The Boston Consultants Network Now and Beyond

Kofi Annan delivered a farewell address in Missouri. In more ignominious circumstances, Donald Rumsfeld said goodbye to his troops earlier this month. So I’m reminded as 2006 comes to a close, it’s time to look back and look forward briefly. I’ll leave my post as vice-chair of CNET at the end of the year, so let’s take a look at where our organization has been, and where it’s headed.

Way back in 2000, CNET underwent a transition in its leadership. The old guard had been in place for three years and longer. New people volunteered to keep the network healthy, even through a recession that was especially hard on consultants. We helped each other out and kept going through a difficult time.

Six years later, capable individuals still show their desire to maintain and grow CNET’s presence and strength. Tom Vaughan will lead for another year as chair, as will Seth Aaronson as treasurer. Stuart Jones volunteered to take on the vice-chair’s job. Tom Maglione is our new webmaster, and Joe Czapski is our new secretary. John Nitzke has initiated several networking dinners. Ron Goodstein has done outstanding work on programs and our e-mail database. All the members of the steering committee have shown a willingness to participate and contribute. Thank you!

CNET has pursued a lot of initiatives over of the last couple of years. The website of course has undergone a big change. Our database of members and other contacts functions well underneath the website’s front-end. And our monthly programs continue to draw engineers and others to substantive presentations where we can meet people and add to our knowledge. Our organization offers members and non-members lots of chances for professional growth.

So where are we headed now? We have a real chance to grow to 100 members in 2007. Yes, that’s just a round number, but we need that number for at least two reasons. First, it tells prospective members that we’re solid and growing: a group they want to be associated with. Second, it moves CNET toward the critical mass it needs to serve its members well as a networking and job referral organization. The more active members we have, the more job leads we can realistically expect to see circulate. And helping each other to find work is one of our most important missions.

Another opportunity is to take full advantage of the outreach tools we have at our disposal. The website and e-mail lists come to mind. We have rightly focused on other things we do well, such as the directory and regular articles in the Reflector. One thing we can do is follow up with more phone calls and individual e-mail messages. This sort of contact gets people involved. We want to have a wide network of people who know about and remember our group. In particular, we want our current, past, and prospective customers to see our group has a positive resource for them. We already serve as a resource in our everyday work, but we have to let people know about CNET.

That point brings me to the last general direction for the upcoming year. We have always wanted to serve as a marketing consortium for our members. CNET as a group can undertake marketing activities that are expensive and time consuming when we try to accomplish them as individual consultants. The website and the directory are two clear examples. More than that, we can act as a team and give encouragement to each other’s efforts. John Nitzke has mentioned this benefit several times at steering committee meetings. We can set goals and and reach them together more readily than if we work alone. Consultants need to rely on each other for the energy and encouragement that regular employees receive at their workplace.

Making phone calls to prospective clients and prospective members is a good example. Everyone finds it hard at times to pick up the handset. Calling on behalf of CNET, as one of its active members, makes the conversation easier. You have something to talk about and you needn’t think about yourself. Moreover, you have an interested group of CNET mates to report back to.

I expect that’s enough for this message. If you’ve attended a CNET meeting, you’ve probably heard me say that my best jobs, one way or another, have come through CNET. That tells me we’re doing something right, and we should build on what we know works. CNET’s prospects for the upcoming year and beyond are excellent. I hope I can stay involved and have a good effect. Meanwhile, please stay in touch – with me, with each other, and with any individual CNET can help.