Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

236. Tech recommendation: Use Evernote as your external brain

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I highly recommend Evernote - it is far more than a note-taking app.  You can also clip websites, save voice memos, store emails, and many more. In t...

235. Mark Williams aka 'Mr. LinkedIn' on how to create a best-in-class LinkedIn profile

20 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Williams, aka 'Mr. LinkedIn', is the host of one of my favorite podcasts, LinkedInFormed - I've listened to dozens of episodes, and much of what ...

234. Help small businesses navigate the coronavirus pandemic

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Umbrex has set of a task force to help small businesses navigate the coronavirus pandemic. We'd love to get your help across these workstreams: 1. Cre...

233. Susan Drumm on how to facilitate an effective virtual meeting

15 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Umbrex member Susan Drumm, a BCG alum and the CEO of Meritage Leadership Development. Susan has extensive experience in running vir...

232. Rhona Silverbush coaches actors to speak Shakespeare with confidence

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Rhona Silverbush, co- author of Speak the Speech!: Shakespeare's Monologues Illuminated. Rhona teaches small-group classes and priv...

231. Jay Charkow explains the system of international tariffs

03 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Jay Charkow, President of International Tariff Management. For several years I've been wanting to understand the basics around tari...

230. Andrea Bonime-Blanc on how leaders transform risk into resilience and value

25 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Andrea Bonime-Blanc, a leading global expert in the area of risk management, and the author of five books, including the recently p...

229. Gaurav Bhatnagar on how to lead a cultural transformation

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is McKinsey alum Gaurav Bhatnagar. Gaurav is the Founding Partner of Co-Creation Partners, where he leads cultural transformations for...

228. Build relationships now with future clients - a tip for executives who plan to become a consultant

11 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For executives who are thinking about becoming a consultant in a year or two, a time investment of two hours per week now can dramatically improve you...

227. Jim McEachern on how the telecom industry is fighting robocalls

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Jim McEachern, an independent consultant who has been working with the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (or ATIS)...

226. Michael Sorrentino provides media training

26 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this video edition of Unleashed, Michael Sorrentino provides Will Bachman with an introduction to media training.   No one is a natural in front ...

225. Liliana Petrova on optimizing the customer experience

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Liliana Petrova, who runs The Petrova Experience, a consulting firm that helps brands build differentiated experiences and leverage...

224. Tineke Keesmaat on the connections between strategy, organizational change, and people leadership

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is McKinsey alum and Umbrex member Tineke Keesmaat, who is based in Toronto. Tineke's firm works with ambitious leaders and she is known...

223. Consulting Revenue Equation

07 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In my conversations with independent consultants, a common question I get is how to generate more business. There are a lot of things one could POTENT...

222. Michael Ryan crushes inventory icebergs

24 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Michael Ryan, whose headline on LinkedIn is a great example of a fishing line: "Helping B2B Manufacturers Optimize Inventory and Op...

221. David A Fields shares tips on how to convert leads into confirmed projects

17 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Today we welcome back David A. Fields, the author of The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients: 6 Steps to Unlimited Clients & Financial ...

220. Paul Millerd on creating an online course

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Paul Millerd, who has been on the show before, on Episode 62. It was great to welcome Paul back to hear what he has been up to. I'm...

219. Ripa Rashid shares best practices for diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ripa Rashid is the Managing Director at Culture At Work, which works with Global 500 organizations to build cultural change strategies to maximize the...

218. Nir Eyal live at Umbrex Presents: How to become Indistractable

25 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Nir Eyal was my guest on Episode 200 of this show. I found his message so important that I asked Nir to discuss his latest book, Indistractable, at an...

217. Should consultants sign up as a prospective expert with expert networks?

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In Episode 213, Will Bachman discussed how to source experts for interviews - either using an expert network or by doing the work yourself. Listener G...

216. David Minifie explains the role of the chief experience officer

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

David Minifie is the Chief Experience Officer and Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Centene Corporation. Centene is a Fortune 500 comp...

215. What have you already heard about this effort?

14 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What should you say when you are meeting for the first time with an individual at a client you are already serving? Here's the approach I've used the ...

214. When do you call a plumber?

14 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I was chatting with an independent consultant at an event last night, and he told me, "I'm having a hard time finding project opportunities, and I don...

213. How to source experts for interviews

12 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Will Bachman explains how to source experts to interview for a consulting project. The episode covers: 1) How to work with expert net...

212. Ushma Pandya helps clients get to zero waste

11 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Umbrex member Ushma Pandya is the Co-Founder and Partner at Think Zero Inc, an environmental consulting firm supporting businesses' waste reduction an...

