The Good Consultant marches on

Was that really another year?  Crikey.  That was fast.

This has been a heck of a year for me:  Professionally, I’ve completed some fantastic projects, fixed some tricky problems, learnt some new skills and got the correct licenses first time for a Call Manager!

Socially, I’ve got involved with Eman and the CCIE Flyer and I’ve began penning my thoughts as to what makes the Good Consultant  (although that’s stalled a little at the moment, but you’ll soon see why)  which has allowed me to start reaching out to assist folks aiming to further themselves as a consultant.  I’ve seen a few friends that I’ve been coaching along further their careers massively, one friend rising through the ranks of Consultancy and another friend passing his hallowed CCIE - Chris Stos-Gale #27550!

Personally, I’ve been blessed with the birth of a son, after a very hard fought battle and the house is set to be alight with family this Christmas, which is my favourite time of year.  Don’t forget – it’s not all about work you know, and nothing brings that home like a smiling baby, or changing a nappy at 3 in the morning.

Career wise, I’ve taken a new job, which is offering me the opportunity to take a Directorship (should I be worthy enough!) and, alongside my fantastic team, the chance to build a country wide Service Provider network from the floor up.  It’s not every day that sort of chance comes along, so I grabbed it with both hands.

Lastly, I turned 30.  And looking back at what I’ve achieved over the years and specifically all that’s happened during this year, I’m looking forward to taking my 29 years of experience and channelling it all into my 30^th year.  This next year is going to be a great one.

And then just this week I got an email from Cisco saying I need to recertify my CCIE.  They know how to spoil a party!!

LH

Narbik, Scott and Eman

A CCIE Flyer Exclusive


Today was a real busy day for me. I drove to visit with Narbik at one of his CCIE Boot Camps he was teaching in Herndon, VA. Since I was driving so far to see him I asked our mutual friend Scott Morris to join us for lunch. I am amazed at how the fifteen students in Narbik’s class responded to Scott dropping by to say hello. He is still held in awe by many neophyte CCIEs and some well established CCIEs around the world. Both Scott and Narbik have paid their dues as CCIE trainers and mentors. Both have made their mark on the CCIE community by giving freely of their time to motivate, mentor and improve the arena as a whole. For me sitting with the two of them was a treat because I have known them both for so long and only at the CCIE party this past Cisco Live have I had the pleasure of their company together.


Big Plans


As we chatted we finalized some of the preliminary planning for a series of quarterly training events. Beginning in January I am proud to announce that the CCIE Flyer has brought both Narbik and Scott together for twelve day CCIE R&S Boot Camps. It’s true they will both conduct the same classes together splitting time on the podium. Both of these guys are responsible for motivating, training and guiding so many CCIEs along their journeys and careers that this partnering of giants is big news. Twelve days of career building, life changing, inspiring CCIE training like none ever offered before is being made available to you through the CCIE Flyer.


Where?


Bangalore is our first stop for the dynamic duo. January 2011 Narbik and Scott will hold the first of these historic twelve day sessions. This will be followed by Sydney, Australia in April, Milton Keynes, UK in July and finally Wilmington, Delaware in October. These twelve day comprehensive classes will equip aspiring CCIEs for success.


How Much?


You pay only, $4,500 for both Narbik and Scott, for twelve days of learning unavailable from any other source, anywhere in the world. There may be other twelve day or longer classes offered but none have these two dynamos taking the lead. You might pay more and you might now find lower priced venues, but the CCIE Flyer has both Narbik and Scott.


More!


You want more? Well how about the chance to pay nothing for the second attempt at the lab if you fail the first attempt after taking this class? Yup, both are Cisco 360 Learning trainers. So you get the added insurance of knowing you are joined on your journey by Cisco Systems approved trainers. The two weeks of training will also have a few surprises after class activities and career networking opportunities.


COME JOIN EMAN, NARBIK AND SCOTT FOR TWELVE DAYS OF LIFE ALTERING CAREER ENHANCING TRAINING!


For more information send an email to me eman@ccieflyer.com and I will be happy to share more details as the planning is finalized!

CCIE Emeritus

More good news from Eman over at ccieflyer.com

Inactive, Retired or Celebrated CCIEs

Way back in October of 2008 in the pages of the CCIE Flyer we carried an article by Terry Slattery where he groused/mused about grandfathering CCIEs.  Here are a few excerpts from that article.

