Hiring a Consultant – Yes? No?

Volumes have been written about the pros and cons of hiring a consultant. Among the pros: get an extra brain. Among the cons: it’s expensive.

Perhaps the most overlooked very good reason for hiring a consultant is that nobody – really, nobody! – inside the enterprise today has time to take on yet another task.

Whether it is the launch of a new product, the revamp of a web site, the analysis of a recently acquired business unit, the replacement of a C-Suite leader, the exploration of a new market . . ., do you have time? Does one of your VPs? Maybe your secretary can do something with that web site. Or your HR benefits generalist has contacts that can help you find a new COO or CFO. Yeah, right!

Productivity is on the rise. That means that we all work harder, for longer hours, to deliver more results. It also means that we are so thinly stretched that taking on yet another task is out of the question. Unless we want to stumble along for a while and finally settle for a less than optimal result.

Today’s savvy Chairmen, CEOs and Presidents know that getting a hired gun on board – with expertise, experience and recommendations, of course – is the way to go. It saves time. It saves money. It delivers results. It burnishes the bottom line.

We have some recommendations for you . . .

* Sales
* Image & Etiquette
* Executive HR
* Marketing & PR (you saw that one coming, didn't you . . .? :-))

U.S. Investments and Jobs in Renewable Energy

Both private and public investments in renewable energy continue to increase in the United States, but the question has been raised if it is enough.

In order for the U.S. to claim a world leadership position in renewable energy, CEDA is one of the “must” items on our national To Do List.

The entire piece, with pertinent links, will appear in Atlanta Daybook later this week.

I Can Do Boring!

It always amazes me that so many people want to look like, sound like, and otherwise come across like everybody else.

A recent client did not want to have it mentioned in his bio that he was passionate about his industry because, he said, his was an industry without passion. Really? Maybe he ought to shake things up a bit.

Even more recently, another client who was given a bit of “edge” in her profile told me she was too conservative, pragmatic and collaborative in nature for this. But she was interested in what she referred to “catchy phrases” . . . team player, results oriented, respected professional, highly motivated.

Yuk!

But, in the spirit of the customer being king, if a client insists . . ., I can do “boring”!

Still, if you want to make an impact in a job search or a vendor application, or if you want to be a conference’s next keynote speaker or get the attention of a talk show’s booker . . ., “boring” is probably not going to do it for you.

Find your uniqueness and dare to stand out!