Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Show Notes: Markus Starke, an advisor for cybersecurity and digital process transformation, has recently been working in cybersecurity for the AI applications that corporations are using. Marcus explains that, AI plays a significant role in work, particularly in intelligent process automation. This concept involves combining technologies like robotic process automation, process mining solutions, chatbots, Optical Character Recognition, and more advanced forms of machine learning and generative AI to build end-to-end processes. However, cybersecurity issues can affect these automation systems, especially as more users use them individually. Safety Measures with AI Automation Markus talks about several dimensions of cybersecurity with AI automation. To ensure the safety of AI-related automation situations, clients are asked to review their setup from a Target Operating Model perspective. A framework is created to guide this process, including governance, secure development processes, and creating awareness about potential risks. Governance involves governing roles and responsibilities, access, user rights, and other aspects of the system. Secure development processes ensure that solutions only access the data they should access, store data securely, and use encryption. Securing the platform is another dimension, involving standard frameworks for cloud-based solutions. Awareness about the human factors in reducing risk levels is crucial for achieving good cybersecurity. And lastly, monitoring and reporting ensure that the environment is controlled to a degree. Examples of Cybersecurity Threats Using AI Tools Markus discusses cybersecurity threats with AI tools, such as generative AI (GPT) for working on company data. One example is a human user extracting data from their corporate data pool and sending out an email with this data, and sending it to their private email account, which could be used in a public chat GPT instance. This can be controlled by creating awareness and setting up standardized IT security control mechanisms to limit data extraction from corporate networks. Another example is using proprietary corporate data for advanced data analytics on GPT, which could expose it to a potential attacker. Private computers are typically less secure than corporate ones, making them more prone to being attacked or losing data to an attacker. Corporations generally want to limit the type of data that is made publicly available in generative AI applications. He states that it is not always clear what happens to the data that is input to AI applications.  Markus also discusses the risks associated with using consumer versions of chat GPT, as any data uploaded could potentially be put into its training data. However, there are options for setting up AI applications in a limited way for specific corporate use cases, but it is important to evaluate these solutions on a case-by-case basis to ensure they fulfill specific needs and governance. With Gen AI, it is crucial to balance between limiting too much while maintaining control. AI Tools Retaining Data The discussion revolves around the use of AI tools, such as Zoom, which may be retaining data on calls or transcribing them without letting users know. This raises concerns about the accessibility of information to organizations. It is essential to ensure that these tools align with cybersecurity standards and are compliant with protection requirements. However, this may be a case-by-case consideration, and Markus emphasizes that it is always necessary to question security processes. In addition, he mentions that it is crucial for independent consultants to raise awareness about cybersecurity and AI. Basic rules apply to the use of AI, such as ensuring data is stored in controlled instances and using strong protection mechanisms like passwords, access rights, and encryption. When working with clients, it is important not to make their lives too simple by creating AI solutions for specific business problems. Cybersecurity can sometimes be perceived as slowing down businesses, but it is an essential control that must be maintained. Independent consultants should review these aspects and not make their work too easy. Markus strongly recommends that consultants should be aware of active and forthcoming regulations that apply to AI when setting up solutions for clients.  Timestamps: 0:03 Cybersecurity risks in AI-powered process automation 03:10 Governance and security for AI-related automation 05:53 Cybersecurity risks with AI tools and data 10:48 AI data security and control 14:47 Cybersecurity and AI in business   Links: Freelance Website: http://starkeconsulting.net/ Company Website: https://www.ten-4.de/   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.  

Show Notes: Cheryl Lim Tan discusses her experience working with a financial wellness product powered by AI. The client was early in their journey and needed to raise awareness of their product. They needed to refine their product further and gain more users to gain feedback and make adjustments to its features. Cheryl was brought in to take care of the entire marketing function.  Cheryl's approach involved figuring out the company's brand, target audience, and value proposition. She also focused on articulating the unique value proposition of the product compared to free tools like Chat GPT. By addressing these aspects, the consultant was able to create a clear framework for the client's marketing function and reach investors. Prompting AI Tools Cheryl highlights the importance of education in the AI world, as AI tools are prompt-driven and consumers may not know how to interact with the interface and how to prompt it. To address this, they developed a suite of YouTube videos on how to prompt the tool for different situations or information. Another key aspect of targeting the client was developing personas. These personas were identified and distilled into a framework that included the top three messages, pain points, and expectations for each persona's customer journey. Consumer Education and AI Tools Cheryl emphasizes the importance of consumer education in the AI world, as it helps to draw the right audience in and ensures the success of the product.She also shares consumer insights about the types of users who are open to using AI tools, such as Gen Z, who are digital natives and more likely to adopt AI in their everyday lives. The proliferation of AI in 2023 has helped AI companies get in front of their target audience and engage with them. Gen Z is likely to be one of the highest adopters of AI, while millennials and Gen X are more cautious and hesitant. To ensure AI adoption applies to their market, companies must be clear about their personas and target audience, and consider using colors and layouts that appeal to the everyday consumer rather than catering to programmers. SEO and AI In terms of SEO, search engine optimization, and paid search, Cheryl highlights the importance of being conscious about who they are trying to reach and how to present their brand accordingly. She also discusses the challenges faced by early AI startups in figuring out who they are targeting and how to signal their preferences. She shares their marketing mix, which includes SEO, content marketing, working with influencers, an affiliate program, email marketing, and discord communities. They found that email marketing still works and was a great way for them to pick up new users. They also mention brokers for finding AI email lists that are a good fit for their brand and audience. The Benefits of a Discord Community Cheryl talks about the importance of having a dedicated Discord community related to your product to gather information, which is valuable for marketing and product refinement. She explains how Discord can be used, and how she has used it in marketing.  She emphasizes the need for authenticity in inserting oneself into conversations and promoting the product. Reddit, she believes, is taking over Google in terms of cost for acquisition, with a cost per click down to $1 compared to Google's $4-6. Reddit also allows for targeted placement in relevant conversations, making it more cost-effective than Google. Timestamps: 00:03 AI-powered financial wellness product and marketing strategy 04:00 AI marketing strategies for consumer education 07:45 Targeting audiences for AI technology 11:13 Digital marketing strategies for a startup 14:14 Marketing an AI product using Reddit and Discord Links: Website: https://www.cheryltanconsulting.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylltan   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.

