Unleashed - How To Thrive As An Independent Professional

Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman talks to Jared Simmons, business consultant, coach, and speaker, on design to value. Jared defines the term ‘design to value’, offers examples of how it can be used, and talks about the various steps involved.  Using the example of a design to value playbook, Jared talks through each essential step that should be included. Step one is defining value and creating a shared understanding of it. This involves getting everyone on the same page about the intended purpose. Understanding value involves both the company running the project and the end consumer of the product. The project's goals should be determined, such as cutting costs, making it more of a premium, or growing volume.  Step two is mapping out the value chain end to end, from materials to end use, and understanding the basic cost structures associated with each step. This ensures that the project is designed to value both the organization and the end consumer. Jared discusses the importance of ma

Show Notes: Chad Oakley, CEO at the executive search firm at Charles Harris, discusses the current state of the consulting job market. He kicks off the conversation by explaining who Charles Harris is and what they do. Chad shares his perspective on three key areas: the market for strategic services, training Chief Strategy officers, and advice for Chief Strategy officers to make themselves more valuable in a down market. The Market for Strategic Services He states that the market for consulting services is currently down significantly due to the down macro environment. Major consulting firms like Bain, BCG, McKinsey, Deloitte, ey, and Accenture have experienced a decline in revenues and project counts. However, they are hopeful that the current low watermark will lead to increased demand, but they are not seeing significant improvements just yet. The good news is that the need for strategy never goes away, and the market for consulting services is often a bellwether for how companies think about strategy the

Show Notes: The Umbrex Business Analytics Diagnostic Guide that is discussed in this episode can be downloaded at no cost here: https://umbrex.com/resources/business-analytics-diagnostic/ In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman and Adam Braff discuss the creation of a data analytics diagnostic guide. Adam, a former partner at McKinsey and a consultant on data analytics, discusses the importance of data analytics in solving business problems in any company or investment firm. He explains that a business analytics diagnostic is designed for organizations with multiple people, computers, and analytics processes. The goal of this diagnostic is to determine the performance and alignment of the data science or analytics function with the overall mission of the company. He explains the size and type of company that uses this and who would monitor and manage the data analytics of a company The Diagnostic Guide Format Explained The diagnostic guides follow a format with scorecards for individual pieces of an area,

Tyler Cowen, author, economist and philanthropist, talks about the inspiration for his new book and the importance of talent identification in business. He believes that talent assessment is an art rather than a science and that institutions like the Florentine Renaissance, which had a competitive process for identifying talent, have been particularly good at this. Tyler also mentions the success of identifying American business talent in the Midwest during the 20th century. China has also done a remarkable job in identifying CEO talent in a world where almost no one had an MBA, and India is currently the single hottest blossoming talent spot. He discusses the trend of companies investing in spotting talent overseas, particularly for smaller companies. With the pandemic and work from a distance, the chance of hiring talent  in Indonesia or the Philippines is much higher than it was just a few years ago. However, it is harder to evaluate talent in other countries due to cultural differences and difficulty in i

In this session, Will Bachman and Tiago Forte discuss Tiago’s new book Building a Second Brain. They discuss how the concept provides value and work through each key learning aspect, the importance of using note-taking apps, including CODE and Para. Tiago talks about the background that led to the creation of the book and how it was strongly shaped by his experience in consulting.   Tiago shares his background as a junior project analyst at a boutique consulting firm called FaberNovel, where he learned the business model of consulting. Consultants are rapid learners, learning new things about the market, landscape, competitive arena, and internal aspects of clients. They must learn the client's culture, power structure, priorities, and communication preferences quickly and use as few billable hours as possible. Tiago emphasizes that consultants must bring their best thinking to the table every day, as they are being paid to think. The results of their efforts are based on the quality of their thinking. He exp

In this episode of Unleashed, Melanie Espeland talks about the importance of using one's voice to make a powerful first impression. Melanie, an executive coach and life coach, shares her structure for building an executive presence. The structure includes two pillars: the literal (physical world) and the figurative (mental and emotional world). Voice Is The First Impression The literal pillar focuses on the speaker's voice, which includes nonverbal communication, posture, and body language. The figurative pillar includes authenticity, confidence, and vision. Authenticity is crucial as it involves being connected to oneself and having clarity about who they are and how they want to show up. Confidence is separate from executive presence as it involves believing in the effectiveness of their actions and their ability to connect with their audience. Vision is influenced by watching great leaders speak and media training work, and it involves articulating one's thoughts, needs, and future focus or thesis in a cle

In this live event hosted by Umbrex in November 2023, Ron Lumbra, a member of the CEO & Board of Directors Practice and Partner at Heidrick and Struggles, discusses how to get on a corporate board. He shares insider knowledge about the process. The event was recorded as a streaming event, with approximately 300 people signing up for the session. The discussion was facilitated and included questions from attendees. Exploring the Landscape of Board Roles The discussion focuses on the different types of board roles, such as Fortune 500 companies, other public companies, PE-owned portfolio companies, and family-owned companies.  The top of the pyramid is the public company corporate board, which is the most sought-after and difficult to join. People often serve on various types of boards, such as large-cap corporations, smaller publicly traded companies, private companies, family businesses, and nonprofits. These boards have similar structures, committee structures, and skills matrix, making them valuable gro

