Unleashed - How To Thrive As An Independent Professional

Our guest today is Dirk Hanschur, the CEO of Log-hub, a firm that has created a range of supply chain analytics tools that work as Add-ons to Microsoft Excel. In this Episode, Dirk explains a selection of these apps which include geo-coding, distance calculator, live tracking, shortest path calculator, milk run optimization, and more. Log-hub is happy to partner with independent consultants, who can become authorized resellers of the software.  A link to their website is in the show notes. https://www.log-hub.com/supply-chain-apps/

To bring her whole self to the game, the business athlete Stays physically fit, flexibility, strength, cardiovascular fitness – because in long days at work, physical fitness supports mental alertness She insists on getting enough sleep She practices some form of mindfulness, to remain centered in the midst of inevitable crises She finds a coach who will help her keep improving her game through deliberate practice She puts time into mastering the basics until they become automatic - She studies the competition to understand their moves She regularly reviews, with an objective lens, her own performance, identifying what went well and what can be improved She is motivated not by standing on the medal podium, but the satisfaction of performing at the highest possible level She compares herself, primarily, not to other athletes, but to her own performance yesterday She looks out along the full arc of her future career, and not just to the next competition. She phases out from her life acquaintances who are a dra

In which the Engineer Officer told me that he expected me to get out of the wardroom and put my eyeballs on the jobsite. The lesson has carried over to my consulting career.

Nick Craig is the author of Leading from Purpose: Clarity and the Confidence to Act When It Matters Most, published in June 2018. Since 2006, Nick’s firm, Core Leadership Institute, has helped more than 10,000 leaders discover and lead from purpose. In this episode, Nick shares his perspective on: What purpose is How to discover your purpose The benefits of leading from purpose While his firm primarily leads private workshops within organizations, they do have two workshops coming up that are open to the public: Boston from October 18-19, 2018 London from December 4-5, 2018 Learn more on their website at coreleader.com

Certain evolutions on a submarine require the Commanding Officer's approval. This short episode is what I learned from asking permission. The same principles can be applied in any corporate environment.

The day I reported to my submarine, I was given a stack of qual cards, one of the best training technologies ever. Do you want new hires to get up to speed quickly? Then consider giving them a qual card so they can take charge of their own learning.

As a young ensign newly reported to my submarine, I handed the Engineer Officer a draft that didn't meet his standards. This short episode is the story of when I learned about the concept of completed staff work.

Every independent professional needs to determine his or her internal billing rate, that is, what is your time worth to you, in dollars. Most independent professionals I've met have not thought this through, and this leads them to spend time on low-value activities that should be outsourced.

I recently received an email with the subject line: BS Questions. Hmm - not very professional, I thought. This short episode provides some thoughts on abbreviations, and one thing I do with abbreviations at the beginning of every study.

I’ve been working on eliminating decisions from my life wherever possible and replacing decisions with habits and routines. One area in particular that I’ve focused on for the past few years is my morning routine. I’ve tried adding and removing elements to see what works best for me.  In this episode, I share the current version of my morning routine, which helps me win the day. I don't suggest you adopt my routine, but I do encourage you to find a routine that works for you. A book on the topic I recommend is My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired, by Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander.

Yify Zhang, a McKinsey alum, is also a singer - songwriter - violinist. In this episode, Yify shares how she combines her music with a career as an independent consultant.  Do visit Yify's website, where you can stream all her songs, watch her music videos, and find out the dates of her upcoming live performances: http://www.yifyzhang.com/  

McKinsey taught me this framework - the four conditions that are required to drive behavior change: 1) Understanding and commitment 2) Skills 3) Role modeling 4) Formal mechanisms This short episode gives an overview with an example of how to apply the framework.

This is a story about the actual wedding photographer who took the pictures at my wedding, Drew, and his fictional doppelgänger, Drew Prime.

Thirty years ago I stood at attention and, multiple times per day over the course of ten days, shouted "This midshipman has no excuse, sir!" What I learned from this experience at orientation before starting ROTC has proved to be a valuable lifelong lesson in extreme ownership.

Ready, Set, Go! is a great way to start a footrace. For any artistic or entrepreneurial project, not so much. When you have a new project in mind, there is no Ready. There is only Go.

Asking questions with the mind of a child can yield new insights. Here's a short episode on what a friend learned when his daughter asked a doorman why the soles of his shoes are so thick.

You wouldn't hire a plumber who isn't comfortable using a wrench, or a lumberjack who can't handle a chainsaw.  A professional needs to master the tools of the trade. For independent consultants, a fundamental tool is Excel. For most, it isn't necessary to program in Visual Basic or write macros, but it is essential to master all the basic tools, including, for example, pivot tables, vlookups, if functions, date functions. In this short episode, I share some suggestions on how to sharpen your Excel skills if they are rusty, and some particular Excel tools to prioritize learning.

Per Sjofors runs a firm called Sales for Profit – they have developed survey tools to measure a customer’s willingness to pay, and the help their clients determine what marketing method is most effective in their market which advertising targets the company should focus on which product features drive the highest willingness to buy and the optimum price of a given product or service In this episode, Per gives an overview of his firm’s methodology and how they work with clients. One thing Per told me that surprised me is that he is getting a substantial number of leads from Quora.  He’s been answering questions on Quora, establishing himself as an expert there, and it is actually leading to business. You can learn more about Per’s firm at https://www.sales4profit.com/

Are you thinking about transitioning to independent consulting? This episode provides eight steps you can take now to set yourself up for success when you officially launch your own practice.

Interviewing experts can be one of the most powerful sources of insight when learning about a company or a market.  This short episode has 11 tips that I've developed to help get the deepest insights from these interactions.