Show Notes: Barry Saunders, a digital expert at McKinsey, discusses his background in the firm and his experience in AI-related projects. He worked in the LEAP practice, which built platforms for video streaming, preventative maintenance, and optimization tools. He left McKinsey to become Chief Product Officer at an Australian fashion company and recently joined MXA, a strategic digital technology company in Australia. Barry suggests a two-by-two typology classification scheme for AI-related projects. The first quadrant focuses on understanding patterns of behavior, while the second quadrant focuses on predictive behavioral modeling, third is more about text orientated and understanding meaning. The fourth quadrant focuses on regenerative AI and content creation. Barry believes that combining these quadrants can lead to personalized content for different customers and valuable insights and can unlock interesting value.  AI Use Case Study Barry and his partner have been working on an AI toolkit to automate time-consuming work for management consultants. They developed a startup called First Things, which uses Gen AI to create classic McKinsey storylines from unstructured data. This tool has helped executives work through their strategies and report outcomes. They have also worked with clients on the AI journey, especially regulated industries. They have found that some tasks can be done more effectively with AI. One project they did was analyzing insurance policies for large-scale agricultural businesses, which are often complex and drift in meaning as language is updated. They created a tool that would analyze these policies, extract semantic meaning, and identify where drift took place, allowing them to align documents and simplify policies. One of the projects they are currently working on is simplifying lending policies for banks. In Australia, many lenders do home lending as their primary base, but the technical platforms used by banks and non-bank lenders are ancient and difficult to navigate. They are working on simplifying policies and offering home loans more simply. Building AI Tools The level of effort required to build a tool like this is not limited to building it. Many of the tools available are free, and there are many software as a service tools available that can perform similar tasks. To build a tool like this, one should be clear on what they are trying to do, such as simplifying a policy or comparing two different policies. The AI toolkit has proven to be effective in automating time-consuming work for management consultants and other clients. It is essential to be familiar with the tools and their capabilities to effectively utilize AI in various aspects of business operations. The legal space offers a vast array of tools for generating and analyzing contracts, including software as a service tools. To use these tools effectively, it is essential to be familiar with the large language model and the tool being used. Tuning these tools to get the desired response requires understanding the chain of logic and the outputs. To build a production-oriented tool, consider using large language model operations (LLM ops) or large language model operations (LLM ops) in a broader software architecture or workflow. Google, AWS, and Microsoft offer guides on how to integrate these tools into their software stack. It is crucial to be clear about the tasks and outputs of these tools, and to work with teams who are familiar with these systems.  Using AI Applications Barry discusses his work on AI applications, specifically RF cues and analyzing large documents. He built a proof of concept using a tool called mem.ai. He talks about a template he built to analyze questions in RFQs, which are often templated and consistent across government agencies. The system is particularly useful for handling open-ended questions and generating text about your company's services, processes, etc. This speeds the process of applications, and the system can be used to set the tone for the next step in a project. Timestamps: 00:03 AI projects and experience at McKinsey with Barry Saunders 01:57 Using AI to analyze text data and create personalized content 05:23 Simplifying complex insurance policies using AI 09:06 Building a tool for analyzing and comparing legal documents 12:31 Using AI to automate RFQ response generation Links: Whitepapers: https://www.mxa.com.au/whitepapers Company Website: https://mxa.com.au/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrysaunders/ 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.

Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Phil Bellaria shares a case example of building a Chat GPT using open-source large language models. The client was a large telecommunications company with an immense amount of unstructured data, including customer feedback, feedback from employees through surveys, and transcript transcripts from millions of phone conversations and text chats. The problem statement was to derive insights and understand the state of the business, identify trends and topics as quickly as possible. The process took place through 2018-2020. Working with a data scientist, and using Google's BERT methodology for natural language processing, the team coded an algorithm that identified topics and classifiers from the unstructured data, scored each topic and phrase on sentiment (positive or negative comments) and created a short summary of customer or employee comments related to each topic. The process of building and running the model was processing intensive, and the first step was testing and iterating the model on smaller samples of data. The company held employee surveys, which was processed through the test model, the data was reviewed by HR business partners and business leaders to check for accuracy. The model was trained on all the information in Wikipedia, but other specific information and words were added to refine it. Over six to eight months, the model was able to accurately represent what employees were saying.  Using AI to Improve Sales Pitches Phil discusses the use of AI in business applications and how it can be used to improve sales pitches. He explains that the problem was to understand why sales agents were not pitching a strategic product effectively. By feeding data from conversations with customers about the product, the algorithm was able to identify words and phrases associated with successful sales and non-successful sales. This information was then used to train sales agents on the right expressions and words to use when pitching the product.  Phil shares some phrases that work well and those that don't, such as promoting a streaming product by associating it with popular shows. He also discusses the challenges of building AI models and securing and protecting data. He also addresses the cost of building an AI model. Using AI for Next Best Customer Actions Phil shares one example of AI-related projects which used AI algorithms to predetermine the next best action for a customer that can be used in real time to learn the best approach in customer interaction. The AI engine uses reinforcement learning to improve the power of the recommendations. The process involved building the right APIs into existing systems and ensuring SLAs in terms of responsiveness. The algorithm itself uses sophisticated statistical modeling techniques, but the main challenge was integration and timeliness. Challenges Implementing AI Phil talks about the challenges of implementing this process. He emphasizes the importance of defining the business problem and getting the technical team involved early in the process. He talks about time spent translating the problem into technical applications, allowing technical personnel to use their skills to solve the problem.  He also shares a timeline for starting a recommendation algorithm. The process includes writing, pulling in data, creating a data environment, scoring, and algorithms. Another consideration is change management which involves limited pilots and controlled AB tests across the population, and time allotted to roll out and testing.  Phil discusses the power of AI in data analysis, stating that it can provide insights and interactions that are not always available before. The real power lies in bringing new agents to speed up the process and elevating the performance of middle-tier agents. The lower performing agents often wouldn't use the tool, so they don't see as much impact.  Timestamps: 00:02 Using AI to analyze unstructured data for business insights 03:23 Using AI to analyze customer feedback and sales data 08:14 AI-powered next best action engine for sales 12:16 Implementing AI-powered customer service tool 16:43 Using data and analytics in call centers Links: Company website: https://www.cdaopartners.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.

