Category: Seasoned Consultant Refreshers

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Psychology of Decision Making with Michelle Florendo

MECE 025 | Decision Making

 

AMA (Ask Me Anything) episode with Michelle Florendo, a former consultant, a decisions analysis expert & career coach for Type A professionals.   A Stanford University graduate with a degree in decision engineering & analysis, Michelle shares her career journey in consulting and some of her lessons learned.

“What we were taught was to be successful but not to be happy.”

Michelle unpacks the concept of decision making for those that may be feeling stuck in their career or at a crossroads.

“The quality of your decision is separate and distinct from the quality of the outcome.”

She breaks down  the components of strategic decision making, providing simple yet actionable steps, best practices, and recommendations on how you can make decisions to live a happier, healthier life.

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Big Bets, Politics, and Digital Consulting with Naresh Vissa

 

AMA (Ask Me Anything) interview with Naresh Vissa, a digital marketing millennial consultant, CEO of Krish Media & Marketing, and a best-selling author of Fifty Shades of Marketing: Whip Your Business into Shape & Dominate Your Competition and   Podcastnomics: The Book of Podcasting to Make you Millions.

Naresh turned down an offer from a leading management consulting firm to join a startup company and several years later, launched his own company.  In this episode, Naresh and Christie touch on a myriad of topics including:

  • How taking a big risk in turning down the management consulting offer from a prestigious firm to join an unknown startup paid off
  • Naresh helped the Houston Rockets basketball management team select 2007-2008 draft picks in a remote internship through the use of digital and predictive analytics
  • Embracing and exploiting the opportunities digital and its disruptive effects will have across every industry
  • Forging into political consulting, the digitization of politics and how it impacted the 2016 U.S. elections, including the launch of Naresh’ newest book, Trumpbook: How Digital Liberals Silenced a Nation into Making America Hate Again

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Projecting a Winning Image with Celebrity Personal Stylist Elsa Isaac

MECE 022 | Winning Image

In this Quick Wins episode, we discuss the importance of your image in consulting with personal image stylist Elsa Isaac.   Whether you realize it or not, scientific studies have shown that you are being judged by how you dress, especially in the workplace, which could impact your credibility, promotions, project opportunities, and raises/bonuses.

Style image is an important component of your brand and because it is such a personal choice, it is not always openly discussed, making it sometimes the “elephant” in the room.   Great consultants take their personal image very seriously.

Benefits of dressing well and creating a personal signature style:

  • Being well dressed can help you build relationships
  • Enhances your credibility and create a lasting impression when working with clients
  • Image can boost your self-confidence and elevate your energy in a way that helps you performance

Elsa helps us understand why image really matters & dispels the myth of image.  “Image doesn’t have to be a vain thing” Elsa shares.  She dissects how image could impact performance, shares her definition of being well-dressed, and provides a framework for creating a signature style and shopping techniques.

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Career Journey of a Consultant Rockstar Featuring Jonathan

MECE 021 | Consultant Rockstar

 

In this Where are They Now? episode, Christie interviews Jonathan, now a Senior Vice President at a global marketing firm and a former consulting colleague with the brand of a rockstar. Jonathan shares stories of his career journey and how he transitioned from the media & entertainment industry into consulting and back into the music industry.

Jonathan also discusses a myriad of topics including:

  • Moving from Virginia to NYC to Los Angeles and living differences between the various cities.
  • Genesis of shareholder value as a strategic priority in corporations and its impact on organizational cultures.
  • Things to consider when deciding to pursue an MBA and how to get a free education.
  • Realities of firing a client that compromises integrity and values.
  • Becoming a trusted advisor for your client and Jonathan’s definition of a great consultant.
  • Hacks to get promoted quickly as a newbie in a consulting firm.

In career dilemma segment of the show, Christie and Jonathan gives advice on how to manage conflicts and build relationships with a difficult client.

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A Deep Dive on the Importance of Project Management Skills in Consulting

MECE 020 | Project Management Skills

 

Quick Wins interview with Ed Lively and Stephanie Cole of the International Institute for Learning (IIL), seasoned project managers discuss the importance of consultants need to have strong project management skills.

In this episode – Christie, Ed, and Stephanie have a roundtable discussion walking through key techniques along the phases of a typical project lifecycle – initiate, plan, execute, monitor/control, and close.  Episode also covers International Project Management Day coming up in November and how you can enhance your project management skills by attending an upcoming virtual conference.

Episode also covers International Project Management Day coming up in November and how you can enhance your project management skills by attending an upcoming virtual conference.

Learn more about project management:

International Institute for  Learning 

IPM Day 2017  |  Registration | A Virtual Tour

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