A couple of years ago at Networkers, I heard about a proposal to grandfather people who had been long-time CCIEs, so that they didn't have to take the recertification test any more. My first thought was that it would significantly weaken the program. How would you know whether someone was an active CCIE or grandfathered without taking time to gather the relevant information and spend the time to verify it? I felt so strongly about it that I spoke out against the idea.
Upon further thought, I have a suggestion to resolve the dilemma. When a high ranking military officer retires, he or she gets to retain the title, but with the addition of "Retired" (e.g. General Kilroy, Retired). Why not do the same thing for the CCIE program? It shows that the person can think, work hard, excel, and make a difference in their area of expertise. This is exactly what the military moniker conveys and I see no problem with doing the same for the CCIE program. Someday I'll retire and wouldn't mind a business card that says something like:
Terry Slattery, CCIE #1026/Inactive
How does this suggestion help the CCIE program? It would provide an official way for people who achieved the CCIE status to continue to get some benefit as well as let future employers know that the person has useful attributes and experience. It could broaden the program's reach to people who have moved into the management world from the technical world. Imagine a Cisco account team finding that they are working with a CCIE/Inactive manager and being able to immediately get into a level of technical detail. The existing Cisco CCIE validation tool can tell whether someone is in active or inactive status, allowing employers to easily check someone's status.
I've not considered how far back such a program should reach. Should all former CCIEs be allowed to use an "Inactive" designation (or whatever the designation would be)? Off hand, I can't think of a reason to limit it and what measure one would use to set such limits. My intuition is that allowing all former CCIEs to use the "Inactive" designation would generate a lot of good will in the networking community.
What do you think?
-Terry

Well recently I read on many posts about the CCIE Emeritus concept that the forward thinking and receptive folks at Learning@Cisco had decided to launch.  I like it and let me explain why.  I know CCIEs let their numbers expire in many cases when they have climbed the rungs of success to find themselves in management.  The need for the cert is then an object of pride and accomplishment and less a necessity.  Terry himself confided in me before returning to hands on projects that he needed to in order to stay sharp enough to recertify and because he missed getting his hands dirty.   We were having lunch and we discussed this idea he had about allowing a long time CCIE to keep a title on their business cards and signatures that said, “Yes I was a CCIE for over ten years and I am proud of it!”  Well Learning@Cisco has gone a step further and is going to provide a seal/symbol, like the ones current CCIEs emblazon their business cards and resumes with.  The thing I like about it is not the semantics but the price for doing it, no not the $85 per year fee, the mentoring.  Yes remaining in the community of next generation CCIEs as a person of influence is a great thing.  Read this announcement from the Cisco site;

CCIE Emeritus

As the CCIE program continues to grow and develop Learning@Cisco recognizes that the individuals certified within the program are also growing and developing. To recognize the long term members of this program a new level of involvement has been created — CCIE Emeritus. Who is Emeritus for? Long term CCIE's who have moved out of the "day to day" technical work but would like to stay involved in the program serving as ambassadors to current and future CCIE's Emeritus Guidelines: Beginning August 1, 2010 At the 10 year anniversary Cisco will send a letter informing the CCIE of potential eligibility for Emeritus. CCIE's desiring to join the Emeritus program must submit a completed application to the CCIE Emeritus team. Link to application will be provided in the letter. Approval is subject to Cisco's sole discretion. Emeritus status is granted for one year from the date of approval. Candidates must re-apply each year to maintain status. Letters will be sent at the beginning of each month at minimum 30 days prior to anniversary/expiration date. Emeritus Application Requirements: ·         Completed application ·         10 years current and active status as CCIE ·         $85.00 annual fee (subject to change year to year) ·         Summary of program participation (detailed in application) ·         Not affiliated with a Channel or Cisco Partner Emeritus Benefits: ·         Permission to use Emeritus logo — subject to Cisco requirements ·         In situations where logo is not applicable the word Emeritus will follow CCIE number ·         CCIE number is maintained but now classified as Emeritus status ·         Candidate is recognized for technical proficiency and long term status within the program ·         Continue to participate in discussion forums, blogs, groups, etc... as an Emeritus ·         Opportunity to re-enter active CCIE status for up to ten years by taking any current written CCIE exam Emeritus Rules: CCIE Emeritus is a non-active status. As such the following rules apply — ·         DOES NOT provide TAC support privileges or preference ·         DOES NOT count towards Channel / Partner requirements ·         DOES NOT apply towards maintaining status levels for Channel Partners ·         DOES REQUIRE candidates to continue to report violations to the program when encountered **As with the CCIE program itself The Learning@Cisco organization and Cisco reserves the right to terminate at any time without specific notice to the candidate. Individuals who are accepted as CCIE Emeritus must maintain all ethics and guidelines of the program.

This deserves a round of applause Leraning@Cisco and I am a happy supporter of the effort.  We need more role models and mentors in the CCIE ranks!

Keep up the good work Rick Smith and company!

Warning from Eman!!

Beware the Contract that Bites!

My muse, Eve the Career Diva recently posted a piece called, “Don’t Sign Your Life Away For A Gig” which is very topical for me today.  I was on the phone with another unemployed CCIE who had a job with a training company.  His restrictive covenants were absurd and apparently written by a paranoid owner, who has developed a reputation of hiring and swiftly firing his IMMIGRANT trainers.  I have held the belief that some training companies are not concerned with who delivers their curriculum.  A sharp freshly minted CCIE is hunted down, who is not asking for as much money as a more expert one, just to make sure that profits are protected.  After the training materials are updated and made current then they are routinely fired.  I am not surprised that the trainer’s employment agreement (I have in my hands) is written the way it is.

It has been a while since I was involved in discovering some restrictive covenants which were a part of the nightmare that turned into the CCIE Hostage situation I helped resolve back in 2008.  In that situation, the two CCIEs had been hired and relocated to Dubai by a channel partner who almost immediately put them on unpaid leave.  This pair of CCIEs had a contract that prevented them from working for any competitor in the country, as a clause to release their CCIE numbers.  I wrote at that time that this was not unusual in the UAE for a lot of technical and professional roles. 

