Saturday, January 22, 2011

Taking A Company Public, IPO Consultants, Globalization Strategists: How To Pick The Right Consultant

By James Scott


I talk to Ivy League MBA's on an daily basis (as if that even means anything anymore) and at the end of each conversation I just want to scream into the phone, 'Do you have anything other than text book graphs and memorized clich quotations?'. I feel, in a way, ripped off. Turn on the TV and you see the talking heads telling automatons what to think about current events and the resume to the left of the screen talks about Harvard this, Princeton that and at the end of the segment you find that all they were doing is regurgitating information spoon-fed to them by corrupt manipulators placing them on that program to promote an agenda as opposed to introducing original and true concepts to viewers. Don't get me wrong, Ivy League graduates make great employees when they are in an environment where they are controlled but as for free thinking and creative entrepreneurial strategists, well, sorry but they just don't have it.

I've never been at a round table meeting after hours for a crisis management issue concerning the jobs of massive groups of people where anyone at the table was from an Ivy League school. The people around the table are people with something to prove, not to others but to themselves and this 'proving ground' is not based on insecurity, rather the obsession with pressing the intellectual and strategic evolution of the mind. Genius is not defined by intellectual IQ rather it is defined by emotional IQ, street-smart and inner demons that keeps one up at night with globalization charts and crisis response targeting maps. It's the mentality of win at all costs, crush competition and controlled and evenly distributed rage to annihilate obstacles and absorb market share that makes one great in globalization and IPO facilitation. Attorneys are a must for corporate expansion processes and going public but they should never be the lead on the overall strategy. As for education, I'm more interested in the post university street education of a consultant or employee than where they when to university, as long as they had the discipline to complete their degree in a timely fashion, got involved and took advantage of all the school had to offer is a good start.

When choosing a consultant for political tie in strategies, globalization, 'real' mergers and acquisition facilitation and IPO's you need someone that has presence. Look for nervous habits, the proper consultant will be absent of such 'tells', their eyes should tell a story of hardship and victory which is defined by their gaze which will penetrate you, intimidate you and make you uncomfortable, for; this is exactly what you want in someone that will be speaking and engaging the opposition on your behalf. They won't need the last word in the meeting because they know that if they take you on as a client, in the end, their word is all that will matter anyway because they know the depth of their abilities that are most likely beyond your comprehension as during your conversations is mind is storming with tactical maps as he plugs your scenario into them formulating strategies that, based off of his track record, will already know the outcome before your meeting is over therefor he can give you a realistic perspective of your economic and corporate fate before a contract is even consummated.

The proper consultant is a street wise, intellectual street fighter that is open to confrontation under the right circumstances but doesn't seek it out. Their decisions during a meeting are not solely based off of the words of the party on the other side of the table rather a combination of words, intonation, head tilt, facial creases, hand gestures, lip movement, body movement and other involuntary tells that give the truth behind the lies and over exaggerations.

The above is a guide to finding the right consultant after you've looked at the resume and want to take the next step with a consultant to take your entity to the next level.




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