Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

You probably wouldn't hire a graphic designer or a wedding photographer without looking at their portfolio. Independent consultants ought to have a portfolio as well - samples of sanitized work you can share with potential clients. I've found that many independent consultants do NOT have a portfolio, however, and here are some thoughts on how to create one. To receive the weekly Unleashed email, which includes the transcript of every episode, consulting tips, and book recommendations, sign up here: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Our guest today is Michael Zipursky, who runs a firm called Consulting Success.  Michael has written multiple books on consulting and he serves as a coach to consultants, helping them grow their practice. You can learn more about Michael and get in touch via his website, consultingsuccess.com To receive the weekly Unleashed email, which includes the transcript of every episode, consulting tips, and book recommendations, sign up here: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Our guest today is Jonathan Mann, who holds the Guiness World Record for Most Consecutive Days Writing a Song. He began his Song-a-Day project on January 1, 2009, and the upcoming New Year’s Day will mark an even ten years of writing, and recording, and publishing online, one new song every day. His story is an amazing and inspiring example of how showing up regularly, creating content and sharing it with the world, can open up opportunities that we have not even imagined. In our discussion, Jonathan shares what happened on the day one of his songs was used to open a Steve Jobs press conference, and how that breakthrough moment led to him becoming the Conference Troubadour. As the Conference Troubadour, Jonathan is hired to attend conferences. He listens to the sessions over the course of the day and composes a song that includes the key messages of the event, and he closes the conference by singing the song with the attendees, since he always includes a chorus that he teaches to the audience. About 90% of songs on the radio are about love, as if that was the only topic worth singing about. Jonathan’s songs are incredibly inventive and cover everything else.  He was attended conferences, and written songs about, topics as diverse as the National Apartment Association, medical case management, and internal company communications. One of my favorites of the songs he has posted to Youtube is the iOS Autocomplete Song, in which the entire lyrics are composed by the autocomplete function on an iPhone. You can learn more about Jonathan on his website: https://www.jonathanmann.net/  There you can reach out to him about attending your next conference, or for a person or a business commission. In addition to his conference work he will compose a song to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or other special event, or a song about your company. In this episode we have a few samples of his work, and I hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I did. Side note: if you visit https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/ you can sign up to receive the weekly Unleashed email, that includes a transcript of every episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips. 

Do the filenames you use demonstrate right-side-up thinking? That is, are you naming your files from your perspective, or from your client's perspective? Small cues matter.

We all have a choice. Is your business closed when closed? Or open when closed? How will you choose?

Our guest today is Robin Colucci, who is a book writing coach. If you are thinking of writing a non-fiction book to advance your career, Robin is someone who would help you think through the strategy of the book to increase the odds that all the effort you put into creating the book will have the impact you hope to achieve. In this episode, we discuss the questions that Robin asks her clients and how to think through who is the audience of a book, what that audience is already looking for, and how to serve that need. You can learn more about Robin’s services and get in contact with her on her website: http://robincolucci.com/ If you like this episode, consider signing up for the weekly Unleashed email, which includes transcripts of every episode, book recommendations, and consulting tips.  Sign up at: https://www.umbrex.com/unleashed-podcast/

Our guest today is Danna Staaf, an independent science writer and the author of Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods. Danna received a PhD from Stanford University in Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography, and then rather than continuing on an academic track, she decided to become a science communicator, rather than a science generator. In this episode we discuss what makes squid so fascinating and how Danna has created a successful career as an independent science writer. You can follow Danna on Twitter at @DannaStaaf and on her website: http://www.cephalopodiatrist.com/p/home.html

If you want to be contacted about opportunities, it helps to be contactable.

Our guest today is Nitin Rohatgi, who is the co-founder of Enroute Consulting, a research firm based in India.  Nitin’s firm supports independent consultants around the world, many of them McKinsey alums. I've been a client myself, and I’ve been very impressed by the quality of his firm’s work. With about twenty employees, his firm typically will pull together background research using secondary sources as well as ten or so proprietary data sources they subscribe to.  They have deep experience in the approach used by top consulting firms. You can learn more about Enroute and get in touch via their website: http://www.enroutellp.com/

Our guest today is Christopher McKenna, a Reader in Business History and Strategy at Said Business School at the University of Oxford. Chris is the author of The World’s Newest Profession: Management Consulting in the Twentieth Century, which was an absolutely eye-opening book for me, and I’d say is a must-read for any management consultant interested in the history of our profession. Here is a link to Chris's bio page at Oxford:  https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/about-us/people/chris-mckenna