25 May 2009

Help From A Pro

While on vacation at a resort in Nevada last week, I decided to take a golf lesson. I had been having some frustrating problems with my swing, and thought a session with a pro might help fix some of my fundamentals. Wow! What a great, productive experience! With the LPGA Pro's observations and guidance, the issues that had been plaguing my game were quickly pinpointed. Through drills and practice - within an hour - I was striking the ball with much improved results. I was so jazzed. Ah, the satisfying "thwack" that you hear and feel when you hit the sweet spot of a golf ball! Sometimes all we need to become more successful is a little collaboration with another expert. In our daily work environment, we can get so caught up in the day-to-day execution of a job we know that we don't embrace the possibility of change to make us more effective and productve. We can become so stretched and harried that we don't make time for constructive thinking. This is when a good consultant can help. Strategic collaboration with a consultant can bring a fresh perspective to your issues and challenges - a catalyst to change. Working with a consultant also gives you the opportunity to offload work, allowing someone else to add value to tasks on your overfull plate. A well-chosen, well-qualified consultant should make you look good - should make you more sucessful - should give you a boost past a rough spot. We all need a little professional help now and again to consistently find that sweet spot. Don't hesitate to search for it.

18 May 2009

Why Consulting?

A consultant is ... ... someone who takes the watch off your wrist and tells you the time. ... a man who knows 99 ways to make love, but doesn't know any women. ... someone who is called in at the last moment and paid enormous amounts of money to assign the blame. There are lots of jokes like these that malign the worst characteristics of consultants. You may have encountered consultants that left you frustrated, insulted, or just plain wondering how they could be considered an expert on anything (let alone get paid a handsome fee). Hopefully we have all also had great experiences with consultants that have really helped out and taught us a few things in the process. They can be inspiring. So what would make me start a consulting company? When I walked away from 30+ years in a corporate environment last year, I needed a break from the day to day stress and politics. With a little time to think, I realized that I still wanted to be engaged in business – just in very a different way. Our goal is to offer the knowledge and work abilities we have to projects to which we can clearly add value. We are flexible, hands-on, hard-working, and prefer shorter term assignments where we can get in, collaborate, get out, and leave you successful and relieved of a challenge. Our only success is yours. Why consulting? It’s a luxury to have a short-term narrow focus instead of a long-term broad focus. It’s exciting to work on a variety of projects. It’s fun to work with interesting, smart people. And we still are jazzed to find creative, practical solutions to issues. We are Haropulos Bailey Consulting.

11 May 2009

Our Guiding Principles

These Guiding Principles for Haropulos Bailey Consulting are meant to explain our commitment to doing business in a particular way. Our goal is to work with clients who have similar principles, appreciate our perspective, and look forward to collaborating with professionals of like mind. · We strive to develop lasting relationships based on integrity, mutual respect, and trust. · Work projects are accepted based on our confidence that we can add value. · Our solutions have substance and practicality, with a dose of creativity. · We love rolling up our sleeves, leveraging our experience and collaborating with you. · It’s our responsibility to bring a different perspective to your challenges. · You can rely on us. We do what we say. · Making a difference for you is what inspires us. Our only success is yours. Our approach at Haropulos Bailey Consulting is positive and optimistic. We think that being true to our Guiding Principles makes work exciting and fun.

04 May 2009

About Us

Today’s consulting market is littered with a vast array of companies from large to small, from specialized to general, from strategic to hands-on. Haropulos Bailey Consulting is a small, personal consultancy founded by two very experienced escapees from Corporate America. We are interested in working with clients in service industries for whom we can add value to projects through “Creative, Practical Collaboration”. This blog will highlight our guiding principles, explore our passions, and outline some of our professional accomplishments. We’d like you to get to know us, and open the door to creating new, mutually-beneficial relationships. (This is not intended as a sales tool, and will not be promoted as such. Of course, if you are interested in doing business with us - great!) Haropulos Bailey Consulting has proven strengths in the following: Customer Service, Planning, Project Management, Technology Product Branding & Marketing, Communications, Career Coaching, Business Intelligence, and Help Desk Operations. Next time: Guiding Principles