by Bruce Newman

   This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

Hiring the right consultant has always been a difficult responsibility.  Hire the wrong person and it can hinder a project’s outcome, often resulting in additional costs, decreased morale and rework – along with the hiring person receiving much criticism.  Hire an outstanding consultant and receive little credit for a well designed, appropriately budgeted and timely project that significantly improves productivity. 

In a recent survey by The Productivity Institute, respondents were asked how much time they spent on each search.  46.3% of respondents reported spending 5 or more days doing a consultant search.  This inordinate amount of time reflects the importance of hiring the right consultant.  This percentage jumped to 63.5% when including searches of 2 – 5 days.

This significant period of time in the hiring process reflects both caution and three necessary steps. These steps include: locating consultants, checking their credentials and experience, and somehow assessing their knowledge.  All too often it does not include assessing their communication skills and ability to work with others – which most companies consider the two most important traits, as also reported by our survey.  In lieu of these steps, it is easy to understand how personal referrals often shortcut this entire process, though sometimes with very detrimental results. 

All three steps can be very time consuming.  Locating consultants is usually accomplished through recruiters, personal or business references, going to the websites of the relevant organizations and online searches.  Unfortunately, this can result in the receipt of many resumes and business overviews, each of which needs to be closely evaluated.  Even more troubling is determining accurate evaluation criteria.  Without extensive experience and knowledge, a limited skill set can easily be hidden by a candidate’s good salesmanship.  Knowing exactly what skills and characteristics you are searching for prior to evaluating consultants will greatly increase your chances of selecting an excellent consultant.

The benefits provided by outstanding consultants are both short and long term in duration.  An excellent design or service can benefit a company for many years.  One analogy is to compare their work to a building foundation.  If that foundation is solid and broad, more and more stories can be added to it.  Conversely, a poor foundation is unstable and every addition that is built upon it weakens the entire structure, making it more prone to collapse.  When evaluating a consultant’s performance, it is important to assess the long term benefit of their work, particularly in today’s economically troubled and competitive marketplace.

Assessing the expertise of consultants can be extremely difficult.  Determining which criteria to assess and how to impartially apply it is problematic, particularly when applying it only at one specific instance of time.  Regular reviews are much more accurate since they provide a long-term view of the consultant.  Our survey also showed that personal referrals are the fourth most important background factor when considering a consultant.  In fact, many companies mistakenly hire consultants based on these referrals and do not apply these applicants to the same criteria as other potential consultants – which can be disastrous.

In summary, with a median search time of almost five days, companies are expending significant resources in time and money in the locating and evaluation of consultants.  This is understandable since there are several factors to consider and the decisions they make can enhance or adversely affect their company’s positive cash flow and productivity – along with their own careers.

Bruce Newman is the Vice President at The Productivity Institute, LLC, an acknowledged leader in locating, evaluating and matching the specific areas of expertise of consultants to the needs of its clients.  Bruce also specializes in evaluating companies to improve their productivity and positive cashflow. He is also the editor of the Productivity Institute Newsletter, a free content-is-king newsletter (circ. 6,000+) and a thought leader.  Follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter and the Productivity Institute blog.

by Bruce Newman

   This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

It has almost always been the accepted norm that the most important characteristic when hiring consultants was their knowledge. This was certainly true in the 1970’s through early 2000 when the key characteristic of most candidates was their knowledge and experience.  Other aspects of a candidate were often deemed secondary.

In a recent survey by The Productivity Institute, respondents were asked to select the three characteristics they deemed most important when hiring a consultant. Surprisingly, the most important deciding characteristic that over 53% of the respondents selected was excellent communication skills, surpassing such traditionally predictable areas as honesty and technical knowledge.  Other characteristics in the PI survey included: professionalism, knowledge, integrity, availability, reliability and several others.  Yet, communication skills easily outdistanced them.  This is very significant. 

Selecting and hiring a consultant is not an easy process or decision; yet, it is crucial for companies to make wise choices, particularly when a consultant can have a direct impact on a company’s productivity.  It is for this reason that The Productivity Institute, LLC, assists organizations in locating and retaining outstanding consultants whose skills and results are excellent.

The ability to work with others was the second most important consulting characteristic, having been selected by 45% of the respondents.  The ability to work with others and good communication skills go hand in hand and allows consultants to fully understand a project’s scope and goals while keeping all project stakeholders appraised of the project’s progress.