Diane Flynn, a multi-talented professional and author of  two books and two popular courses on Udemy, Growth Mindset and Communicating with Confidence, has been working with her company, Reboot Excel, for the last decade. The company aims to help women feel current with technology, connected with a professional network, and confident in their return to work. She has had thousands of people go through their programs and continues to offer resources on their website and coaching workshops. Diane talks about her experience of returning to the workplace after taking a long hiatus, and how she became aware that many women wanted to return to careers but found it difficult to do so for a variety of reasons. She observed that many women returning to work are immensely talented and capable, but they often face a confidence crisis when trying to get back into the workplace. Consequently, she was inspired to start Reboot Excel with four friends. The company was successful, and through her work, she found that many people in the workplace also needed the same leadership skills. She launched her own company and started working in the B2B space. Today, she coaches executives to build more inclusive workplaces and empower people to do their best work.   Helping Women Return to the Workplace As a stay-at-home mom, Diane met many intelligent, skilled, and immensely talented women who had been successful in their prior careers but had lost confidence. To help women regain confidence, she encourages them to reframe their achievements and skill sets based on what they have done, whether they received a paycheck or not. Many of these women have since landed amazing careers, and some have even held significant roles at Stanford University. Diane also worked closely with Carol Cohen, founder of I Relaunch, who works with companies like McKinsey, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs. They offer a return-ship program, similar to an internship for someone returning to their career, which is usually three months long and provides extra mentorship. Diane uses this program daily to help women navigate the latest workplace technologies and navigate the culture they'll be working in. Typically, 80% or higher of the women who go through these returnships are hired into full-time roles. Diane recommends checking out I Relaunched.com for more information on their work in this area.  Working As an Instructor at Modern Elder Academy She mentions that Chip Conley, an instructor at Modern Elder Academy, founded the program to help people stay relevant, purposeful, motivated, and energized in midlife. She shares what motivated Chip to start the program or, as it is also known, the first modern wisdom school. The course is designed for women aged 45 to 70, but can accommodate older and younger individuals. The focus is on helping participants identify their strengths, sparks of joy, drains, impact they want to have, and who they want to work with. The most important aspect of the program is focusing on core non-negotiable values, as they are crucial for finding fulfillment in one's job. The program includes various exercises, one-on-one coaching, and meals together. The alumni program has thousands of people who come back for reunions and support each other. Chip is also launching his newest book, Learning to Love Midlife, which shares his story. Women Helped by the Program Diane talks about some participants who have found their purpose and passion and decided to pursue new career paths, such as a corporate executive who wants to become a coach. Another participant, a young woman in her mid-30s, decided to start a new type of university and seek funding and advisors. This is an exciting example of how people can take time to reflect on their goals and motivations and explore opportunities outside their current career. Many people are going through transitions, such as divorce, widowhood, or moving geographically, and it is essential for them to take time to reflect on what they can bring into the world and what impact they want to have. By taking time to reflect on their goals and motivations, companies can better serve their needs and create a more fulfilling and fulfilling life. How the Program Helps Women Diane discusses the exercises he uses to help people find their purpose and passion at home. She recommends that anyone interested should visit her website (see below) and where they can find two-pages of questions to take personal inventory and help them start the process.  She talks about aspects of the inventory, including identifying what fills your tank, what drains you, your non-negotiable values, strengths, and many other areas for development. She encourages people to ask their friends what they think they do well and what they do not. This exercise helps them understand their strengths and weaknesses, which can help them develop their skills and pursue opportunities in their chosen fields. Diane also emphasizes the importance of getting feedback, as it is crucial for growth and development. The conversation revolves around personal inventory, reflection exercises, and the importance of having a north star and a mantra Diane shares her mantra, which is to engage in creative collaboration with people she respects to change lives and build community. She describes what’s important to her and how she applies it to work. This is a creative process that she finds fulfilling and helps her say yes or no to opportunities. Diane suggests that after completing these inventories, individuals can gather insights and advice on how to find their purpose and passion. She suggests finding an accountability partner, hiring a coach, attending workshops, or using the Japanese concept of Ikigai to help move forward in the right direction. The Growth Mindset Course One of Diane's courses on Udemy, "Growth Mindset," focuses on the importance of changing one's mindset and getting out of their comfort zone. She describes a fixed mindset as defined by playing it safe, not taking risks, not asking for feedback, and worrying about failure and goes on to explain how this limits growth, on the other hand, a growth mindset is an uncomfortable space that requires stepping out of one's comfort zone to make great things happen. The course covers six key roadblocks that hold people back from having a growth mindset. These include fear, lack of confidence, fear of failure, fear of success, perfectionism, inertia, and not knowing what to do. By addressing these barriers, individuals can tap into their passions and find meaningful activities that bring them joy, after which, through the course they develop strategies to overcome these barriers.  In conclusion, Diane's personal inventory exercise and Udemy course on growth mindset offer valuable insights for individuals and organizations seeking to improve their lives. By addressing the six roadblocks and tapping into the joy that comes from finding meaningful activities, individuals can find their passion and purpose in their lives. Timestamps: 04:13 Rebooting careers and hiring experienced professionals 08:42 Modern elder Academy and finding purpose and passion in midlife 13:54 Finding purpose and passion through self-reflection exercises 19:16 Self-awareness and personal growth 25:11 Self-reflection and career development 29:23 Growth mindset and overcoming obstacles to achieve success   Links: Company website: https://www.rebootaccel.com/ Modern Elder Academy: https://www.meawisdom.com/ Udemy Profile: https://www.udemy.com/user/diane-flynn-2/ Books on Amazon 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.  

