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Finish Right

Posted Tue, 08/25/2009 - 19:22 by Christine Lambden

At the end of every project, it's important to go through a formal Lessons Learned evaluation to allow every member of the team to learn from their experience.  Ask yourselves what you wish had been done differently -- not to assign blame, but to do it better next time.
 
The same examination may be beneficial at the end of a task.  If you had to rewrite your Recommendations document three times before your collaborators would sign it, there is probably a lesson to be learned from the experience.
 

Don't Mention Any Names

Posted Sun, 08/16/2009 - 19:28 by Christine Lambden
Wherever consultants gather...airports, hotels, Starbucks...we often find ourselves sharing detailed, unfiltered stories about our jobs.  This is natural human behavior.  It's also a really bad idea.

 

Take Notes For Later

Posted Sat, 08/15/2009 - 19:29 by Christine Lambden
While you are in the midst of the engagement, you have all the details clear in your mind.  You don't need notes to remember the name of your go-to person in the London office or name of the process that has to run before you run the daily report.

Write it all down anyway. 

Next month or next year, when you've worked on three other projects and replaced that information in your memory several times, you'll get a call from the client asking you to come back and "make a few simple changes".

Job Insecurity

Posted Sun, 08/02/2009 - 19:07 by Christine Lambden

For consultants, changing jobs (projects) every few months is a way of life. This can be a source of stress if you are the nesting sort, rather than an adventurer, because part of a consultant’s responsibility is to eventually work himself out of a job. The goal is to leave a happy client behind and once again find yourself looking for work. I call this “job insecurity”.

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