These two characteristics surpassed the third most important consulting characteristic: experience. Apparently, in this challenging economy, interpersonal and social skills have become every bit as important (if not more so) than technical skills and experience.  Companies have become aware that successful consulting also requires excellent communications.  Just possessing the appropriate knowledge and experience is no longer adequate. This is quite a departure from the 80’s and early 90’s where the importance of social and interpersonal skills were usually minimized in the selection of consultants.

One common aspect of good project management is the ability of all key parties to regularly and effectively communicate with each other. In many cases, it is the critical factor in determining the success or failure of a project.  It is revealing by this survey that this level of importance has been extended to the hiring of consultants.  

In this frightening economy, where consultants are playing a more important and visible role than ever before, the Human Factors have become a more important decision criterion than they ever had been before. The consultants most in demand are those who are skilled listeners, speakers and team players. For businesses to survive and to thrive in this oppressive economic environment, they are looking for consultants who can play more of a coordinating and leadership role. Consultants have become much more than ‘brains for hire’.

Bruce Newman is the Vice President at The Productivity Institute, LLC, an acknowledged leader in the areas of selecting consultants and improving productivity. He is also the editor of the Productivity Institute Newsletter, a free content-is-king newsletter (circ. 5,400+) and a thought leader.  Follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and the Productivity Institute blog.

by Bruce Newman

   This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

Companies need consultants

Regardless of their size, all companies need consultants – they can’t have expertise in every area.  Consulting is a cost effective means of providing companies with the expertise they require in order to meet their specific needs.  One advantage of outstanding consultants is their wide breadth of experience and knowledge - which frequently translates into excellent project design and results that may extend beyond the initial range of the engagement’s core focus.  There have also been many reported instances of consultants providing feedback and guidance on issues outside the parameters of their original project, usually as a result of their knowledge and experience.

Measuring consultant performance

How is consultant performance measured? This controversial question has been asked many times and yet, has not been effectively answered.  Accounting types generally prefer highly quantitative measurements, usually involving some type of ROI (return on investment) measurement.  These may include a benefit to cost ratio, net consulting benefits divided by cost, payback period or numerous other calculations. What often needs to be assessed is the long tem benefit of consultant performance.  Unfortunately, these are the calculations that are not usually made or adjusted over time.  The benefits of outstanding design, implementation, or performance by a consultant over a period of several years can demonstrate an enormous return on investment. 

Rating consultants

In developing an algorithm to accurately rate consultants, many factors must be considered.  Past history with clients is one important measurement. However, this can sometimes be misleading since it may only reflect a subset of clients or specific areas of expertise by the consultant.  Similarly, years of experience may represent a huge variation ranging from a narrow focus as opposed to exposure to a wide range of situations.  One important factor that almost all outstanding consultants demonstrate is excellent communication skills.  It is through these skills that a project scope is discussed, interpreted and implemented.  Even the level of knowledge and experience can be overshadowed by poor communications.  Therefore, when considering these and other factors in the selection of a consultant, having a highly reliable algorithm or system will greatly enhance the likelihood of success and achieving excellent value.

Technology procurement

For many projects, the cost of technology can be daunting.  One way that companies have managed to reign in costs is through sourcing and procurement consultants.  This is particularly important for companies with large contracts where a specialist will help you get the best pricing and buyer-favorable terms and conditions for your project.

A procurement specialist will give you the framework to conduct a quick and meaningful procurement process, including access to a sophisticated software tools that are populated with numerous project-specific requirements templates.  This process-driven approach is designed to create a truly competitive bidding process, reduce vendor negotiation cycle times, and allow you to base your buying decision on the actual terms and conditions a vendor is willing to offer for your project.  It has literally saved tens of millions of dollars worth of technology transactions.

Bruce Newman is a consulting guru and the Vice President at The Productivity Institute, LLC (http://www.prodinst.com) which provides prodinst by matching the specific software products and services needs of companies to rated outstanding consultants who can meet those needs. Any company that wishes to improve their productivity can sign up for this free referral service and be contacted by up to five rated outstanding consultants. PI also offers Needs Assessment that can greatly help a company improve productivity and become more cost competitive.

by Bruce Newman
 
The current economic crisis has affected the hiring and use of consultants.  Many companies erroneously view consultants as a needless expense.  This short-sightedness overlooks many of the benefits consultants can provide.  First, consultants usually have a contract for a specific period of time or per job.  Unlike employees, they don’t require the (up to) 30% overhead* for benefits, social security, etc. that companies face with each employee.  Second, they provide rapid expertise and insight in area companies may need to quickly address.  This in turn, enables companies to pivot quickly while adjusting to rapidly changing marketplace and economic realities. 