Well HELLO, it also happens here in the good old USA.  It has reared it’s ugliest of heads, under the guise of being part and parcel of a legal employment agreement.

The pattern is evident.  Hire a CCIE from another country.  Sponsor them to come to the USA to work.  Get them to update the training materials and then fire the CCIE.  The CCIE is left with a nightmare having completely uprooted their lives, families and homes with the promise of a great start in America.  And then the axe falls. 

I have been contacted by several of the CCIEs who have had this same scenario happen.  This is difficult to accept because the CCIE is then left to find new work, a new sponsor and held to restrictive non-compete and non-disclosure covenants preventing them from teaching.  This retards their ability to find a new job.  The employer is completely aware of this fact, this is his MODIS OPERANDI.

LURE, RESTRICT, FIRE

The prospect of being deported to their country flat broke is a reality.   Even in a post 911 era, the US Immigration Service would hold a company like this accountable if the CCIE were to file a complaint.  BUT if they do, the CCIE finds themselves between a rock and a hard place.  The CCIE would then be on the INS’ radar.  Yup, the CCIE is made to believe they cannot win for losing in this situation.  They stay quiet and beg for a job wherever they can find one in hopes of remaining in the new home and the new life they have begun because of the promise; no, because of the lies told them.

Here the paranoia is evident in the verbiage used in the employment agreement;

“Employee shall not, during or after termination of employment, directly or indirectly, in any manner utilize or disclose to any person, firm, corporation, association or other entity, except where required by law, any Proprietary Information which is not generally known to the public, or has not otherwise been disclosed or recognized as standard practice in the industries in which the Company is engaged.  Employee shall. During and after termination of employment, refrain from making any statement or comments of a defamatory or disparaging nature to any third party regarding the Company, or any of Company’s officers, director’s personnel, policies or products, other than to comply by law.”

While speaking to an attorney, (who is sitting at my elbow as I write this), I wanted to tell you all a few things.  First of all THE TRUTH is not “comments of a defamatory or disparaging nature” and remember it has become common knowledge that this is, “recognized as standard practice”  from this training company by those in the networking community.    Let’s look a little closer at this STANDARD PRACTICE.

STANDARD PRACTICE

While recruiting trainers, this company promises the moon, as many employers will do.  The mantra of the potential immigrant employee is that all things are possible in the good old USA as long as you work hard.  When praying upon those who would like to start a new life in America, potential victims line up to be considered.  The contracts are just part of the blur and buzz as the dream is being realized.  The dream of moving to America with a job that pays better than the one left behind is becoming a reality.  We in the USA have a long and proud history of brining hope and opportunity to the world’s “Huddled Masses”.  The dream of moving becomes a reality, the dream of getting the children into new schools with new friends becomes a reality, the new home becomes a reality, the excitement of the spouse who has a chance to spread her wings in a new country becomes a reality, the first pay check, the first new car, the first vacation in the new world… The nightmare is made all the worse because the hopes and dreams were near fruition.  Now the threat of DEPORTATION is the stark reality.  The prospect of losing face by returning home to the motherland unemployed is a huge stone in the gut.  The right thing to do is stop this parasitic practice.  This must not happen in the USA!  The words on your contract have been highlighted upon your exit from the company and are a threat to your well-being.  You are schooled into believing that the authorities are not a sounding board for an immigrant’s complaints.  You must abide the contract, shut up or be deported.   What this employer needs to know is that this is only “recognized as standard practice” for them and them alone.  IT IS WRONG!

IS IT LEGAL?

That can be debated because legal is not always right, just as the “LAW” can be used to perpetrate a wrong.  Now let’s get into the legal aspects of this, “standard practice”.  Just because it’s on paper does not make it legal.   Furthermore a defense to defamation is the truth.   To cloak something illegal under the veil of legitimacy is still illegal.  To that end, there is no legitimate defense of restricting any individual’s fundamental right to free speech.  This is true of course as long as they are not disclosing company confidential information covered by nondisclosure agreements.  No court of law will sanction truisms based upon a conclusion made by an employer as being defamatory.  Remember that lumping everything under the umbrella of defamation by a biased opinion does not make one’s words defamatory.  So “comments of a defamatory or disparaging nature” as defined by law has to be substantiated in some tangible fashion.  In a country where FREEDOM OF SPEECH is guaranteed as an inalienable right, arguing before a judge that an ex-employee “said something bad about me” will not stand up under the light of day.  In the opinion of my legal counsel, “oftentimes an employer, such as the one in this scenario, will use the threat of legal action as a buffer to all things right.”  “Employees will cower and wither under the threat of any kind of legal issue because ignorance of the law in this area is a gold mine for this employer.  One cannot possibly complain under the threat of deportation or being remanded to a holding cell in some remote part of the country.  These stories abound in the immigrant experience and as with any story it gets more gruesome with each telling.  This employer certainly knows this and capitalizes on these factors.”

WHAT TO DO?

