Consulting

When did common sense get removed from the corporate technology selection process?

For those that don’t know what it is, technology selection is the process by which an organization decides which technology platform (software, hardware, etc) will be used for a particular application and/or piece of the business. For example, selecting an organization’s Content Management platform (e.g., Sitecore, Interwoven, Vignette, etc).

Using a common sense approach toward selecting technology seems reasonable. To take this approach, a person doesn’t need to be an expert…just someone that can think through things and apply common sense to the selection process.

How would one approach selecting technology without using common sense? Glad you asked…and I guarantee you that you’ve seen this before.

1. Hear about the ‘latest technology’ and/or hear a buzzword.
2. Think “yes…we need that….that will make everything better!”
3. Talk to a few vendors.
4. See a demo.
5. Buy the platform
6. Throw it over the wall to the technology group to implement.
7. Go look for your next buzzword.

This approach happens more often than you would think. There are so many things wrong with this approach. Common sense has been thrown out the window.

I’ve personally seen this approach taken in many organizations when the leadership team decides that ‘X Technology’ is going to be their savior (note to people…technology will rarely save you) and they ignore the “common sense voice” in their head. Very rarely do these types of approaches work.

To compare, let’s look at the approach that I follow when assisting organizations in selecting a new platform…it isn’t necessarily the ‘right’ way…but it has worked for me…and I think it’s an extremely simple and common sense approach:

1. Take a look at the organization’s strategy for the future
2. Look at the technology strategic plan (if one exists)
3. Build a business case (if not already created)
4. Ensure that the organization’s strategy is aligned with the technology strategy (many times it doesn’t)
5. Work closely with the information technology/systems group to understand their current capabilities
6. Find an answer to the question of “What are you trying to accomplish with this technology?”
7. Perform some risk analysis (e.g., affect of the new technology on current processes, etc.)
8. Take a vendor agnostic stance
9. Look at all available options (including current systems) to find the ideal solution.
10. Develop a comparison of solutions with strategic direction
11. Choose a platform
12. etc.

I could keep going…but you get the point. Common sense stuff, right? Basically, you look at where you are trying to go and choose the technology that will help you get there. How hard is that? Apparently….very difficult for most organizations.

How can we get common sense back into the technology selection process? If you have some ideas…I’d love to hear them.

So here I am….a consultant. I’ve been operating independently for a while now and have come to the following conclusions:

• The ‘problem’ is very rarely the problem.
• Consulting is an art, not a science. Of course, this applies to most careers, but I think some people lose sight of this. There are many people say ‘do x,y & z’ and you’ll be a successful consultant…this just isn’t true. There isn’t a secret formula to success in the consulting world (or any career for that matter)…the closest thing to a formula is ‘Do the best you can’.
• I like this work and would love to continue doing it….but….I’ve been considering a few full-time opportunities and would seriously consider taking one of these at the right organization.
• There are good clients…and bad clients. If you can, stay away from the bad ones. How do you know who the bad ones are? For me, my gut tells me whether a potential client its into my ‘good’ or ‘bad’ bucket.
• There are a considerable number of people in this world who think you must have experience from a ‘big name’ firm before they’ll hire you as a consultant. Without these ‘big names’ on your resume, many people automatically discount you, your skills and your experience.

That last one is rather disheartening to me…I am who I am and that’s all I can be (didn’t Popeye say that?)

Everyone wants to work with the ideal client, but how many consultants and entrepreneurs out there can afford the luxury of holding out for this mythical ideal client? Read on.

Anne-Marie Nichols at The Write Spot has an interesting post titled “Identifying your ideal client” that I found interesting. In the article, Anne-Marie discusses how important it is for a consultant or organization to take the time to really determine who their ideal client really is. In the post, Anne-Marie quotes an article by Michael Port on Nightingale.com that states:

Your clients are an expression and an extension of you. Many entrepreneurs and salespeople will work with anyone who has a heartbeat and a credit card. However, this method leaves you with too many challenging clients. Learn to live by the red velvet rope policy of ideal clients. By eliminating the painful negative energy and time spent worrying about challenging client relationships, you will dramatically increase your productivity, happiness, and client referral rate.

This makes sense but I wonder if it is possible for an entrepreneur or consultant just starting their new venture to court their ‘perfect’ client and turn down business from others?

I want to think that the answer to both of these questions is “yes”, however, there may be times in a new venture where a person and/or organization has to take business from a client whether that client fits into the ‘ideal client’ bucket (as long as the work is profitable)

Technorati Tags: Ideal Client, Consulting, Business Development

Rajesh Setty at Life Beyond Code has been posting “Quought for the Day*” posts for the last few weeks (see the end of this post for the definition of Quought). These “Quoughts” are very thought provoking and interesting and are included in my daily blog reading. The “Quought for the Day” for January 1, 2007 was from David Maister and is worth sharing here:

David’s Quought for the Day
“What do I have to do to earn and deserve the key relationships that are going to get me where I want to go?”

This is a very powerful thought from David, not just for consultants, but for everyone. The two most important words in that sentence, “earn” and “deserve” are the key to not only a successful consulting career, but also a successful and happy life.

*According to Rajesh, a Quought is:

Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

Technorati Tags: Trust, Relationship Building, Quought

Trusted Advisor Associates has an interesting post today about trust titled “Bad Marketing 101: Trust Me!” I thought the article was worth linking to. An excerpt from the article is below.

Why does saying “trust me” accomplish the opposite? Because it violates social norms, and because it is self-contradictory.

More importantly, “trusted advisor” is something you want others to say about you, not say it yourself. You can talk about it amongst yourselves, hope for it—but not proclaim it.

Saying you are, or want to be, someone’s trusted advisor, is like saying you are, or want to be, really humble.

I wonder if Trusted Advisor Associates gave themselves that name or their clients named them. Just a joke…the guys at Trusted Advisor Associates are well known around the industry as excellent business partners and consultants.

Technorati Tags: Trust Based Selling, Relationship Building, Trusted Advisor

The recent IEEE Engineering Management newsletter had a link to an excellent Case Study reference guide…thought I’d post it here for everyone else:

http://college.hmco.com/business/resources/casestudies/students/

There is an interesting PDF file that describes the process of writing case studies that looks very interesting.

Technorati Tags: Case Study, Case Study development, Writing