211. LinkedIn Best Practices for Independent Consultants

05 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode Will Bachman covers: Which type of LinkedIn Premium subscription should you get Tips on posting LinkedIn articles and posts Recommenda...

210. Raghav Nandagopal on conducting acquisitions at scale

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

McKinsey alum Raghav Nandagopal is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Mergers and Acquisitions at Ascensus Incorporated. In tod...

209. Tom Schwab on using podcast guest appearances to raise your visibility

29 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Schwab runs Interview Valet, a firm that helps its clients get booked on targeted podcasts where they can speak directly to their ideal customers....

208. Jake Jorgovan turns consultants into thought leaders

29 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jake Jorgovan turns consultants into thought leaders through content marketing. Jake's firm, Content Allies, works with consultants who have deep indu...

207. Tanya Kleindienst explains what a Head of Corporate Culture does

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Tanya Kleindienst, a culture and leadership coach based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to starting her independent consulting practice,...

206. Michael Fertman explains the fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Michael Fertman, a marketing consultant who runs The B2B Marketing Group based in New York City. In today's episode, Michael explai...

205. Annie Scranton explains how public relations works

08 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Annie Scranton, the Founder of Pace Public Relations,a full-service media relations and communications agency based in New York Cit...

204. Clark Beecher: How consultants can make successful career transitions

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Clark Beecher, the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Beecher Reagan, the largest U.S. executive search firm that exclusively focus...

203. The power of sending recap emails

17 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A five-minute investment in sending a recap email can significantly improve the effectiveness of meetings and the overall outcomes on a project. In th...

202. Avish Bhama on Sonia, an artificial intelligence tool that makes meetings more productive

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Avish Bhama, the CEO of Sonia, where the mission is to build Artificial Intelligence that interprets human intent, and use it to de...

201. Why custom made shirts and suits for men are a better value than off-the-rack

11 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Custom-made shirts and suits for men may cost a bit more than clothes off the rack, but are a much better value. Technical fashion designer Kazuki Koz...

200. Nir Eyal on how to become Indistractable

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today Nir Eyal, author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, which has been a huge bestseller and is considered a must-read book i...

199. Forty-eight tips on how to thrive for recent graduates

03 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The New York Phi Beta Kappa Association asked me to share some tips with recent graduates in the New York City metro area as a panelist at an event th...

198. Rima Nair: How the world of customer insights is evolving

02 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Rima Nair, a McKinsey alum who is a Principal at IRI, a leading provider of big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insi...

197. Josh Spodek on cultivating initiative

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Josh Spodek, who last joined us on Episode 25 of this show. I was very pleased that Josh agreed to return to discuss his new book, ...

196. Ilana Grossman on the role of the Chief Marketing Officer

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Umbrex member and BCG alum Ilana Grossman, a marketing consultant based in New York City. Her firm is called B2Both, since she works with both B2B and...

195. Ray Carbonell on who really writes LinkedIn posts for busy executives

20 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Ray Carbonell, the CEO at Qnary, a company that builds out and grows the reputation and thought leadership of professionals. Qnary ...

194. Spish Rurak on how to successfully transition out of a top-tier consulting firm

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Zbigniew "Spish" Rurak, who has served as a career transition coach to several thousand management consultants as they left top-tie...

193. Lee Frederiksen on how professional services firms can reach their target market

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Lee Frederiksen, Managing Partner at Hinge,  a branding and marketing firm specializing in professional services. We discuss Rese...

192. Adam Braff on capturing value from data and analytics

29 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Adam Braff, a former McKinsey Partner who has held senior executive roles responsible for data and analytics, and is today an inde...

191. Jason Bay on using customized video messages for business development

29 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Jason Bay, the founder of Blissful Prospecting, a firm that helps B2B sales reps, SMBs, and nonprofits create sustainable revenue g...

190. David Fields on what makes for a successful consulting partnership

23 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is David A. Fields, Umbrex member and the author of The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients: 6 Steps to Unlimited Clien...

189. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, a thought leader in project management

22 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez is a thought leader in the area of project management. Antonio is the author of two books: The Focused Organization: How Conce...

188. Christina Ungaro on the commercial real estate services industry

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Christina Ungaro, the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at JLL. In case you aren't in the real estate world: JLL is...

187. Josh Miramant on applying machine learning

08 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Josh Miramant, the Founder of CEO of Blue Orange Digital, a full-stack data science agency using machine learning to simplify busin...