Don’t cower or wither, (as my legal eagle says) stand tall and ask for advice.  Tell the world.  Put it on Group Study and let’s get back to why you became a CCIE in the first place!  If you are here on an current visa and are the victim of a situation like this, there are plenty of Cisco Channel Partners that will be happy when I send them your resume!

So, beware the contract that bites, some of them actually do have teeth not just a bark like this one!

A MESSAGE TO THIS EMPLOYER: IF I HEAR ABOUT THIS AGAIN I WILL PUBLISH YOUR NAME AND COMPANY DETAILS FOR ALL TO SEE.

(Many thanks to my legal eagle friend Althea Drysdale Esq.)

Cloud Computing the latest Industry Trend

Another insightful post from the man with his finger on the Industry Pulse - Eman Conde.

Be sure to check out the CCIE Flyer at www.ccieflyer.com

How do I begin?  The days are still running into each other as they scramble to exit my calendar and somehow I remain lucid amidst this chaos.  How I do it sometimes takes reflection.  Yup reflection on where this journey has taken me and glimpses of what might have been.  In London on my last trip I was excited to be in the House of Parliament, me a lowly servant of mankind, in the shadows of history.  Lunching among the MPs (that’s Member of Parliament for those of you who are not familiar with the vernacular) I was amazed at where I was.  Chatting with an MP who was my host I had a surreal feeling of being out of place.  Then I took a call from a DoD (Department of Defense) channel partner that needed 4 CCIEs to help them make Gold status.  I simply took the call, feeling I was being rude at the time only to reveal to my host the significance of that call.  After lunch I was very pleased with how my trip to London was working out.  Back home in Delaware I was still on cloud nine when I received an email inviting me to speak with a staff member of the Obama Whitehouse.  Seems they were looking for help with companies trying to participate in procurement and some of the stimulus dollars being used for a large WiFi effort.  I took a call from the representative and after the call I was again stunned by what I was doing as the CCIE Agent™.  I walked into my living room and sat next to my wife and shared with her my amazement at what I was getting involved in.  Well the initiative with the stimulus and procurement support fell through for me, but still having been called was an honor.  On the heels of this experience I was put on retainer to place CCIEs on two very high profile Top Secret projects.  The success in getting these CCIEs the best pay they could find anywhere in the USA was a real boon for them and their careers.

Trends are a constant as the IT industry evolves.  I just skipped over a few trends for CCIEs with the employment market shifting constantly one trend is more work in the Defense/Government sectors here in the USA, another is the rush for stimulus dollars, and still another the creation of roles that allow CCIEs to make a significant impact on the trends being shaped in general.  My favorite industry trend one I have been keeping an eye on is Cloud Computing.

Recently I was contacted by one of the three companies participating in the VCE Coalition and asked to support the effort with staff as it ramped up.  The Virtual Computing Environment coalition is composed of Cisco, EMC and VMware collaborating as a means to offer a one-stop shop for companies headed into Cloud Computing.  This is a very exciting coalition and a significant move in the development of Cloud Computing.

Accelerate the Journey to Private Cloud Computing

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns1027/index.html

The Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) coalition, formed jointly by Cisco and EMC with VMware, represents an unprecedented level of collaboration in development, services, and partner enablement to minimize risk during an organization's infrastructure virtualization journey to private cloud implementation.

Vblock Infrastructure Packages are integrated IT offerings from the VCE coalition that combine best-in-class virtualization, networking, compute, storage, security, and management technologies with end-to-end vendor accountability. Pre-integrated to provide a new way of delivering IT to businesses, these offerings are validated to help enable the creation of customized solution packages by the channel, partners, and ISVs.

Vblock Unified Customer Engagement includes capabilities for sales, service, and support to help customers understand the business benefits of VCE and deploy Vblock Infrastructure Packages to minimize risk in the journey to private cloud.

http://www.emc.com/campaign/global/vce/index.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yt9VevClrY

There is a lot more being said about this new technology paradigm.  In recent months when speaking with IT neophytes I have been sharing my prediction that Cloud Computing will create a new wave of blended technologist.  How to prepare for this new shift is a great opportunity that I am certain will create a lot of great opportunity across the board.  From Sales through delivery at a lot of levels I think this solution is going to take wing.  

The Good Consultant will see you now.

This month’s topic is one that's rather overlooked in Consultancy: Active Listening.

We're not just talking about hearing what someone (we'll call them The Customer) is saying, but much more than that.  We're not just talking about Listening and responding with the odd umm and ahh and nodding, but again more still.  Active Listening is a skill that has to be practiced and learnt and I'd argue that Active Listening is one of the hardest skills to learn and certainly one of that hardest to master.

But Active Listening is also about asking the right questions so you can listen attentively without having to steer the conversation onto a different track. And The Good Consultant always knows the right questions to ask.

Let's look at an example. You go to see your Doctor, you hear, "the Doctor will see you now" and in you stroll. What happens? He sits you down and you exchange pleasantries to ease the mood. Then what happens?  We'll come back to this example in a moment, but keep it in mind.

Let's look at a parallel example. You're The Good Consultant and you go in to see The Customer. You arrive a little early (The Good Consultant is never late), and you're waiting patiently with a coffee from the receptionist, then you hear "The Customer will see you now". In you stroll. What happens? There are a few pleasantries and you build up rapport with The Customer to put you both at ease and then it's down to business. Then what happens?

