Opportunity or Siren Call

TEN YEARS AGO, Jerry, Clifford, and I talked strategies over a long lunch. Jerry was a solo consultant. Clifford had two other partners in his consulting firm, plus several dozen contract employees. Clifford and his first partner were both Ernst alumni, while their third partner came from Deloitte. Nobody had a better view of their businesses than me, since I sat on both their boards. Rather than tease you with suspense, may I divulge now that Jerry’s personal income in 2004 was $12 million?

How to Build Relationships with Other Professionals

Do you get a little weary listening to all the experts who trumpet, "It’s all about relationships!" and then drone on and on? Has anyone bothered to help you understand what it takes to build and maintain a quality relationship? You recognize how important this is because you count on your referral network in one way or another as a source of leads, and getting a referral is the surest way to a new client

Incorporate Publications into your Marketing Strategy

Management consultants are asking themselves a tough question: What is the most effective way to develop new business? Referrals and networks still work well, but they take up valuable fee-earning time and cannot easily be scaled. Attention inevitably turns to marketing—but can mar-keting really help to grow such an intangible, people-oriented business? There is evidence that it can indeed.