In this interview, author Jill Stoddard and Will Bachman discuss the concept of impostor syndrome. Jill defines the experience as a state  where individuals question their competence and legitimacy, even when there is objective evidence to support their accomplishments. The fear is that they will of be outed as a fraud. The phenomenon was officially identified in 1978 by Pauline Clance and Suzanne IMEs, who believed it only existed in high-achieving women. However, culture rebranded it as a syndrome which Jill addresses. The Background on Imposter Syndrome Jill believes that the imposter phenomenon has been around for a long time, with prevalence rates averaging between 40 and 70 percent. She suggests that it has been present in early humans, who, when part of a tribe, had a survival advantage due to social comparison and fear of being ousted from their tribe. Early humans engaged in social comparison to ensure they didn't get kicked out of their tribe, which was often a life-or-death situation. The modern wo

William Magnuson, a professor at Texas A&M Law School and former Harvard University professor, discusses his book For Profit: A History of Corporations. The book covers eight different corporations throughout history, illustrating different facets of corporations. William  chose these eight corporations because they were relevant to the modern world and their importance in shaping society. He aimed to explore the origins of corporations, focusing on foundational moments in corporate law, such as ancient Rome's tax-gathering entities, and the Medici bank. He talks about how studying corporations over 2000 years  brought to light trends and why today’s citizens are more impacted by corporations than at any other time in history.    William considered including the Soviet Union, which was one of the world's great experiments in trying to structure and economy without corporations. However, he did not include any consumer packaged goods or retail companies on the list. He also considered researching other maj

In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman talks to Scott Ratliff,  who is a principal at the search firm Beecher Reagan. Beecher Reagan is a specialty retained executive search firm that works across three industries: professional services, digital and technology services, and private equity. As a principal at Beecher Reagan, Scott leads the commercial excellence sales and marketing practice, focusing on growth roles across these industries. Scott talks about commercial leaders within professional services, specifically in three forms: true Hunter BD people, who are responsible for going out into the market, setting meetings, driving revenue, and bringing in new logos; a hybrid, who owns client relationships, farming large accounts, finding new lines of business within those accounts; and a commercial operations type of role, who sets up and builds out a sales structure, identifying the right people to process technology to build or develop a sales culture within a firm. Depending on the size of the firm, it

Show Notes: Will Bachman talks to Ammad Ahmad, founder and managing director of Atheneum, a top global expert network that works with management consulting firms and provides access to niche industry experts, and offers research as a service (RaaS).  These experts have spent 20-25 years in a particular function or industry and can provide tacit knowledge and insights from industries. They help clients understand challenges when implementing AI-related solutions in healthcare, due diligence cases, or when a PE firm is looking to make an investment.   Atheneum has about 11 offices across the world, ranging from San Francisco to Tokyo, with roughly 500-600 SDEs around the world, and they offer one-to-one expert calls, surveys, quantitative surveys, and reports. The majority of their business comes from the expert session side, where many clients want to meet the experts in person.   Ammad started the firm in 2010 after working as a management consultant in Washington, DC. As a management consultant, a large part

Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman interviews Nancy Mackay, founder of MacKay CEO Forums (MC ACO), a peer advisory group that provides confidential peer support groups for CEOs and business owners across Canada. The group aims to populate the world with inspiring leaders by offering confidential peer support groups to hundreds of members. Nancy states that, in today’s challenging fast-paced business-world, and with a growing mental-health crisis, leaders need more peer support and trusted advisors. The Mackay community includes over 1200 CEOs, executives, and business owners from various industries across Canada, participating in over 114 person peer learning groups. Over 60 consultants have been trained and certified to offer peer learning support to members, and the leadership team is focused on supporting form Chairs who offer peer learning support. Nancy started her group over fifteen years ago and still Chairs the group. Her group has 14 CEOs from various industries, with revenue size

In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman and Pam Fox Rollin, author of Growing Groups into Teams, discuss the concept of a team and its benefits. Pam opens the conversation by defining what a team is.  She emphasizes the importance of a shared promise and a commitment to coordinate to fulfill that promise. A team is not just a group of people who report to the same people but are a group of people who are committed to accomplishing a shared goal for their customers, whether internal or external. Pam also discusses the challenges faced by executive teams, where they may not be a team at all. For example, if a sales team is independent and not collaborating with other departments, it may not be considered a team. Instead, the best teams are clear on their promises and partner with each other to achieve them.  The Importance of Diversity in Team Building Pam reveals what common beliefs about teams she disagrees with. She shares research on diverse teams and why it’s not always productive to work with the smart

