Would you like to see some very sad graphs that illustrate why our financial system is in such dire straits? Of course you do. (HT: Lisa X) What the blue line above shows is how much banks have borrowed from the Fed (the Fed’s BORROW index). You’ll notice (or maybe you won’t because of the [...]
What is it that consultants do? I’ve been asked that question many times — and the only answer I have is that we do whatever is needed to help solve management’s problems. But that’s always felt like a cop-out to me — because realistically speaking, everything we’re doing is either to make or edit some [...]
“Best practices” – another way to say “I have no idea what I’m doing so I’ll copy someone else.” Or as Dilbert puts it: Source
They say that “All is fair in love and war.” So, if consultants can help businesses with all sorts of issues, why not help you. Personally. With your love life? Well, they do. In Japan. (hat tip: V Liu) Enter companies like ACYours, which “provides counseling to people in unhappy marriages” What kind of counseling? [...]
LinkIn all fairness: Not all bankers went to public schools, nor did all consultants go to private schools; Actually, in general, there’s a fairly good chance they both went to private schools I wish I could get home by 7:15 everyday… My Blackberry isn’t 4 years old (my firm subsidizes 1 purchase every 2 years) [...]
I heard the story of a girl – let’s call her Betsy — who started a couple years back at my firm, who had a very interesting exchange with a partner. Betsy was a sweet girl, and this was her first time doing any business-related work. She had been an art history major in college, [...]
With the recent challenges to Google’s purchase of Doubleclick, Microsoft’s endless courtship of Yahoo, and the filing of more papers in the upcoming Intel/AMD case, the question of "why should the government break up monopolies?" becomes much more relevant. This is a question that very few people ask, even though it is oftentimes taken for [...]
My good friend Shang explains consulting: Sometimes I sit around trying to figure out how to explain consulting to my friends. Sure, it’s about providing strategic advice to various clients in all industries. When it comes down to it, consulting is a client-oriented service, and one that works with tight deadlines and intellectually demanding work. [...]
The assumption underlying most consulting professions is that it is possible for highly trained individuals to be brought up to speed quickly on unfamiliar projects/businesses/initiatives to contribute valuable advice. Whether or not this is true probably varies from type of consulting, but it raises an interesting issue, why stop at just advice or support? And [...]
After about a year of slide-umentation, it’s nice to finally see a business person use slides the way they were meant to be used. And, no, this wasn’t at my client, it was at this past week’s Apple WWDC. Take it away, Mr. Jobs (all pictures are from Engadget’s liveblogging): Simple. Unwordy. Clear in meaning. [...]