Focus: Client Industries

	Healthcare »Case Study: North Highland Gets Blood Donations Flowing for the Red Cross When someone is injured and in need of blood, most people just take for granted that the needed supply will be available. But some organization—in most cases, The American Red Cross—is responsible for making sure public donations keep pace with demand.
	Insurance »Aon Comes of Age Despite the economy, the firm just had its best year in a decade. Now, leaders are looking to hot-button HR issues—retirement, benefits and leadership development—as key drivers of future growth.
	Financial Services »American Express is Back American Express—and its 4 billion transactions a year—just re-entered the profession. Should you be worried?
	High Tech »Growth Areas Emerging in High Tech The recent surge in intellectual property protection work, particularly for high tech clients, is starting to wane. Leading firms in this space are starting to identify new growth areas.

Focus: Service Lines

	Operations »The 2010 Outlook As we close the book of business on 2009, and look forward with cautious optimism to a brand new year in consulting, we tapped some of the very best minds the profession has to offer. Here’s what they had to say:
	Strategy »KIA Corner: Marketing Myths... and How to Make Sure They Don't Put Your Firm at Risk At La Guardia Airport recently, I overheard two consultants talking about a lingering illuminated Accenture billboard featuring the firm’s “former” spokesman Tiger Woods:

Travel Advisory

• »China’s Suzhou Marriott Hotel Opens In January, Marriott Hotels & Resorts opened the doors of the Suzhou Marriott Hotel.
• »Hyatt’s Andaz Brand Arrives on Wall St. Andaz Wall Street, the only hotel located on Wall Street in New York City, opened in January.
• »Road Warrior: Travel Sleep Aides Sometimes the most productive use of your time on a long flight is to get a few hours of sleep. But managing to doze off on a long commercial flight can be easier said than done.

Book It!

• »Excerpt: NIMBY Wars The following is an excerpt from NIMBY Wars—The Politics of Land Use by P. Michael Saint, founder and CEO of The Saint Consulting Group, Robert J. Flavell, an attorney and expert in land-use strategy and Patrick F. Fox, President of Saint Consulting.
• »Review: Adventures in Global Consulting Let’s face it—sometimes it’s all too much and you lean back on the plane and wonder why you choose this profession.
• »Review: 90 Days to Success in Consulting Yeah, right! That’s probably most consultant’s reaction to the title of William McKnight’s 90 Days to Success in Consulting.
• »Review: Winning the Professional Services Sale Consultants know all too well how hard it is in the current environment to close that sale.
• »Review: Rethinking Retention in Good Times and Bad There may be no bigger issue facing the consulting profession in 2010 than staff retention.

Consultants on Consulting

• »Enterprise Friction: A Mandate for Risk Management In today’s battered economy, few are willing to put in place anything that might meddle with earnings potential. Even fewer are willing to spend money on something that may offer only a theoretical return on investment.
• »Can Cost Cutting Uncover Value? For much of the past 15 months, every business has been scrambling to find new ways to cut costs in the face of a recession. And nearly every manager responsible for delivery those savings is frustrated, exhausted, and pushed to the brink trying to find new ways to change their cost structure and operating effectiveness.
• »Hiring in Today’s Sluggish Market: Picking the M&Ms from the Trail Mix It doesn’t matter whether you’re the general manager at a thriving company or a recent MBA graduate—you’re doing what you must to live through this down economy. In recent months, the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10 percent—the highest in over 25 years—and seems to spare not even the well-accomplished.
• »Finding World Class Diversity Management Capability Effectively managed, diversity becomes a strategic force that both results from and contributes to organizational success in the global arena. Ignored or mismanaged, diversity can stymie the most ambitious of global aspirations.