General Consultant Discussion

I asked @RobertWood what he would like for me to talk about during the Idea Exchange session on Saturday afternoon. He suggested that I pose that question here as well. So, any ideas about subject matter? @WayneSchulz suggested that I start a conversation about how I have structured projects with subcontractors such as @AlnoorCassim. At what point in the process do you get them involved, do they help with the scoping process, do they help with pricing the project, how do you pay them, and so on. Another topic could be how we've moved away from demo's and free brainstorming sessions toward paid POCs. I think this session will blend into the one that Wayne is presenting right after this one so we should have plenty of time to delve into several subjects.

I hope the session can be structured as a brainstorming session on how we can work together collectively to grow our businesses rather than a deep dive into any one subject. After the brainstorming the group can determine which opportunities are the best and then create smaller working groups to flesh out the details. So far we have: - Report contributions for use with customers - Training opportunities sponsored by 90 Minds performed by various members - Structure projects for subcontracting We also previously had discussed support help desk overflow or vacation coverage.

A. What's next for the typical VAR - assuming that new sales stay flat or declining and margins on maintenance go away - where are the opportunities? B. How to avoid the free demo -- or at least significantly reduce the amount of information you provide for free C. How to move customers from pay-as-you-go to annual KTA/support plan offered by your own firm

In that same vein, I am particularly interested in how we can use our disparate resources to let each firm member create a ""virtual consulting firm"" for projects using resources in the group. And also how to create a ""virtual account team"" to use our resources to land new customers who are/should be looking at base ERP packages beyond what a individual is expert with. Part of this would include some details about sharing technology to more or less standardize on for these virtual efforts. I have no illusions that this would be easy or that we can accomplish something major in these areas this weekend. But I do think we can layout the major obstacles to address, and identify who among us would be interested in pursuing this further and under what circumstances.

Same as Jerry - undoubtedly the 80/20 rule will kick in and perhaps only 20% (or fewer) will have interest but I think the time is here to continue branding around 90 Minds as a resource that can help us keep customers happy and win new deals.

80/20 no doubt! John's mention of how he manages subs got me thinking about this area, Perhaps we eventually end up with a 90Minds project protocol, staking out how joint work is scoped/doc'd, how and when docs and servers are shared for the project, project management tools used, etc. I'm not suggesting we have a bunch of reg's but a framework to work through. The S&M part is harder. But at the very least I think it would be terrific if there were a way to use the multi-vendor and multi-vertical expertise of the group in presenting solutions and analyses to prospects. In my fevered vision/hallucination, I could present 3 different ERP possibilities to a job-manufacturing prospect (perhaps Jobops, 300, Epicor) all with 90Minds members. (lets ignore the sales commission problem for now). And then we do the implementation with appropriate shared resources. Yes, the logistics and $$-split issues are huge. But first, what is the technical and tools framework we could use to do that? I feel my fever subsiding, so I'll let this go the way of Coleridge's Xanadu ...

Dreams are good @JerryNorman .... ""Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that."" ? George Carlin Don't we all get caught up in the going to work and forgetting about the dreams?

Oh, George! I do miss him. He would have had some great observations over the past 4 1/2 yrs ...

George and I have something in common. He played the Hippy Dippy Weatherman. I actually was a TV weatherman for a few years. And both of us quoted airport temperatures ...

@ThereseLogeais I am surprised that you have lost that youthful idealism. I have and continue to look for ways to create synergy in shared groups with varying success and tons of false starts. I fervently believe that economies of scale exist in society and then you get to the point where size creates too much overhead making way for new entrants. There is definitely opportunity, but it ain't free or easy.

George and I also have something in common in that we are frequent users of the 7 words...

@JerryNorman If we get a green screen, maybe we could talk you into reliving the past????

I didn't say I have lost the idealism..... I am very much looking forward to this MOTM. There are SO many possibilities....

Yes, but will he be hippy-dippy???

Ummm, no. and no.

Gary, only 7?

I don't think we'll have any problem at all filling up 2 hours with content. No doubt it will continue on through dinner!

@JohnShaver , filling the time wasn't my worry. Between your's and Wayne's slots there are about 2 hours. It would be nice if there were some sort of goal(s) for it, rather than some random walk through good ideas. Perhaps before we get to that time, we can all agree on a loose goal for the discussion to address. ""Producing effective, profitable projects with a 90Minds virtual team"" could be one, for example.

Sounds like a great conversation for Friday's dinner.

@JohnShaver I agree with @JerryNorman that without structure the time will go by very quickly and @ThereseLogeais and George Carlin will be proven right. I would be glad to add my 2 cents Friday night, but I believe that you and @WayneSchulz as leaders of the session need to provide structure. If you need to assign meeting members roles such as timekeeper, historian, cop, etc. I am sure you will have lots of takers. Often the most effective meeting facilitators have the least to say or are most effective when they say the least. It makes it hard for people with content to facilitate because they often want to lead the discussion instead of manage it (no offense to you or Wayne as I myself having been to facilitator training know I make a weak facilitator). Given the short time that we have I would suggest that the goal of both sessions should be to come out with one or more frameworks or a concepts that can be fleshed out by smaller working group. @PeterWolf and I tried to accomplish similar goals in a smaller group than 90 Minds with very limited results due to the nature of ""regular work"" getting in the way. A leader for the smaller group would definitely need to be one of the known 20%.

@JohnShaver - There were 7 words you could not say on TV

@GaryFeldman I have to go with George's extended list! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSlbEq0roEM