Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Tineke Keesmaat has over 15 years of consulting experience with McKinsey & Company, Accenture, and as the founder and CEO of TILTCO Inc. She has an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University with a subspecialty in Entrepreneurship and a B.A with Honours in Psychology from Queen's University. In this episode, she talks about the hybrid business playbook her company has published. Key points include: 01:11: The process of developing the playbook 11:49: Developing a podcast series 17:30: The impact of the podcast 26:27: How companies can build a hybrid business You can find out more about the playbook and Tineke's business at www.tiltco.ca. Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Amanda Wright has a Master of Business Administration in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology. She is an experienced management consultant who provides business advisory services to her clients. Today, she talks about her program to help women from professional services firms make the leap to independent consulting. Key points include: 02:07: The structure of the Take the Leap program 09:43: The importance of the company name 13:31: Building the right mindset for a successful business 17:59: Managing your money 25:00: Marketing the coaching program You can learn more about the Take the Leap program at https://www.thewrightcompany.ca/taketheleap and sign up for Amanda's weekly newsletter. Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Nadine Sinclair has a doctorate in molecular biology, she was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey, and is now an independent consultant and advises companies on how to improve conditions for mental health for their employees. Today she talks about mental health in the workplace. Key points include: 03:39: The cost of poor mental health to business 07:10: How poor mental health impacts performance 16:44: How companies can help build resilience in employees 21:13: Tackling negativity bias 28:33: Resilience training 38:45: How exercise in the morning helps performance Learn more about Nadine's company and take the test on your emotional health at mindmatters.pro Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

David A.Fields is a consulting firm expert and author. He has helped hundreds of boutique and solo consulting firms grow, increase margins, and create lucrative, lifestyle-friendly businesses. This episode is taken from a session that David A. Fields led for the Umbrex and Veritux communities on how to craft your fishing line. Key points include: 06:06: The two-by-two grid 08:32: Solving precise problems 10:17: Mistakes in fishing lines 11:07: Generic problems, generic targets, conjunctions and comets Sign up for David's newsletter or order his book on www.DavidAFields.com. Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Amanda Setili is president of the strategy consulting firm Setili & Associates, author of two books of strategy and growth, she is a McKinsey alum and an Umbrex member. On this episode, she shares expert tips on running a successful virtual event. Key points include: 06:50: First steps in connecting 13:28: Pre-event preparation 27:22: Cold call panels 29:28: Breakout group exercise on a future event Amanda can be reached through LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandasetili/ or her website https://setili.com.

Nina Froriep is a video producer and visual storyteller. Her company enables business coaches to grow their business with consistent and easy-to-implement video marketing, and today she shares her expertise on video content marketing. Key points include: 15:32: Finding a professional video editor 17:28: Tips of doing a video series 22:28: The impact of video posts 25:20: What converts 27:36: Equipment 31:56: Posting frequency Nina can be contacted through LinkedIn at, https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-froriep/, or followed on Twitter @NinaFroriep.

Amol Sarva is a backer, advisor, and mentor at 50+ companies; he has co-founded several startups, including Virgin Mobile USA, Peek, Halo Neuroscience, Knotable, Knotel, and he has developed and taught the course "Venturing to Change the World" at Columbia University. In this episode, he talks about content creation and communication with his network of around 5060 people and shares a few of his experiences in business. Key points include: 05:43: The Knotel startup roller-coaster ride 10:36: Lessons learned building a business valued at $1.5 billion 22:39: How to get started in the entrepreneurial world 27:28: Advice on finding companies to get involved with 29:43: What's going on in Amol's lab Amol can be contacted by email, which can be found on his websites. To access his address visit http://amolsarva.com or http://amol.sarva.co/. Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

The Idea Suite is a boutique agency that unlocks the creative potential of people and businesses through innovation, and on this episode of Unleashed, Shelli Baltman and Fiona Stevenson discuss how their innovation agency helps big companies deal with the challenge of pandemic burnout. Key points include: 03:51: What we mean by burnout 08:49: Managing motivation and energy 18:02: Monitoring and assessing team energy 29:27: Gratitude specificity 33:29: Dealing with self-improvement overwhelm To banish burnout, visit www.energyforgrowth.com, you can also learn more about their business at https://theideasuite.com/ or connect with Shelli and Fiona through https://www.linkedin.com/company/theideasuite/. Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Professor Zachary Schrag is a historian of the twentieth-century United States and a professor of history at George Mason University. His specialities are: history of technology, policy history, transportation history, urban history, and oral history. In this episode, we discuss what history means and his book, the Princeton guide to historical research. Key points include: 01:40: History as the study of people 07:23: Internal contradictions 19:48: How a historian organises information 30:04: Recommendations for history students 37:26: History's influence on politics Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Samuel Bachman is a film major in the 10th grade at Frank Sinatra High School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens. In this episode, he discusses the hugely popular podcast he co-created and produces, The Half-Blood Report, and the inspiration behind the podcast. Key points include: 07:49: Authors interviewed on the podcast 11:57: Social media lessons learned on making a podcast 16:47: Preparing for an author interview 26:53: Skills learned from producing a podcast 32:03: Best practices for producing a successful podcast You can check out the podcast through the website https://www.thehalfbloodreport.com, follow them on Twitter @halfreport and Instagram @TheHalfBloodReport and connect with the crew on https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-half-blood-report. Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.