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Speech Seminar or Workshop Evaluations
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Whenever I give a speech, seminar, or workshop I get written course evaluations, and save the rave reviews to use in sales. I do the same with consulting engagements. After I led an offsite management retreat, I ended by asking the participants for an exit statement. As we circled the table, I jotted down their comments. These words were very useful in the situation below.

I invited an executive to attend a CareerLab-sponsored TOP-12 human resources leadership roundtable, and she asked me to describe my most difficult executive coaching assignment. This was a selling opportunity, so I replied with this e-mail.


Hi Jen,

Thanks for being there today. It's nice getting to know you.

In our recent lunch, you asked me about my most difficult executive coaching assignment. I mentioned the reluctant CEO with no leadership competencies who inherited the company from his parents. This is a real Stanford-Wharton-Harvard case study.

After coaching the CEO and Vice President of Human Resources one-on-one, I led an offsite retreat last Friday focusing the management team on opportunities, not problems. The four-hours were spent articulating opportunities and wins, and it was a grand-slam home run. The feedback is below. You'll notice the CEO did have to mention "still a lot of hard work ahead!"

So far, so good. I'll keep you posted.
:B

  • We've started working together.
  • A sense of teamwork.
  • Very upbeat session. The atmosphere was positive. It's good to see people starting to smile.  We needed this meeting—have been feeling frustrated.
  • I'm encouraged that everyone wants to improve the operations . . . and how it relates to the bottom line.
  • We need to carry this enthusiasm forward. It was fantastic.
  • Good meeting.
  • This is something I've been hoping and praying for. This is a company I want to be at. Our enthusiasm will carry forward. We needed this.
  • Fresh ideas. People can feel the change, see the more human side of things. It's different . . . .
  • The tension among the group is a lot less. It was higher earlier. It's encouraging.
  • Very happy with today. Very refreshing to have good, positive dialogue. Still a lot of hard work ahead.
    •

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William S. Frank, M.A., President/CEO
25 Reasons I love consulting.
by William S. Frank
  1. Brand. You are your own brand, and you can define it any way you want. For many years, I provided outplacement to the ex-employees of Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service corporation. When departing employees left the company, they didn't request outplacement in their severance package. They said, "I want Bill Frank."
  2. Demand. The world will always be full of terrible problems that need solving.
  3. White Hat. I can be a helper and get paid for it.
  4. Pay. I can be paid to do things I'd gladly do for nothing.
  5. Variety. Every day is different.
  6. Happiness. At this stage of my career, I only work for people I respect and care about. If a client micromanages me or is otherwise no fun, I complete the assignment and replace them.
  7. Talent. I'm using 110% of my talents and stretching myself to the max.
  8. Change. I can change my focus any day I want. If you're a McDonald's franchisee, you don't say, "Hey, I've got this great idea for a meatball sandwich—let's try it out today." In consulting you can adjust your focus hour-by-hour, as long as your clients still understand and appreciate what you do.
  9. Income. No one else would pay me as much as I pay myself.
  10. FUN. I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.
  11. Retirement. I can write and consult as long as I am physically and mentally capable. Peter Drucker worked into his 90s, and when asked which book was his best, he said: "My next one."
  12. Job Security. Although clients come and go, no one can come into my office and say, "Pack up your stuff . . . You don't work here anymore." In 29 years, I've only had one employer: ME.
  13. Travel. I don't have to travel unless I decide to. I travel if it's both FUN and profitable—or at least FUN.
  14. Commute. I live five minutes from my office, a corner office in an upscale six-story tower. In winter, I leave a heated garage at home and drive to an underground heated garage at work. There's seldom time to hear even one song on the radio.
  15. Vacation. Consulting is more fun than vacation (except on Wailea Beach in Maui).
  16. Friends. I have developed hundreds of close acquaintances and several lifetime friends.
  17. Time. I can work as much or as little as I like: four-hour days or 18-hour days. (Of course, my income will reflect that.)
  18. Employees. I can work with employees, subcontractors, partners, or alone—I've done it all.
  19. Passive Income. I've developed several products that provide "mailbox money." I earn while I'm sleeping.
  20. Ethics. I've never had to violate my values or personal code of ethics. I've never had to lie, purposely deceive or harm others, or promise things I can't deliver. I go to bed with a clear conscience. That doesn't mean there's never any conflict. But the conflict is conducted according to generally accepted business practices.
  21. Virtual. My career is fairly portable. With the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, and FedEx, I can work nationally, even internationally from my office—or anywhere in the world.
  22. Purpose. I make a difference in peoples' lives every day. I see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and read it in their thank-yous.
  23. Experience. Every painful or joyful life experience makes me a better consultant. So does every person I meet or book I read. Grey hair can be good in consulting.
  24. Structure. I have to work very hard, and the clients expect superb results—but I get to structure my days, weeks, months, and years.
  25. Boss. Most of the time, I love my boss.
As I was posting these letters online, I realized I want to communicate my love for consulting. It's just a great business. The single letters, taken together, may create a picture of enjoyment, but in a burst of creativity I listed some of the reasons consulting is such a good fit for me—and perhaps for you, too. They are not prioritized; this is just how they came out.