Guest Post: Ten Powerful Changes to Make In the New Year

Editor's Note: TVCNet member Johnna Johnson of Johnna Johnson & Co. wrote the following for her recent newsletter. It has been reposted here with permission.  Johnna is also hosting a series of workshops called "Refine in '09" beginning in January. Call (208) 376-3634 or visit her website for more information.

Join me in my personal mission this next year to "Refine in '09". Here are 10 basic steps to refine in '09:

1. Surround yourself with dynamic, innovative and incredible  people who make you feel great about yourself!
2. Recognize you only have control over YOU. That's it! You can't control your staff, boss or in-laws. Spend your precious time on things you can control.
3. Say "no" this year! Spend your precious time on things you TRULY care and are passionate about.
   
4. Don't let what others think of you navigate your life. Do what is best for YOU, not others. After all, when it comes down to it, you are the one who will be reaping the rewards and/or consequences.
5. Trust your gut!
6. Raise the bar. What can you do this year that's even better? Better performance evaluation? Better sales results? Better relationships? Raise the bar in all areas of your life.
7. Prioritize. Spend your energy on those things, people and tasks that are most important to you. We often times let the "fires" of everyday get in the way of our true and genuine priorities.
8. Build your network of experts who can help you get you to where you are going in 2009. Perhaps you need the expertise of a Personal Fitness Trainer to help you finally realize your health goals or a Financial Planner to provide the guidance you need to maximize your financial dreams.
   
9. Believe. Isn't it time you created the life you've been dreaming of?
10. Take action. Sometimes big goals, ideas and tasks seem daunting. Take baby steps each and every day. When you take action, you will be rewarded with great abundance. So, feel the fear and ""Just Jump!"

Last Lecture Professor Randy Pausch Dies

The man who created the Internet sensation, The Last Lecture, has died.

Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science, human computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University. He was also a leader in the field of virtual reality research. When Randy learned that he had pancreatic cancer in September 2006, he took the opportunity to create The Last Lecture as a message to his friends and family to celebrate living and the life he had always dreamed of instead of concentrating on the inevitable result of his disease.

In honor of a man who educated in a field I advocate as a consultant, I present to you Randy Pausch's Last Lecture.

J.R. Simplot's Life Proves It

Over the weekend I was surprised to hear about the news of the passing of J.R. Simplot.

As a native Idahoan and resident of Boise for more than 10 years, J.R. Simplot's life proved two things to me. First, it's not too uncommon for someone to live for almost a century and make a significant impact on the world we live in. Second, as successful as he was, J.R. proved that if you can make it in Idaho you can make it anywhere!

Hard work and a little luck - that was his secret to success.

Consultants: Blogging Is Not a One Way Street

In the last 24 hours I have had somewhat of a tense dialogue over e-mail with a well-known consultant and author who shall remain nameless. If you go back to posts I have made in this blog, I have mentioned him and have even linked to his blog on several occasions.

The dialogue has been tense, mostly for me, because the consultant is a very confident man. He's very successful at what he does and he's not ashamed to show it in his words and actions. Confident people are like brick walls - good luck swaying them to your point of view. They won't budge!

I took this consultant to task on a recent blog post he made about how professionals should look, speak and act like a success. I couldn't agree more. What rubbed me the wrong way was how he immediately dismissed a woman he mentioned in his post as being someone worthy of doing business with him because she mentioned how high gas prices were. He also mentioned that if someone complained to him about the quality of service at Southwest Airlines, his reply is that he wouldn't know because he never flies an airline that doesn't have a first-class cabin.

I replied to his blog post and basically said, don't judge a book by it's cover. The woman probably has a business where gasoline is an overhead expense and it is cutting in to her profit margin. She knows the value of a dollar and what it can do for her and her business.

Rather than getting a response to my comment in his blog post, the consultant e-mails me directly. He tells me I missed the point entirely, that if you are talking about high gas prices you probably aren't doing all that well and that you probably don't hang out with other successful people so why should he do business with me or others like me?

No, sir - I got your point the first time. I just disagree with how people can be easily dismissed by you just because they were trying to make conversation with you.

