Client Relationships
Trust Me, I Am Your Guide
Metaphors are often used by consultants to explain a business goal to clients. But what kind of message is the Clement Group sending when it takes a group of clients to climb Mount Rainier — where several people have died?
"Mount Rainier is a good, ambitious goal," says Philip B. Clement, one of the partners at the firm and an experienced mountaineer.
That's a slight understatement. The mountain, located near Ashford, WA, is 14,410 feet high. And it will take the team of approximately 10 consultants and clients three and a half days to make the roundtrip to the top. The trip is planned for later this month.
Despite the fact that several climbers die on the mountain each year, Clement waves away any fears of risks. The Clement Group will be traveling up a relatively safer part of the mountain and will be accompanied by a professional guide.
And here's where the business lesson comes in. "We like to take our clients' ambitious goals, break down the risk and show how we can mitigate each of those risk factors so they can be successful," he says.
Next year, the Clement Group and others plan to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
Media
Andersen Exposed
Following in the steps of Darva Conger, Jessica Hahn, and the women of Enron, the female employees of Andersen have been offered the chance to pose nude within the covers of Playboy magazine.
In response to queries prompted by the publicity surrounding its "Women of Enron" August pictorial, the Chicago-based magazine began a search this summer for the "Women of WorldCom and Arthur Andersen."
The ex-employees were instructed to send in recent photos of themselves in a two-piece swimsuit, a head-and-shoulders portrait, and proof of employment.
The issue is expected to be out later this fall, says Elizabeth Norris, a magazine spokeswoman.
ClientView/Not Just the Facts, Man
Consulting professionals who wonder why their seemingly sound advice is discounted by some clients might want to hear this fact: Intuition often supercedes evidence from hard core numbers.
A survey of 601 executives from Fortune 1000 companies by executive search firm Christian & Timbers shows that 55 percent perceive that they base their decisions on facts and figures, while 45 percent perceive that they rely on their intuition.
There is no follow-up advice on how to get the clients to use their soft skills as well as fact-finding equally in their decision-making. We say go by your instinct.
Tax avoidance? Bermuda's repentant swinging singles say, "Oh behave!" While PwC says, IBM puts the Grrr in swinger Accenture bellows: "Au contraire baby."
Once upon a time there were two consultancies, which after enduring bitter split offs from their accounting spouses, changed their names, and ran off to Bermuda to start new lives. Since, as we know, neither PwC Consulting nor Accenture would think of outwitting Uncle Sam (ahem), we wondered what it was about Bermuda that enticed them to headquarter themselves on the island. Here's what we found.
Only ten minutes to Elbow Beach and a mere 20 minutes to Horseshoe Bay — a stone's throw from the Bermuda Triangle (alien sightings daily).
New and exciting holidays to celebrate: Islanders don't get just Bermuda Day off (5/24) but also Queen Elizabeth's Birthday (6/21).
The AVERAGE winter temperature is 63 degrees, and the average summer temperature is 74 degrees.
A chance to wine and dine your clients at one of Bermuda's finest dining establishments, the Hog Penny Restaurant.
Only 15 minutes to the Ocean View Golf Course.
A studio or 1-bedroom apartment can fetch anywhere from $1,200 to $2,900 per month — just like in over-priced American cities.
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