Now back to the Dr example. The Expert (in this case the Dr) asks The Customer (in this case you) relevant questions in order to help diagnose the illness. What he'll not do is go straight into describing different medical treatments and their benefits and neither should you.

So a skill The Good Consultant should possess is the same skill as a Doctor – Active Listening.  You need to be able to ask the right questions, so that you can let the customer talk and you have to listen and lead the conversation so that you can find the cause of the issues.  Then you can diagnose and prescribe the solution. 

The first question that I ask when I'm in with a customer is "what are the problems we're facing" (I go with "we" because when you've been selected as a Consulting Partner, The Good Consultant and The Customer are a team). Then, whilst The Customer explains the (usually technical) issues I listen and I make notes. But I'm not just listening to what's being said (that's the easy part), but I'm also listening to what's NOT being said. And that's the really tricky part.

So what do I mean by listening to what's not being said? Well, one of the more straightforward elements to Active Listening is listening to HOW something is being said. Think along the lines of:

"WE'VE got problems on the network" - emphasis on the word "we've"

"We've got PROBLEMS on the network" - emphasis on the word "problems"

Say each of those sentences out loud. Done?  Ok. Now, which sentence sounds like deep concern and which seems like a political dig? I'm no expert in this way of analysis, so my thoughts are from books that I've read on the subject and my own firsthand experience and research.

When I hear "WE'VE got a problem on the network", the bells ring for a politically charged undertone. The "we've" emphasises a sarcastic sentence and would make me think that this is something The Customer has been told to do, or is not overly happy about. Here, I will slightly edge the conversation on to find the underlying issue with a question such as "so The Business thinks the network is slow?" Slow might not be the problem, but it's an anchor from which The Customer can continue the conversation without referring to The Business in his continuation: "not slow, but it's the stability that's causing problems..." from knowing The Business issues, The Good Consultant can then diagnose and prescribe the solution. Think back to the Dr. If you go in and say "I'm struggling when I go up 2 flights of stairs" they need little more than that and they’ll have a good idea of what’s going on.  Back to the anchor question, this also keeps The Customer on track with the conversation that you want to have and doesn’t allow them to break off in a rant about The Business.  Feel free to ask about the technicalities, as The Customer will not be concerned with The Businesses issues.

If the emphasis was on "problems", this will usually be followed by the briefest of blank stares. Here we're looking at real problems and (chances are) ones which The Customer doesn't understand. So my next question will be more direct: "ok, how are the problems affecting The Business?"  We don’t ask about the technical details, as it’s likely that The Customer will just be guessing.  Ask about the affect of the problems on The Business and you’re likely to get a much better response.

There are many more ways to utilise Active Listening. Start thinking about body language; keep an eye on their eyes and always baseline as best you can. Baselining is where you find out what The Customer is like under normal conditions, so you can watch for signals that they're under pressure to get something resolved, etc.  But, to be able to do this on a first meeting with The Customer is very difficult, even for The Good Consultant. You have to be very skilled to be able to baseline in a short period of time. But as you get to know The Customer over weeks/months/years, you'll find it gets easier and almost natural.

Active Listening takes time and practice.  Practice on everyone and you’ll soon start noticing what the real issues are.  Sometimes on a single sentence.

Suggested reading for Active Listening:-

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_listening

How to win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Steven R Covey

Get People to do What You Want – Gregory Hartley & Maryann Karinch

Don’t be shy in reading these books – you can become The Good Consultant by just reading White Papers!!

The Secret of The Good Consultant

Hold onto your hats as I’m about to reveal the Great Secret of The Good Consultant.  Ready?  Sure?  Trust.  Yup, that’s it.  But hold right there.  What looks like a mere 5 letter word is perhaps the most important weapon in the toolbox of The Good Consultant.

Allow me to explain.

In order to understand the importance of Trust in Consultancy, you need to first take a few steps in another persons shoes:  The Customer.  Ok, let’s roll the clock back a bit to the time before you or your company was engaged in the project with The Customer.  There will have been a meeting between The Customer and their colleagues where they were discussing business strategy and the technologies needed in order to achieve their business goals.  The first branch of Trust is set in place, between The Customer and The Business.  The Business is putting Trust in The Customer to deliver on a promise of the technologies needed to achieve the Businesses goals.

Then The Customer will have realised that the technologies needed to achieve the goals are complex and unknown to them.  What can they do?  Send staff on training courses?  That could take a long time for them to get up to speed and they can’t be spared from their day to day duties.

So what option is The Customer left with?  Who can they call on to assist them with implementing the technologies that they so badly require to meet The Businesses goals? As let’s be honest, no Customer implements technology for technologies sake, there’s always a business reason, especially in these economic times.  Well, in the Cisco world (it’s the one I know best), if The Customer doesn’t already have a partner, but they have decided that Cisco is the way forward for them, they’ll speak to Cisco.

The second branch of Trust is then in place, between The Customer and Cisco.  Cisco will listen to the customers requirements and put them in touch with the partner that they have the most Trust in to be the best fit for the customer and deliver the technologies needed to achieve the Businesses goals.  That’s the third branch of Trust.  So that’s three branches of Trust before The Good Consultant has even met with The Customer.

