having fun while doing a great job would be killer, right?

This is a real gem for all of you who speak German.

I came across this book at the airport last week, and at the end of the day, I had finished it. The book is called
Folienkrieg und Bullshitbingo: Handbuch für Unternehmensberater, Opfer und Angehörige by Ewald F. Walden (Amazon.de link). It is the truth, and nothing but the truth, about working for a big consulting firm. There were tons of  “YES! THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT IS!”  moments in there, and despite being quite factual and informative, the book is a good laugh (a deeply ironic laugh sometimes, but nonetheless).

If you are considering a job in consulting in Germany – buy the book. You’ll get a very realistic idea of what might be ahead of you, and it gives you the whole picture, with all pro’s and con’s.

If you are a consultant at a big firm – buy the book. See, you are not alone. They all are as crazy as you are. There’s even a list of books to read and movies to watch during the occasional lonesome evening at the hotel.

If your significant other, child, sibling, good friend, etc.  is a consultant at a big firm – buy the book. It will explain a lot, and you will be able to understand some of the strange behaviours that he/she has.

Bottom line: Just buy it. Here.

Disclaimer: I signed up for the Amazon Affiliate Program, so in theory, I’ll get a few cents when you buy the book through the links posted here. I mostly did it to see if my recommendation has any effect whatsoever.

This is a real gem for all of you who speak German. I came across this book at the airport last week, and at the end of the day, I had finished it. The book is called Folienkrieg und Bullshitbingo: Handbuch für Unternehmensberater, Opfer und Angehörige by Ewald F. Walden (Amazon.de link). It is the truth, ...

Out of a recent discussion with a new colleague came a simple question – “what is the best way to organize project files into a folder structure, and how should the files be named?”
There’s not one right way for this, but this is how I do it:

Folder structure – keep it simple and consistent
One folder per project, and within it, a general outline that I keep more or less the same for every project and adapt it to the specific needs / complexities that come up:

In this folder I capture everything that relates to the project, the only other place where files will be stored is the Outlook Inbox (I keep separate .PST files for every major project, so I can clean my Outlook afterwards and archive both .PST and project folder together).

There will be cases where a file that was sent to me via email will be saved in the folder structure as well, which is in effect an unnecessary redundancy, but… a) it is often important to log who sent what when, thus deleting the mail does not do you any good, and b) it is always good to keep a second, clean copy of a file someone sent you, in case you tinker with it and forget to make a duplicate copy.

Don’t create too many sub-folders – just enough so that you can oversee the contents of a folder easily. When too many old versions of the same document pile up (I sometimes have over 50 versions of a file), they go into the “old versions” folder, and get deleted after the end of the project.

The folder “Meetings and Milestones” often helps because in creating documentation for steering committees etc., you normally have to take slides/information from all over the project.

The folder “Single tasks” comes in handy to just file away everything that you did on the fly, mostly quick slides for colleagues, a pivot table that the VP wanted to see, stuff like that.

BTW, the numbers in front of the folder name just keep things in the order I want them to be in, they have no other meaning.

File names – Consistent and self-sorting

I was taught a simple scheme after which to name my files, and it has proven very time saving again and again. It goes like this:

YearMonthDay_ClientName_ProjectName_
DocumentName_Version_Editor.XXX

• YearMonthDay: For example, 20100521 for May 21st 2010. 100521 works fine as well. Chose the date when the document will be presented / is due.
• ClientName: Self explaining. Make it short (“ACME” instead of “ACME Corporation”)
• ProjectName: Self explaining. Take the official one that the client also recognizes
• DocumentName: Must clearly state what is contained (“SalesForecastQ2″ is better than “Forecast”)
• Version: Count up from “_v01″. I do that in regular intervals when saving the document, and at least before sending it to someone else to indicate that there have been changes compared to the version before. When delivering the document to the client, either delete the version numer or replace it with “_final”
• Editor: Put your initials here when you save the document. “_JD” for Jane Doe. That way, everyone in the team knows who made the last edits on the file.
• XXX: The ending of the file type, e.g. “.ppt”

Thus, a file could be named 20100524_ACME_SalesUp_SalesForecastQ2_v04_JD.ppt. If you keep the file structure like that, the files automatically sort themselves if they are sorted by file name, giving you great oversight within the project folder structure.

What are your secrets in dealing with the masses of files that must be handled on a project? Share it in the comments!

Out of a recent discussion with a new colleague came a simple question - \"what is the best way to organize project files into a folder structure, and how should the files be named?\" There\'s not one right way for this, but this is how I do it: Folder structure - keep it simple and consistent One ...

I’ve been enjoying this book tremendously over the last days, thought I’d let you know about it.

The book is “Makers” by Cory Doctorow. The story plays in the near future, where some of the emerging trends of today are already steampunk, and the up-and coming gizmos of the science labs are found in the small store next door. The story makes you learn about important innovation trends, like 3D printing, open innovation, crowdsourcing, biotechnology body enhancing, etc. – and have the joy of reading a novel – two in one fun. There’s really a lot covered here, as was to be expected by one of the best novelists of the dotcom era.

If you want to give the KC a little love, use these links for your purchases on
amazon.de or amazon.com. (Disclaimer: Those are affiliate links and I get, like, bootloads of money if you click them, but it doesn’t cost you a dime.) Thanks, and enjoy the book!

I\'ve been enjoying this book tremendously over the last days, thought I\'d let you know about it. The book is \"Makers\" by Cory Doctorow. The story plays in the near future, where some of the emerging trends of today are already steampunk, and the up-and coming gizmos of the science labs are found in the ...

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.
(Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken“)

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. (Robert Frost, \"The Road Not Taken\") Business travel arguably is an art of its own. Some love it, some hate it. As a consultant, you ...

Craig Roth from Gartner wrote a great post on his blog about the “Sent from my iPhone / BlackBerry” lines that are automatically attached to emails you write on those devices by default. He argues that they are often abused as apologies for not writing coherent, complete and spellchecked email replies. Damn right he is!

A short while later today, Hugh McLeod published a drawing with the slogan “I don’t have a career. I have a blackberry.” – inspired by people like us, I guess, who stand around at airports and yack away at their BlackBerries. He wonders what work really gets done in those moments…

This is enough. Apparently, it needs to be said. Out loud.

YOUR BLACKBERRY IS NO EXCUSE FOR BAD EMAILS!

That means:

[Read more →]

Craig Roth from Gartner wrote a great post on his blog about the \"Sent from my iPhone / BlackBerry\" lines that are automatically attached to emails you write on those devices by default. He argues that they are often abused as apologies for not writing coherent, complete and spellchecked email replies. Damn right he ...