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Greetings,
We are
shocked and humbled by the tragedy unfolding in Asia
following the December 26 tsunami. Significant amounts
of humanitarian aid have been pledged but delivering it
is a major challenge. Difficulties in logistics,
communications, planning, and operations management are
those in which IMC NCR members have expertise. Already
being tapped for expertise in the current Asian
reconstruction effort (through ICMCI's NGO status - see
below), consider the breadth of skills and experience in
the chapter that could benefit recovery from a disaster
in our area. In such cases, remember that our highest
obligation is to improve the effectiveness of management
in all its aspects, so do not hesitate to volunteer your
considerable management skills in support of your
communities.
What's New
This Month
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Welcome 6
new members to IMC NCR this month
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How
Management Consultants Entered the Federal Government
Market
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ICMCI/IMC
USA Role in Tsunami Reconstruction
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Best
Business Books of 2004
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Northern
Virginia Network Group Starts January 25
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Jan - Qualitative Research |
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Use of Qualitative Research in Business and
Consulting. The research world is divided into
two clear camps: Quantitative [e.g., surveys and
statistics] and Qualitative [perceptions, opinions,
beliefs and attitudes.] The only "numbers" in a
Qualitative report are page numbers while survey
findings are in detailed charts and are
statistically measurable and projectable.
That qualitative measurement is valuable for
companies that make products or sell services. While
it is good to know hard data on how many units are
sold or the degree of market share compared to the
competition, it is also valuable to know how
consumers view the image of the company, and how a
product or service is viewed by users and non-users.
If you know how consumers think and feel about
products, services and ideas, you can sell them more
effectively. See the
IMC NCR website for details.
Luc
Henderson Luc has been President of RIVA Market
Research for the last 14 years and has conducted
thousands of focus groups for a variety of clients.
He has been doing both quantitative and qualitative
research since the 1960's. Luc will be presenting
examples from the RIVA files on how companies use
qualitative research to support corporate decision
making.
Resources Related to This Month's Topic. Several
websites are valuable resources for those with an
interest in qualitative research:
Summary of Last Month's Program. There's very
little to say about the NCR Holiday Party. Of you
were there, you know how much fun it was to see old
friends and meet new ones. If you weren't there,
just ask someone who was, and plan to attend our
next social event.
Register online now for this month's program »
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Professional Development |
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Upcoming Monthly Chapter Programs
Feb 10 -
Pursuing Your Passions to Generate Multiple Revenue
Streams
March 10
- Ethics and the Bottom Line
April 14
- Expert Proposal Writing
Ethics
Watch. Stress within an organization and within
a society can lead to behaviors that otherwise would
not be tolerated or even considered. Past Ethics
Watch items have described how an organization,
faced with financial or market pressures, shows its
true nature in actions it takes in response. Will an
executive put principles before money or give in to
self interest? Societies can face the same
pressures, as the US does now with public
perceptions about the source of and response to
terrorism. Despite a long tradition of innocent
until proven guilty and tolerance for different
views, Americans seem increasingly willing to
restrict the civil rights of entire groups because
of perceived threats. A recent Cornell University
poll found that almost half of Americans believe
that the civil rights of Muslim Americans should be
restricted in some way. For details, see
Ethics Newsline.
Top
Business Books of 2004. It's a new year and we
now get to look back at the last year to see what
pithy concepts and deep ideas we missed while we
were working for a living. There are several lists
of the best business books out, including ones from:
And, just
to make sure you put all this list business in
perspective,
the Economist weighs in on why many business
books should be read with some skepticism.
I'd like some more information on IMC NCR workshops
»
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Membership/Member Services |
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New Chapter Members. Please welcome 6 new
chapter members this month: Jeanne Allert, Ellipsis
Partners (Ellicott City, MD); Jef Harris, Booz Allen
Hamilton (Abingdon, MD); Frederick Lovelace CMC, The
VitalLink Consulting Agency (Mechanicsburg, PA);
James Page, Page After Page (Washington, DC); Dexter
Spencer (Washington, DC); and Kristen Vennum, The
North Highland Company (Arlington, VA).
NOVA
Breakfast Network Group. Based on the success of
the Baltimore Network Group, and in response to
popular demand by chapter members and others
interested in IMC NCR, we are starting Northern
Virginia Network Group. Our first meeting will be on
Tuesday, January 25 from 8:00-9:30am at the Corner
Bakery in Tysons II. Once we have an established
group, we will select a final location (possibly
farther out toward Reston) and day to meet. This
month we will discuss creating a realistic set of
target clients for 2005 and, using the materials
from the January 13 chapter meeting on qualitative
intelligence, work together to find ways to help
each other make contacts inside those organizations.
Call Mark Haas at (301) 320-5889 if you plan to
attend.
Baltimore Network Group. The Baltimore Network
Group will hold a special holiday breakfast meeting
(this time with free food!) on Friday, January 21,
8:00-9:30am, in Room 230 of the ILB building on the
campus of Howard Community College in Columbia.
