The Red Phone - Management Consulting in 30 Seconds or Less

Modern business faces complex problems; management often calls upon highly-specialized consultants to help them address these difficult problems. If you're ever called to help identify these most pressing issues, one of the easiest and quickest ways to start is to talk about the "Red Phone".

You know which phone I'm talking about -- it's the red phone that sits on it's own special corner of the desk. Lights flash when it rings; when you answer it, the person on the other end isn't in a good mood, he's not pleased, he thinks everything is your problem and he wants you to fix it! (And ... he's right! It is your problem and you do need to fix it!)

What I want to know is -- when this phone rings, 1) Who is it on the other end, and 2) what are they upset about?

This spotlights a manager's hot spots, his points of pain. These are the frustrating tribulations that vex his day. If you can identify who's on the red phone and what they're calling about, you've identified the most pressing problems a manager deals with.

Of course, there likely isn't a real physical "Red Phone" -- but everyone knows what you mean when you talk about it! Find out about these calls -- and you'll cut through all the clutter to identify the areas you should address. Spend your time and direct your efforts to solve these problems -- or even just ease them some -- and you'll have the greatest chance of success.

Joey Robichaux rides the weekly consultant road warrior circuit. He speaks at management conferences and maintains dozens of web sites, including one of the oldest and largest free sheet music websites on the internet -- Free Sheet Music at http://www.freesheetmusic.net.

AP - U.S. exports dipped in January, the government said Thursday, but economists weren't fazed. They predict export growth will be a bright spot for American manufacturers through the rest of 2010.

Reuters - President Barack Obama on Thursday faced pressure to help create jobs in African-American communities and deliver an immigration overhaul even as he tried to push healthcare reform across the finish line.

AP - Americans are recovering their shrunken wealth — gradually. Household net worth rose last quarter, mainly because the healing economy boosted stock portfolios. But the gain was slight. And it was less than in the previous two quarters.

AFP - American household wealth jumped in 2009 for the first time since a brutal recession struck the country, underscoring the impact of an economic recovery, data from the central bank showed Thursday.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit told investors on Thursday the bank is on track to return to sustained profitability and losses from some of its worst assets should be manageable if the economy does not deteriorate.

AFP - President Barack Obama put into action Thursday an ambitious strategy to double US exports by prising open lucrative emerging markets in a bid to ease unemployment amid fragile economic recovery.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, anxious to spur growth and cut high unemployment, laid out a plan on Thursday to double U.S. exports through tougher enforcement of trade laws, increased government advocacy and more credit assistance for small and medium-sized companies.

AFP - US President Barack Obama on Thursday issued a fresh call to China to embrace a "market oriented" exchange rate for the yuan, saying such a move would help rebalance the global economy.

AFP - A key US senator said he would unveil new legislation on Monday aimed at giving American financial rules their biggest overhaul since the Great Depression in the wake of the 2008 meltdown.

AFP - European officials on Thursday defended planned new EU legislation regulating high-end financial services from "protectionist" charges, amid anger from US Treasury chief Timothy Geithner.