Many people who agree with this philosophy also point out that long-term employees have the industry and company knowledge that can only be learned through years of experience.  While this is true, having expert outstanding consultants who can provide additional expertise and out-of-the-box thinking could greatly augment productivity.  Such increases would be particularly noteworthy with the support of senior management and through outstanding communications and training.

Bruce Newman is the Vice President at The Productivity Institute which specializes in matching the consulting needs of companies to the expertise of rated outstanding consultants.  With over 25 years of business and consulting experience, Bruce is an expert on consultants and productivity.

* You May Earn 30% More Than You Think, by Siri Anderson, PayScale.com, Yahoo, 3/2/09.

by Nathan Watkins

     This article was published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

The largest potential cost savings in your office is sitting on your desk just waiting to be added to your bottom line, not the phone company’s.  A careful telephone bill audit could save you thousands of dollars every year…and doesn’t have to cost you an extra penny.

So how do you go about securing this money saving evaluation now? First of all, time is of the  essence.  It’s possible that you’ll only be able to recover over-payments for 12 months even though you have been over paying those charges for years.  That’s unfortunate, but regardless, in today’s economic climate all savings are valuable.

Still, you may find yourself thinking “I don’t have time to audit phone records! Nor do I know how!” Rest assured, you’re not alone.  After all, who really has time to embark on an audit in this market?  You’ve got calls to make, ever changing guidelines to keep up with, and clients to help.

That’s where professional telecommunications consultants can help.  They will employ the following techniques and more, with no up-front cost to you at all.  You’re probably wondering where the catch is?  Why would a company audit your phone records for free?  Because, they will ultimately share a percentage of the savings they are able to find for you.  That means, the more they find…the more you save! 

Here are just a few tips you can use to put thousands back in your in your pocket, not into your phone bill.

·         Knowing Your Phone Bill Leads To Quick Refunds And Credits.
Check every line item on your bill. Make sure you know what the charge is for and that it matches the terms on your contract. (You have read your contract haven’t you?) Mistakes happen. Furthermore, confirm that all services are actually working at your location. Look for voice mail that has never been turned on or lines never connected. This can result in a quick refund or credit to your account.

·         Have You Moved Recently Or Changed Service Providers?

Check your bill. Did you forget to disconnect your old lines or services? The phone company may not do it for you, even if they put your new lines in. It’s a common mistake.

·         Are You Being Double Billed For Services?
Carefully review all of your bills to ensure there are no duplicate charges for long distance calls or other services.  Comparing multiple bills side by side will help you to pick out any anomalies. 

·         Check Your Taxes

Are you outside city limits but continue to be billed city tax? This happens more often than you’d think. Are you being billed correctly for all taxes and fees? Ask your provider. Hint, the number of taxes should emulate the number of analog lines. For example, FAC charges should be the same as the number of lines unless you have a T1.

·         Check For Late Fees.

Are you paying on time but still charged a fee? Check your due date.   

But what can you do if you find discrepancies in your phone bill?  Keep the following in mind:

·         Don’t Be Afraid To Question Service Charges

If it is difficult for the phone company to determine who ordered a questionable service, they are more likely to give a refund.  Don’t be afraid to ask, “Who ordered this service and on what date? Can you fax me the contract?” If they can’t produce a contract there likely isn’t one.

·         Be Confident When Requesting a Refund.

If you are confident and clearly state that you expect savings in the form of a refund or credit, more often than not you will receive one. Never accept a “No” from a person that does not have authority to say “Yes”. Ask for their superior. Keep in mind that even if you are 100% at fault for an expensive mistake, you should still ask for a credit. You may get one.

The next step in making sure that you’re not wasting your hard earned money on services you don’t need is to determining your true service needs.  Consider the following:

·         How Many Phone Lines / Trunks Do You Really Need?
A quick indicator is that long distance only shows up on a few lines. But, only a traffic study performed by your provider will provide you with the real answer. You may be able to save thousands of dollars just by reducing the number of lines you currently have.

·         Ask If Your Phone Company Offers A “Utility” Line?

