How often would you poke a bear with a red hot poker? 🐻Once? Twice?How about every weekday? People would think…
I’ve worked with some wonderful consulting partners – great leadership, solid ethics and high standards. We do what we do…
I’m more of a carrot person 🥕 than a stick person, although I can be fairly lethal with it. 🤺…
OK. His budget for in-house team of contractors only shows the numbers for 4 months, or the expected duration of…
Pancakes and waffles. 🥞 vs 🧇That’s what a client side PM and a partner side PM is like. The basic…
OK. His budget for in-house team of contractors only shows the numbers for 4 months, or the expected duration of…
Have you ever been handed a baby with a HUGE bulging nappy?The one where you’re afraid of peeking inside just…
This is day 4 of my #30daysofvideo challenge. Client side Project Managers have to rely on their charm, when managing a #Salesforce or #microsoftdynamicscrm or any…
Day 3 of my #30daysofvideo challenge. I thought that I’d answer some commonly asked questions.In today’s video post, I talk about the…
Day 2 of my #30daysofvideo challenge. I am fairly self-aware, or so I thought.It needed candid conversations with some friends to make…
I recorded my London’s Calling presentation last week, and I have to admit that it was not up to my…
Nuance and context is so important.Nowhere more so, than when having an intensively emotional conversation about life and death, as…
How long will you take to learn how to make donuts with only your feet? 👣Uhh … whut? Estimating #Salesforce…
When is 1 * 100 <> 10 * 10?When estimating #Salesforce project costs. If 10 tasks is estimated to take…
When problem solving _IS_ a problem. 🤔 What? I hear you say. Many of us are wired to be problem…
I ❤ estimating #Salesforce projects.Perhaps it’s a nerdy thing, but I love the planning, and the thinking that goes behind…
“So talk to me about how you worked out your project estimates.” My ex-colleague, T, had just joined a company…
“So how many sandboxes will you have? Whaaaaat? 😱“Why do I need more than one?” “If you want to replace…
It’s magical. When you are able to create and hold a safe space for someone to talk to you, to…
Just about to start my Samaritans night-shift. Daughter helpfully decorated my swag from #salesforce #nonprofitdreamin to get me through the…
“You’re worried that your mum will reject you because you’re gay? Maybe it’s a phase… go on a few ‘normal’…
Issue # 2 OnThePeiroll “I want to lose weight so I’d get invited to prom.”“I’d like to get a new car…
“So essentially, you knocked up your estimates on the back of a fag packet?” He got a bit defensive.“No, I…
The speaker schedule is out WOOOOOT! Join my session at London’s Calling Ltd on 19th March 2021. You’ll hear how mastering Active…
The new IT Director showed me his CBAR-Cost Benefit Analysis Report.My right eyebrow went so far back it joined my…
“Why don’t you just quit your job?”“Let me talk to your teacher about your grades.”“You’re such a doormat. Just tell…
“Um, I said you’d drive them the 238 855 miles to the moon with your 1964 Morris Minor.” Argh! I…
“Hiring #Salesforce Functional Consultants – currently remote (so you can zoom with your pyjama bottoms). However, when all of us…
I almost never use “Are you OK?” on its own. Otherwise I get the standard reflex response of the English:“Yep,…
Salesforce has changed the way they are certifying their #SalesforcePartners and this is their definition of an Implementation Expert: A…
You will make better decisions the more you understand yourself and what you want. This holds true for big purchases…
Ugh. It’s so noisy.Phones going.Office humdrum.The open plan can be so noisy.How do I focus on work? Wait.Is that Sandy…
As a Samaritan’s volunteer, I listen to people every week as they share the difficulties they are going through in…
Substack vs Mailchimp?WIX/Blogger vs WordPress?Fully Hosted vs DIY? The answer to Buy vs Build depends on what you want, and…
I LOVE data. However, it’s been quite a few years since I’ve really played in the trenches soit was super…
Issue # 1 OnThePeiroll “I need to give out these ‘ang pows’ (red money packets) to show the King of…
Happy Chinese New Year to all my friends and family celebrating the incoming Year of the Ox. It’s been a…
So I spent the last two days, reliving my ‘techie’ days attempting to import all my writings for the last…
So I’ve been suspended from #LinkedIn for the 3rd time within the last two weeks.I swear it won’t be long…
As a Consulting Partner, asking insightful questions, and listening carefully, will help you understand requirements when it comes to building…
“Scope creep” and misunderstanding about what is and isn’t in scope for a consulting project seems to be a key…
If you haven’t been able to catch any fish, is the fishing rod at fault? If you burn your hand…
I recorded my London’s Calling presentation last week, and I have to admit that it was not up to my…
“I’ve sent out the email about production cutover, and if they didn’t read it – it’s their fault; not mine.”…
How do I fit all of my awesomeness, my amazingly sparkly disposition and outstandingly outstandingness into a 500 character biography?…
My 9yo ninja is learning about critical thinking during her lesson. She has to understand and determine the difference between…
What’s the difference between working in a large Consulting Partner and small, medium or boutique sized one? For me, it’s…
What do bank accounts have to do with high performing teams? Well, understanding the concept of Emotional Bank Accounts (EBA)…
We watched #Soul yesterday – me and the ninjas. There’s a scene where Joe gets a lesson in active listening…
