Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Our guest today is Umbrex member Ian Tidswell. Ian has a PhD in physics from Harvard. He did science for a few years but missed the human element and ended up as a management consultant at McKinsey. After McKinsey he worked at Vendavo, a software firm, and that is where he fell in love with pricing, which for Ian is the perfect mixture of the analytical and the human element. In this episode, Ian shares his perspective on pricing, including Why pricing is so important signs that a company has an opportunity to optimize pricing what good pricing looks like how to organize the pricing function and we walk through an example of pricing for a crop protection company. I enjoyed my conversation with Ian and I hope you find it helpful. You can follow up with Ian at Ian@eenconsulting.com

Our guest today is Neil Booth. In our discussion, Neil shares how he became a deep expert in how to build a really well designed model – he followed what could be termed the Benjamin Franklin method. Neil then turned that skill into a career. Neil also shares some modeling best practices – such as splitting up your formulas – do one step at a time – cells are cheap. We also geek out on cell styles, how to define constants, and whether you should include macros in your model. Neil is currently working at the investment bank Houlihan Lokey where he established the firms' Financial Modeling as a Service group. His group offers corporate training in financial modeling best practices, and will also build the financial model for you. If you'd like to follow up with Neil you can reach him at NBooth@HL.com.

Our guest today is Scott Skibell. I've heard from several people that video is the new thing, that video on LinkedIn gets much higher engagement, and that if you want to work on getting your message out, you need to learn how to do video. I took Scott Skibell's course, LinkedIn Video Marketing, and I thought it was great, and so asked Scott to be a guest on this show, to discuss video in an old-school audio format. What I really liked about Scott's course is his message: keep it simple, your videos are about creating connection, not perfection. That said, he provides some tips on how to up the level of professionalism, and shows how you can add titles, text, and B-roll to your videos, all from within the iMovie app on your phone. It isn't too expensive to get started. While all you truly need is your phone, it helps to buy a few accessories. In the show notes you'll find links to the accessories I bought, which include: Tripod for $17. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B074QV4MW7/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Tripod mount for $13 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B1GQ2T8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Softbox lighting kit for $70 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B071GR11GT/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Cloth backdrop for $83 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BQLHFMM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Rode smartLav+ microphone for $66 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EO4A7L0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I enjoyed my discussion with Scott and hope you find it valuable. To learn more, check out his course at: www.skillcasting.com

Our guest today is Tim DeRoche, a McKinsey alum and independent consultant who is also the author of The Ballad of Huck & Miguel, a novel published in February 2018 by Redtail Press. The Ballad of Huck and Miguel is a retelling of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in which Tim imagines that Huck is alive today and instead of traveling on the Mississippi with an escaped slave, Huck is living in Los Angeles and travels along the Los Angeles River with an undocumented immigrant. It is a fabulous novel with wonderfully inventive language and great fun to read. In this episode, Tim and I discuss how he came to write the novel, and how he combines this creative pursuit with his management consulting practice. Independent consulting provides the career flexibility to pursue a career as an artist in parallel, and Tim's experience is a great example of that. I hope you enjoy this discussion as much as I did.

Our guest today is Umbrex member Susan Drumm, a CEO Advisor and Leadership Coach with over 20 years of experience coaching entrepreneurs and executives. Susan got her start in consulting at BCG, and she is the only person I know who has graduated from both Harvard Law School and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Susan often facilitates off-site sessions for her clients, and in this episode she shares with me a set of best practices for making off-sites successful – including how to prepare, what a good agenda looks like, tips on facilitation, and how to ensure the benefits are captured. Later in the episode she shares useful tips for staying focused and organized. Susan believes that her professional career is a natural offshoot of her own interest in leadership and self-improvement, and says, "If you would read a book or attend a conference on the subject matter that is your profession, and you would do it without getting paid because you want to, because you're so interested, you're in the right field." You can find more about Susan's practice on her firm's website: meritageleadership.com

