Eric P. Butts

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

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Case Study: When Should You Protect Your People?

work boundaries
Updating a PowerPoint probably isn’t top priority in this situation…

Following the destruction of Hurricane Sandy, an interesting thing happened. All of the members of my team were asked to fly back to Boston and work onsite with the client from Wednesday (the day after the storm cleared) through Friday.
This was inconvenient for me in that I’d travel for a short week when I had no client meetings and miss Halloween with the kids, but this wasn’t a battle I needed to fight. The fact of the matter is my wife and kids still had power, so there was really no reason to push back on this request. Two of my colleagues, however, weren’t so lucky.

Coincidentally, these two colleagues of mine had a client workshop with people flying in from all over the world the Thursday following Hurricane Sandy. Both of them were severely impacted by the storm. One of them with a wife and two young kids was without power and the temperature of his home quickly dropping.  The other was married with no children but in an area where the damage was so severe he had to be rescued from his home, complete with a FEMA meal. Their car was ruined (possibly floating in the Hudson) and there was so much water on their street that you could see fish swimming in front of their place. Oh, and the closest airport with outbound flights on Wednesday was roughly one hundred miles away in Philadelphia. Both of them made the drive and flew into Boston from Philly for this two day event.

Granted, we’re in the business of client service and scheduling this workshop to begin with was a complete nightmare. Who knows how long it would’ve taken to get this back on the calendar with all of these people? Even so, whether the client insisted, or if this was management decision to take this opportunity for us to show just how dedicated we are to the client’s success, was it the right best decision to make these people come in? How would YOU try to approach a situation like this?

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What Pro Wrestling Can Teach You About Management Consulting

I recently discovered this fun little tool called Listly where you can crowd-source lists that I wanted to try. It came to me that one of my former loves – pro wrestling (or “wrasslin” depending on what region you’re from) – would be a great way to test this out.
Specifically, it seemed like it could have interesting results to compile the best talkers in history of wrestling. So now I had the list I wanted to use as my debut on listly, but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to tie it into the theme of the blog. After a few days thinking about past projects and prior client engagements, it became clear to me what everyone can take from pro wrestling and apply to their careers. 

No matter how mediocre you are at your job, if you talk a good game, you can have a long, (relatively) successful career.
 

Basically, you have to win the crowd. Think about it, if you’re a consultant and your boss and you have a bit of a disagreement but the client loves you, that can very well be the difference maker in you remaining gainfully employed. In a more general sense, think about if you’ve ever had to have a tough conversation about a colleague not pulling their weight on an assignment.  Definitely not an easy conversation to manage when you don’t have this gift of gab. In fact, for many, talking is the ONLY skill they have and it serves them well.  
In my wrestling example, the older guys (Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair) toward the end of their wrestling days were all talk, and I loved every second of it. Look around and I bet you can find at least one of these people in your organization and can learn something from that person. But enough about that. Take a look at the list and feel free to make your own additions by clicking on the list itself.

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How to Decrease Your Tax Liability At Year-End

*Originally published for LessAccounting.com

 Year after year it never fails that the age-old misconception about tax preparation rears its ugly head in the form of comments like “I want you to get me back as much as possible” or “Last year my tax guy let me deduct my dry cleaning expenses for my suits.” The misconception I’m talking about is that tax preparation is some sort of black magic whereby CPAs have conspired against the general public to keep people from getting money back. WRONG. CPAs do not have it out for you, but we are bound to abide by certain rules and ….Read the rest here.

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Business Traveler Toolkit – MobileDay

MobileDay
My equivalent of an “easy” button

When you don’t live within 150 miles of any of the people you work with on a day-to-day basis, one thing that is inevitable is lots of conference calls.
What makes it especially fun as a consultant is that you have two different types of “stakeholders.” First, you have the project-related stakeholders, which on most weeks you’ll at least fly in to work with from Monday through Thursday. The second group is the internal stakeholders – the people that have somehow coaxed you into various extracurriulars with the promises of increasing your exposure with leadership (it’s not uncommon for you never to meet these people in person) and differentiating you from your peers come performance rating time. The thing to remember is that these extracurriculars, unlike client billings, don’t directly contribute to the firm’s revenue stream and as such have to be squeezed in whenever you have “extra” time, which many times means while you’re in transit. That’s where MobileDay comes in handy.

This little app takes every conference call in your calendar and allows you to dial-in with a single touch – no more going back and forth between your calendar trying to remember this call’s dial-in or passcode or scribbling the magic numbers down on the closest slip of paper. I’ve seen other programs such as meeting place include links that intend to provide this same functionality, but they have never worked as well on the iPhone as this application does.

Another nice feature MobileDay has is this dual notification type of system when you’re the meeting host. You automatically receive a notificaiton the day before any meeting where you’re the host in addition to the usual fifteen or five minute alerts you would normally expect from Outlook or your phone’s calendar.

I wasn’t expecting to spend this many words on this app but what can I say? It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Are there ny other tools out there to help the chronic conference caller on the go?

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Sometimes You Have to Do First and Ask Questions Later

don't be a victim of analysis paralysis
All the preparation in the world is useless if you don’t apply it

I was thinking about what to post for this week’s cartoon and I started to look within…like a young martial artist on a search for “the master.”
If you’re not familiar with such things, you can see what I’m talking about on YouTube here.  That clip is from an 80s movie called “The Last Dragon” that I’ve seen so many times it’s actually embarrassing, but there is a lesson to be learned here which I’ll get to in a moment.

