Eric P. Butts

Career Coach. Management Consultant. Writer. Marketer. Accountant.

12 Surprisingly Simple Habits of Highly Successful Consultants

Sometimes the most effective strategies are the simplest (and most frequently overlooked). This cheatsheet reveals 12 simple habits you can implement today to help change your career trajectory.

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I hope your resume is better than this ad I saw in San Francisco

I was walking down the street in San Francisco the other day when someone stuck this ad in front of my face.

I’m not even sure why I grabbed but I did, and only glanced at it before stuffing it into my pocket. I kept walking back to the office and then I took a closer look at it.

A couple of things jumped out, mainly being I wasn’t sure what they did. Is it a restaurant or is it food delivery or some other new thing someone cooked up?

Funny enough, when I went to get lunch later I saw the same MealPal logo in the restaurant and that’s what made me even come back to this ad to give it another thought.

Here’s why I bring this up. If you’re running your own business you can take this lesson and apply to your own marketing. [Read more…]

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It’s not all about you

I bet you think this email is about you. And it is… but it’s also not…

Here’s what I mean.

Back in June I went to a conference and one of the things the keynote speaker talked about was a scenario where he was lined up for a CFO role he thought he deserved.

Instead of him getting the role, they brought in someone from the outside and made it a CFO/CMO role. (Maybe there’s a path someday to bring together both of my worlds!)

He’d never heard of such a role before (neither have I), so naturally he was upset and went through the normal phases of feeling slighted — anger -> they don’t appreciate me -> I don’t have to put up with this/I can do better elsewhere.

Fast forward a bit and he’s getting the inside scoop on what happened from a friend/mentor… [Read more…]

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The soundtrack to fighting off self-doubt

Sometimes you hear a song that just perfectly captures a moment. As I write this, it’s midnight here, and I have two lyrical lines playing over and over in my head.

The interesting part is I can’t even remember the last time I heard the song.

That’s the power of having a message that resonates with your target audience, which is a great marketing lesson… but that’s not the main point of this.

I’m sitting here thinking about my son’s and my Tae Kwon Do tournament tomorrow — the Dragon Invitational (I love saying that) — and how I’m going to get ready.

On one hand, I don’t believe in cramming for any “test”. If you haven’t put in the work like you were supposed to leading up to the big day, it’s unrealistic to expect a few minutes of studying to save you.

On the other hand, when the nerves and anxiety are going full throttle, it sometimes helps to have a reminder that you know what you’re doing, so some quick reps might be all you need to get your mind right. When it comes to something physical like Tae Kwon Do or basketball or gymnastics or some other physical skill, it’s a little different because knowing what it looks like doesn’t always translate when you have to do it yourself.

So about that song…here are the opening lines:

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy…
… there’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti.

If you don’t recognize it, that’s Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and I get a chill every time I hear that opening.

Even though I’m nervous, it reminds of something one of my coaches told me. He reminds me that everything I’ve accomplished in my career is harder than anything that’s still in front of me. Keeping that perspective in mind, puts to rest some of the self-doubt that comes into play for a lot of people.

That clearly applies to Tae Kwon Do too because I can’t imagine anything we do being harder than making it through that first day.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.

In the meantime, if you need a coach to help check you on some of your own “head trash” and help you operate at your optimal efficiency, here’s a good place to start:

https://ericpbutts.com/success-factory/

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Bandwagon sports fans might be onto something smart for your career

When it comes to baseball, my kids are San Francisco Giants fans first.

It hurts my heart a little bit because I represent Chicago in all things sports (and pizza!), but there’s a good explanation.

When we moved to the bay area in 2010, the Giants were really good — like, so good it was a decent bet they were going to win the World Series if it was an even year.

Then there was the fact that my Chicago Cubs were underperforming…

… again…

There was so much disappointment growing up a Cubs fan, where this infamous moment was probably the lowest point:

So the reason I somewhat begrudgingly stood by and allowed such a thing to happen is this…
[Read more…]

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You deserve a raise

Yesterday, I wrote to you about one way to automagically add an hour or more to your day.

I’m adding the title “pragmatic magician” to my resume as we speak.

Since I’m on a magic kick, there’s another little trick I want to tell you about. You know what the best way is to save money?
[Read more…]

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How to automagically add an hour or more to your day

When people find out, I have a blog one of the first questions I get is when do you have time for that?

I used to say usually when I’m supposed to be sleeping, but after I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I finally got the message that sleep deprivation can cause major issues.

Nowadays, the answer is different and almost seems like it should be obvious but it’s not.

So here it is. [Read more…]