So off The Good Consultant goes to meet with The Customer to further discuss their issues and gather information needed to put together a proposal of how The Good Consultant believes the technology can be used in order to meet The Businesses goals.  The Customer agrees, an order is placed and the project then commences.

Let’s be clear now.  All The Customer has purchased from The Good Consultant is a promise.  The Promise to deliver a project, as agreed, to hit the Business goals.  The Customer needs The Good Consultant to do the work as they’re unable to complete the work themselves.  So, where is all the Trust?  That’s from The Customer to The Good Consultant to deliver on the promise.  If it all goes badly wrong, who’s going to be held accountable?  Yes, The Good Consultant will be red faced, but it’s The Customer who has the much longer term prospect of having the Business put Trust in them and failing to deliver.

There are future posts that I’m planning, discussing methods of gaining and holding Trust between The Good Consultant and various parties, not least The Customer.  Any comments that others would care to add either on the blog  (http://GoodConsultant.blogspot.com) or on Twitter (@HarrisonLeigh) would be greatly appreciated in shaping those posts.

Until then, keep working on keeping the Trust bulletproof ;-)

LH

Blind Squirrels and Purple Squirrels

Yet another kind post from The Man on The Other Side - Eman

Don't forget to check out www.ccieflyer.com

Sitting here in the office recently I was contacted by another recruiter asking for help to provide a CCIE for his client.  This is a regular occurrence for me since I have been jumping up and down so vigorously attracting attention as I provide CCIEs for Cisco Channel Partners around the world.  The CCIE Flyer, my blog CCIEagent.com, my job blog CCIEJobs.com, LinkedIn Groups CCIE Network, CCIE Life, CCIE Jobs, Women CCIEs, and CCIEs Without Borders along with CCIE Jobs on Facebook, and my profile on Twitter make it easy to find me.  So from time to time I get calls, emails, InMails, and Tweets from recruiters who are looking for help.  I turn them away constantly from my groups on LinkedIn but I will entertain partnering with them to see if some of the CCIEs I network with can benefit from the roles they are hawking.  As I read their messages or speak with them I will look them up on LinkedIn or Google their names to see what their backgrounds are.  This is such a great time for information sharing and I take advantage of it.   What I find sometimes is amusing.

LOL

Recently I was sitting here reading one such profile when I literally laughed out loud.  When a recruiter tells me they are looking for a CCIE that has passed both the written CCIE and the Lab CCIE I question what they really know about CCIEs.  This time I looked and found the recruiter had been a recruiter for three months but before this was a dodge ball instructor.   Whoa.  What the heck?  I am sorry but while I will treat everyone with respect I literally chuckled so loud my kids and wife walked into my office asking what was so funny.  I cannot go into it but suffice to say the qualifiers to be an instructor of dodge ball cannot really be similar to those of recruiting.  There are a lot of people who seem to think recruiting is an easy way to make money.  So they collect their LinkedIn account, Twitter password, and Facebook connections and off they go; recruiting.  I know a lot of successful recruiters but I don’t know any that are successful who dove into the business without a clue.  The successful ones have a background either technical or in HR Recruitment for large firms or Government agencies and some even come from sales where they have been responsible for staffing projects they have sold.  I know one very lucky one who is interning as she takes on some great work under a hugely successful recruiter, but that is the exception to the rule.  The industry is rife with tenderfoots and greenhorns who are trying recruiting as if they have headed into Sutter’s Mill in the early California gold rush days.   Beginning a journey where they expect to find gold just lying on the ground there is unrealistic and hazardous.

Blind Squirrel

There is an old saying (yup here I go with the old age thing again) and it goes, “Even a blind squirrel will find a nut sometimes.”  It’s true I have seen a couple who got lucky just that one time and then pinned their hopes and dreams on lady luck hoping she would smile on them again.  This almost always ends in frustration and broken agreements and loss of moral and what hurts most is the loss of contact with a candidate who also has hopes.  Yup, Blind Squirrel Syndrome, really this is a recruiting industry term; go look it up in the recruiting glossary.   There are professionals out there who have paid their dues, worked diligently to learn the technologies and created a good reputation and client base due to their hard work.  Be alert to those who just started and are asking you about what you do to learn about CCIEs!

Purple Squirrel

Squirrels come in many colors.  Yes I am talking about those furry creatures that scamper around and eat stuff that falls out of trees or grow in your garden.   I have a reputation for saving squirrels during bad times for them here in Delaware.   I have hunted squirrels in Texas for food while canoeing the Brazos River adding these tasty creatures to a can of beans or some bacon on a skillet at on a campfire.  In east Texas they are gray here in Delaware they are red, in Washington DC I found some that were white and once in NYC I even found some coal black squirrels in Central Park.  There are no purple squirrels though and that is why in the recruiting world we call a position that is impossible to fill or very hard to fill a purple squirrel.  Once again I have to defer to the recruiting glossary to prove this is an industry term.  Are you a purple squirrel?  You may not be but when you look in the mirror, but when you leave your job for higher ground in your wake the HR folks and IT management might create one.  Recruiters hate a job description based on a person instead of a need.  That could be a purple squirrel.  With that exception aside we still find difficult searches in my world.  A candidate search for one recruiter is often more difficult than for another, so one recruiter’s purple squirrel is another recruiter’s stock and trade.  As is the case for CCIE searches for many and those brave enough to admit they need help call me from time to time.  So, I am polite and I listen and I do sometimes guffaw while sitting here at my desk but I love it all.   Remember if you need an advocate in your job search let me know I will keep the Purple Squirrel hunters at bay!