In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman interviews David A. Fields on how to work with industry associations and other types of groups to build businesses and create value. He touches on the concept of trade associations, and how we should view the trade association as a source of prospects. It's important to consider other types of associations that have a large group of prospects in their tribe, such as software platforms, data providers, headhunters, and journalists. Data providers often need the help of consulting firms to ensure their data remains relevant and useful. For example, data providers can provide information on social media trends, transportation logistics, and more. In conclusion, trade associations can be a valuable tool for firms to connect with prospects and build their business. They can also serve as visibility partners, helping firms reach out to potential clients. David talks about connecting with visibility partners and what you can do to raise your profile through that relationshi

Show Notes Davina Stanley, a consultant and author, has recently published the book Elevate: How to Lift the Quality of Thinking in Your Team's Board Papers without Rewriting them yourself. She spent 15 years at McKinsey and coached consultants for 15 years. Her core work involves understanding the stakeholder environment and structuring messages based on the Minto pyramid principle. She brings her public relations and communications background, McKinsey Consulting experience, and her original background as a kindergarten teacher together to help people engage senior leaders and boards. ClarityFirst Communication Program Davina works with mid to senior level executives, often one-on-one or in small groups. She typically works with groups of 15 to 25 people. She helps build skills by giving them homework to do and working through the process together. She talks about how she works with senior executives and how she offers a structured program that can be tailored to budgets and ambitions. For groups with techn

Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Dr. Michelle Drapkin,  author of The Motivational Interviewing Path to Personal Change: The Essential Workbook for Creating the Life You Want, discusses her book and her work as a Board Certified Clinical Psychologist and behavioral scientist, focusing on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Michelle is known for her work at Johnson and Johnson and the Veterans Administration, and she shares science-based techniques on how to change behaviors beyond intuition or folk knowledge.  CBT and Motivation  Michelle explains cognitive behavioral therapy and her motivational interview technique. Her area of focus within psychology is the common sense approach of using intrinsic motivation to drive behavior change that aligns with an individual's values and goals. She also emphasizes the importance of aligning these values and goals with the context of the organization. Michelle addresses myths about what motivates people and how to overcome them. One myth is that simply telling

Show Notes: In this discussion, Joe Pope, the Partner and Director of Business Development at Hinge Marketing, discusses cold outreach. He explains that it is crucial to understand the key issues, topics, and channels that target audiences in order to effectively engage with them. The old method of folding dialing and outsourcing has developed a reputation for not seeing ROI or benefit from the time spent on it. Joe suggests that when developing an approach to cold outreach, it is essential to focus on understanding social media cadence, marketing strategies, the target audience's industries, key issues, and subject matter expertise. This will help avoid falling victim to the sea of sameness and ensure that the message is tailored to the specific needs of the target audience.    Joe offers an example of an independent consultant who wants to expand their circle of clients. They have 15 years of experience in strategic sourcing and procurement. They may have already reached out to past clients and people they

Richard Langlois, author of the book The Corporation and the 20th Century: The History of American Business Enterprise, and Will Bachman discuss the transition from entrepreneur-led businesses to modern multi-unit businesses. Richard talks about the drivers behind this transformation, including antitrust, which led to unintended consequences such as making coordination between firms illegal, and the shift from vertically integrated businesses to modular corporations.  His book highlights the impact of the depression, which eliminated many financial institutions, making it possible for internal capital markets to function and fund innovation. His book also explores the issue of  price controls and government interference with markets also interfered with market mechanisms, making it difficult for smaller businesses to coordinate resources. From Entrepreneur-led Businesses to Multi-unit Businesses Richard explains that the rise of large companies and far-flung enterprises in the mid-20th century required consci

Jon Cobb, a LinkedIn expert, shares his unique style of posts, which are short, concise, and impactful. His biggest post this year has received 236,000 likes and almost 18 million impressions.  It highlights the importance of leadership and culture change, which resonates with many people due to the timing of layoffs and the appreciation for empathetic leadership. Jon also shares a few of the most popular posts, including one that emphasizes hiring someone with the right mindset over someone with the right resume, emphasizing the importance of understanding the motivations behind an individual's interest in a job. He shares posts that suggest people should focus on long-term growth opportunities rather than just the most lucrative job offers. Jon talks about his company called Jon Cobb Coaching, and an app he built called the Job Search Boot Camp. The app helps people identify mistakes they might be making in their job search process and adopt a more strategic approach. He advises people to step back, think m

In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman and Huijin Kong discuss her new book, Positive Influence, The First and Last Mile of Leadership, co-authored with Tsun-yan Hsieh. They talk about the basics of influence and how to present different influencing techniques. Huijin’s book emphasizes the importance of focusing on both task outcomes and relational outcomes, as well as the impact of one's own heart and soul on others. Huijin emphasizes that people are influenced more by how they feel about the task and their purpose in influencing others. She explains that traditional consulting can be more powerful if professionals spend more time on mindshare and their own heart, rather than just defining and laying out the task.    The book lays out three aspects of influencing: personal qualities that are universal, such as courage, care, and compassion. Courage helps us face difficult situations and fears, while care involves caring about people's experiences and challenges, rather than just the task itself. Compassi