Connector Newsletter March 2022
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Message from the Chair/CEO, Julia Demkowski CMC®
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The most popular question I hear is “What is the value you get from IMC USA?”
My story starts in 2008 when I made the decision to open my own consulting company. As I searched the internet to do my due diligence and research, I came across something called “Daily Tips” published by the Institute of Management Consultants USA. I signed up and as promised I received tips on the profession of management consulting, starting a consulting company, consulting challenges, and other topics related to consulting. They were short and full of valuable information and recommendations! They were so valuable, I saved the tips for repeated review. The fact that this institute offered a certification also caught my attention. I am a believer in professional certifications. I was an active member in several associations on a state level, but never in management consulting so I had my doubts if I was ready to join IMC USA since I had not been out on my own very long. I had been an internal consultant for many years, but this was unfamiliar territory. I continued to kick around the idea of joining IMC USA as I was developing my business model, creating programs, and figuring out what services I would offer. I started with a seminar and immediately was off and running one month from launching my business.
Fast forward to 2016. I continued to check in on the IMC USA website from time to time until one day I decided to pick up the phone and call the institute to ask questions about the association and certification. My only regret is that I had not done so sooner!
It took exactly four meetings to get engaged with my chapter. I was asked to join the NCR Chapter Board and served over the next 3 years. I remember meeting Mark Haas the first time and thinking “why does this name ring a bell”? Turned out he was the author of the “Daily Tips”!
I was only a member for 6 months in 2016 before attending my first conference, held in Washington, DC, and I was hooked! I immediately recognized the value of membership. The membership dues plus the cost of the conference ($895 then, plus hotel) provided a return on my investment in the first 3 hours at a pre-conference seminar. I remember telling Linda Howard from my local chapter “This is amazing! This one session was worth the entire cost of attendance”! I also met Jennifer Leake at the Washington, DC conference and we all know her enthusiasm! I was so new to IMC USA that I thought the awards dinner was for long term members and I didn’t attend. Instead of dinner with members, I sat in the hotel bar reviewing the certification application! More people need to experience our conferences! I have not missed one since.
At the 2017 conference in Atlanta, I met Jim Horan and Mark LeBlanc. Both were game changers in my consulting business. At the 2018 conference in San Diego, I meet Juan Negroni, who a few months later ask me to consider running for the national board. I became a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) in June of 2019, just one month after joining the National Board of Directors. Getting certified was another game changer and I should have done it sooner. In 2020, I joined the Executive Committee and took on the role of National Membership Chair, all while growing my consulting business. The things I have learned just through collaborating with other consultants in IMC USA are invaluable. Not to mention the value of the friendships I have developed over the past 6 years! We are an amazing bunch, and more people need to know us.
I am proud to be an IMC USA member and part of the leadership team since 2016!
I have kept these examples and more in mind since becoming Chair/CEO of IMC USA, just 8 months ago. The National Board has been working hard to update, refresh, and create more opportunities for management consultants. We have a focus on member retention and stepping up our marketing efforts to attract new members. We are the certifying body for management consultants and the association for ethical consultants to start up, scale up, and sustain a successful management consulting business. I ask you to consider getting involved in any of our ETV (easy to volunteer) opportunities. Be that member who makes sure the new member knows the awards dinner is for all! Be that member who reaches out to share IMC USA with others. Be that member who recognizes the value is in elevating your expertise though certification, leadership, and connecting with other professionals. The reward is invaluable!
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Welcome January - February New Members!
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- Justin Blaney, Northwest, Oregon & Washington, Seattle, Washington
- David Cohn, Carolinas, Advance, North Carolina
- Soren Kaplan, At-Large, Walnut Creek, California
- Brenda Keomany, Northwest, Oregon & Washington, Clackamas, Oregon
- Tom Lawless, At-Large, Saint Johns, Florida
- Randall Rollinson, Chicagoland, Chicago, Illinois
- Jean Santos, Southern California, Honolulu, Hawaii
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Member Stories: What IMC USA Means To Me
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A series of stories by our members. Add your story here: https://imcusa.org/testimonial-form
"IMC provided most of my basic training in the consulting profession. Now it provides the comfort of a peer group, and a source of supplementary business expertise. Knowing the CMC vetting process and the ongoing emphasis on ethics allows me to trust other certified members with my clients even if I don't know them personally." Dr. Margaret Chock, M.I.B. Chock, LLC, specializes in Information Technology Management. She knows the value of IMC USA membership first-hand. Learn more about the benefits of IMC USA membership today.
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Omega Notes, IMC USA’s new community platform is launching!
Our new community platform is a way for members to:
- Build communities such as chapter, study, and special interest groups.