“Would anyone believe that you and me – both successful in our professional lives, have gone through abuse and sexual…
“Are there any PMs on the training who might have very strong personalities?” “Why do you ask?” I was a…
Consulting Partners are rightly thinking about hiring the best, regardless of location. This will give you a competitive edge of…
Most of the biggest challenges in struggling projects is issues around scope, requirements and change management. I think the biggest…
I’ve had good fortune to work with amazing #offshore team especially in #india, in many of my recent roles. We’ve…
Has anyone twigged yet? Those who work with #offshore teams? I wonder whether anyone realises that the remote collaboration world…
Do you want to know the 5 words that are the secret to really effective #communication and connection? No, you…
“I, and I alone, am responsible for everything I think and feel.” Naval Ravikant. This is something I believe in,…
“The Functional Consultant role is 100% remote – how effective will I be when doing workshops?” M had gone through…
A Consulting Partner needs to really only do two things well: 1. Deeply understand requirements. 2. Execute well. Any Partner…
Who’s the most effective #CRM executive champion/sponsor? A. Finance Director B. CEO C. Marketing Director D. Sales Director E. Ops…
Do you build your CRM platform yourself or do you get someone to help you? Buying software that can be…
“I’m only being paid a fraction of what I’m billed out at. It’s not fair. I can run my own…
“What’s your definition of success? What do you want to get out of this business of yours?” For me, the…
“I exercise 5 days a week.” (but I live on junk food and sweet treats all the time). “I never…
“We can do it all ourselves. It’s cheaper than getting a Consultant Partner to do it. How hard can it…
“Yes – you can name your variable ‘bob’ if you want to, but no – you shouldn’t.” Ninja #2 is…
It gives me goosebumps and shivers down my spine! No, it’s not my lovely Husband attempting to woo me with…
I was asked to stand down, while the stakeholders had a ‘spirited internal debate’ which ended up with the Team…
“Um… John always made sure things like that worked automagically.” They couldn’t figure out why the financial records weren’t coming…
We were asked to audit a system that had been built by another company years ago. It was a MONSTER.…
“This is sh*t! We are being treated like kids! How do they expect us to perform when they pull stunts…
Congratulations, you’ve just been appointed the Exec Sponsor for the CRM Project. But, what do you do now? The 5…
Which grabs your attention? I’m submitting a few topics to London’s Calling’s Call for Presentation/Speakers in March and What topic…
When I hear about CRM projects that are so badly designed and implemented, it makes me want to poke my…
“You must try this restaurant, it’s got the most delicious pad thai – they even made me a non-peanut version…
Funky new features is not a good reason to get Salesforce. Although I admit, there are some features that are…
A beautiful new swimming pool in a hotel is not successful if no one is using it. “It’s too cold.”…
How did out of date apps like ‘Netscape Communicator’ and ‘Mozilla Mail’ get referenced as ‘modern’ in the Brexit deal?…
Bid response, Proposals, Solution documents. These are just some of the documents that may need more than one person to…
When I run a big team, I can tell those who’re on a smooth progression up the consulting career ladder.…
If you had to rate your day, every single day, with a score from -2 to 2, what would the…
I was talking to a seasoned Project Manager who felt trapped. While she was extremely good at her work, she…
“Here you go – these are the build estimates for the user stories. Can you come up with a pricing…
WYSIWY. What You See Is What You Get. You don’t hear that term nowadays – but you’d recognise it if…
What happens when you don’t manage expectations properly? Anger and disbelief. And #Tier4. That press conference yesterday definitely provoked a…
“OMG – the culture was so toxic! So much empire building – and it was next to impossible to get…
Historians are really Big Picture people. They have such a macro view of world events, and can see how things…
What do you do if you have an escalated situation with a client where emotional outburst and personal attacks might…
“Are you nuts?!” Ms Ego on my shoulder prodded me in the neck. I turned down a potentially lucrative coaching…
“So I’m calling to thank you for guiding me through the Consulting Masterclass – it helped so much during the…
“A great class requires the hand of a master sculptor. The details at the margins. The choices about what not…
“You might be a rockstar Certified Technical Architect, but your arrogance and your pattern of belittling others, will be your…
How do you handle explosive situations in a workshop when emotional outbursts have derailed the conversation? It can happen. I…
A team that has chemistry, where the group dynamics just works – is magic. It’s like conducting an orchestra, where…
I was going to read the whole Encyclopædia Britannica from A to Z. I told Andrew, who was suffering from…
Solutions Architect vs Project Manager. To become super expert at a special skill, or to become really good at a…
Hot potato. Some partners treat their clients like hot potato when the organisational culture doesn’t promote cohesive behaviour. Sales will…
How do you feel when you get a contract that seriously leans AGAINST your favour? I’ve seen contracts and agreements…
I love games. In fact, I was once addicted to World of Warcraft. I can wax lyrical about how it…
We got our hands on the proposal that the competitor was planning to submit and present. In his email, our…