IMC SoCal Newsletter

Institute of Management Consultants Southern California ChapterMay 2010

In this Issue:

  • Letter from the Editor
  • Member News
  • June 15: Deadline for Board of Trustees Election
  • Upcoming Events
  • Interactive Case Study Guidelines
  • IMC SoCal Volunteers Needed
  • Next Newsletter

Letter from the Editor

On Endings & Beginnings…

It’s June, which means it’s the end of spring and the start of summer. For brides- and grooms-to-be, it’s the end of singlehood and the beginning of married life. For recent college grads, it’s the end of school and the time for the job search. My son just graduated from college. He’s coming home today from ten days in Honduras on a volunteer trip for the Chapman MicroFinance Brigades. Tomorrow, he’s got to get down to business and find a job.

But will the business he’s going to encounter be anything like the business earlier generations have tackled? Possibly. But more likely, our current recession has many businesses re-thinking their hiring policies. We’re hearing more and more about permatemps, contingent workers, freelancers and contract labor. No matter what the term, these workers are temporary employees brought in for a finite period usually to capitalize on their specific area of expertise.

In other words, they’re consultants.

Author Richard Florida just completed a book called The Great Reset: How News Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity. He discusses the need to learn lessons from the recession, adjust our thinking and adapt to our benefit. This includes his thoughts on where we’ll live and work.

My son is new at the career game; many of us have been at it quite awhile. We understand the concept and benefits of consulting. We can capitalize on our experience and our expertise. We are constantly working to improve our skills and improving on how we market ourselves to potential clients.

But this “Great Reset” also means that there’s a leveling of the playing field – and a lot more players. We’ll really have to bring our “A” game. Another challenge to meet and, in a way, a new beginning. Game on!

-- Martha Spelman

Newsletter Editor / Marketing Chair

Contact: Phone (310) 670.5300 or email at

Readers: please fee free to email Martha Spelman with newsletter comments and feedback. They will be posted with the next issue. Thank you.

Member News

Anita Katzenbach is President of ASK Business Consulting Group. She will be:

  • Speaking on “Greening your Business and Saving Money” at the Green Expo at Dana Point Harbor, June 5
  • Facilitating the Green Business Networking Breakfast on June 15 for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Santa Monica College.
  • Presenting “Starting your Small Business and Greening your Business” together with Lisa Laney for SBDC at the Santa Monica Library, Fairview Branch on June 17
  • Conducting the workshop “Marketing Strategies for Going Green” together with Monica Rayes for the Small Business Development Center at the Santa Monica College. Week of June 21.
  • Teaching the course “Economic Dimensions of Sustainability” for the Certificate in Global Sustainability at UCLA Extension starting June 22, 2010 (during summer quarter)

For more information contact Anita at: or (310) 428.4563.

Daniel Feiman is President of BuilditBackwards;Turning Roadblocks into Roadmaps(SM). Daniel:

  • Was interviewed by Jim Blasingame for his Small Business Advocate radio show on Daniel’s second book; THE Book on Improving Productivity by Fair Means or Foul. The interview can be heard by following the link:
  • Is the Director of Corporate Teams for the American Diabetes Association’s annual Tour de Cure fun ride. This year’s event started & ended at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA on Sunday, May 2. Over 1,100 riders took participated and raised over $400,000 to support diabetes research, education & cure. He hopes to have you join him on the 2011 ride.
  • Will be presenting a seminar entitled "Corporate & Financial Restructuring" - June 28- July 2, 2010 - Hilton London Olympia hotel; 380 Kensington High Street,London, United KingdomW14 8NL; Tel:44-207-603-3333 Fax:44-207-603-4846 The seminar will be open to IMC Members.The cost is $4,450.
  • Will be teaching Fundamentals of Corporate Budgeting (Online) for UCLA Extension from Jun 30-Sep 8, 2010. 34 hours of MCLE credit available. Budgeting is a critical step in planning and controlling the day-to-day operations of any business. To streamline this process and ensure more timely and accurate budgets, companies place great value on a formalized process that produces detailed, yet flexible budgets that are fully aligned with the strategic goals of the organization. This course introduces students to the fundamental elements of budgeting practiced by businesses for planning and control. Enrollment limited & is open to IMC members.
  • Daniel Feiman & Tom Drucker are conducting a survey of firms who have undertaken one or more Process Improvement initiatives. The results will be published & delivered to the participating firms first, and then a report will follow for the public. If you would like to have one or more of your clients included please contact us. Daniel Feiman is the Managing Director of Build It Backwards; Turning Roadblocks into Roadmaps(SM).

Daniel can be reach at or 310.540.6717.