When I received the consultant's e-mail I replied thanking him for his feedback and honesty, but I wished he would have posted his response to me in the comments of his blog post. This way, others can join in the conversation and choose to either agree or disagree with either one of us and offer their own thoughts and opinions. To which he replied, he doesn't reply to comments on his blog, it's not a forum for debate and he is not going to debate me any longer. Oh, and I also missed his point entirely - again!

Two things are apparent here:

1. Blogging is not a one way street. If you are a consultant and intend to blog be prepared to take some heat and have a conversation with your readers. Listen to their opinions and defend yours if necessary. This particular consultant is a little late on the blogging scene. I've been blogging one year longer than he has and I already know that it is a forum for communication, not broadcasting.
2. The attitude of this consultant and others like him is what I fear tarnishes our profession. I know of some business professionals (and I'm sure you do too) that would not do business with this consultant based on how he sees other people.

The consultant I speak of may or may not know I am writing about him or responding to our recent "conversation". He can call me a coward for not mentioning his name, but frankly I don't want to give him any more publicity. He does fine on his own. If he does visit this blog and read this post, I invite him to comment on this blog and I will respond to his comments on this blog. It is, after all, a forum for a respectful conversation.

Kickstand Start-up Speed Dating

Another local organization, Kickstand, is hosting a Start-up Speed Dating event on May 6th.

Start-up Speed Dating is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to pitch their business idea to potential investors. The application deadline is Monday, April 28. Visit their registration page and submit your executive summary for review before it is too late!

10 potential entrepreneurs will be selected to present their verbal "pitch" to a panel of judges. On May 8th, at the next Kickstand meeting, the winning presentation will be featured.

Personal Branding Summit Teleconference

Consulting is as much branding yourself as it marketing your products or services. It's about the impression you leave with people and the feeling you invoke in them when they engage you on a one-to-one basis.

I recently discovered the Personal Branding Summit, a teleconference taking place on November 8 with a whole host topics and presenters discussing tips and tactics to brand you - the individual.

Guest presenters include the likes of Guy Kawasaki and David Meerman Scott, just to name a few.

Details on how to sign up for this teleconference are on their website and the cost to participate is absolutely FREE!

Recommended Reading for Consultants

I'm in the process of compiling a list of recommended reading for consultants. I'm looking for suggestions on books that have been influential in your career. The books don't have to be about consulting specifically. They can be topics ranging marketing to finance, maybe some fiction titles. How about a biography of a person you admire? The sky is the limit!

Post your book suggestions in the comments and include a word or two on why you like the title.

Nothing to Do With Consulting, but Cool Nevertheless

When we turn on the TV, the radio, log on to the web or read a newspaper, we hear more about what's wrong with the world rather than what's right about it. I found this story and had to share it with you:

Bullied student tickled pink by schoolmates' T-shirt campaign

Since I'm on a creative kick today, kudos to these students for doing something creative, getting behind a cause and using the power of word of mouth marketing to rally behind what is right.

I know this has nothing to do with consulting, but right is right and we should honor that no matter what our profession or livelihood is.

How to Monitor Online Chatter Relevant to Your Market

Blogging has been a little thin around here the past couple weeks. I apologize for the drought in topics, but judging from a lot of the other blogs I monitor, things have been a little thin as well. Must be the summer lull.

I did find an interesting presentation you might enjoy participating in. PR Web is hosing a free online presentation on the topic of Monitoring Online Chatter Relevant to Your Market. This looks like a great topic that will help you keep taps on the respective industry you consult in leveraging Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, forums, podcasts, etc. As we all know, being well informed and staying on top of trends in our industry is important to our credibility as consultants.

It will begin Tuesday, August 7th at 10:00am Pacific Time / 1:00pm Eastern Time. To be a part of the presentation you must reserve your space here.

I often post notice of a lot of free events such as this one to this blog, but rarely do I get any feedback. If you plan to attend this presentation, let me know and report back to me what learn. I'd like to know if the content being presented is helpful.

Guest Posts This Week

A few weeks ago I had an open call for guest posts to the TVCNet blog. I'm happy to report that I number of readers have volunteered to contribute to this blog and I will be featuring some of them this week.