Show Notes: Terry Roopnaraine, a technical consultant for international development projects, has been working in the field for about 25 years. He provides technical services to support projects funded by bilateral donors, UN agencies, and multilateral agencies like the World Bank. Over the last decade, an increasingly important area of the practice has been working with foundations. Terry's work involves providing services that are required to make these projects work and deliver the best impacts on the ground for the beneficiary populations they serve. There is a huge accountability chain because these projects are often funded through the public purse of one country or another, so there must be some kind of proper accountability and evaluation. The Role of a Technical Consultant Terry talks about the roles a technical consultant might play. He divides his work into two broad areas: project implementation and management, and learning evidence and evaluation. The implementation side of technical consulting focuses on getting a project up and running, recruiting staff, putting in inputs, designing activities, and ensuring that things are run according to time and budget. The learning evidence and building the knowledge base aspect of technical consulting is also crucial, as it ensures that a program is delivering on time, not leaking funds, and has robust monitoring systems in place to capture change systematically. Evaluation of effectiveness is another dimension of technical consulting, as it is about delivering the best impact for the beneficiary population.  Research and Evaluation in Technical Consulting Over his career, Terry has worked more in the research evidence and evaluation side of technical consulting, which is partly an artifact of being a refugee from academia. His intellectual and academic orientation was research-directed, and when he moved to development work, he focused more on research evaluation and evidence building. One of his early projects was Conditional Cash Transfer Evaluations in Latin America, which were an aid instrument that aimed to incentivize uptake of health and education services. These programs were popular throughout Latin America and were easy to evaluate quantitatively. However, there was a growing awareness that the program's effects were not as expected. To understand why the program didn't have the expected effects, Terry began conducting ethnographic and qualitative research. He worked with other qualitative researchers to push the idea that understanding the voices of people who were benefiting from these programs was important. Terry talks about the projects he worked on during the early 2000s in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Peru and how his background in anthropology influenced his approach, and how they conducted research differently from previous projects. Challenges of Conducting Ethnographic Research  Terry explains the challenges of conducting semi-structured interviews for management consultants and how they approach this process. The interviews were conducted in a way that was more accessible to anthropologists than for management consultants. Terry talks about the process of conducting ethnographic research in a short training workshop format. He highlights the complementarity between quantitative research findings and qualitative research findings. Survey work is broad and generalizable, while qualitative research is done over a smaller sample and is more in-depth. For example, in Nicaragua, an iron supplement for children was given out for three years, but blood tests showed no effect. In the next round of community field research, the researchers asked questions about the iron sprinkles and found that it was commonly believed that the sprinkles had a terrible reputation due to alleged health risks, and no-one wanted to pass them out.  The Importance of Household and Nutrition Research Terry also discusses the importance of household research in nutrition research. Household research is crucial because it helps observe people preparing food, feeding children, hygiene, sanitation practices, dietary diversity, and meal frequency. One example is in Cambodia, where an organization gave eligible families chickens to supplement their meat-poor diets with eggs and animal protein. However, people were not increasing their consumption of chicken and eggs, instead selling the chickens to buy bulk staples like rice. Recently, a project in Rwanda for UNICEF found that people living in resource-constrained circumstances are looking for bulk heavy foods, such as maize meal, sorghum, cassava, or rice, as the first thing they look for because they are concerned about financial or food security, and these foods provide bulk and store well. This approach allows for a deeper understanding of the issues faced by people in these communities. He discusses the importance of a sufficient and diverse diet for children, particularly under two years old, in remote areas.  Terry shares his experience with personal safety in various countries, including rural areas where he has worked. And while he has taken a Hostile Environment training course, he believes that shared humanity is the most effective safety mechanism, as most people have no desire to do harm. By being receptive, respectful, and engaging with people in a positive way, most places are generally safe. Effectiveness in Development Aid and Philanthropy Programs Regarding the effectiveness of development aid and philanthropy programs, he states that the appropriateness and relevance of a program to an area are crucial, as it should address specific needs in a direct way. He identifies how certain approaches are ineffective, and stresses that a direct relationship between needs on the ground and the program is more likely to succeed. The design of the program should be simple and efficient, as most successful programs are simple and straightforward. The context of the program is also important. The more functioning the governance context, the more likely the programs are to succeed. For example, in Rwanda, a country that has experienced genocide, the efficiency of food distribution was impressive. Terry talks about how initiatives worked in Rwanda and the importance of collaboration with government ministries to deliver health, nutrition, or education projects, as they are more likely to produce impact. However, in countries with weak governance, the government may not be a viable partner in delivering development programming. To scale up projects, the government must be involved.  Timestamps: 00:04 Technical consulting in international development 05:32 Technical consulting in development projects 12:35 Anthropological research methods in cash transfer programs 20:35 Ethnographic research methods and findings in global health 27:18 Food security, safety, and anthropology in various countries 33:18 Development program effectiveness with a development economist Links:  UNICEF Ethiopia study: https://www.unicef.org/ethiopia/reports/unicef-generation-el-nino Paper on El Salvador’s Conditional Cash Transfer program: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220388.2015.1134780 Paper on nutrition in Rwanda: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mcn.13420 Study on Peru’s CCT in indigenous communities: https://publications.iadb.org/es/pueblos-indigenas-y-programas-de-transferencias-condicionadas-ptc-estudio-etnografico-sobre-la-0 Suggested readings: Rossi, Lipsey, Freeman: Evaluation, a systematic approach (not terribly exciting, but a real wealth of evaluation info) Olivier de Sardan & Piccoli: Cash transfers in context: an anthropological perspective (this collection contains an essay I wrote together with my collaborators on the Peru project) Lewis, Rodgers and Woolcock: Popular representations of development: insights from novels, films, TV and social media (fun read, one of the authors is a good friend of mine) Amartya Sen: Development as freedom (still a classic) Paul Richards: Ebola: a people’s science helped end an epidemic (fascinating study, quite anthropological, of the community response to Ebola in Sierra Leone) 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.

