you do, be sure that the consultant you hire sees your world through your eyes and understands your point of view but also adds a broader perspective. I never try to make decisions for my clients but instead I try to guide them to a sound one themselves so they can understand the process, the factors involved, and all their options. If they’re heading down the wrong path I speak up. We often find a better path together and get through the hardest part as a team. You?

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Filed under Consulting, Thinking Aloud

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September 19, 2016 · 12:26 pm

Who Is Smarter Than You?

One thing that I’ve found over the years is that it’s impossible to stay on top of my game if I’m not continuously learning. I make a concerted effort to do so. I have an RSS reader that’s loaded up with the feeds of dozens of sites. Many are tech sites so I can stay on top of the latest technical developments for my clients. Others are media sites so I’m aware of changes in the marketing world. Still others are more personal – golf sites, food sites, sites that report on social media changes, sites about the analytics world and the sports business. The reader fills up with over a thousand new articles every day and each one is an opportunity to learn something new.

Despite that volume of information, one thing that helps me more than anything else is when I can find a person who is better informed about a topic than I am. I also seek out people whose minds I respect. Many of us don’t like it when we realize they’re not the smartest person in the room. I welcome it with open arms.

That philosophy needs to carry over to hiring. Obviously, the earlier in a candidate’s career we encounter them the less knowledge of the technical aspects of a business they’re going to have. The won’t have a ton of real world experience either. What they can show you, however, is basic intelligence and the other things that we can’t teach. They should demonstrate a capacity to synthesize information and if they’re really smart, they’ll end up making you smarter too.

So who is smarter than you? Ideally, you know many people who are, since interacting with them will make you smarter. I’m sure you’ve run into people who need to believe that they are the smartest person in the room. I certainly have, but it’s a lot more interesting when you encounter someone who clearly smarter than anyone else but never makes anyone feel that way. Better informed is a stepping stone to smarter, but well-informed with an ability to develop new ideas and express them clearly is what’s smart in my book. Yours?

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Filed under Helpful Hints, Reality checks

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