IMC NCR will be hosting a December holiday event for its members. Guests are welcome!
Place:Somerset House -The Club House in Chevy Chase, MD (Friendshp Heights Metro)
Date:Thursday, December 8, 2004
Time:6:00 -9:00 pm
Attire: Business

November's monthly chapter dinner program meeting featured Dr. David Gage speaking on successful business partnerships. Dr. Gage teaches one of the few courses in the country on the critical business and interpersonal issues that partners (family and non-family alike) need to discuss, negotiate and agree upon if they want to improve their chances of success. He also wrote the book, The Partnership Charter: How To Start Out Right with Your New Business Partnership (Or Fix the One You're In). The book has received extensive media attention with interviews on CNN-FN, Bloomberg Business TV, ABC, over 100 newspapers and radio stations nationwide. David Gage is a clinical psychologist, adjunct professor at American University's Kogod School of Business, and co-founder of BMC Associates, a multidisciplinary firm specializing in business- and estate-related conflict prevention and resolution. In addition to his book, he has written numerous articles on mediation, business partners, family business, and collaborative family estate planning.

Launching a Management Consulting Practice: Some Critical Factors
The IMC NCM Chapter recently conducted a one-day workshop to assist members and entrepreneurs address the issues involved with starting a career in management consulting. The interactive workshop was held on October 29,2005 at Teqcorner in McLean, Virginia. The seminar provided the attendees with a planning checklist, information references, self- assessment tools and personal experiences from the instructors regarding issues that should be considered to ensure becoming a success as a management consultant as either a sole practitioner, entrepreneur or member of an established consulting company.

The interactive format allowed attendees to discuss and get answers to specific issues regarding how to prepare for professional success, skills they need to master and how to make the transition from their current employment status to the management consulting profession.

The IMC NCR has presented this introductory consulting course annually since 2003. It is one of several workshops on professional development sponsored by the chapter for IMC members and non- members interested in earning fees from what they know and problems they can solve for private companies, government agencies and non-profit organizations.

The two instructors, John Stawhorn CMC and Melvin York CMC/PMP, had over 50 years of experience as consultants between them and both are currently earning their livings as practicing management consultants.

Ms Wai Ling Pong, IMC NCR VP for Professional Development, welcomes all IMC members who are interested in participating in development programs in the capacity of planning, designing, and organizing professional development events to contact her to discuss areas where members would like to assist in future programs. She can be reached by email at wai- ling-pong@focus.us

IMC NCR New Members Thirty-two new members joined IMC in 2005. They were a mix of student, professional and Certified Management Consultants. We welcome all of you and look forward to your active participation in IMC USA events.

Consultants Internetworking: Virtual Teaming Strategy and Implementation by Charles O. Odeyale, PhD, REM. Dr. Odeyale is part of Sustainability Engineering & Research, Inc., based in Pasadena, MD 21123. He can be reached at co@sustainabilitynet.org.

In comparison with large consulting firms, the independent consultant typically operates in isolation without the necessary network of contacts and information providers normally accessible to big firms. Furthermore, by virtue of their light management structure, independent consultants often lack fundamental skills in key aspects of management that are required for maintaining and growing a successful business. Thanks to the IMC-USA NCR’s professional attractants and foci of Get Smart, Get Known, Get Business, and provision of monthly program, and a platform for the exchange of information. This paper is directed at the Get Business aspect of the Institute’s effort, and an attempt to bring together and share expertise and experience to give participants the capabilities and competitive advantages of global enterprises. That is, we are herein inserting Get Organized between Get Known and Get Business to get business. It is time to get organized because the alternative is no longer a viable option for independent consultancy industry renewal and prosperity. Consultants Internetworking (CI) formed and implemented systematically and with due diligence has the ability to provide practical organizational logic and strategy to an industry that is more than ready for it. It is hoped that this will assist the membership in organizing themselves to deliver value for their customers while delivering profitability and growth for themselves. This paper describes a strategy for consultants who may be interested in joining and/or organizing virtual teams.

What is Consultant Internetworking? In traditional consultancy, which is usually project- based, it is acceptable to address single issues in isolation. This is both impractical and unwise for an enterprise wishing to develop and/or grow. For example, to undertake marketing Business Advice for an enterprise without providing hands-on help in such matters as finance, personnel and production, etc will likely cause imbalance and hinder rather than expedite improvement (development and/or growth). Nowadays, no one individual can have at his/her fingertips, to the extent required for been highly competitive globally, all the skills that may be required from time to time in the holistic consulting profession. Thus, the need for fostering that has the capability to quickly assign virtual teams (VTs) with the capacity to service profitable large projects. Wait-a-minute: Did I just read that something (VT) originating or developing from something else (CI)? That’s correct. So, that makes CI-VT a non-R&D and unique form of Matrix Management. Taking us back two decades, the matrix model of organization and management is a network of interfaces between teams (in this case independent consultants) and the functional elements (VT core group) of a CI. It is a cross-service group action.

The purpose of CI and virtual teaming includes 1) providing independent consultants with the opportunity to obtain personnel with the skills they themselves may lack in order to compete for and/or complete a particular assignment; 2) grouping together to undertake larger assignments and in certain instances grouping together to form larger practices. The VT in a group will be drawing on the resources of participant-consultants, having each work on their respective area(s) of competence to collaboratively address projects that would have been too big or complicated for individual consultant or company. Virtual teaming enables CI to provide customers a broader base of consultancy practice. A unique competitive differentiation factor called Network Leverage is expected when the virtual team is comprised of professionals of like minds such as IMC and/or associated organization members.

What is Network Leverage? Participant- consultants access the strengths of all the team members by cross promoting, cross resourcing and cross supporting each other. They combine into macro-project teams to offer the “Total Consultancy Package” on a holistic basis to clients. The model is extended to expand the resources base of the project team by inter-organization collaborative arrangement with external specialist consultants thereby assembling powerful high competency team.

Welcome to the new IMC NCR ezine. I hope you enjoy it and avail yourself of the many resources and networking possibilities available to you with membership. I shall be updating you on the latest initiatives within our National Capital Region in upcoming months through this featured section. You can contact me at president@imcdc.org.

There are several websites available for those with an interest in Earned Value Management- this month's featured topic. Access the following links for further information:

• Department Of Energy
• NavAir Training Systems

IMC USA Mission: To promote excellence and ethics in management consulting through certification, education and professional resources.

IMC NCR Objective: Help our members Get Smart, Get Known, and Get Business

Join IMC: If you're satisfied that IMC is the right professional organization to help you "Get Smart, Get Known, and Get Business," then join IMC online. You will become a member of IMC USA and may affiliate with any US chapter at no additional charge.