The Good Consultant is on Twitter

Folks - I've added in a new Twitter account @harrisonleigh

I'll be throwing up ideas that I'll be writing about in the blog and will be looking to discuss content.

LH

The Good Consultant - now it's even easier to get involved!

THE GOOD CONSULTANT – HOW DO YOU ROLL?

Sent in by Emmanuel Conde from CCIE Flyer

http://www.ccieflyer.com/

Check out the site - the guy knows his stuff.

The consultant, there are few jobs where you have to be actor and playwright but a good consultant has to and swiftly learns the balance.  Let’s face it there needs to be a balance struck between billable hours and solution delivery, politics and feasibility as well as practicality and stupidity.  With an audience of “Shoulder Surfers” the typical consultant has to really show his “value add” to the organization while looking for a chance to cross sell or up sell his talents.  In many organizations this may have been started when expectations were set during an RFP process or in the SOW.  (I am using the TLAs here since “The Good Consultant” will know what these terms mean.) 

Politician and Engineer

While a CSM back at the end of the 1990s I was responsible for billable consultants in many different enterprises.  It was easier for me to review the shoulder surfers since I was not steering the keyboard.  Instead I helped my engineers to identify the political morass they would need to maneuver through.  Part of the job of The Good Consultant is to learn how to use his shoulder surfers.  There are surely parrots among them, these are the people who take snippets of what they are hearing and repeat them among the technical staff or to their bosses to make themselves sound knowledgeable.  They are a great tool for up-selling or if one of them has rubbed The Good Consultant wrong feeding them bad data can  make them sound like fools among their peers.  Politics are such a reality of the IT world today.  Back in the old school of IT we were revered and not questioned about solutions we hacked out for our employers.  Today however the world is full of really smart people who kind-a-sort-a know stuff.  These folks too often rise to management levels and then make life a real pain in the posterior.  Making that manager happy is the art form known to The Good Consultant as POLITICS.  As a politician The Good Consultant wins the hearts and minds of as many of the Stake Holders of a project as possible.  Don’t try to win them all that is futile, but winning the right ones will help The Good Consultant survive any SNAFUs.  The Good Consultant as an engineer will deliver the goods that he was hired to provide.  That ethereal grey matter that has allowed The Good Consultant to rise through the ranks of his pears and become the subject matter expert survives even the harshest political environment.

Surviving the Sales Cycle

It is a shame that the toughest part of The Good Consultant’s life might actually be surviving the sales cycle.  That period spent developing a reasonable solution that then gets priced accordingly, coming within a solar system of being accurate, is a harsh proposition at times.  RFP to RFQ to SOW to Delivery to Departure these different phases of the life cycle of a project are well known to The Good Consultant.  Universal are the canings that are administered to The Bad Sales Executive.  That scoundrel who actually underbid the competition, giving away The Good Consultant’s precious time, to lay claim to the trophy of winning the deal shall be caned.  Beating the competition, as The Good Consultant chews his nails pulling out his rapidly thinning hair watching the time he needs to accomplish a project’s many tasks dwindle or be discounted can make even The Good Consultant cry.  The best way to survive the sales cycle is to be engaged in it.  Hopefully as the sharpened pencils begin to devour your good work The Good Consultant can remain the voice of reason.  The ability to remain involved is the mark of The Good Consultant.

The Eagle amongst Turkeys

The flock of talent these days is not always a level bunch.  Many groups are successful working together because there is a knowledge sharing that goes on.   The flock may sound like a bunch of turkeys raising a hue and a cry when questioning a point that is not mastered by one member only to be responded to by another.  The interaction resembles a flock of turkeys that travel together through the woods and one can be heard musing over a pint that the others then respond to as a chorus.   The Good Consultant knows this and will not let ego to crowd in on discussions where he or she is the subject matter expert.  While knowledge sharing is a great way to endear ones’ self to the flock it can also become a point challenged by a turkey.  That one member of the client’s team who has this clear skill may rise to challenge the decisions or results of The Good Consultant eating away at billable time or patience.  The eagle soars above this pettiness and will allow the turkey to maintain their place in the flock by compliment or deference while staying the course.

How Do You Roll?

It is clearly The Good Consultant that can enter and exit the client premise without guilt.  The work done or underway is the best that can be produced and so allows both to breathe easily.  The Good Consultant is the person who is the happiest.  The Good Consultant is good because he or she has maintained honesty, integrity and quality throughout the project and has left the client with a smile.  The Good Consultant rolls with the best.  How Do You Roll?

Life and Times of The Good Consultant

Posted on www.ccieflyer.com:

Welcome one and all.