  • Martha Spelman will be presenting “How to Build and Strengthen Your Company Brand” to the Pasadena-Foothill Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) on Friday, July 9th, at The Assistance League of Pasadena, 820 East California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106. The event runs from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. For more information, please visit: Martha Spelman is a marketing consultant who builds businesses creatively. Martha can be reached at: or 310.266.6992.

IMC SoCal Board of Trustees Election

If you are an IMC member have not yet voted, please click on to vote. The deadline is June 15, 2010. The new Board Members will be announced in the July Newsletter.
Upcoming Events

IMC Members and non-members have access to IMC’s website and the Calendar of Events, including registration for Dinner Meetings.

We offer the following events on a regular basis:

  • Regional Breakfast Meetings
  • IMC Dinner Meetings
  • Special Interest Group Programs

Please see our IMC SoCal Calendar of Events at

Or go to our NEW website: Click on Chapters / Southern California / SoCal Events for more details.

Sneak Preview of Confab Programs – October 23-25, 2010, Reno, Nevada

The theme for Confab 2010, IMC’s annual conference for consultants by consultants, is “Build Your Business.” We’re kicking off the conference with three great programs. We’ll start Sunday morning with Biz Talk Blender®, a new networking program created by member Alice Heiman. Our Sunday lunchtime keynote is “Using Blue Ocean Strategy to Build Your Business,” in which attendees will learn how to create new revenue streams, increased sales, and higher profits while reducing costs. Another program that we’re excited about is the optional, pre-conference workshop, “Marketing Tune Up,” by member Linda Popky.

Don’t miss Confab in 2010 – now in its 33rd year of providing continuing education and superior networking for consultants!

See who’s already signed up to attend Confab 2010!

Interactive Case Study

“GET KNOWLEDGE, GET KNOWN” – NEW CASE STUDY COLUMN:

Welcome to our interactive column, “Get Knowledge, Get Known”. The objectives of the column are:

  • to create a marketplace of ideas, frameworks and tools that increase the value of an IMC membership by expanding a consultant’s knowledge and toolkit
  • to create a forum that facilitates connections, partnering and intellectual discourse amongst IMC members and readers of the IMC SoCal Newsletter

Every other month, IMC SoCal publishes a case study contributed by one of our members. We ask one seasoned, successful consultant to provide an expert opinion on key issues, opportunities and approaches to the case, and we look for feedback and contributions from our readers with ideas and thoughts to share. In the following month’s newsletter, we will print the expert’s opinion and key points from reader feedback.

We urge each of you to participate in the case study columns so that we have a rich exchange of thoughts, ideas, tools and personal experiences. IMC SoCal has an enormous pool of talent, solutions and experience. The sharing of that pool will make us all better consultants and bring new solutions to the table . If you’re an IMC member and have a case you’d like to contribute for the “Get Knowledge, Get Known” column, please submit the case to Joe Herold: or Jack Weber: .

What’s in it for you?

Contributors of case studies get visibility for the types of projects/clients they work with

Contributors of case studies can get input for cases on which they’re currently working

Experts get their response, picture and brief bio published

Readers who submit responses get their ideas, tools, name, business description and contact information published

Readers get exposure to the thinking of other consultants regarding diagnosis of issues and root causes, opportunities, approaches to projects and tools & frameworks

The column is facilitated and edited by Jack Weber, PlusDelta Consulting, LLC, and Joe Herold, The Herold Consulting Group, LLC:

Joe Herold is Principal of The Herold Consulting Group, LLC. You can reach Joe by calling (310) 938-0908 or by sending an email to .

Jack Weber, JD, is an Executive Consultant at Plus Delta Consulting, LLC. You can reach Jack by calling (310) 589-4600x4624 or by sending an email to .

IMC Volunteers Needed

IMC SoCal relies heavily on the volunteer efforts of its members including meeting and event planning, SIG operations, roundtable groups as well as many other positions. If you would like get involved, please contact IMC SoCal Chapter President, Jerry Savin at: .

IMC SoCal currently needs a WEBMASTER. Below are some of the responsibilities:

  • Interface with IMC National re: local chapter IT issues
  • Handle newsletter and event information uploading
  • Set-up online event registration
  • Other website-related IT issues

Next Newsletter

Deadline for the next newsletter: June 25, 2010

Let us know if you would like to have any material, announcements, or events (either upcoming or a short recap of a past IMC event) included. We are looking forward to hearing from you. Please format and edit materials (include your name, relevant titles, short bio and contact info) as you would like them presented in the newsletter and send to:

Newsletter Editor / Marketing Chair: Martha Spelman at ,

Phone (310) 670-5300.

IMC SoCal Chapter President: Jerry Savin, FIMC, CMC at , Phone (310) 229-8947.