Management, Books and Learning

  The biggest advantages are know how, previous experience, ability to deal with ambiguity and the ability to create value in a very short period of time.  Too often clients hire people and call them 'consultants' just because they are on a contract.    There's a huge difference between contractors and consultants IMO. Contractors are usually brought in to fill staff augmentation roles for a period of time.  Think - I need a Project Manager to manage project 'xyz' for 3 months.  They need only have generic PM skills in many cases and the ability to execute.    True consultants are brought in because of their expertise in a specific functional area or areas.  They bring knowledge to the table which isn't available in house and can both execute the tasks at hand as well as guide the client and provide advice towards decisions which need to be made now and in the future.  By bringing in additional subject matter expertise there's a ty...

4 Important Lessons About Failure From Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran This article is courtesy of  BusinessCollective , featuring thought leadership content by ambitious young entrepreneurs, executives & small business owners. Embracing fear and failure is  a key component of becoming an entrepreneur . You need to take a leap of faith to be a success in the startup world, and no one knows this better than Barbara Corcoran. Despite her $80 million net worth and tremendous success as a businesswoman and TV personality, “Shark Tank” star Barbara Corcoran is no stranger to failure. She received straight D’s throughout her academic career and held 20 different jobs by the time she turned 23. But that all began to change in 1973 when she cofounded a real estate business that flourished into an exceptionally successful company. In 2001, she sold her business for $66 million to NRT Incorporated, the largest residential real estate brokerage company in the U.S. C...