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

I’m speaking consultanese all the time - it’s just the virus that goes with the job. There is nothing you can do about it, really – even if in the first weeks you think “boy, my colleagues are nice people, but what are they TALKING about?!”… give it a months, two max, and you’ll make the same impact on innocent bystanders, too.
Just to remind you – and to give those bystanders an opportunity to understand what their consultant says,

here’s 10 random consulting sentences, translated to human (with the occasional tongue in cheek):

1. “We’ll need to challenge the action title on this slide and sharpen the two-by-two.”
   We’ll need to critically look over the one-sentence title of this PowerPoint slide which should sum up the main message of the slide. Also, the two-by-two matrix still contains too much text / isn’t well defined enough, that needs to be taken care of, too.
2. “That’s a great idea, let’s put it on the parking lot!”
   Your idea might actually be great, but it doesn’t fit the scope (topic, time or both) of this meeting. Let’s write it down so that it doesn’t get lost but does not cause us to get off-target, either.

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I\'m speaking consultanese all the time - it\'s just the virus that goes with the job. There is nothing you can do about it, really - even if in the first weeks you think \"boy, my colleagues are nice people, but what are they TALKING about?!\"... give it a months, two max, and you\'ll ...

Following up on the last Consulting 101 article, “Shopping for the first day – clothing“, today let’s have a look at the gear for your weekly travels to the client side.  Most people run with two bags: an onboard-roller-suitcase and a laptop bag. Some prefer a suit bag over the rollercase, but as I try not to talk about things I have no clue about, you’re on your own on that one.

Onboard rollers (or trolleys, or the things with wheels to lug behind you)

• Size matters.
  Be sure to buy one that does comply both with your local and international carryon-luggage size standards. The “gold standard” of business travel is to not check in any luggage, which gets you more time before and after the flight, as well as the certainty that your luggage always is where you are – not a 100% sure thing if you check a bag in, especially when you are checking it in late. Thus: Be ready to take it on board, and have it at the size that allows it.

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Following up on the last Consulting 101 article, \"Shopping for the first day - clothing\", today let\'s have a look at the gear for your weekly travels to the client side.  Most people run with two bags: an onboard-roller-suitcase and a laptop bag. Some prefer a suit bag over the rollercase, but as I ...

Friday was a blast! I had been asked by colleagues in the US to join their weekly team call and give a talk based on what I do here on the KC in a webcast. It was a great experience! Thanks again for the invitation!

I set up a dedicated page for the talk, where you can find the slides as well as notes, useful links etc. on the topics touched, at killerconsultant.com/talk.

Like what you see?
I’m up for requests to share some insight with your organization – just shoot me an email to contact@killerconsultant.com .

To add to the excitement, slideshare.net (where I uploaded the slides) liked my presentation so much that they featured me on their homepage – w00t!

Friday was a blast! I had been asked by colleagues in the US to join their weekly team call and give a talk based on what I do here on the KC in a webcast. It was a great experience! Thanks again for the invitation! I set up a dedicated page for the talk, where ...

[UPDATE: There have been incredibly good and information-packed contributions in the comments to this post - go check them out!]

You signed your contract, you hopefully took a good vacation, maybe you even moved to a new town – now you are getting ready to become a consultant. Awesome!

Of course, by now, you have the consultants’ lifestyle all figured out… and you decide it’s time to go shopping to get the right gear for your newly found life on the road. This post and the next one should give you some input on what to get, what to spend money on, and what you can safely put on your “someday/maybe” list. Let’s start it off with clothing. [Read more →]

You signed your contract, you hopefully took a good vacation, maybe you even moved to a new town - now you are getting ready to become a consultant. Awesome! Of course, by now, you have the ...

Working on weekends is a hot topic when it comes to consulting. Many think it comes with the job, and it sure is part of the whole consulting life myth. In reality, as with all myths, that is only partly true.

There can be situations where working on a weekend cannot be avoided – but there are many more situations where you can. Today’s post is all about how to achieve that and make sure that as many weekends as possible stay free – ’cause you are working enough from Monday to Friday.

• Scope with a hidden agenda
  You have a secret plan. You do not want to work on the weekend. Of course, you don’t want your project lead to know, because you’d seem all weak and “not taking one for the team” or even “not cut out for the job” (I am joking. Mostly.) Scoping to the rescue! It’s simple in theory: To avoid working on the weekend, plan your work so that the need does not arise. In real life, that might be trickier. My best tip is: Don’t agree on Monday as deadline for a deliverable. You’ll often end up on Friday thinking “gosh, I need to finish that… but hey, it’s only due in three days!” and end up sitting on the desk the next two days while your buddies are out having fun. On the other side, your project lead – depending on their style – might think “hey, he’s got some extra time for that over the weekend!” and adjust their expectations accordingly.

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Working on weekends is a hot topic when it comes to consulting. Many think it comes with the job, and it sure is part of the whole consulting life myth. In reality, as with all myths, that is only partly true. There can be situations where working on a weekend cannot be avoided - but ...