These lines, which are typically used for faxes, modems, alarms and elevators, don’t provide a lot of features, but they are generally half of the price of a regular line.

·         What Are Your Data Needs?

Ask your provider for a traffic study. If you have a data T1, consider switching to higher bandwidth DSL or Ethernet and save up to 75%. Typically these have a great history of reliability. If reliability is paramount, combine DSL circuits from 2 different providers or cable company for double the bandwidth and reliability.

If you’re apprehensive about making a change in your phone service, because you’re locked into a contract, consider that even with an early termination charge, you may still be able to reduce costs even further. Keep the following tips in mind when dealing with your provider.

·       Knowledge Is Power.

Armed with the knowledge of your true requirements for dialtone and data, your provider will take you more seriously when you tell them you are shopping.

·       Make Sure You Understand Your Contract:

Do not be surprised if your provider tells you, “I’m sorry but you have 12 months left on your contract with an early termination charge of $7,200.” Be familiar with your contract and verify how they arrived at their numbers. How much service can you disconnect without incurring any charge? Be sure to stress that you are trying to work with them but that the market is forcing you to explore options.

·       Explain Your Changing Office Dynamics.

If your office has half the staff it had a year ago, and you have a full T1 of voice (24 channels), see if they will allow you to re-contract for 12 or less trunks. This can save you as much as 50%. Ask if this is the best deal they can offer.

Finally, when you’ve reviewed your bills, determined your true needs, and secured all refunds and credits, you may be ready for new services.  Before you sign up for any new service, weigh the following options carefully.
  

·       Check Your Options.

New services may be available in your area at a lower cost. 

·       Find A Consultant Whose Fees Are Based On Actual Savings.

In many cases the very best value services are not sold simply because they pay a very small commission for the same amount of work for the service provider’s agent. But telecommunications consultants will be aware of these little known programs, and can secure additional savings for you.  Those who save you the most, stand to earn the most, which is why they’ll work hard to get you the best deal available.

·         Be Selective In Choosing An Outstanding Consultant.

Ask for references and don’t pay a penny until the promised savings are verified in writing and match the rates on your new bill. This may take a few months but most reputable consultants will agree to it.

This may sound like a lot of work, but you don’t have to do it alone.  A professional telecommunications consulting and brokerage company can save you the time and headache of doing this on your own, all the while keeping your money where it belongs…in your pocket. 

For 20 years Nathan Watkins and his Seattle Line Communications Inc. have helped hundreds of companies, of all sizes, obtain refunds and reduce monthly expenses in an area few companies understand, or pay much attention to…the phone bill.

Nathan welcomes questions at: Help@Seattleline.com, or visit www.SeattleLine.com for more information. 

by Ethan Mayers 

     This article was published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

It’s the beginning of another glorious work week. You arrive early at your office in anticipation of what lies ahead. Thirty-two e-mails grace your presence. You have seven orders in the pipeline, and leads on 20 more. Your company is small, but it is finally realizing some of the potential you knew it always had. You glance through the e-mails and stop at e-mail # 17, a question from a concerned customer regarding a previous order.

You sit back in your chair and think about where that information is. You look in the folder where it is supposed to be, but it isn’t there. That’s because you moved it when you did your backup last month. You search your database, but the piece of information is not there. Oversight on your part, perhaps, but a business owner can only do so much.  You retreat to your paper files, but the answer isn’t there either. Finally, you ask one of your associates, who quickly relays an answer from memory. Total elapsed time: 32 minutes.

The successful capture and retrieval of information is paramount to the success of an organization. Without a good process, information gathering can stymie efficiency and drain a great amount of time. Like a commander going into battle, good information prepares us, bad information prepares us badly and no information leaves us unprepared. True synergy comes from capturing enough information to stay on top of your business while not capturing too much that is wasteful and counterproductive.

Businesses collect several types of information throughout any given day. Customer information includes not only meta-data such as addresses and phone numbers but also tastes and trends (e.g., this client likes red pens and prefers to be called only at night). Product information is crucial for a production-based business or retail environment, and service industries can benefit from tracking and usage reports. Employee records are another piece of the information pie, and that data ranges from quantitative (SSN, phone number) to qualitative (reviews).  Detailed information regarding sales leads are necessary to keep the pipeline afloat, and financial information keeps the bills and employees paid. It is no wonder why large firms employ so many people to keep and manage databases.            

