Zachary Collier
How to Make Better Decisions in Times of Uncertainty
Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, there is a lot of uncertainty in the business world. Shops are temporarily closing their doors,...
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Zachary Collier
- Feb 19, 2020
- 2 min
5 Things I Have Learned from Running a Successful Consulting Company
Here are some lessons that I have learned since starting my consulting company. 1. Networking is super important. It almost seems like a...
Zachary Collier
- Nov 24, 2019
- 2 min
Four Factors for Success
When I was young, (in my teens, I think), my grandfather told me that to be successful, you need three things: competence, hard work, and...
Zachary Collier
- Oct 30, 2019
- 3 min
Positive Results Through Negative Visualization
In a previous post, I wrote about how the ancient philosophy of Stoicism can help us with risk management by categorizing things by what...
Zachary Collier
- Sep 4, 2019
- 3 min
How is Risk Management like Swiss Cheese?
In previous blog posts, we have discussed risk management. Risk management involves making decisions about what measures to take to...
Zachary Collier
- Aug 5, 2019
- 2 min
What Adam Smith Can Teach Us about Management
One of my favorite passages from the great economist Adam Smith is where he describes the so-called “Man of System”: “The man of system,...
Zachary Collier
- Jul 22, 2019
- 3 min
Why Flexibility and Feedback are Essential for Control
In a recent blog entry, I wrote about the importance of recognizing what is within your control and what is outside of your control....
Zachary Collier
- Jul 11, 2019
- 3 min
Effective Management Requires Effective Modeling
Recently, I have been exploring topics on planning and control, which are relevant to business because effectively running and managing a...
Zachary Collier
- Jul 2, 2019
- 2 min
Risk, and What Is and Isn’t Under Our Control
One of the core tenants of the ancient philosophy of Stoicism was that some things are under your control, and other things are not under...
Zachary Collier
- May 30, 2019
- 2 min
Consulting or Research? Why Not Both?
Sometimes people ask me why, after getting my Ph.D., I did not go into a “research” field, such as a job in academia. Other times, people...
Zachary Collier
- May 22, 2019
- 3 min
Project Schedule Risks – Causes and Solutions
Roughly half of projects finish behind schedule (and many end up over-budget too). Given the importance of projects to businesses and the...
Zachary Collier
- Apr 24, 2019
- 2 min
4 Reasons Why You Might Need a Consultant
If, in the course of your work day, you have ever thought, “I sure wish I had some help with this project,” or “I’m not sure which...
Zachary Collier
- Mar 6, 2019
- 3 min
Value and Values
In the previous two posts, we explored the concept of value. To recap, we first discussed the relationship between utility and value,...
Zachary Collier
- Feb 6, 2019
- 4 min
Where Does Value Come From?
In out last entry, we explored the nature of value, and the relationship between value and the related concept of utility. We concluded...
Zachary Collier
- Jan 23, 2019
- 3 min
Utility and Value – What is the Relationship?
Terms that are used frequently in decision making include “utility” and “value”. Value tends to be a particularly difficult concept, and...
Zachary Collier
- Jan 3, 2019
- 2 min
Data: More than Just Numbers
It seems like everywhere you turn, you can find someone talking about data. Data science, big data, databases, etc. Likely, when you...
Zachary Collier
- Dec 19, 2018
- 2 min
Using Scenarios Effectively Requires Asking the Right Questions
In a previous post, I wrote about the value of using scenarios to inform decision making. Scenarios can be used as a tool to think...
Zachary Collier
- Dec 12, 2018
- 3 min
Group Decisions and Individual Decisions
The decisions that we make do not exist within a vacuum – they typically affect other stakeholders, and we often need to gather the input...
Zachary Collier
- Dec 6, 2018
- 3 min
Risk Assessment: Qualitative or Quantitative? Semi-Quantitative?
Sometimes I am asked about the differences between qualitative and quantitative risk assessments, so I thought I would write up a blog...
Zachary Collier
- Nov 28, 2018
- 3 min
Assessing vs. Managing Risks
The world of risk analysis contains a fair amount of confusing terminology, especially when it comes to analysis – what is the difference...