- Have a one-stop location on topics such as Membership, CMC®, learning opportunities, and shared resources.
- Know and interact with fellow members in a variety of ways.
- Interact with affiliate members seeking to offer benefits to help members grow their businesses.
How to get started? Opt-in by March 14, 2022 to be added to Omega Notes by clicking here.
Once you opt-in, you will get an invitation to become part of the community.
Affiliate Update
Watch your inbox and the IMC USA website Events calendar for March. Each affiliate member will offer an introductory webinar to better acquaint you with their services and how they can help you grow your business.
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If becoming a Certified Management Consultant® (CMC®) is a goal, then the CMC® Boot Camp offers 4 sessions with all you need to get make it happen. It includes study materials, support and accountability, application review and mock panel practice. Contact Lindy Rome, [email protected] for more information.
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Certified Management Consultant (CMC®)
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By Certification Committee Chair, Gregory Lunde, CMC® Emeritus
A new "CMC Exam Orientation-Agenda Letter" along with the "CMC Oral Exam Panel has been prepared and will be emailed to qualified CMCs who are available to serve as CMC Oral Exam Panelists. Those who respond, affirmatively, will comprise a revised CMC Certification Committee pool of qualified CMCs who will be available to serve as CMC Oral Examination Panelists for future Candidates.
Later, the CMC Certification Committee will address mentoring issues and advancing “how to” programs such as Mastering Management Consulting (MMC). Since the “CMC®” credential is our core business product and marketing identification, the Certification Committee will keep the examination procedures rigorous, concise, and complete.
Ultimately, we will affirm that we are following the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI) current CMC® Standard (as described in the ICMCI CMC Certification Scheme Manual) and in compliance with ICMCI’s Quality Assurance Committee (QAC)'s framework.
The Certified Management Consultant® (CMC®) mark is awarded by IMC USA to consultants who have achieved a level of performance that includes professional standards in technical competency and ethics, and global standards in consulting competencies, professional behavior, client and project management, and personal conduct. Learn more today!
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Professional Learning and Development
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QuickStart
CALLING ALL ASPIRING AND EARLY-STAGE CONSULTANTS: QuickStart will return in late March! Stay tuned for registration & pricing on February 25; Live sessions will occur on three Fridays: March 25, April 8 and April 22. Our QuickStart program provides a customized experience to help you define your consulting practice and includes a workbook with exercises followed by a live seminar to get feedback from experienced consultants and your peers!
• Episode 1 - Consultant Preparedness
• Episode 2 - The Business of Consulting
• Episode 3 - Handling back-room operations
Each episode starts with a 30-minute recorded session to help attendees complete the corresponding workbook exercises. During the following week, there will be a 90-minute live seminar for each of the three episodes. All IMC members who register will be invited to join an IMC USA Special Interest Group, facilitated by experienced consultants, to kick start your consulting practice!
Mastering Management Consulting (MMC)
WANT TO BECOME A BETTER CONSULTANT AND EARN HIGHER FEES? WANT TO EARN YOUR CMC®?We are updating our most-highly-rated educational program, owned by IMC USA, “Mastering Management Consulting (MMC).” MMC will launch in late April. Experienced consultants teach the fundamentals of management consulting based on the IMC USA Competency Framework in a seminar-style format. The upgrade includes a new case study and updated participants’ workbooks, instructors’ guidebooks for each topic, and associated PowerPoint slides. Participating “live” in these 16 sessions, offered every other week, is the best way to gain skills and peers.
NEW: Industry and Business Trends, Emerging Technologies Program
Management consultants can better serve their clients if they have a broad overview of industry and business trends and emerging technologies.
FIRST TOPIC: Unconscious Bias and other aspects of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – A 3-part series with Matthew Cahill, Percipio, who has deep expertise in cognitive, social, and workplace biases. His approach is rooted in the belief that if you have a brain, you have bias™. This is an opportunity to gain a better understanding of this issue that affects your clients’ businesses.
Registration will open in early March for these three 90-minute sessions: March 29, April 5, April 12 1:00 – 3:30 pm ET / 10:00 -11:30 am PT
Want to help?
If you have experience in creating or evaluating curriculum for adult learners, delivering management consulting training, are a subject-matter expert in one or more consulting competencies or just interested in a new challenge – we have a place for you.