Show Notes: In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman talks to Jared Simmons, business consultant, coach, and speaker, on design to value. Jared defines the term ‘design to value’, offers examples of how it can be used, and talks about the various steps involved.  Using the example of a design to value playbook, Jared talks through each essential step that should be included. Step one is defining value and creating a shared understanding of it. This involves getting everyone on the same page about the intended purpose. Understanding value involves both the company running the project and the end consumer of the product. The project's goals should be determined, such as cutting costs, making it more of a premium, or growing volume.  Step two is mapping out the value chain end to end, from materials to end use, and understanding the basic cost structures associated with each step. This ensures that the project is designed to value both the organization and the end consumer. Jared discusses the importance of mapping the value chain for a product or project.  Step three is understanding consumer priorities and preferences which is crucial in determining what they care about and are willing to pay for.  Step four involves mapping these preferences to each other, such as the cost of delivery or raw material(s). Step five is creating projects and programs to capture defined value.  He emphasizes the need for a shared understanding of who is responsible for which steps in the value chain, including incoming raw materials, converting them into products, and the decision rights and responsibilities within those steps. He also highlights the importance of understanding how each person in a large company works with different materials and services, and what they are trying to accomplish within their roles, such as procurement, shipping costs, currency, and supplier selection. Jared advises senior associates to understand high-leverage starting materials and manage them effectively to achieve cost savings. He emphasizes respecting the intelligence and effort of those involved in the value chain and not just looking at the price but also considering what makes the cost palatable for the procurement person and the rest of the organization. Mapping the value chain is a crucial step in achieving cost optimization in a product or project. It requires a deep understanding of the decision rights and responsibilities within the organization, as well as respecting the intelligence and effort of those involved.   Internal and External Benchmarking Jared discusses the importance of internal benchmarking in converting products across the entire value chain. He believes that external benchmarking can be problematic due to the lack of context on how other organizations reached their goals and the capital and labor involved. Jared suggests that internal benchmarks are more valuable than external benchmarks because they provide a full picture of what is driving each number. In terms of understanding consumer preferences, he breaks down this into functional and psychographic segmentations. Psychographic segmentation involves the product's benefit and the belief about the product, while functional segmentation focuses on the features. To determine consumer preferences, he uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as one-on-one interviews, focus groups, dyads, and triads. Quantitative research can involve concept-driven non-concept-driven questionnaires to gather quantitative data on consumer preferences. One-on-one interviews allow for depth and richness in understanding consumer preferences, while dyads allow for more nuanced responses from multiple people. Triads involve three or four participants, while focus groups typically involve 468 participants. Conjoint analysis is another method used to set up quantitative research that gets results. This method helps to understand the trade-offs between different product features and price points. In conclusion, Jared emphasizes the importance of internal benchmarking and understanding consumer preferences to successfully convert products across the entire value chain. By utilizing various methodologies and techniques, businesses can gain valuable insights into their target audience and improve their product offerings. Reducing Product Cost while Maintaining Value To determine which features people care about and will pay more for, Jared states that they need to conduct research on multiple dimensions. This involves building a functional prototype that people can interact with and react and respond to. He also mentions the importance of defining a north star to ensure all departments understand the direction. He mentions a few crucial steps, including: Integrating consumer research, supply chain knowledge, cost structure, and consumer preferences. It's not just about math; it's about prioritizing decisions across the entire value chain and ensuring that there is a qualified decision-maker on the job. Jared runs a boutique consultancy that works in the innovation space and has worked on yogurt portfolios, sports/nutritional drink portfolios, and distribution companies for gas-controlled products, and they have worked with various industries. The team is focused on driving out cost while maintaining value in the product design process. By incorporating consumer research, decision-making, and external support, the team can create a more effective and efficient product. Jared discusses the importance of design to value programs in capturing cost savings and enhancing customer value. He explains how his company works, including services and typical costs savings. To learn more about Jared's practice, he recommends visiting his website, Outlast Consulting, and LinkedIn. He also encourages listeners to contact him directly on his LinkedIn profile. Timestamps: 03:00 Cost reduction and value optimization in product design 04:00 Five steps in a design to value playbook  12:24 Strategic costs in the value chain 13:07 Analyzing consumer preferences and product conversion costs 15:11 Internal benchmarking 16:51 Functional and psychographic segmentation 20:19 Using conjoint analysis for product design and cost reduction. 28:51 Cost savings in CPG industry through design to value programs Links: The company website: https://outlastllc.com/ CONTACT: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredsimmons/ 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.

