gdp's Comments

Killer Consultant : Shopping for the first day - travel gear

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 09:43:34 +0000

Hi Newbie Girl, all female consultants I know are carrying both a (smaller) handbag and a laptop bag. It seems a hassle to me, but I guess as I man I don't understand such matters ;-) I've read some good reviews of Knomo bags (http://www.knomobags.com), though they are quite pricy... but google for women's laptop bags, and you'll get more than enough choices. I'd definitely recommend getting a laptop bag with a wider shoulder strap, you won't make it far on slim straps / strings that cut into your shoulder.

Killer Consultant : Organizing project data - files and folders

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:46:20 +0000

Rick, thanks a bunch for your comments! Actually, I find the idea of a timestamp in lieu of piling up version numbers very charming, though it only works when the date of the document is not tied to a fixed date but is also part of the timestamp. Your point against underscores is well taken - I use them mainly to make sure that the file name is recognized as one string, and as I occasionally send larger files via FTP, it is a nice plus that nothing needs to be adapted there. If that is not needed, then the advantage of using spaces should be seriously considered.

Killer Consultant : The Art of Choosing a Hotel (Consultant's edition)

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:58:30 +0000

Joe, what can I say... spot on! Tell you what - I'll make Hotel Bonus Point programs a separate posting. Anything you want to see mentioned? What's your favourite program and why?

Killer Consultant : 5 tips to avoid spelling mistakes

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:50:17 +0000

Arjan, thanks for the comment. Of course - sharing the project dictionary on a sharepoint, wiki, etc., is absolutely the way to go, if one can convince the colleagues to use it (in some places, there still seems to be a strong preference for doing everything via email, which is a shame) The American vs. British English remark is gold - that one can eat a LOT of time when not defined beforehand.

Killer Consultant : KC hive mind: How to you talk about your job to friends and family?

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 17:17:31 +0000

Consultinggrad, congratulations on scoring the job with PwC! I hope you thoroughly enjoy your start there. I agree, it is a good idea to introduce your family to your new employer and give them an idea of what you will be doing and who you will be working for. Plus, that information is mostly non-confidential anyways (you won't want to give them more details to chew than you can find on the company website anyways!). Re the consulting lingo... wait for it. There will be a day when you want to wash your mouth with soap after discovering that you spoke "consultanese" instead of english in a totally inappropriate setting ;-)

Killer Consultant : How personal should you get with clients?

Wed, 20 May 2009 14:27:40 +0000

Thanks for that question, Sebastian! I'll cover that in the next post that will come out this week - let me know then if it answered what you wanted to know in enough detail.

Killer Consultant : Avoiding the vicious cycle

Tue, 5 May 2009 11:17:04 +0000

Richard, thanks! Feel free to use the post to start a conversation with your friends (and send them to the KC for more good advice, of course ;-> ), though I recommend doing it when they are actually awake and open for suggestions. Let us know how it went!

Killer Consultant : Follow the KC on twitter

Tue, 5 May 2009 11:09:59 +0000

Kevin, that's a good question, and it seems to be quite a fundamental one, too. You might argue that it depends on your personality - do you brand your person? Does your website stand for the same thing you do stand for? How do you want to be perceived? I for one use twitter to keep up with what's new, to interact with friends and create new interesting contacts with colleagues, so it is quite a random stream of messages which won't all be of interest to someone who is interested in getting more of the KC. Thus this experiment to separate out the website's own twitter account, with no distractions, no babbling, and a low frequency. (As this, still, is just a spare time deal...) What do you think?

Killer Consultant : Follow the KC on twitter

Tue, 5 May 2009 11:04:06 +0000

Kai, thanks for the positive feedback! I'm excited to see where that KC thing can go. I'm using the Gimp (http://www.gimp.org) on my ThinkPad and Acorn (http://flyingmeat.com/acorn/) on my Mac for image editing.

Killer Consultant : Follow the KC on twitter

Tue, 5 May 2009 11:00:56 +0000

Benjamin, you're right to mention RSS as the method of choice for blog updates only. I am not planning to substitute this site's RSS feed by any means. Giving the KC its own twitter account is an experiment to see if there is room for an enriched "bite-sized" stream to connect with its readers with more info than just the new posts. You got me thinking, though, that using the twitter account for update notifications only would be a waste of time, so I better think of some more useful things to post!

Killer Consultant : Shopping for the first day - clothing

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 01:37:45 +0000

Guys (&girl), thanks so much for all those great contributions! Icebear, Ingo, Benjamin, Road Warrior, travelgirldc - you rock! I'm adding a note at the beginning of the post to make sure everyone has a look at the additional material you put together here in the comments. Keep 'em coming! Florian

Killer Consultant : First Killer Consultant talk: Half Hour of Power

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 01:33:26 +0000

Sebastian, thank you for the flattering comparison! Obviously, there's a huge difference between a consulting slide deck and the one I did here, and I wouldn't be able to use this sort of presentation at work. Consulting slide decks are most of the time not only a) way more conservative / "old school professional" (corporate design, focus on content, etc.) but also b) used not only for the actual presentation of the content but double as documentation / reading material as well. Thus, Consulting slide decks rarely serve as good example of presentation layout&design, especially when compared to the principles promoted by Presentation Zen and Slideology. Sadly, it's not only done that way because consultants are used to it - clients are, too. That's why it was so much fun putting the Half Hour of Power together - feels good to do it the "right" way once in a while :-)

Killer Consultant : Useful gadget: A presenter remote

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 21:59:22 +0000

Andy, thanks for the addition. I would be doing the exact same thing, if I could only use my Mac at work... being stuck with Powerpoint and a ThinkPad really hurts on so many levels! :-)