In the beginning, most small business owners will use a combination of memory, pen and paper, and a software application system such as Microsoft Excel to keep track of the small amount of relevant information – usually leads. At some point (early for some business, much later for others), the information migrates to a database (Access, Oracle, SAP, SQL, mySQL, etc.). As the business owner, and one who may not have had a lot of experience in the world of databases, it will now be up to you to lead this project. Since every piece of inputted data adds time and complication, it is better to think ahead to conceptualize what kinds of information you will want to look at. Some of it is obvious (lead phone number and e-mail) while others may not be (aging reports, employee productivity levels). In the end, remember that this information serves one of two purposes: to conduct business or to assist in a decision.

Information gathering can be intrusive and time intensive. There are also legal considerations to contend with when capturing and maintaining certain types of personal information. Before your information gathering and retrieval system is built, it may seem, at first, like an enormous amount of time, energy and money poured into a virtual black hole. I’ve had clients who understood the general concept of information retrieval, but were somewhat skeptical of how much time should go into a database project until they saw the piece of paper with a relevant report culled from their own information with useful data that directly guided a business decision.

There are options other than maintaining your database in-house. Companies such as Salesforce.com and outsourcing solutions such as HR intermediaries can handle specific needs, but it is still up to the business owner to understand the flow of information in, within and out of an organization. This process, done right, can successfully lead you through the 21st century business environment. And next time, when you get to that seventeenth email and your customer asks you a question, a few keystrokes and the right query may provide the answer in two minutes for a total time savings of 30 minutes. More time to answer yet more e-mails.

by Bruce Newman

   This article was published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

I recently wrote a brief article that discussed the growing number of companies who have contacted us and require direct help with analyzing their employment-related expenses in order to sustain their businesses through difficult economic times.

My posting continued, a thorough “Needs Assessment” will assist a corporate employer (very small businesses to medium-sized businesses) to determine which positions need to be continually maintained, and which positions can be either consolidated or contracted out to one or more expert, rated outstanding consultants.

Two of the biggest mistakes that companies are making is 1) waiting until they are in a complete crisis and then eliminating the wrong people and the wrong jobs, and 2) trying to go to numerous impersonal online services to try to find consultants and freelancers on a trial-and-error basis. In our professional practice we eliminate the trial-and-error issue completely.

Below are several of the numerous responses I received.

One thing a company almost always forgets is a Threat & Risk assessment.  They then go on a cost cutting spree and in today’s litigation happy world, can end up in a major legal battle or spend a lot to pay a settlement to keep things quiet.  I am currently helping a small business that cut back and never thought about a threat assessment. They are currently getting ready for trial.  What they would have spent on a TRA was a fraction of the cost of their first retainer for outside counsel.

This is big business today. People at the top have no idea what anyone below their group of cronies does. As such, when payroll needs to be cut they single out positions and not people. And even immediate supervisors for the most part don’t know what the job function reporting to them takes to get accomplished because chances are they got their position because of who they knew and not necessarily because they were the right person for the position or held the position previously.
  
Bruce - I agree completely, continuously keeping an organization thin is a much better proposition than expanding then contracting. Better run sales organizations should be doing this every day! EVERY DAY!

The evaluation of potential is a powerful tool, which, if undertaken, can restructure an organization by placing people in a position where they can function effectively.  It therefore promotes the development and implementation of strategic plans of growth while often resolving existing difficulties that, in the new framework often turn out to be trivial. 

One of the largest employment-related expenses is the cost of business communications. With the most expensive employees (namely management) spending upwards of 90% of their time on business communications and even the front-line assembly worker still spending upwards of 20% of their time on business communications, the real savings come from switching from traditional means of business communications to cloud communications systems where both time and cost can easily be reduced by half if not closer to 80% of today’s costs.

While these are only some of the responses I received, they all denote the importance that companies need external evaluations to remain lean and safe.  It is through these evaluations that improved gains in productivity can also be attained.

Bruce Newman is a consulting guru and the Vice President at The Productivity Institute, LLC (PI)(http://www.prodinst.com) which provides prodinst by matching the specific software products and services needs of companies to rated outstanding consultants who can meet those needs. Any company that wishes to improve their productivity can sign up for this free referral service and be contacted by up to five rated outstanding consultants. PI also offers a Needs Assessments that can greatly help a company improve productivity and become more cost competitive.

   by Victoria Duff

     This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

There comes a time when every executive or entrepreneur realizes that he needs help – the kind of help that nobody in his company can provide.  Usually it is a task that requires specialized expertise and he either doesn’t have the proper skill set or has no time to devote and can’t spare any of his employees for the job.