I’ve had multiple friends of mine tell me they really want to go back to business school but haven’t done anything yet because they are either afraid of taking the GMAT or still preparing to take the GMAT (read: procrastinating).  Preparing is crucial to excelling in whatever you do but should not be relied on as a crutch when the real hurdle you’re facing is fear.

This week’s cartoon was born from the experience I’ve had learning how to swim as an adult…with teachers that are accustomed to teaching young children and parents that are shocked when they see me get in the pool for my lesson right after my 4 year old daughter. Initially I thought I would look stupid (which still hasn’t been ruled out) but I was finally not just willing but driven to achieve this goal. After all my hesitation about the money or the looks I would get, I’ve had people come up to me saying they’re impressed that I would take this on as an adult.

One of my favorite yet hashtags I’ve seen on twitter is #GoDo tweeted by @LouImbriano. There comes a time when rubber MUST meet road, so make sure it’s on your terms.

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Stop Taking Crap Majors in College

all majors aren't created equal
This is where crap majors get you after college

There is an epidemic upon us and it is one that is being perpetuated by people, especially parents, who do not understand the implications of their actions. I’m talking about students all over the country continuing to major in CRAP in college. When I make this statement, people generally respond in one of two ways.

“Everyone doesn’t have to be a businessman like you”

I would never suggest that everyone has to progress in their career exactly like I did. I only ask that people make decisions using sound logic…take a pragmatic approach to life. It pains me to watch people suffer easily avoidable missteps.

“I’m offended! My child is very smart!”

Listen…I’m not suggesting your child or loved one lacks intelligence. What I’m saying is that your smart child will be in the “non-employment” line and living back in your house because s/he got a degree in something that carries minimal value in the “real world” or s/he decided to get a degree that lends itself to graduate school but has not intentions of going to graduate school.

Studying What You Love is For People With Money (lots of it)

I’m all for studying what you love in college and all that good stuff, but while you’re doing that, you should consider double majoring in something (did someone say accounting?) that will keep you gainfully employed once your four years of fun are up. The fact is that most students don’t come from the type of wealth where they can afford to be unemployed after making such a significant investment in college education.

Disagree? Prove me wrong in the comments.

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How to Effectively Say No to Your Clients

How to Say No To Clients
Sometimes you have to say “no but…” or “yes if…” to your clients

Most people that deal directly with customers and clients have been in a situation where the demands are just flat out unreasonable. While common with businesses of all sizes, the little guys are especially susceptible to this. In some cases, the ability to remain a going concern may rely on the business of one key client. As that client goes, so goes your small business. [Read more…]

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Business Traveler Toolkit – Mint

Simplifies tracking personal finances

When it comes to managing personal finances, most people have some “opportunity areas” they can address.
This generally stems from one of three reasons: 1) not enough time 2) too big of a hassle and 3) too complicated

Not Enough Time For Finances

Mint.com is an app that helps to address all three of these underlying issues. First, Mint is an app that consolidates all of your finances in a single place that can be accessed via mobile app or web interface, which puts the ability to monitor your finances at your fingertips no matter where you are.  If you’re pressed for time you can setup thresholds for spending vs. budget by categories such as groceries, restaurants, or utilities that trigger alerts sent to you through text and/or email. This allows you to review your finances on an exception basis instead of pouring through every expense you incur each month.

Managing Finances is a Hassle

Mint won’t magically make you love accounting and finances but it will ease some of the typical paint points people typically raise when describing the effort it takes to manage their money. Within mint, you can quickly change budgets, view trends, and re categorize transactions to name a few of the features. Claiming that the effort is such a massive undertaking is no longer an option. With a few swipes of your finger or a few key strokes you can completely revamp your whole monthly budget. Times have changed and you need to let go of preconceptions from when pen and paper were the latest technology.

Don’t Know What to Do

Other situations arise where people just don’t know what it means to manage finances. For example, I’ve met many young people who have yet to realize how undesirable carrying a credit card balance is. As another example, many people (myself) include are guilty of going with the same insurance provider just because that’s the one we’ve always had and we never considered changing. Some people do this because they are complacent and not prioritizing continuous search of something better and others because they don’t know any better. Mint addresses this by providing you suggestions when you are paying more than average for auto insurance for example. Information is pushed right to you to make decisions with you barely having to lift a finger. Not bad, right?

Oh, and it’s free.

 Any specific tips on Mint or similar apps that others are using out there? Let me know in the comments.

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Bschool Dropout Explains MBA Application Decline

MBA Application DeclineA couple of weeks ago, I wrote this post on applications declining at top business schools. Today, I came across an interesting post with a slightly different perspective on the topic. What made the post worth a (full) read for me is the fact that the author immediately discloses that he dropped out of business school. So while I can say it’s not worth it for everyone in theory, this is a real life example of someone who started and came to the conclusion that it STILL wasn’t worth finishing.

He makes some great points on the return on investment being a risky proposition and more time being spent on networking and recruiting than actual coursework, but I question his premise that people can take online courses and network through LinkedIn and get the same results in their career search.

For learning purposes, of course you can learn online just as much as in the classroom, I’m not sure self study carries the same weight as saying you studied a certain topic at Kellogg, HBS, Anderson, or any other top school.

On the networking side, you can make some powerful ontacts on LinkedIn but the effort required to do so is MUCH more than when you’re networking at business school. It’s much easier to network with people on campus in your class or actively recruiting for talent than it is randomly reaching out to an executive at the firm you’re targeting for your next gig. I’m not saying the difference justifies the full cost of going to get your MBA, but there is no denying that it has some advantages over an individual job search.

What are your thoughts? Do you think self-study is the new trend in resume building/career search? Let me know in the comments.