I’ve changed the way I approach meeting people. Accomplishing my stated objectives is secondary. My primary goal is to answer this question: What can I learn? I’ve always been curious. But it took a long time to get to this point. It has made me a different kind of person. Better, I think. The smartest…
As a freelancer, should you spend half your time marketing yourself? I’ve heard that suggestion, and I have to say, it sounds tedious as hell. Supposedly, you have to advertise and also network like mad. Plus, find opportunities to give speeches and promote yourself. You know, “hustle.” This fills the top of your “funnel” with…
In “The Hunt for Red October,” a character describes to the protagonist Jack Ryan how Russian subs are sending out many sonar pings but, at the speed they are going, can’t actually listen and use the sonar to locate anything. Too often, this is how “influencers” use social media: to shout, and not to listen….
If you are a consultant, you’re supposed to be providing a service your client can’t get on her own. The usual dynamic is “I know about my area of expertise; I can help you with that.” But what happens when your client is more of an expert than you are? Your ability to contribute to an…
I spent 20 years as an analyst at Forrester Research. Now I sell my insights to companies and prospective authors as a consultant. While analysts and consultants have a lot in common, their approaches are different. The analyst focuses on talking over listening This is based on my experience as an analyst, working with and competing…