When you define what you need and hire a well-regarded consultant to fill that need, you not only get the task done properly but you save a lot of money and anguish.  On the other hand, the wrong consultant hired for a vague reason can cause a lot of expensive damage, and waste valuable time.

Define your need
First:  Ask yourself what you want to happen that isn’t happening.  If you are in doubt about the true source of poor performance or cannot decide where change is needed, you might want to ask for a short review and recommendations from the consultant you are considering hiring.  You should expect to pay for this, but it will allow you to evaluate the consultant’s work before committing to an extensive engagement.

Second: Ask some questions.  Asking the right questions of people who are close to the problem will give you an idea where the source of the problem might lie.  A good way to limit consulting costs and increase the likelihood of a successful project is to know exactly what you want the consultant to accomplish and be able to describe that goal during your initial consultation. 

Third: A large national consulting firm is not necessarily your best choice.  You might be better served by an independent consultant who has experience in your industry and who specializes in small or mid-size companies.  Such a consultant usually has experience gained in a large company but can customize her services to suit the needs of your company, while a consultant from a large national firm will most likely present solutions that involve proprietary packaged services offered by that firm. 

Look for skills
Using a consultant referral service is a good way to find a choice of consultants - particularly one that constantly rates consultants; however, it is not necessarily to your advantage to deal with referral services that encourage consultants to bid for jobs based on price.  While you may need to keep costs within budget, your aim is to find a professional with the right set of skills, not simply the lowest price provider.  All good consultants will try to cooperate with you if you tell them your budget.   Do not fall for a sharp sales pitch or the least expensive fees.  Look for consultants that have been pre-vetted by a person or service you can trust.  An outstanding consultant might charge a little more but the added value she brings will prove the bargain.

Never forget you are hiring a professional for his or her skill and experience with subject matter that you may not have mastered.  Let the consultant demonstrate what he knows.  You should not feel as though you need to learn how to do the consultant’s job.  The most important way to assure you will have a good experience hiring a consultant is to look for someone who can display skills.  A promise of great results is merely a sales technique.  What you are looking for is years of work experience that demonstrate mastery of a skill set.  A good consultant should be able to describe his procedures for discovery, how he manages the project, and how he expects to provide your solution.  Such information from a prospective consultant allows you to make an intelligent decision based on facts rather than sales tactics.   

Victoria Duff, founder of Southern California-based aBusinessPlan.com, is a widely acclaimed start-up facilitator, enterprise analyst, strategic advisor, venture finance catalyst, investor liaison, author, and speaker.  Her depth of experience lends itself well to efficiently providing solutions to over a decade of happy repeat clients.  Her advisory practice can be found at:  www.aBusinessPlan.com  Ms. Duff is available on a retainer or project basis vduff@abusinessplan.com .

by Bruce Newman

Avoiding the need to rework any project positively effects productivity. Since reworking a project usually incurs many additional expenses - sometimes more than double the initial cost - and much extra work and lost time, it should be avoided, if possible. First, it often requires the assembly of a new team or set of experts - a painful and time consuming step. Second, it requires a new assessment of the project design and plan, implementation, percentage of completion including what still needs to be done, and what needs to be fixed. Frequently, it is often cheaper and easier to start over than to attempt to fix a major problem. Having to rework a project may also result in additional complications and complexities particularly if it is subject to outside influences. Furthermore, if there is a problem with the initial design, subsequent changes or additions may not be possible without massive revisions.

One often overlooked but important aspect is the amount of time lost by the people who were supposed to use or tried to use this project. This loss in energy and money can be substantial and will never be recovered. It may also severely hurt morale.     While consultants are usually readily available, outstanding consultants may be difficult to find.  Determining which consultants are outstanding can be even more difficult. This finding and discerning is an arduous, time consuming task that usually requires going to many sources, evaluating many resumes, project successes, and meetings - and still not knowing how good the selected consultant actually is. Sometimes the consultant will truly be excellent, but sometimes not. What is essential is that a company be prepared to fully evaluate all consultants. Time spent in this initial evaluation process is time well spent, particularly if it avoids rework.    There are numerous steps in the evaluation process a company can take to help ensure it finds outstanding consultants. Foremost, is having a solid plan that is comprehensive, clearly communicates all project goals and steps, and is agreed upon by all stakeholders - prior to interviewing any consultants. This will enable the formulation of specific project and experience-related questions when interviewing all consultants. It will also form the basis for communication during the project development.  

