Message from the Chair

We're barreling headlong into a new year and with it all manner of challenges and opportunities are presenting themselves. The United States of America House and Senate are finalizing the plans for a $152 billion economic stimulus package to "juice" the US economy. For consultants, the current troubling economic climate in the United States is having ripple effects worldwide and in local markets. For Consulting SIG members in larger consulting firms this will entail repositioning of Practices to meet the shifting needs of their clients represented in regional markets and vertical segments. Funds will move from budget line item to budget line item. Early on, personnel may be rapidly assigned to address shifting client expectations and needs. New marketing approaches may be required to re-position the value the firm delivers to meet those new needs. All in all, the economy will likely trigger fairly robust responses. In those Consulting SIG member firms that are small-to-medium sized, solo-practitioners, or internal, the impacts of an economic downturn may be much sharper.

My message this month is for Consulting SIG members not operating in large, global consultancies. For you, troubled economic times call for strategic choices. The available resources to address changeable market conditions are by no means plentiful. All firms and consultants must make clear choices about what they will and will not do to weather such variations. Engaging in multiple activities without regard for focus in the hope of finding a big pay-off will more than likely diffuse precious energy and limited resources. Such an approach increases the likelihood of the practitioner becoming a part of the problem, rather than a provider of the solution.

"If you don't know where you're going, any road can take you there."

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

There are a few things that we need to do to not only survive, but to capitalize on this time of change. They are certainly not rocket science. And yes, they do certainly have a whiff of common sense about them. Yet if they are so simple why do we continue to ignore their value? I'll offer up three of my favorites, and hope that you might share some of your own in response.

Read the complete article

Best regards,


Andrew "Drew" Marshall
Chair, Consulting SIG
chair@pmiconsultingsig.org

Responsibilities include: Working closely with the Board to develop an editorial calendar for the year Partnering with the VP Marketing to capitalize on CSIG sponsored events Serving as Editor in Chief for our “Connections” e-bulletin (published mid-month, each month) Serving as Editor in Chief for our “RoadMap” newsletter (published at the end of each calendar quarter, four times per year in January, April, July, and October)

We have a team of volunteers to support you in meeting the production schedule, a great Administrator, a Board who has demonstrated a willingness to produce articles regularly, and a pool of external subject matter experts who can provide additional content. This a great platform on which an incoming editor can continue to build our communications.

We're Looking for Webinar Presenters! The CSIG has partnered with the Metrics SIG to sponsor a track at the MetSIG's second annual Global Online Congress in April 2008. This year' Congress will feature over 200 live webinars from presenters around the world. The month-long event will also include webinars from dozens of participating PMI SIGs. Present a Webinar and Support the SIG! The CSIG is looking for presenters to deliver one-hour webinars to fill the CSIG's track. The topic of the presentation should be metrics related and of interest to project managers in the consulting field. The webinars will be recorded in advance of the Congress, but presenters will need to be available by telephone to respond to live Q&A discussions (on average, 5-10 minutes). If you are interested in presenting a webinar during the MetSIG Global Online Congress, please send us an email with your proposed topic to administrator@pmiconsultingsig.org. More details will be provided to interested presenters. Please respond by February 29, 2008. "This was the best webinar I've seen since I've been watching webinars. Very nicely done. I'm telling other project managers to watch the recorded version when it comes out. Thanks!" - 2007 MetSIG Congress attendee

2007 MetSIG Congress It's a Hit! Nearly 12,000 people registered for the 2007 MetSIG Global Online Congress live webinars. 21,000+ annual passes were sold and we barely scratched the surface! "Great job on the Congress. Congratulations to the MetSIG on a really good program!" - 2007 MetSIG Congress attendee

Checkout Job Postings on CSIG Web Site