Show Notes: Chad Oakley, CEO at the executive search firm at Charles Aris, discusses the current state of the consulting job market. He kicks off the conversation by explaining who Charles Aris is and what they do. Chad shares his perspective on three key areas: the market for strategic services, training Chief Strategy officers, and advice for Chief Strategy officers to make themselves more valuable in a down market. The Market for Strategic Services He states that the market for consulting services is currently down significantly due to the down macro environment. Major consulting firms like Bain, BCG, McKinsey, Deloitte, and Accenture have experienced a decline in revenues and project counts. However, they are hopeful that the current low watermark will lead to increased demand, but they are not seeing significant improvements just yet. The good news is that the need for strategy never goes away, and the market for consulting services is often a bellwether for how companies think about strategy these days. As the market continues to down, it is crucial for companies to focus on new and exciting strategic initiatives during downturns and outperform competitors when the market rebounds. He explains that the consulting industry is experiencing a tight market, with more people on the beach than in the last five to five years. Consulting firms are implementing recessionary strategies, such as lowering bonuses, reducing annual raises, and slowing promotions. He talks about delayed start dates, takes a look back at 2023, and how the current situation compares to 2009 and how 2024 is shaping up. He explains that Chief Strategy officers from incorporations are hearing more about companies slowing down strategic projects, special projects, and extraneous growth initiatives. They are also concerned about layoffs and job security, so they want to be on the radar screen for potential opportunities. Advice for Chief Strategy Officers  When there are fewer opportunities, Chief Strategy Officers still have the same tasks. He talks about a bright spot for independent consultants and that connecting with these individuals and offering contract solutions can help consultants navigate the market downturn. Private equity-backed companies tend to have more flexibility and are willing to spend money when it will help them make money. He recommends a variety of different companies to consider during this time. He also explains that during a downturn, Chief Strategy Officers (CSO) focus on short-term versus long-term initiatives. In a market downturn, companies tend to retrench to their core products and services, making it more risky for CSOs and consultants working on long-term projects. Instead, they should focus on projects that make a quantifiable impact in the short term, such as increasing revenue or decreasing costs, and focusing on core products or services. Chad mentions a few areas that are profitable in the short term.  He recommends that CSOs should also create more stability in their roles by taking on more than just strategy. This can include adding other functions to their responsibilities, such as corporate development and transformation initiatives or strategy and communication, AI. Chad also mentions how having a well-managed team helps promote a consultant's value to the company. CSO’s often become known as a feeder for future stars in the business, as they bring Rockstar talent to the company. Functional Areas in the Current Market The US is seeing more opportunity in industrials due to a significant onshoring movement and a slowdown in consumer packaged goods and retail sectors. This shift has created more opportunities for companies that are doing more manufacturing internally, with more growth in the industrial space, and they require more support. However, private equity remains a hot and heavy market, with deal flow decreasing. In 2022, the largest year of merger and acquisition deals in private equity history, and 2023 saw one of the lowest deal volumes due to the Fed raising rates and making money more expensive. Private equity firms are still seeking new talent for their portfolio companies, as they believe their existing functions are not reaching their full potential.  The Impact of AI on Consulting The conversation revolves around the potential impact of AI on consulting and the types of AI-related projects or roles being discussed. Chad believes that AI is still a new concept, and companies are still trying to figure out how to use it effectively, consequently, it has not been adopted as a rule. However, Chad does share how he has used ChatGPT. Integrating into a Private Equity Firm Chad offers tactical advice on how to integrate into a Private Equity (PE) firm. He has completed searches for 100+ firms in the last five years, from top 10 global firms to mid-sized or smaller firms. Each firm operates differently, with deal side and portfolio operations groups responsible for identifying potential acquisition targets, valuation, negotiation, and landing the deal. He suggests that, to approach private equity deal people, it is essential to be specific about your skill set and the specific portfolio company you can help. For example, if you are an independent consultant with experience in vendor negotiation, you can use an email title like "Vendor Negotiation Experts for this Portfolio Company" to get the attention of the private equity partner. This will make them more likely to engage with you and share quantifiable success stories. When partnering with a private equity firm, they are constantly thinking about improving EBITDA by raising revenue, maintaining costs, or lowering cost structures. If you have direct experience in improving EBITDA at a business, they may be more willing to engage with you.  The Consulting Job Market in 2024 Chad talks about the current job market for full-time consulting roles in the United States. He looks back at statistics from 2022 compared with today. To pivot from contract consultants to full-time roles, he suggests identifying your spikes and ensuring they add value to the organization in the near term. This could include procurement studies, organizations, or vendor negotiations. He also emphasizes that most consultants have two true spikes that they can bring to an organization, and should focus on these areas. Chad talks about the current situation for the global market, but he believes that the first six months of this year will be bumpy, but the market will continue to move slowly and steadily. Chad believes that, whether seeking contract or full-time roles, individuals must be willing to put in more effort to achieve their desired productivity levels. Chad emphasizes the importance of positioning oneself well for a full-time role and how to articulate what they've been doing to achieve this. He believes that there is no time limit that would prevent someone from being a viable candidate for a full-time role. The number one fear clients have when talking about a contract or independent person is their utilization. How Consultants Can Improve Their Resume and LinkedIn To position oneself for a full-time role, he suggests having a good story of what they've done and ensuring that clients are happy to share their accomplishments, and demonstrating quantifiable outcomes in your resume and LinkedIn profile. A good resume should include numbers, such as increased revenue, decreased costs, improved cycle time, reduced inventory, and holding costs. As an independent consultant, it's important to have a website with case studies, white papers, or deliverables. However, if you don't have one, don't create one just for finding another job. Companies often think that someone is trying too hard by creating an entire website focused on finding another job.  How to Find an Interim Executive Role Chad discusses the importance of interim executive roles in private equity firms. He has had conversations with operating partners and managing directors about the use of these roles, and they all agree that they are crucial for their organizations. The most common areas where private equity firms use interim executives are CFOs, finance specialists, and transformation. To position oneself for these opportunities, one can either work for firms like High Point Associates or reach out to organizations and say, "This is my spike," which can lead to an opportunity presented to them. Board Positions for Consultants Chad also discusses board roles. He states that board roles are easier to fill due to the demand for these positions. However, he explains what boards are looking for and offers a few suggestions on how to position oneself. He suggests that individuals should research the industry and consider how their skills and capabilities in the relevant space are applicable. By doing so, they can better position themselves for these opportunities and contribute to the growth and success of their companies. Timestamps: 10:42 The consulting market and talent acquisition trends 13:13 Market trends for strategic services in a down economy 19:31 The state of the consulting market and its impact on corporate strategy 23:05 Strategies for Chief Strategy Officers in a market downturn 28:23 Trends and strategies for Chief Strategy Officers in a down market 34:58 Private equity market trends and deal flow 36:24 AI impact, consulting job security, and private equity firm partnerships 42:45 Reaching out to private equity firms for business opportunities 46:05 Job market trends and career advice for consultants 52:01 Transitioning from independent consulting to full-time roles 55:01 Resume optimization, interim executive roles, and positioning for job opportunities 1:01:23 Board roles and compensation for private equity firms Links: https://charlesaris.com/strategy-compensation-studies/ 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.

