Christie Lindor is a management consultant on a mission to be the mentor she wishes she had earlier in her career. She spent her first five years looking for the right model of mentorship as an African American woman in the traditionally male dominated, high-stakes world of consulting.
Today, with more than 15 years of consulting experience working at top firms, Christie is sharing the secrets of great consultants in a new book, The MECE Muse: 100+ Selected Practices, Unwritten Rules & Habits of Great Consultants.
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?
For the past 8 years, I have quietly been on a mission to be the mentor I wished I had during the first 5 years of my consulting career. As a first generation college graduate and first generation American in the pre-digital age, I wasn’t privy to certain resources that many of my peers had.
Over time, people started reaching out to me for help from other consulting firms. Over the years I have not only amassed a large following of mentees, but I also noticed that I was having individual meetings sharing the same information over and over again. As I continued to grow in my own career and now with a family, I decided it was time to scale my efforts.
Tell us about your business.
I’m publishing my first book called The MECE Muse: 100+ selected practices, unwritten rules, and habits of great consultants. The MECE Muse provides an inside scoop on the unwritten rules and “real deal” insights on how to become a great consultant.
To round out my own perspectives for the book, I sought out the stories and practices of the profession from 50 consulting partners and leaders across the industry representing 27 consulting firms, including thought leadership from 80% of the top 10 consulting firms in the world.
While undergoing the publishing process of her book in 2017, I decided to create The MECE Muse Unplugged podcast, a weekly show providing career advice, interviews, and resources for new or aspiring consultants.Â
Are you currently running any promos/contests/giveaways that you would like our readers to know about?
I will be running an Amazon sale for the ebook/Kindle version of The MECE Muse. Stay tuned!Â
List awards/certifications/accomplishments.
I am one of the first African American women to write a non-fiction book on management consulting and host a podcast show on the topic.
Where is your business based?
Online, however I am based in Boston.Â
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
It organically came into fruition over the last 8-10 years.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
Providing needed value and focusing on my targeted readers and podcast listeners. Executing with their needs in mind has been the best way to raise awareness. People share information they deem is valuable.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
The fact that I’m an expert in an area where the majority of influencers are males. I constantly have to prove myself in order to be taken seriously.
How did you overcome these challenges?
By continuing to focus on my why and being confident & unapologetic about who I am, all while building momentum on small wins.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
Remembering how far I have come keeps me motivated to stay the course.
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
My passion for the work I do and ability to impact people’s lives.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
Sometimes letting things go is the most effective way to solve a problem.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Unapologetically own your truth, be bold, and be confident. From that vantage point, everything else will fall into place.
What are your favorite business tools/resources and why?
I love business books and podcasts. I feel like I can take something away from every book or podcast I listen to, whether it is in the form of a reminder, it is something new and thought provoking, or it is a topic that will help me rethink an approach.
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
One of my favorite books is “Year of Yes” by Shonda Rhimes. I made 2017 my Year of Yes and haven’t looked back!
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
I’ve been learning so much about the world of publishing and podcasting. I would love to continue to connect with individuals across any industry or sector that have been successful in building an influential personal brand.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
My 3 biggest goals are releasing my new book, build up my speaking resume, and continuing to build my budding social media presence. For speaking, I have been practicing through my podcast show and my local Toastmasters chapter. I have also been so much more active online in the past year and will continue to build my presence.Â
What social media outlets do you use? List them below
Websites www.christielindor.com, www.mecemuse.us, www.mecemuse.com
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/christiejb
Twitter @musemece
Instagram @mecemuse
Facebook @mecemuse