Beware the inadvertent commitment
By David Reinhardt. November 19th, 2010. Posted in On assignment 2 Comments »
We’ve all been there – the client starts a sentence with “While you’re working on the widget design, please could you also…†and at clocking out time you’re working on a widget supplier brief while everyone else is catching up on Eastenders.
Continue reading»The lighter side of day one
By David Reinhardt. October 15th, 2010. Posted in On assignment 1 Comment »
Everyone has something they look for on the first day of an assignment. For me it’s quite process driven – I want to know if I can get an ice cold diet coke (inputs) and whether the toilets are clean (outputs).
Of course, there are the work related factors. How easy is it to get meeting rooms? Has the client setup all the things they need to in order for you to be productive quickly? We looked at this in a previous post “Hitting the ground running on day one of your assignments” where we considered intelligent and naive buyers of consulting. In this post we’ll take a consultant’s view – what do I look for when I arrive on site?
Continue reading»Hitting the ground running on day one of your assignments
By David Reinhardt. September 24th, 2010. Posted in On assignment 1 Comment »
I recently started an engagement at a new client and was amazed to arrive on the appointed first day and find a desk, a PC setup for me with a user account, email, printers, etc and an access card. By 10:00am I had been taken on a tour of the facility, done the obligatory health and safety briefing, been shown the coffee facilities and met a few of my key contacts. By 10:15am I was in front of Outlook and setting up meetings for the rest of the week.
I was reflecting on this and I decided that I shouldn’t be amazed – that story should repeat itself on every engagement. Consultants are expensive. Hourly or daily rates quickly rack up and buyers should be looking to get the most out of their investment.
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