Anyone who has sat in enough teleconferences has experienced a special kind of meeting hell. The discussion drifts and sags until, to try to get things back on track, the facilitator says, “John, what do you think about the proposed initiative?” Then, after an awkwardly long pause, John responds with: “Oh, sorry, what was the question again?”

O Instituto Brasileiro dos Consultores de Organização (IBCO) possui hoje 130 integrantes entre pessoas físicas e empresas de consultoria. O presidente Cristian Welsh Miguens, porém, explica que é difícil estimar o número de consultores atuando no mercado em todo o Brasil. Em seu cadastro, ele possui mais de cinco mil nomes.

Uma pesquisa recente da organização, com cerca de 150 participantes, indica que o mercado está aquecido. Metade dos entrevistados sentiram um aumento no volume de negócios entre 2011 e o ano anterior, e um terço diz que a demanda ficou estável.

Para 85% dos participantes, a concorrência com consultores não qualificados aumentou. “Isso atrapalha, pois são pessoas que não conhecem o mercado e não negociam bem com o cliente”, diz Miguens. O IBCO existe no Brasil há 40 anos e é associado ao International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI), órgão internacional que reúne organizações de consultoria de todo o mundo.

Sure, there were successes along the way. But there were also mistakes–lots of them. An ex-manager reflects on his rookie days.

1. Leave the office.

I know a lot of creative people are aware of this idea in theory, but I’m not sure how many put it into practice. Every time I am having trouble writing a strategy for a client, or coming up with a new name or headline, the answer never comes sitting at my desk…

The image of the ‘creative type’ is a myth. Jonah Lehrer on why anyone can innovate—and why a hot shower, a cold beer or a trip to your colleague’s desk might be the key to your next big idea.

Lately, the majority of people I interview have one thing in common.

They’re all messing up on something that I think is very important when trying to get a job: the Thank You Email.

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you think an “elevator pitch” is a one- to three-minute sales pitch that you could presumably give during a very long elevator ride. If that’s what you think, I’m sorry: You’ve been completely misled.

Let’s start with the basic fact: Nobody listens to sales pitches. (Do you listen to them? I don’t. Especially if they are coming from some bozo I just met.)