Sunny Bates is a legend and one of the master connectors of the 21st century. She is one of my heroes and it was really a privilege to have the chance to meet with her at her offices in Midtown Manhattan. Sunny is on the Board of Directors of Kickstarter, an Advisory Board Member at the MIT Media Lab, a Brain Trust Member for the TED Conferences, and an Advisory Board Member for the American Theatre Wing, which means she gets to vote for the winners of the Tony Awards. Sunny operates wherever executives, thinkers, artists, creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, educators, philanthropists connect and collide around the globe. Her genius is developing networks of extraordinary people and connecting their ideas in surprising ways toward concrete outcomes. In our discussion, Sunny shared insights on what makes a great connection and how to nourish relationships. We also discussed her idea of an ideal day, routines, habits, books, and theater. You can learn more about her work on her firm's website, which is sunnybates.com

Our guest today is my good friend, Umbrex member Celine Teoh an independent strategy and marketing consultant in the Bay Area whose functional specialties include data-driven marketing strategy and execution, strategic planning and business planning. On this episode, we discuss steps firms can take to improve customer retention. We also discuss the benefits you can derive from journaling – in terms of productivity, creativity, happiness, and centeredness. Celine has been journaling actively for years, across several different styles, and I've been working to put her suggestions into practice.

Our guest today is a good friend of mine, Umbrex member Paul Millerd. Paul has experience at McKinsey and BCG as well as the Board & CEO Advisory Group at Russell Reynolds Associates, one of the top executive recruiting firms in the world. He currently has a wide portfolio of activities – he is a real Renaissance talent. He is currently an independent strategy consultant, a career coach, the host of a podcast, Boundless, an active writer who puts out great posts several times a week. He hosts Jeffersonian dinners, he is interested in the gift economy and the future of work, Paul has created a career transition playbook and other course materials including a story course. In this episode we have a wide ranging discussion covering just a few of Paul's interests – I encourage you to check out his website and sign up to his mailing list. Visit think-boundless.com

Our guest today is Umbrex member Whit Pidot, an independent consultant who was formerly a Partner in the Travel practice at McKinsey. His clients include the CEOs of some of the top travel companies in the world including airlines, rental cars, and hotels. Whit has been fascinated by the world of travel from an early age. As a hobby, he has been running a travel agency on the side since college. In today's episode, we first explore some of Whit's favorite travel hacks for business travelers, such as: For finding the best rates on rental cars, Whit likes Autoslash.com. For hotels, if you aren't going to book directly on the hotel brand's website, Whit's current favorite sites are Upside.com and Rocketmiles.com. For all travel properties, ask what the Triple A rate is: sometimes the AAA rate is better than the corporate rate. Whit once had an entire McKinsey team get AAA memberships because the AAA rate at the hotel they were staying at was better than the McKinsey rate. We discuss Whit's travel agency, and how being in the business himself with his own Sabre subscription has given him a pulse on the business that informs his consulting work. We also discuss Whit's consulting work, which has a strong focus on loyalty programs. I love hearing Whit's stories about the travel industry, and I hope you find this episode helpful.

Our guest today is Joachim Fischer, a mentor and good friend of mine who was an Expert in the Operations Practice at McKinsey when I got to know him a dozen years ago Joachim is the only McKinsey alum that I know who started his career as an apprentice cabinetmaker. As he explains on the show, the training he received as a cabinetmaker has been incredibly relevant to his career, probably more important than anything he learned in college. He still spends a lot of his free time building beautiful things with his hands, and that practical, craftsman knowledge informs his professional work driving improvement on the shop floor. Back in 2006, Joachim and I spent three days together on a quick operations diagnostic of maintenance workers doing A-checks on a 747 at John F. Kennedy airport, which has got to be one of the most fun things I did at the firm. Joachim started his independent consulting practice ten years ago, and after I started my own practice I've regularly called him for advice, and I'm really grateful for all the counsel he has given me over the years. On the show we discuss Joachim's three main areas of focus, including lean transformations, operational problem solving, and coaching and mentoring. Over ten years, about 95% of his business has come from just twelve clients, and he offers a powerful example of building deep relationships with clients that last for years. I always learn something when I talk to Joachim, and I hope you find this episode helpful. To learn more about Joachim and get in touch, visit the website of Fischer Advisors.