Show Notes: The Umbrex Business Analytics Diagnostic Guide that is discussed in this episode can be downloaded at no cost here: https://umbrex.com/resources/business-analytics-diagnostic/ In this episode of Unleashed, Will Bachman and Adam Braff discuss the creation of a data analytics diagnostic guide. Adam, a former partner at McKinsey and a consultant on data analytics, discusses the importance of data analytics in solving business problems in any company or investment firm. He explains that a business analytics diagnostic is designed for organizations with multiple people, computers, and analytics processes. The goal of this diagnostic is to determine the performance and alignment of the data science or analytics function with the overall mission of the company. He explains the size and type of company that uses this and who would monitor and manage the data analytics of a company The Diagnostic Guide Format Explained The diagnostic guides follow a format with scorecards for individual pieces of an area, typically 15 to 25 different scorecards, and within each one, objective criteria ranging from nascent to optimized. These guides are divided into categories and subcategories, such as analytics strategy, data management, advanced analytics, AI, talent, decision-making process, tools, and infrastructure. Adam explains the format of the diagnostic guide, beginning with top level categories including analytics strategy, strategic alignment, performance measurement, and future roadmap. Analytic strategy involves understanding the business objectives and problems to be solved, such as growth, customer retention, risk management, and problem-solving.  Strategic alignment also involves determining the location of analytics people, whether centrally located in a Center of Excellence or distributed across different functions.  Performance measurement involves tracking key performance indicators for the analytics function, such as cross-sell, revenue, pricing, and marketing ROI teams. Benchmarking this number against competitors can help determine if the company is on track and if it is underinvesting in analytics. Performance measurement also includes ROI, which is the understanding of specific goals and projects that the analytics team is working on. By tracking these metrics and reporting the total impact analytics has on the business each year, the analytics strategy part can be evaluated. A Roadmap for the Analytics Strategy Adam emphasizes the importance of having analytical people distributed throughout the business and dedicated resources for analytics initiatives. To round out the analytic strategy, it is crucial to have a roadmap of the next eight quarters, such as tackling Net Promoter Score analysis, customer satisfaction drivers, or adopting a new data management tool. This roadmap should include hiring and development strategies, cutting-edge innovation, and research, which can be revisited and changed strategies as needed. This helps ensure the analytics team is effectively working towards achieving their goals. Data Management: Warehousing, Sourcing and Integration Adam goes on to talk about the importance of warehousing, data sourcing and integration involving sourcing data from internal systems or external sources, such as customer satisfaction surveys or third-party surveys. This is crucial for asset managers who need to acquire data for investment analysis and decision-making. Automating data loading processes is also important, as it allows for efficient data flow. Business intelligence is another important aspect of data management, which involves creating interactive dashboards and alerts for all stakeholders. Data quality is a critical aspect of data management, involving conscious decisions on the quality of data. More mature businesses have higher standards for accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of data, with constant profiling and monitoring to ensure data meets these standards. Data governance encompasses coordination across different parts of the business, ensuring consistency in data definitions, appointment and training of stewards, and governing data for regulatory and compliance purposes. Advanced Analytics and AI-Driven Decision Making Adam discusses the importance of analytics in a company's operations, particularly in areas like operational analytics and revenue. He highlights the need for centralized, advanced analytics functions that focus on predictive modeling, machine learning, and AI-driven decision making. These functions should be evaluated for their maturity and effectiveness. Another area of focus is AI-driven decision making, which involves how a company uses AI to improve operations.  He goes on to talk about talent management and three main areas: people, performance, and technology and how these tools can be used in this area. Training and development are crucial aspects of analytics talent management. This includes understanding skill gaps within the team, designing a curriculum to fill them, and providing continuous learning opportunities. Internal or external certifications and specializations can also be beneficial. Lastly, community engagement and collaboration are essential aspects of analytics talent management. This involves sharing knowledge with the organization, building collaboration, and engaging with external partnerships and networks. Adam explains how innovation and co-creation initiatives can help spur creativity and innovation within the analytics team. These efforts can be internal or external, pushing the envelope on innovation and ensuring the success of the business. Overall, analytics talent management is a critical aspect of a company's operations. The Decision-making Processes in a Data-driven Culture The decision making process involves three buckets: data driven culture, analytical decision making, and predictive decision making. A data-driven culture focuses on controlled testing of experiments and measuring things rather than relying solely on intuition. This includes tracking demand for analytics use cases, managing cultural change, and ensuring data accessibility and democratization. Analytical decision making starts with analytical frameworks and tools, such as customer lifetime value frameworks and CLV calculations. It also involves decision-making process integration, ensuring checks are in place before recurring functions occur to ensure data analysis is involved. Performance tracking and feedback are essential for comparing individual decisions made with data to the overall function. Adam explains how and why analytical decision making is used, and how predictive decision making involves planning out budgets for next year, understanding macroeconomic impacts, weather, and operational and financial budgets. Predictive analytics can help manage various risks, such as customer numbers, macroeconomic impacts, and weather. Predictive data is used for strategic planning questions, forecasting sales, and risk assessment. He explains how infrastructure scalability involves capacity planning and management, disaster recovery, and business continuity. Analytics diagnostic guides can help organizations prioritize their future state and decide what they want to invest in. Consulting firms should consider the bigger picture strategic choices, such as whether they are a data-driven company or if it's not important to spend time and effort on data and analytics. Companies may also want to focus on specific examples of demand in the business that they don't know about today, which can help them make better decisions. Data Analytics: Tools and Infrastructure Adam talks about the various platforms that can be used, and how choosing a point along the continuum of low maturity, intuitive, data-driven, and algorithmic can help companies determine if they want to be more analytical or not. By understanding the needs and preferences of their clients and identifying areas for improvement, businesses can make informed decisions about their future state and investment in analytics. He talks about the importance of being able to integrate tools, scalability, fitting the needs of the business and customers, and the ability to customize the tools. Adam discusses the concept of a company's approach to building capabilities and whether they want to be an analytical firm or not, and which analytics will help the business. He suggests that companies should make strategic choices about centralized or distributed analytics functions, monetizing external data, and maintaining a high level of customer consent. He also suggests that companies should build these capabilities aggressively, gradually improving over time, and that companies should start with quick wins on important use cases and gradually build on more complex ones, such as marketing ROI models.  For listeners interested in learning more about his practice, Adam recommends visiting braff.co, which offers resources such as a blog, an annual forecasting contest, and programming course. He also mentions that he has taught this content in graduate programs at Brown and NYU and has started teaching a corporate version of the analytics intensive course. Timestamps: 01:18 Setting up data analytics function in a company 07:02 Analytics Strategy and Measurement 12:52 Data management categories and sourcing 16:12 Data management, analytics, and AI in businesses 22:06 Managing and developing analytics talent 26:50 Data-driven decision making and analytics in business 29:13 Data-driven decision making and analytics tools 34:44 Data analytics maturity and strategic prioritization 40:17 Building a data analytics function for a business Links: Website: https://braff.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.