We're lining up a great series of speakers for 2005
on all aspects of starting and running your
independent consulting practice, and to celebrate we
will gather for some great social networking and a
special activity called "Feedforward," designed to
get you off and running on your personal business
challenges in the New Year. If you plan on
attending, please contact Beth Bloomfield (beth@bloomfieldassociates.com).
See a
map of the campus, showing ILB and adjacent
parking area.
I want to join IMC or I know someone I'd like to
introduce to IMC (membership@imcdc.org) »
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Marketing/Business Devt |
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Fortune Small Business. Worth remembering are
the many business publications aimed at smaller
businesses and their business service providers.
Fortune Small Business focuses on the free agent
business person, issues in small and medium cap
businesses, and trends in technology and culture
that may well be part of your future business. In
the
January issue, FSB provides "an advance look at
companies, products, people, and trends you'll be
hearing about in 2005," something worth keeping up
with. One
example is a piece on how great American
companies got started. Read this to see what
innovations you could bring to your clients.
Management Consulting History. While advisors to
management have been around for a long time, their
appearance as advisors to federal government
managers is relatively new, and can be traced back
to the Hoover Commission in the Truman
administration. The Commission, created to make the
growing government more efficient, led to task
forces staffed by consultants and brought "business
methods" to federal operations. Read an interesting
piece by Christopher McKenna, titled
Agents of Adhocracy: Management Consultants and the
Reorganization of the Executive Branch (1947-1949).
See additional marketing resources on the IMC NCR
website »
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IMC USA and IMC NCR News |
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IMC USA Role in Asian Rebuilding After Tsunami.
The International Council of Management Consulting
Institutes, the 38-nation body of which IMC USA is a
member, was recognized by the United Nations three
years ago as a NGO with special consulting status.
This makes it eligible for IMC USA members to
participate in consulting efforts through the EC or
UN in China, India, Bangladesh, Africa, and Vietnam,
to name a few areas in which other national IMCs are
negotiating for advisory roles. Access to these
specially negotiated engagements is only available
to IMC members.
Our mission as an NGO with special consultative
status at the UN Economic and Social Committee is to
facilitate the development and redevelopment of
economic infrastructure in developing countries
through the use of qualified management consultants.
A number of countries affected by the tsunami
tragedies in Southeast Asia are members of ICMCI and
all fall within the NGO mission. All face tremendous
challenges of redevelopment.
ICMCI Asian Hub Chairman Gregg Li has already
convened a coordinating role for Asia-wide
management consulting assistance to the devastated
areas and IMC Singapore has sent a mission to the
Maldives in response to direct requests for help
from management consultants there.
Click here to share news or be featured in this
newsletter (president@imcdc.org) »
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IMC Websites |
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IMC NCR Website Revitalization Update. The
new portal site came online last week and is being
evaluated and tested. Anyone who wants to
participate in the final design and content layout
should contact Mark Haas at (301) 320-5889.
For
Members Only. What's new on IMC USA.org PD
materials continue to be posted on the member's only
area of the IMC USA website. Send an email to
Megan Renner
if you forgot your user name or password.
Who's
Looking For What on imcdc.org (updated monthly)?
See
most searched for terms. We collect data for you
in two ways: (1) search terms visitors used in the
website search engines and (2) based on those
searches, whose consultant directory profiles
visitors clicked through to view. |
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Member Resources |
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Looking Forward. Other than reading MIT's
Technology Review (which is an excellent periodical
for keeping up with technology trends and
businesses), one source is the annual list from Fast
Company of their 101 emerging ideas. This list
contains many innovations, trends, and products that
we will find old news a few years from now. For a
business consultant, knowing how some of these might
benefit your clients is just part of your ongoing
environmental scanning responsibility. See
What's Next? in the latest issue of Fast Company
magazine. Hint: 33, 47 and 49 are relevant to our
business.
Who
Knew? Some business facts that might be of
interest to you:
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In an
InformationWeek Research survey of 300
business-technology managers conducted last year,
more than 80% said their companies are using
(29%), testing (18%), or planning to deploy VOIP
(Voice Over Internet Protocol).
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Lots of
companies on the Fortune 500 have history, but
only one dates back to 1784. That's the year
Alexander Hamilton, then 27, founded the Bank of
New York. In the 220 intervening years the bank
has undergone more than nine name changes and over
100 mergers and acquisitions, but has held one
continuous charter, making it the oldest company
on the 500.
(more . . .).
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3.3
million jobs are expected to be offshore
outsourced to India and China over the next
several years. India is the largest producer of
movies in the world (even movie production is
being outsourced from Hollywood to Bollywood - yes
Bollywood is a real place - in India. India is
expected to build a $17 Billion web industry by
2008 and already claims to control 85% of the web
technologies market.
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Join IMC-Develop Your Skills |
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IMC USA Mission: To promote excellence and
ethics in management consulting through
certification, education and professional resources.
IMCDC
Mission: Get Smart, Get Friends, and Get
Business
Join
IMC. If you're satisfied that IMC is the right
professional organization to help you "Get Smart,
Get Friends, 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.
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