186. Stephen Redwood on org design and triathlons

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Stephen Redwood, who has been a Partner in the Organization practices at PricewaterhouseCoopers, McKinsey & Co., Oliver Wyman, and ...

185. Seiya Vogt, VP of Growth at Boxed, on the latest marketing techniques

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Seiya Vogt, the VP of Growth at Boxed – where he is responsible for Marketing and B2B Sales. Boxed calls itself "the easiest way ...

184. Tim Hughes: Social selling is not about selling

17 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Tim Hughes, who has written the book on social selling; he is the author of Social Selling: Techniques to influence buyers and cust...

183. Brian Hecht on joining an Internet startup in 1994

10 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Brian Hecht, who freaked out his family in 1994, just two years after graduating from Harvard College, by leaving a perfectly fine ...

182. David A Fields invites you to his Solo Practice Accelerator

03 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is David A. Fields, the author of The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients: 6 Steps to Unlimited Clients & Financial Fre...

181. Hi Leva shares a sales leader's perspective

03 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Hi Leva, the SVP of Sales at Oasis Financial. In today's discussion, Hi shares key lessons learned from his career as a sales leade...

180. Scott Friesen explains data analytics in the trucking industry

03 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Scott Friesen, the SVP of Strategic Analytics at Echo Global Logistics, a company which serves as a broker that connects companies ...

179. Liston Witherill is a sales coach to consultants

02 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Liston Witherill, a sales coach and trainer who helps non-sales people sell more client services by staying curious and providing m...

178. Logan Sachon on how to buy life insurance

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Logan Sachon, an insurance expert at Policygenius who focuses on life insurance. In this episode, Logan explains to me the types of...

177. Mark Metry on being human

20 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Mark Metry, who started a YouTube channel when he was 13 that gained 35,000 subscribers, and who started a company when he was 15 t...

176. Book recommendation - The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker

20 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Today's episode is a new feature here on Unleashed - a book recommendation. I really loved the recently published book: The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways ...

175. Reposting newsletter content on LinkedIn as a post or article

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jennifer Hartz sent me the following question: "Will, I send out a newsletter via Mail Chimp about six times a year. I also publish these on my websit...

174. How to set consulting fees

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A listener asked for advice on how to set fees, and here are my thoughts. In this episode I refer to, and strongly recommend, Chapter 22 of The Irres...

173. Steve Woodruff, the King of Clarify

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Steve Woodruff, also known as the King of Clarity. Steve is the author of Clarity Wins. He helps individuals and businesses discov...

172. David Fields on how to set up a CRM system

06 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is David A. Fields, Umbrex member and the author of The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients: 6 Steps to Unlimited Clien...

171. Becca Braun on ghostwriting business memoirs

29 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Becca Braun, an innovator and writer whose longtime passion is capturing the voices of executives, entrepreneurs, and others in new...

170. David Fields on how to make outbound calls

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is David A. Fields, Umbrex member and the author of The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients: 6 Steps to Unlimited Clien...

169. Katrin Siebenbuerger Hacki on life sciences consulting

15 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Katrin Siebenbuerger Hacki, who runs a boutique healthcare consulting firm based on Switzerland. Katrin's firm works with medical d...

168. Does your LinkedIn headline tell a story?

11 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Is your LinkedIn headline totally generic? Something like "Independent consultant" or "Freelance consultant"? This episode is about LinkedIn headlines...

167. The most powerful question for finding work

10 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This short episode is about the most powerful question for finding work - either a full time job or consulting projects. To ask me a question, downloa...

166. Mark Minukas brings lean ops experience to culture change

09 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Mark Minukas, an Umbrex member, McKinsey alum, and partner at the firm Co-Creation Partners. Mark studied engineering at the Naval ...

165. Nina Leffers helps design the next generation of cars

08 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Nina Leffers, a McKinsey alum and partner in a boutique consulting firm Stahl Automotive Consulting. Nina's firm works with auto co...

164. Do the goals in your organization actually cascade?

05 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The CEO might think that everyone in the organization is working on the CEO's top priorities.  It is worth checking that assumption. To ask me a ques...

163. Simple project management update template

04 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Complex projects need something more sophisticated. But for simple projects, this simple set of three questions forms the basis for a robust weekly or...

162. Should you do a full time job search while independent consulting?

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I regularly speak with an executive leaving a corporate role, or a consultant leaving a firm, who asks me if it is possible to do independent consulti...