I'm Leigh Harrison. I'm a Cisco Consultant and champion of Good Consultancy.

I have worked for several Cisco Gold and Silver partners ranging from the very small to the very large. On my travels I have met and worked with many Consultants, some good and some bad.

I have been involved with training and coaching team members for the last 10 years in both technical and non-technical aspects of being a Cisco Consultant. I have leant many things over the years and I have found that there is no real outlet for helping advise on the “soft skills” that are needed by The Good Consultant. So I decided to step up to the plate to offer my thoughts.

Yes, we all know that the technical skills are the most important part of the job – you have to know your stuff to be The Good Consultant - that's a given and there are plenty of websites and blogs to help along with that. But, I feel there is no real guiding path to help with taking the step into becoming a Consultant and very little to help you become The Good Consultant.

To this end, I created a blog called The Good Consultant (http://GoodConsultant.blogspot.com) to try and point people in the right direction. By no means is this site set up to be a definitive list of what is needed to become The Good Consultant, it is merely an outlet for me to share my thoughts with others and (more importantly) for others to share their thoughts. As two heads are always better than one (but more on that in later posts!).

I got in touch with Eman and after some discussions he very kindly offered me the opportunity to have a column in the CCIE Flyer. I assure you, I couldn't want for a better audience from which to draw ideas and inspiration. If anybody has been there, done it and got the t-shirt (or rather the “Number”), it's a hoard of CCIE's spread over every corner of the Globe.

I personally hope to gain a lot from the column. I am always interested in talking to The Good Consultants and learning about their backgrounds, how they got into leading the kind of life they lead and what thoughts they can share and what snippets of knowledge they can impart. I also have several thoughts on the kinds of “soft skills” The Good Consultant should have in his tool kit, right there next to a console cable.

The life of The Good Consultant is not an easy one, but then, nobody ever said it would be. If you're The Good Consultant reading this, then I would be very interested in hearing from you as to your thoughts on what makes a Good Consultant. If you're aspiring to be The Good Consultant, then I would really like to hear from you to understand the “soft skills” that you have and what additional you're working on to reach the status of The Good Consultant.

I look forward to hearing from you and sharing your ideas.

LH

The Good Consultant

Hello People,

I appreciate that in the Cisco Consulting world, we all need to have the technical ability - that's a given. But what about the soft skills? What about knowledge of products, what about understanding the customers business requirements, what about understanding the customer as a person and what about taking the time to really listen and understand?

These are the sort of qualities that can't be learnt overnight, but take many years of practice to hone to a fine art. It's a case of looking at a router or switch or phone system and not seeing it as a box with flashing lights and a Cisco badge on, but realising that each flash of an LED is someone receiving an important email, an important document being opened, a vital call being placed.

Yes to you and me it may well be a flickering light and a user clogging up our beautifully designed and implemented network, but to the end users this is what they do. And The Good Consultant helps them to do it.

This sort of thinking, and reading many of the posts from this forum has led me to question what makes The Good Consultant. What makes The Good Consultant tick, what motivates them, how do they keep motivated and (most importantly) how do they deliver exactly what the customer is after.

I'm compiling a list of tales and anecdotes the help describe what is expected of The Good Consultant.

This leads me to my first question to the group:-

What makes The Good Consultant?

I'd like to hear from End Customers who have had Consultants come in and do work or help on projects - What things did the Consultant do that made you happy? What did they do that made you think they truly know what they were doing enough for you to let them alter your infrastructure? Do they appreciate that it's not just their reputation on the line, but also yours? Perhaps more importantly - what did they do (or not do) that left you unhappy?

I'd also like to hear from Consultants. What makes you tick? What gets you out of bed in the morning? Why do you do the job that you do? It's not an easy life as a Consultant, especially as The Good Consultant. How do you keep on top of your game? What tales can you share of Good Consultancy for the Masses?

Comments from Managers and Wannabe Consultants are also welcome. I'd like to get all angles on what makes The Good Consultant. Managers - what do you expect from your Consultants? What goals do you set for them in reviews? How do you keep them ticking and performing at their best? Wannabe Consultants - Why do you want to be Consultants? What values do The Good Consultants that you look up to posses? Which of the skills and the abilities would you like to build up? What do you think will make you The Good Consultant?

Recruiters - There's plenty of you on here and you have a finger as close to The Good Constant pulse as anyone. What makes The Good Consultant? Your hearts can flutter reading a good CV, but when you speak to the people what makes you think "This is the One"? What qualities do you look for in The Good Consultant? What would The Good Consultant have to be capable of to get you jumping for joy?

Ladies and Gentlemen, this (I hope) is the start of a a long discussion that will undoubtedly lead to people agreeing, people disagreeing, but above all I want to find some shining examples of what The Good Consultant can do and what they have done. This is not intended as a manual, but rather pointers in the right direction of what is done, what is expected and what is possible.

The Good Consultant would expect nothing less of themselves.

Please reply and get involved. This is a discussion for us all and I'll be posting the wiser lessons that The Good Consultant should learn.

Best Regards,

Leigh H

PS. Before any of you ask "Why not The Great Consultant?" or "Why not The Brilliant Consultant?" The Good Consultant is modest and would never suggest such a thing ;-)