Questions? Please contact Loraine Huchler, P.E., CMC®, FIMC, Chair, IMC USA Professional Learning and Development, [email protected], 609-865-8151 (cell), 757-442-5308 (landline)
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Moving Businesses from Bias to Belonging™
March 15, 2022, 2-3 PM ET, ZOOMCAST
In this session, our featured speakers will share insights from their research into "Inclusive Organizational Behaviors," and demonstrate for us how to succeed in creating safe spaces for brave conversations. While every person and, by default, every business, is at a different point on their journey of understanding, there are some key ingredients for successful engagements which we management consultants should all be aware of. As it turns out, for example, establishing a workplace that destigmatizes bias, disrupts stereotypes, and encourages self-reflection does contribute to increasing the bottom line!
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Matthew Cahill has built a consulting and coaching practice based upon the belief
that if you have a brain, you have bias™! Matthew excels at meeting people wherever
they are on this life-long journey of selfreflective discovery and is an expert as well at
moving organizations “from bias to belonging™.”
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Akeisha Johnson of An Inspired Story Coaching is a certified and dynamic Business
Leadership Coach, facilitator, and public speaker. Well known by peers and clients for
creating leaders that other people want to work for, she is the creator and facilitator of
the A Safe Space to Talk About Race (SafeSTTAR)™ workshop, the former Program
Director of The Oshun Project, a non-profit program whose work with Haitian farmers
provides clean water in rural villages, and previous host and co-producer of the podcast,
“Making It Work: Stories of Surviving and Thriving in the SF Bay Area.”
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Register Today!
C2M Host Ken Lizotte CMC is Chief Imaginative Officer (CIO) of emerson consulting group inc., which transforms consultants and their firms into business thought leaders via published books, published articles, virtual speaking and other media. Active in IMC for over two decades, Ken has been Chair of Consult-Con 2020 and 2021, president of IMC New England and member of the IMC USA National Board. Author of eight books, Ken is a popular professional speaker and consultant. Visit his website www.thoughtleading.com or email [email protected]
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Be Recognized on a Global Scale
The Constantinus International Awards is a competition by the International Conference of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI.) Your Recognition and Awards Committee is pleased to support IMC USA members to be recognized for your outstanding work.
Last year, we thought that entrants to the Constantinus International Awards had to have engagements that were global---involving more than one country. This year, we have come to understand that what matters is the results you achieved. At this point, we do not yet have a national US competition and we may not. However, we would still love to submit your application to the international organization.
So, if you completed an engagement in which you had remarkable results, or are doing so soon, please email Joyce Gioia [joy-yah] at [email protected].
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Upcoming National & Chapter Events
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IMC USA produces several programs each month. Please visit the online calendar to plan your participation. The majority of these programs are included with your membership! You may search by category and month.
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The Women Consultants Group
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Meets on Zoom – Join us Thursday, March 3rd, at 5 PM Eastern for our monthly discussion. The purpose of the Women Consultants Group is to highlight IMC USA women consultants and facilitate a community that supports the success of all. For more information or to attend the event, contact Jennifer Beever CMC®, MBA by email [email protected] or phone 818-347-4248.
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IMC USA NONPROFIT CONSULTANTS NETWORK
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By Nonprofit Consultants Network Chair, Ed Potter, CAE
Mark your calendars for the upcoming Nonprofit Consultant Network (NCN) event:
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
2:00 – 3:00 pm PT, 3:00 – 4:00 pm MT, 4:00 – 5:00 pm CT; 5:00 – 6:00 pm ET
Nonprofit Consultants Virtual NETWORKING Happy Hour
Register HERE. The IMC Nonprofit Consultants Network community of practice is all about building relationshipsand learning from other nonprofit consultants within IMC. Virtual Networking Happy Hours are informal opportunities to meet other consultants, discuss hot topics of interest, build relationships, and explore ways to collaborate. Join us for this highly interactive session facilitated by Linda Howard, CMC, PMP, CVF.
Last month the IMC NCN hosted a roundtable event entitled Nonprofit Strategic Planning: Balancing Impact and Selling for Consultants featuring nonprofit industry leaders Gary Romano of Civitas Strategies and Gregory Nielsen of Nielsen Training and Consulting. We were delightfully overwhelmed with a whopping 85 registrations and one of our most thought-stimulating sessions ever.
Feel like you’re missing out? So do we! Sign up for the IMC USA Nonprofit Consultants Network mailing list by sending your name, email address, and organization to [email protected].
The Nonprofit Consultants Network Steering Committee has leadership opportunities! We’re looking for IMC USA member leaders with a nonprofit consultant focus and/or nonprofit consulting experience to help plan our programs over the coming year. Time commitments are 3-4 online meetings a year with some of the best minds in the business! Strengthen your network while giving back to the nonprofit consulting profession by sending us an expression of interest with your CV or Website address to [email protected].
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There are 10 chapters throughout the United States that serve members on a local basis – including programming and networking. Please click here to determine the closest chapter to your vicinity.
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