Tyler Cowen, author, economist and philanthropist, talks about the inspiration for his new book and the importance of talent identification in business. He believes that talent assessment is an art rather than a science and that institutions like the Florentine Renaissance, which had a competitive process for identifying talent, have been particularly good at this. Tyler also mentions the success of identifying American business talent in the Midwest during the 20th century. China has also done a remarkable job in identifying CEO talent in a world where almost no one had an MBA, and India is currently the single hottest blossoming talent spot. He discusses the trend of companies investing in spotting talent overseas, particularly for smaller companies. With the pandemic and work from a distance, the chance of hiring talent  in Indonesia or the Philippines is much higher than it was just a few years ago. However, it is harder to evaluate talent in other countries due to cultural differences and difficulty in interpreting references. And while talent is evenly distributed around the world, opportunity is not. Companies need to adapt their strategies to better identify and mobilize talent, as well as invest in international talent identification. Screening Applicants and Recruiting Talent Tips The increasing trend of independent professionals entering the international market and the importance of investing in pre-existing networks of soft contacts, Tyler suggests that companies should focus on building talent scouts or people who can help navigate different geographies around the world. He shares an example of hiring an Indian person who is well connected in India through his blog and podcast, which serves as a filter for potential applicants, reaching the people who are already aware of the company and  will take the first step of contact. He also discusses the importance of screening applicants before the interview process, focusing on established track records, but with emphasis placed on behavior and actions taken and not merely words, and entrepreneurs who demonstrated curiosity and initiative, and those who can work independently but understand how they fit into a team. He emphasizes the importance of using soft connections to winnow down the field as much as possible. For the initial screening phase, Tyler suggests using pre-existing soft networks, such as those within the company or those who know them and can speak credibly about them. This approach is the highest yield way of approaching a problem where there are a large number of potential applicants and ensures that the candidate knows enough about the company and fits in. Skills Assessment and Onboarding Talent Tyler also emphasizes the importance of clear writing skills and how companies like Amazon and Stripe prioritize this aspect. He also shares a few tips to use during the interview process, and the use of practical exercises after the interview round, such as diagnostics or walk-throughs, to assess the candidate's performance. In terms of evaluating the talent within the company, Tyler suggests investing in high levels of trust and focusing on what can be done now to build trust with employees. He shares onboarding advice, and states that focusing on mid-year or annual evaluations is not always the best approach to assessing talent.  Advice on Conducting Business Internationally Tyler shares tips on how to travel and learn about a place. He suggests walking a lot, even in places not in guidebooks, and speaking to a broad range of people. He also advises buying a physical guide book in advance and reading it, as people rely too much on the internet when traveling. Tyler also uses soft networks to connect with people who may be readers or people living in that area to help him. He shares a few stories of philanthropic adventures, including one example of a successful small venture is Timothy, a Ukrainian American economist. He discusses the idea that successful small ventures are often made up of people who are similar in personality types, such as early PayPal, Peter Thiel, Reed Hoffman, and Elon Musk. While this idea may not be radical, it is true that some things work well when people are cut from the same bolt of cloth. In summary, Tyler emphasizes the importance of building a soft network and connecting with people who can help him in various ways. He also mentions that some successful small ventures are made up of people who share similar personality types, which is not necessarily radical but is sometimes not always true. He talks about the concept of status quo bias and how Americans are moving less frequently. He shares his experiences with starting new projects, such as Marginal Revolution University, which is now the number one economics education site on the internet. He also talks about the importance of finding mentors, current funded projects, and future collaborations. Cracking Cultural Codes and Conducting Business Internationally Cracking cultural codes is an important aspect of understanding a culture. Tyler shares an example of how traveling to different countries helps bond with people and understand their thoughts and feelings. He believes that showing genuine interest in a country's culture can help break down barriers and encourage more ambitious individuals. A high leverage act is to raise someone's ambition. He also discusses the importance of not being too polite when evaluating someone for fellowship and believes that showing genuine interest in a country's culture can help break down barriers and encourage more ambitious individuals to pursue their passions. Tyler goes on to discuss how business is portrayed in the media and the value of management consulting and how the value of ideas underpins the entire enterprise. He emphasizes the importance of fluency in the English language and the development of a strong business culture. As an economist, Tyler also provides insights into the relative ability of management at a country level. He explains that management is better in some countries than others and how it changes over time. He also identifies the business scene of various countries on the rise, and how Danish business is different from American business. Hiring Tips and Advice for Parents Shifting back to hiring, Tyler emphasizes the importance of screening for resourcefulness and relentlessness in interviewing. He suggests that older individuals should be considered due to their track record and ability to capitalize on their full market value, and suggests taking note of “weird interests”, and looking for the level of detail in answers. On family life,  he shares his advice for parents on how to help develop talented kids, emphasizing the importance of encouraging curiosity and deep interests. He advises parents to introduce their children to their talented friends, allowing them to explore different professions and interests on their own. Tyler's objective function is to become an information trillionaire, which may not be possible at the moment. He wants to learn as much as possible about various topics, such as economics, history, social science, travel, language, culture, food, business, political science, and World Affairs.    Timestamps: 05:12 Talent acquisition strategies and screening processes 13:10 Hiring and onboarding processes for talent 18:07 Travel, talent assessment, and philanthropy 24:31 Creativity, innovation, and personal growth 27:40 Mentorship, cultural codes, and raising ambition 33:30 Business, media, and consulting insights 39:18 Business cultures, thinkers, and productivity 43:55 Writing habits, productivity, and lifestyle   Links: Website: https://marginalrevolution.com/ Book: https://www.amazon.ca/Talent-Identify-Energizers-Creatives-Winners/dp/1250275814 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.