Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Our guest today is Dorene Stockman, an insurance agent with the Owens Group, an independent agency. Dorene helped me get my own insurance policy, and I thought she was very knowledgeable and a helpful advisor on that process, so I asked her to be on the show to share her advice for independent professionals on the types of coverage we need to consider getting. In our conversation we discuss the types of coverage that are applicable to most independent professionals, namely: Business owners insurance – closely related to General Liability policy Umbrella policy Professional liability policy Privacy / cyber policy We discuss policies that independent professionals should consider getting if you hire an employee or engage a subcontractor, including Workers comp Disability Unemployment insurance For those independt professionals that serve on the board of a non-profit or for-profit, we discuss directors & officers insurance Dorene also shares tips on how to select a broker, how often you should re-quote your policy, and how to work most effectively with a broker. Dorene prepared a much more exhaustive list of policy types that are applicable to narrower groups of independent professionals – if you email me at unleashed@umbrex.com I’ll send you a copy You can find Dorene’s firm at owensgroup.com Reach Dorene at: dstockman@owensgroup.com

Four reasons why an independent professional might want to start a podcast, and 17 tips on how to get started. 

Our guest today is Rick Condon, a former submarine officer and a former Engagement Manager at McKinsey. He has been running his own consulting practice since 2004. The majority of Rick’s clients are privately held mid-market companies and he works on a range of topics including preparing companies for sale; turn-around efforts, and jump-starting growth. You can read about Rick’s firm Inside Consulting at insideconsulting.net

Our guest today is my friend Amanda Setili, the author of two books: The Agility Advantage: How to Identify and Act on Opportunities in a Fast-Changing World, was published in 2014. Her latest book is coming out in the fall of 2017, Fearless Growth:The New Rules to Stay Competitive, Foster Innovation, and Dominate your markets. Amanda has an MBA from Harvard and started her consulting career at McKinsey & Co. She has been running her own successful consulting firm, Setili & Associates, in Atlanta for nearly twenty years. Her first book emerged out of something Amanda did which I think is pure genius: she created the Strategic Agility Think Tank, which brings together senior leaders from a blue-chip list of clients, several times per year for an in-person session that includes a panel discussion and then Q&A. The Think Tank keeps Amanda top of mind with the clients she has served in the past and is a reason to reach out to new ones. It gives her fresh material and case studies for her writing. It positions her as the go-to thought leader on how to navigate turbulent markets. It takes some real effort, long term dedication, and a willingness to invest to set up something like the Strategic Agility Think Tank – that’s why most people don’t do it. Those who do, like Amanda, are scarce and thus incredibly valuable.

Our guest today is Valia Glytsis, who runs The Paradox of Leadership, a leadership education firm based in New York and San Francisco. Valia works with leaders and organizations that yearn for a more meaningful and impactful way of working, communicating, and leading. She’s got a blue-chip list of clients that includes HBO, McKinsey & Company, Digitas, Kiehl’s, Soul Cycle, Edelman, New York City Economic Development Corporation, New York University (Stern), Georgetown University. In our wide-ranging discussion, we talk about the ways Valia builds her firm’s visibility through writing, hosting events, and speaking engagements. We talk about the three main revenue lines of her firm, namely executive coaching, training seminars, and keynote speeches. She reveals her morning routine – and I’ve already adopted some of her practices myself. She discusses her three core values, how she chose them, and what role they play. On her website, theparadoxofleadership.com, Valia has some audio products for sale, and she was kind enough to offer listeners of Unleashed a promo code INSPIRE good for 20% off her audio program or her private coaching program.

Robbie Kellman Baxter served as a consultant to Netflix when all they did was mail out DVDs. That experience got Robbie thinking deeply about a new emerging business model.  She developed these ideas over a period of nine years before publishing in 2015 her book The Membership Economy: Find Your Superusers, Master the Forever Transaction, and Build Recurring Revenue. In our discussion, Robbie goes into some detail of how the book came about, how she promoted the book, and how it transformed her practice from more traditional consulting projects to work that is more advisory in nature .  She has made an investment in becoming a thought leader, and it has paid off: Robbie is regularly invited to give keynote speeches and she has clients who’ve read the book reaching out asking for her help.  You can learn more about her work by reading her book, the membership economy, and by checking out her website: peninsula strategies.com Robbie studied at Harvard College and Stanford Business School, and started her consulting career at Booz Allen. She has been running her own consulting firm, Peninsula Strategies, since 2001, so she has been a successful independent professional for 16 years.

Several years ago, Srikumar Rao left a comfortable tenured position to set out as an independent professional. He now gives keynote speeches and offers his course to corporations and the general public around the world. His TED talk has been viewed nearly a million times.  Learn more about Srikumar at https://theraoinstitute.com/ Srikumar created one of the most popular courses ever at Columbia Business School: Creativity and Personal Mastery.  It is the only business school course that has its own active alumni group keeping the conversation going a decade and more after students graduate - including reunions, and Srikumar remains a beloved mentor by the thousands of students he has taught. Srikumar is the author of two best-selling books: Are YOU Ready to Succeed?: Unconventional Strategies for Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life and Happiness at Work: Be Resilient, Motivated, and Successful - No Matter What. In our show Srikumar discusses several practical exercises from his courses that students have found particularly powerful.    

Lilly Liu Minkove is an expert in the luxury retail sector. She focused on the luxury retail industry as an investment banker at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co.  Then she gained experience in industry as a Director of Strategy at Coach and as a Director of Stores for Louis Vuitton. Presently she is a partner at ArtLogica Strategy Group which she co-founded with fellow McKinsey alum Jessica Zhu. ArtLogica is a marketing and strategy consultancy for the consumer, retail, and luxury industries. In our discussion, Lilly gives an insider's view into what she looks for when she does an in-store diagnostic.  We also talk about how an independent professional can work with agencies to do large scale consumer surveys. Learn more about Lilly's work at http://artlogicagroup.com/

Susan Hamilton is a brand identity strategist and a member of Umbrex. She is an alum of Harvard Business School and Boston Consulting Group, and her firm, sh.BRAND, is based in New York City. We talk about what a brand identity is and how Susan helps firms define their brand identity.  To learn more about Susan, check out her website at http://sh-brand.com/  

Known for his wit, wisdom, and formerly purple hair, McKinsey alum,  author and independent management consultant Ravi Rao reveals how we can improve the performance of individuals within the corporate culture through emotional intelligence. As a young man, Ravi wanted to be an actor but ended up in neuroscience. With a keen interest in the function and development of the brain, he obtained a PhD in neuroscience, became a resident physician in neurosurgery at Harvard, where he studied the emotional behavior of babies. After he made a career switch to management consulting to join McKinsey & Co., he used his training in how the brain works to bring new insights to corporate culture transformation. In our discussion, Ravi explains why the basic element of trust is behind all progressive and profitable businesses. From being open to ideas and receptive to growth,  to mitigating the loss of high-performers and enabling staff to proactively anticipate and solve problems. Ravi talks about his process as an author for his book, Emotional Business: Inspiring Human Connectedness To Grow Earnings And The Economy: how he wrote it, published it, and how it has helped lead to further conversations. Ravi's got a unique morning routine that is inspired by his own neuroscience training, and he shares how he starts his day. Ravi is on Twitter @emobizguy. Unleashed is sponsored by Umbrex, the first global community of top-tier independent management consultants.