If you are a consultant and regular reader of this blog, give some thought to writing a guest post. If you would like to contribute and offer your insight to the world of consulting, e-mail me at justin@tvcnet.org or go to the contact page of the TVCNet website.

The Boise Idea Market

Tac Anderson's TechBoise project has announced The Boise Idea Market.

What is an Idea Market? It's a one night only event where brainstorming, collaboration, and networking are alive and well. The Idea Market is the creation of innovation consultant, retreat facilitator and conference planner Matt Homann. It is part think tank, part focus group and part social club.

At the Idea Market, attendees bring their business challenges, questions and (of course) ideas, and share them with some of the most creative and generous people in the community as they participate in fun exercises designed to cram the most innovation into a two-hour collaborative experience.

If you are a blogger, entrepreneur, speaker, consultant, designer, webmaster, writer, artist, salesperson, or technologist, you’ll enjoy the Boise Idea Market. The organizers only ask that you be passionate about sharing ideas and helping others. Everything else will take care of itself.

Personally, I plan to attend and I hope what I learn can be applied to my own business as well as Treasure Valley Consultants' Network.

Here are the details -

When: Friday, June 8, 2007 at 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Where: Louie’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant, 620 W Idaho St, Boise, ID 83702-5930
Cost: $10.00 (to cover pizza & soda & tip)

How To Attend: There is only have room for around 35 people for the Idea Market. If there are a lot of RSVP’s a new location will be secured. Email (tac@techboise.com) and you will be sent an invitation.

Offer Your Two Cents to TechBoise

If you are a consultant who services the technology industry consider contributing your knowledge, expertise and insight to TechBoise.

TechBoise is the brainchild of Tac Anderson from MenloPrk (or is it NewCommBiz - you'll have to correct me on this one Tac). Tac, you'll remember, presented on search engine optimization at the February TVCNet meeting.

TechBoise is a project where folks talk about the tech industry in Boise. This is a very active arena in the Boise business community and one that will grow stronger in the years to come.

Check it out and be a part of the discussion!

Guest Post on TVCNet Blog

It's been a long time coming, but I'd like to put the call out to the members of TVCNet and consultants in general to submit guest posts to this blog.

I'm looking for your own personal insight into the world of consulting. Do you see it the way I do? What have you done to make your business successful? What mistakes have you made that taught you some valuable lessons? These are just a few questions you can answer in your guest post. Anything having to do with consulting will be welcomed.

If you would like to write a guest post, please contact me through the TVCNet website. I'll be happy to set you up.

We're Number 20 on the Top 50 BS Jobs

I feel like I'm back to my old radio disc jockey days.

Coming in at number 20 on the list of the 50 Bulls**t Jobs is "consultant."

Up next is our long-distance dedication...

Looking for a Little Kickstart?

Some of you are probably familiar with Kickstand, a local organization of entrepreneurs and innovators mostly from the technology industry.

On April 18th and 19th, Kickstand will be hosting Kickstart - The Northwest's Premier Entrepreneur Event. Keynote speakers include the Sloan brothers, Rich & Jeff, founders of Startup Nation and Ben McConnell, co-author of Citizen Marketers. In addition there will be several breakout sessions with topics ranging from business start-ups to business growth.

Consultants and members of TVCNet should find this event to be an excellent opportunity to network and learn new and interesting ways to grow their businesses.

In the weeks ahead I'll be blogging more about this event on the TVCNet website. In the interest of full-disclosure I have volunteered to help promote this event. I wouldn't be doing it if I wasn't passionate about the subjects that are going to be presented. I also wouldn't be doing this if I didn't feel the membership of TVCNet and consultants in general could benefit from such a dynamic event.

You can learn more about Kickstart at their main website and their blog, which will have more in-depth information about the event as we draw closer to it.

BlueLine Open House

Our friends at BlueLine, and fellow TVCNet members, will be hosting an open house on January 18th to show off their new offices. Stop by between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. at 1011 W. Williams St. in Boise to meet these great people who I have got to know over the last couple years.

This is a monumental step for BlueLine as they recently moved from the BSU TECenter in Nampa to their own offices. If you plan on attending please RSVP by e-mailing them at info@bluelinegrassroots.com or call 342-BLUE.