Yockey Jones Consulting

Collaborative vs Authoritative Consulting

Not as exciting as Batman v Superman, but still an important differentiator.

Collaborative consulting is a partnership where the consultant works with the client throughout the planning, change management, and implementation stages of an engagement.

Authoritative consulting is a relationship where the client hires the consultant to come in and provide direction and control over a project, without any “boots-on-the-ground” work.

Both types of consulting have their place. For example, auditing should maintain the distance inherent in authoritative consulting, and the early parts of many engagements have elements of authoritative consulting. But in case you wondered, Yockey Jones works almost wholly in the COLLABORATIVE space. Here are […]

April 5th, 2016|Consulting, Free Advice|

Moving!

Recently, I was asked to consult for a non-profit agency who are planning an office move. Now, way back when I was a wee lass (before the internet!), I worked for an office furniture design house. I took on my very first project management role there, managing a move for a large corporation and interfacing with the design team. At that point, I was in way over my head, but 20+ years later, I have project managed many moves and wanted to share some expertise with you.

Attached to this blog post is a checklist that is appropriate for a small […]

February 16th, 2016|Consulting, Free Advice, Non-profits|

Starting Your New Year Right!

Happy New Year!

As we embark on the first quarter of 2016, it’s a great time to make sure your business is set up for success in the coming months. I often counsel a quarterly business check-up for people to make sure that they are on track for their larger strategic goals. Quarters are perfect units of time – long enough to get things done, but not too long to shift gears if things aren’t working properly.

Balanced Scorecards are a popular way to go about this – but they may be too complex for your needs. I know that for myself, […]

January 4th, 2016|Consulting, Free Advice|

It’s a Family Affair

Disclaimer: I am not currently in a family business. I used to be, but I’m not now. Sure, I ask my husband to consult when I’m working with clients in either the cannabis or culinary spaces. And sure, my mother provides incredible insights when I am working with boards or with educational institutions. But part of growing a family business is including a long-term sustainability provision. And my business is not sustainable over the long haul.

When I say “sustainability” here, I’m not talking about ecological sustainability or ethical consumerism. I’m talking about the scientific understanding of sustainability: the ability to continue indefinitely. […]

August 15th, 2015|Consulting, Family Business, Free Advice|

Quick Fixes pt. 1

When I look at a potential partner or client website, often my first check is the footer. When I see ©2009 or even earlier, red flags go off in my mind. I decided to research further why that copyright footer is there, and what exactly it means.

The copyright symbol is used to indicate the last major update to content. So technically ©2009 may be appropriate for your site, but if content is that old, perhaps it’s time for an overhaul.
The symbol often precedes a date range, with first publication date through the current year. This indicates that the website has been online and published over […]

June 29th, 2015|Consulting, Free Advice, Websites|

Benefits of Centralization

Recently, I was asked to present to a committee of a member-based organization about the benefits of centralizing processing. I thought I would share what I said:

Create a single repository of data; track all member info from the same place
Ease of training – can have back-ups and support easily brought up to speed
Single system – no replication or duplication of work
Standardized messaging to members
Flexibility – can easily alter or update procedures as times change
Transparency of the process
Control of process – mitigate or eliminate risk
Member retention – easily automate renewals etc.
Scalable as needs change

June 25th, 2015|Free Advice, Non-profits|

Free Advice

I go out a lot. I also live by the maxim that my brand and I are the same thing – I “show up as me” to all the events I go to. Often, when people learn that I am a consultant, they want free advice about their business. I’m usually pretty happy to give it to them, given that I like helping people and I’m all about sharing knowledge.

Recently, I have encountered what seems like a really unusual number of people who don’t really know what they do. Yes, they say “I’m a lawyer” or “I’m a designer” […]

June 13th, 2015|Free Advice, Unique Selling Proposition|

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