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Business Development

Update On Our Capabilities

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Let's face it: even our best friends don't know what we really do. I learned this by sending an update to a 10-year client. She had hired me to help her in three different companies. When she saw the update, she said, "I never had any idea you offer all these services." That was an eye-opener to me. It's helpful to remind current and prospective clients just what we do, really.

Newton was the Vice President of Human Resources for a 6,000 person corporation. We kidded each other in a friendly way. I referred to myself as his "best friend in zip code 80124." Newton had pretended to send me a black Mercedes.
 


 Newton,

Mercedes doing fine. Would have preferred "Careerlab Green" but black is okay. (My birthday is March 29.)

You've suggested coaching, leadership development, organizational effectiveness opportunities in Gentems Technology, and I'd like to give you an update on our capabilities. We've been lucky enough to recruit Casey Trent, an extraordinary leadership development and organizational effectiveness (OD/OE) consultant.

Before joining CareerLab, Casey was Vice President of Learning and Development at Executive Communications and Vice President of Learning and Development for Gold Silver & Bronze Metals Investments after several years of training and leadership development at Business Electronics Corporation. She is a gifted facilitator of senior leadership meetings and board retreats. She's also good at . . .

  • Managing conflict at the senior level
  • Fostering a values-driven organization
  • Understanding your culture, then creating the culture you want.
  • Galvanizing a workforce out of something other than fear
  • Aligning mission/vision/values throughout the organization.
Also, as Robby Robertson may have told you, he's working here as an executive coach/career consultant, and if we can get a little more work, we can keep him!

I discovered a neat Indian restaurant up on Arapahoe Road. Would you like to try it? Or would you rather go to the Super Bowl?

:B

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William S. Frank, M.A.,
            President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.