Consulting Alliance Newsletter -December 2009
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Holiday Losses
We extend our deepest sympathies to Ray Patterson, Lynette Seawall, and Janet Ann Smith, who all lost family members last month. This is a difficult time of year to lose a loved one. Please keep them in your thoughts.
Consulting Alliance to be Featured on WAMC
Alan Stern, Tom Denham and Cindy Herrmann will appear on WAMC’s Vox Pop with Stephen Falano on Tuesday, December 29 at 2:00 PM. They will discuss consulting in general and the Consulting Alliance and will take calls from listeners. Tune in!
Consulting Alliance Joins Albany Visitors and Convention Bureau
The Consulting Alliance has joined the Albany Visitors and Convention Bureau and will be exploring ways to promote our members' services to organizations hosting conferences in the Albany area. Alan Krieger, our liaison with the Visitors Bureau for the Consulting Alliance, offers the following initial list of planned benefits:
· We will include on our website (in the Members-Only section) a listing of all upcoming Albany conferences and conventions (target date: January).
· The Visitors Bureau will become familiar with our membership and website and will refer their members and conference coordinators to us if they are looking for consultants (a frequent occurrence).
· The Visitors Bureau will help us shape our Speaker Showcase to make it more attractive and user-friendly for conference planners.
· All CA members will be able to attend Visitor Bureau networking events.
· The CA will be listed in the annual Visitors Guide they publish and on their website.
· We will have access to the Bureau’s membership directory.
Roost Now Hosting All CA Meetings
Our breakfast location has moved to Wolferts Roost, so starting in January, all of our programs will be at the Roost. Great breakfasts will be served!
Luncheon Attendees Lists
Just a reminder that a Contact Opt Out feature has been added to member profiles on our Web site for your privacy, should you not wish your name to be included in the attendance lists.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
End the year with our Holiday Hullabaloo!!
Friday, December 11, 3-5 pm, Fort Orange Club. Members-only.
New time, old place, don't miss it! Spend time with old colleagues, get to know new ones better, all while eating, drinking and being merry. This is our final event at the Fort Orange Club.
"Revitalizing Our Cities : The What, The Why, And How It's Going”
Friday, January 8, 11:30 am – 2:00 pm, Wolferts Roost
Philip Morris, CEO of Proctors in Schenectady, will tell us what’s been done to revitalize downtown Schenectady and explore what it takes to make our cities vibrant and sustainable. Join us for lunch on January 8th at the Roost.
“Is it a Suspect, Interesting Encounter, or a Prospect?”
Friday, January 22, 7:30 am – 2:00 pm, Wolferts Roost
Lorraine Ferguson, President of Direct Impact Associates, LLC - the authorized licensee of Sandler Training, will speak about how knowing what to look for and how to ask the right questions early in the qualification process can save you valuable time - from the standpoint of proposal development and what we call "chasing" business that was not qualified to begin with. Walk away with a few tips to help you gain control and confidence of the early discovery process.
Program Committee Seeks Suggestions for 2010
The Program Committee needs your suggestions for lunch speakers for upcoming programming. Speakers should have wide public appeal so we can continue to increase attendance at our lunch programs. Please send suggestions to our new Program Chair Deborah Ferro Burke, Debbie@deborahburke.com.
MEMBER NEWS
Stage Right Expands Seminar Offerings
Alan Stern of Stage Right Organizational Development, Inc. has added three seminars on mediation to his repertoire of training offerings. The first presents an overview of techniques for managing conflict without the help of a professional mediator. The second teaches a process for “self-mediation” where individuals can navigate a conflict between him/herself and another. The third teaches a process whereby a manager can mediate between two staff who are in conflict. Alan presents these on behalf of the Mediation Training Institute International and will be offering these through Stage Right directly as well. He’s run this program since last spring for NY Stage agencies and this fall ran three very successful programs in NYC.
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Bartel Communications Holds Fundraiser
Pauline Bartel of Bartel Communications, Inc. held a fundraiser for the Regional Food Bank by presenting the seminar "Subtle Sell Marketing" and offering 15-minute "Food For Thought" speed marketing consultations to selected attendees, in return for canned food donations. Eight attendees met one-on-one with Pauline to discuss current marketing challenges and receive her advice and counsel.
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Careers in Transition Public Appearances
Dr. Thomas Denham, Career Counselor and owner of Careers In Transition LLC, recently appeared on WMHT’s Capitaland Quarterly discussing careers in entrepreneurship. He has been speaking on career management issues at the Albany Ad Club, the Women’s Employment Resource Center and the Times Union Job Fair. With fellow CA members Cindy Herrmann and Alan Stern, he will be promoting the Consulting Alliance on Tuesday, December 29th from 2-3 pm on Northeast Public Radio 90.3 FM with the topic: The World of Consulting.
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Shawenon Client Site Goes Live
Shawenon Communications’ latest client Web site went live in November. It can be viewed at www.BryanBergeron.com. “It was a huge challenge and a lot of heavy lifting,” says Susanna Opper. “But it was also very interesting and rewarding work. I’m looking for more opportunities like this one.”