Outstanding consultants can often greatly enhance a project’s scope since they possess specific expertise in their area of specialty, substantial experience and significant general knowledge. This combined expertise helps ensure that the design and implementation is solid and meets all project goals and specifications. This is particularly important when projects are asked to perform under much greater stress (i.e. throughput) or with many additional functions than what was originally envisioned. I sometimes equate this to a building; if the foundation is solid, many floors and features can be built upon it. However, if the foundation is flawed, additional floors and features can cause collapse - and the need for rework at a tremendous cost of time and money.   Rework should be avoided, if possible. It can have many negative effects on a company’s bottom line, potentially reducing value and morale. Conversely, by carefully planning and finding outstanding consultants, much rework and unnecessary tribulations can be avoided while creating a foundation for excellent prodinst and enhanced value.

Bruce Newman is the Vice President and token male at The Productivity Institute, LLC which provides companies with rated outstanding consultants who can match their specific requirements. By locating, rating and providing outstanding consultants, The Productivity Institute can greatly increase a company’s value while enhancing their productivity.  Check out our website for more information. If you are not a subscriber to our blog, sign up now.

by Mel DePaoli

  This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute Newsletter

If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies. . . . It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better than the meat wrapped inside it.  Albert Einstein

Once again, Einstein was ahead of his time!  But, in this case, he was only half right.

There are many companies out there that have hired an incredible designer that was able to initially cover up the shoddiness of the business as Einstein might lament. On the flip side there are many GOOD companies that for whatever reason will not or do not invest in quality design, and this is as sad a situation as Einstein described.

How does good design affect your business, be it for a website, marketing materials or any other aspect that the public views? What is the value of design? Can you control the effect of quality design? And, does good design impact my bottom-line? Since these questions are all intertwined, there is no clear yes or no answer to any of them.

The world is as it is. Unfortunately, no matter what our parents tried to teach us, we do judge a book by its cover, even when we may not mean to. That being said, when your business has nicely designed materials, this is a direct representation of HOW you do business. Think about it, if you do not care enough about your own ‘stuff,’ how are your customers to know you will provide top quality and treat them with respect?

“But we want that mom-n-pop feel.” That is great; there is value in this as well. But leave that to a designer to accomplish because just using clip art and having someone without experience putting your materials together does not give the perception of ‘mom-n-pop,’ it gives the perception of cheap! Does this mean that the more expensive the designer or firm the better your materials? The answer is a firm: “No”.  Price can be misleading just as with any other profession.

The secret is that you need to know who your company is and what it stands for BEFORE you talk to the market or put your materials together. Why? Because when a prospect views your materials (this can be anything from a magnet to your website and everything in-between) a perception is created in their mind about the experience they will have when doing business with you. If they like the perception, they will want to do business with you. Of course, once you create the perception, you need to deliver!

This is where most companies miss the boat. They think that advertising and marketing are separate from how they do business. I am here to tell you that they are not—they are one in the same! Your marketing and advertising efforts are laying the ground work for the experience that your customers will have. People like what they expect.

It truly is amazing how the smallest thing can have the biggest impact on your bottom-line and can create an industry standard. By creating an industry standard, your competition will not survive unless they (at least) match your level of service and how the market perceives you. This is a great way to minimize your competition. An excellent example of this is the McDonald’s Happy Meal. It is a child size portion of food, in a fun box with a cheap toy. It not only shows that McDonald’s considers children an important part of their market, but the design is perfect to capture their attention. No fast food or family restaurant will last long without offering their own version of this. It is simple but VERY powerful.

When design + marketing and advertising + how you do business come together harmoniously authenticity is achieved and there will be a positive impact on your bottom-line—guaranteed!

Mel DePaoli is the president and founder of Omicle located in Seattle, WA. She is also interviewing companies for her upcoming book series Brand or Culture: Which Comes First. Please visit www.omicle.com for more information about how Omicle can become your Catalyst for Discovery and www.brandorculture.com to get involved in the Brand or Culture Debate! Ms. DePaoli can be reached at mel@omicle.com.