We deliver consulting services in several areas of practice through two primary forms, depending on your needs as a client. We offer Fixed Fee services, where we either specify or negotiate specific deliverables over a specific time frame for a specific fee. Thgetis form includes what might be thought of at the traditional consulting agreement and is often used for larger engagements with clear objectives. (get more info) We also offer Flexible Fee services, where you contract for an amount of time to be used as needed. This can take the form of a retainer, a pre-paid block, or a pay-as-you-go arrangement. This form is often used for contract lead ins, for ongoing coaching, or for other situations where the objectives are evolving over time. (sign up)

We offer consultation in the areas of Communication Planning, Communication Research, Email Strategies, Evaluation, Knowledge Management, Management Systems, Online Marketing and Fundraising, Social Media, Organizational Learning, Organizational Transitions, Technology Planning and Requirements, Organizational Renewal, Time Management, Executive Coaching, Personal Development, Strategic Planning, Organizing and Marketing. We primarily pursue these goals through these six services:

LifeWork Counseling | Communication Audits | Knowledge Management | Planning and Evaluation | Technology Planning | Usability Testing
 

Do you need career related counseling and development? Individual leadership or vision development? You might want to consider one on one sessions with Michael Gilbert. Michael sets aside a few hours each week for such sessions. He's interested in helping individuals with genuinely transformative work. In some cases that will mean working with leaders who are working to transform both themselves and their organizations. In some cases that will mean working with individuals who, while not in a leadership position, are tackling big issues related to social and personal change. (more)

Many organizations want to explore the opportunities for improving their communication systems, but are not yet ready to engage the process fully. We recommend that you consider one of our Communication Audits. Our basic package includes: a Communication Objectives Assessment, a Web Site Evaluation, an Email Communication Evaluation, and an Online Readiness Assessment. (more)

Knowledge Management is a term of art usually referring to a set of practices designed to improve the capture, retention, and transfer of both explicit and tacit knowledge within an organization. Very often, it has a strong technological component. (more)

We are ardent advocates of self-regulating systems. To that end, we help organizations design integrated methods of planning and evaluation. We can start by providing independent evaluations of your systems, by doing program evaluation and analysis of communication systems. In the end, we can help move your organization toward effective and sustainable business plans for your communication and management infrastructure initiatives.(more)

Technology planning means a lot more than it used to. The communication lifeblood of organizations is resting more and more in new information and communication technology systems. Organizations cannot afford technology that does not reflect their communication needs.(more)

After nearly a decade of leadership in the field of nonprofit technology, we have both seen and made our share of mistakes. Many of those mistakes could have been prevented with Communication Centered Planning. Most of the rest (including some of our own ventures into software development) could have been prevented with Usability Testing. (more)