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Capital Consulting Continues Article Series
Ray Patterson, of Capital Consulting Group published his third column in Ballston Spa weekly Ballston Journal. The article, part of a series on organizational change, appeared on October 10, 2009, Albany and was entitled “A Framework for Leveraging Change, Leading from an Emerging Future.”
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Polk Judges EAP Business Plan Contest and Participates in Webinar
Bill Polk of Business Advisory Services, one of the several Alliance members who are instructors at the Chamber's Entrepreneurial Assistance Program (EAP), was a judge in the Chamber's EAP Business Plan competition. Polk was also a speaker at the EAP graduation ceremony.
Polk also served as a panelist for an Excelsior College webinar on Business Planning.
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Pictures with Personality Announces New Contracts and Ten Year Anniversary
Joan Heffler of Creative Expressions Photography, Pictures With Personality! has contracted with Parameta Projektberatung GmbH & Company, a consulting firm in Germany, to photograph their winter conference this December. She also won a contract with National AFSCME, the largest public employee and health care workers union in the United States, to photograph for their national publications and website. Heffler also photographs for AFSCME’s Lobby Day at the Capitol where thousands of employees lobby for employee benefits.
Heffler, the newest member of the Consulting Alliance, is also celebrating her tenth year in business and has been featured as a “success story” in the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce Visions Magazine. Her photography is published nationally in Forbes Magazine and locally in dozens of publications and websites.
UPCOMING MEMBER PRESENTATIONS
Dec. 1-2: Alan Krieger will be presenting two programs to the School Facilities Managers Personnel Academy; one on dealing with difficult people and the other on "managing up" (dealing with your boss).
Dec. 18: Alan Krieger is also continuing to work with many key agencies involved in workforce development as a follow up to the regional talent pipeline report he and Steve Appel produced. Alan will be speaking to a regional meeting of guidance counselors on December 18.
Dec 29: CA members Cindy Herrmann, Alan Stern, and Tom Denham will be promoting the Consulting Alliance on Tuesday, December 29th from 2-3 pm on Northeast Public Radio 90.3 FM with the topic: The World of Consulting.
December: Steven M. Egna, Director of Business Advisory Services with Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte CPAs, P.C., is scheduled to be a course instructor for the Institute of Business Appraisers. Egna will teach two classes about business valuations in an educational seminar series in Georgia.
Jan – Apr 2010: Alan Krieger will be providing a four-session leadership training program to 200 members of the senior management team at Ellis Hospital through a collaboration with Schenectady County Community College.
COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Program Committee
Debbie Burke has agreed to step up and take over the role of Program Chair for lunch programming. Alan Krieger will stay on as chair for planning CA Breakfast Meetings. Kat Koppett will be focusing on the Speaker's Showcase. Please give all the support you can to these important volunteers. In particular, we are looking for your suggestions for upcoming luncheon meeting topics and speakers for 2010. Send ideas to Deborah Ferro Burke, PhD
Debbie@deborahburke.com.
Marketing Committee - Publicity
The Consulting Alliance continues to garner coverage of its news in The Business Review; Gazette; Saratoga Business Journal; Times Union; The Record and Visions, the magazine of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Breakfast Meeting Planning Session
Thanks to all who made it to the meeting on November 20 at Wolfert’s Roost to discuss progress and next steps on our four initiatives. Lots of great ideas were shared and with some real enthusiasm we are moving ahead to the next steps. Here are a few highlights:
o Speaker Showcase. We’re moving from a “speaker’s bureau” to a “Showcase” to better highlight CA members who do presentations. Kat Koppett and Will Ryan will be sending information to members on what listing information will be needed for the Showcase, and will work with Jim Harrison to make the Showcase user-friendly for organizations seeking speakers.
o Member Resources. Many ideas were suggested to Bob Serenka (Ray Patterson was out of town) for (a) group purchases that members would like to explore, and (b) additional resources such as templates (e.g., contracts, proposals, etc.) for Members-Only section of the CA Website. We also will explore how members can get assistance from CA experts on technology usage
o Boot Camp. While actively working to get this off the ground, we’ve decided to take small steps. Our first workshop will likely be in the Spring of 2010, with one 2-hour session on a central aspect of the consulting business. Jenny Amstutz, Nancy Schultz and Alan Stern are working along with Pauline Bartel to get this up and running.
o Webinars. Cindy Herrmann and her committee have this well in hand. Our first webinar will be offered in late January on the topic of getting into the consulting business (considerations, tips, etc.), conducted by Alan Stern and Ray Patterson. This will tie into our Boot Camp concept and possibly serve as a feeder into that program. Cindy is actively looking for topics and is putting together a schedule. If you have a topic you think would make a good webinar, please contact her at cindy@mogulmarketing.com.
SUBMIT YOUR NEWS FOR THE FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: January 22nd
SUBMIT VIA EMAIL TO: NANCY REILLY
· Works in Progress - Consulting assignments, especially collaborations with other Consulting Alliance members
· Committee Updates –From committee chairs
· Member News – Awards, Designations, Trainings, Professional and Personal accomplishments
· Shared Resources – Information, reviews, resources, workshops or special offers offered by members to other members
· Member Publication – announcements of books, articles, or other publication credits
· Member Presentations – news about member presentations and workshops coming up