161. Cyndi Freeman helps others tell their stories

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Cyndi Freeman, who has 20 years of experience as a storyteller and 8 years of experience as a storytelling instructor.  At The Sto...

160. Afua Branoah Banful on tele-health and other transformational medical technology

01 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Afua Branoah Banful, an Umbrex member and McKinsey alum with a PhD in Economics from Harvard. We discuss the spreading adoption of ...

159. Do you apply the 70-30 squared rule?

31 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The 70-30 squared rule says that when you are in an initial context discussion with a client, the client should do 70% of the talking, and you should ...

158. What is your April Fool's Resolution?

30 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Time to make your April Fool's Resolution.  

157. Disability insurance

30 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A listener asked me if I recommend independent professionals get disability insurance, and this short episode is my response. Short answer: yes, I enc...

156. Ten minutes of Gulf of Mexico waves lapping on the beach at Chuburná, Yucatan, Mexico

27 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Use this episode for meditation or perhaps just as some white noise when you need to focus: ten minutes of the waves lapping on the beach at Chuburná...

155. Matt Johnson runs a podcast production agency

26 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

That is Matt Johnson, who runs a podcast production agency. If you have thought about starting a podcast, but don't want to deal with all the logistic...

154. Kevin Stoneham on robotic process automation

25 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Kevin Stoneham, an independent consultant who is the former COO of PwC IT Services. Kevin's current focus, DigiServ LLC, focuses on...

153. Peter Winick on building an effective thought leadership platform

18 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Peter Winick, who runs a firm called Thought Leadership Leverage. His firm enables thought leaders, authors and gurus to monetize t...

152. Matt LeMay explains why Agile is for everybody

13 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Matt LeMay, the author of Product Management in Practice and his most recent book: Agile for Everybody: Creating Fast, Flexible, an...

151. Nick Sonnenberg on leveraging off-the-shelf tools

12 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

That is Nick Sonnenberg, a serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, and consultant. Nick and a partner, Ari Meisel, founded Leverage, a high-end freelanc...

150. Dave Nelson, audio engineer for Unleashed, on podcast equipment

11 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Dave Nelson, who, if you've ever listened all the way through the credits of this show, you'll recognize as the audio engineer of U...

149. The Constitution of the United States

10 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

March 4, 2019 was the 230th anniversary of the day that the United States started operating under the U.S. Constitution.   Which seemed like a good ...

148. Tobin Slaven on conversations at scale

04 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Tobin Slaven. Tobin helps entrepreneurs build email lists, conduct conversations at scale, and then monetize those lists. He is the...

147. Gregory Albertyn on GDPR and privacy compliance

04 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Greg Albertyn, an expert in data governance, risk, and privacy compliance programs. In this episode, we discuss, among other topics...

146. Podcast setup - how to record a phone call for podcasts

26 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

I'm often asked about the setup I use to record phone calls for the podcast, so I recorded this video. There are plenty of tools to record a call on y...

145. Amy Gross helps athletes get in the zone

26 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Amy Gross, a performance psychology consultant who runs a coaching practice called Pillars4Performance.  Many of her clients are e...

144. Kevin Terrell set up a non-profit to help kids start reading now

25 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Umbrex member Kevin Terrell, a McKinsey alum and independent consultant based in Minneapolis St Paul. In addition to his consulting...

143. Jonathan Stern's firm SnapStrat applies predictive analytics to recurring strategic decisions

19 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Jonathan Stern, a former partner at Bain and the CEO and Founder of SnapStrat. SnapStrat builds tools for its clients to bring pres...

142. Mary Kate Scott

18 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Mary Kate Scott, a McKinsey alum who has been running her own boutique healthcare consulting firm, Scott & Company, since 2002. She...

141. Robin Albin on building brands

13 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Robin Albin, a brand strategist and brand sherpa based in the New York area. Robin has invented – or reinvented – over fifty br...

140. Jay Martin on the benefits of maintaining a project list

11 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Jay Martin, who's got over 25 years of management consulting experience, including time at Arthur D. Little and IBM Global Services...

139. Brad Clark with financial tips for independent professionals

04 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Brad Clark, who is a former management consultant – he was a Principal at Oliver Wyman. Later, he was the Chief Marketing Officer...

138. Are you selling water or chicha?

03 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There are two types of products: Ones where we already know the story. Example: water. And ones where the customers needs to hear the story. Example: ...

137. Michael Frankel on interim CFO roles, AI, and more

28 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest today is Michael Frankel who has an amazing background – he's been a corporate attorney at Skadden Arps, an investment banker, a private e...