"Ackk! Not another presentation on crafting your elevator speech!!"

I've been around for awhile, and sometimes it seems like I've heard every talk on how to improve your consulting practice many times over. I know others have said the same thing.

This pertains not just to NorCal, but to Confab and the ABCs as well.

What do we (senior? veteran? old-timer? naw!) EXPERIENCED consultants want to hear, anyway? I thought I'd open a discussion on this.
- What topics would be new ground for you?
- Where could you brush-up on a supposedly familiar topic?
- What topic do you never need to hear again?

For myself, web 2.0 and business social networking are the cutting edge, so I gobble up all of that.

I get a lot from global overviews like the Terry von der Wuerff (sp?) talk on the future.

But most of all, I value interaction with other participants, and networking. Face-to-face or like we're doing now.

What about you?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bart Gragg on May 28, 2008 at 3:07pm: Mike;

Execellent topic. I, too, value face to face networking more than any other method. That said, I find that it does work best when we really know and can communicate to and about our target market clearly and concisely. Not an elevator speech.

I learned, after many years of struggling, why the things I was saying weren't getting any reaction. After working with Nora Wolfson I realized that the words I used were received like the teacher in the cartoon Peanuts (blah, blah, blah), and were earning me about that much. Now I say I work with blue collar managers that haven't been taught how to manage. Ears perk up, eyebrows rise, and people ask questions. Notice I didn't say anything about how I do it or the tools I use.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Vessels on September 11, 2008 at 7:46pm: Mike:
I agree - the value of a meeting (to me) is not the topic but the human interaction/ connection.
Well said!
Jennifer; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mike Van Horn on September 12, 2008 at 2:27pm: Amen. This accounts for the enduring popularity of BACN.
mvh; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bart Gragg on September 12, 2008 at 9:18am: Mike;

Terry Van Der Werff has some really great stuff about the future. I was privileged to meet another ‘future forecaster’, Dr. Mary O'Hara Devereaux, last evening at NAWBO-SF Bay Area’s dinner meeting. Mary,founder of Gloabal Foresight, has China as her area of specialty. She is actually a professor at Beijing University and is founder of “The Center For The Future of China”. As we heard from Dr. Van Der Werff, China is the emerging global leader and we need to pay attention.

While not the most polished speaker Mary's content was incredible and everyone in the room was leaning forward al the way. She is very approachable and forthright. I would gladly have spent all night talking with her about the global economy, the way we do business and how it must change, and her surprisingly simple thoughts and tips about where and how to change our business mind-sets to move forward into the future.

You might want to check out her LinkedIn profile, or Global-Foresight.net

Bart Gragg; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mike Van Horn on September 12, 2008 at 2:28pm: Thank you, Bart. I'll check her out.

Also, I got a lot from the woman who talked about global demographic trends at Confab 07.

mvh; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Barbara Chan on September 15, 2008 at 8:48pm: Thanks for the note about Devereaux. I would have liked to meet her as last year I was invited to and did speak about leadership and social responsibility at an international conference on corporate social responsibility in Beijing, and I have international/intercultural experience. I'll check her out.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Barbara Chan on September 15, 2008 at 8:51pm: P.S. I spent quite a bit of time at Beijing Univ when I represented UC Berkeley's international research and faculty exchange program--Berkeley was the first to open exchanges with the PRC, as it was called in those days (before Nixon first went there) and spoke at several universities around China in those days.; ▶ Reply to This