The Dr. Claude Kershner Show

How do you turn a client conversation into consulting work that creates real value? Dr. Claude Kershner explains how to build productive client relationships, establish professional boundaries, develop strategy with an entrepreneur, and translate discovery into practical deliverables. Learn how a product differs from a business concept and business model, how customer experience creates value, and how a venture's stage shapes the advice it needs. Part of The Consulting Experience, a practical workshop series for consultants, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. This is the audio companion to Consulting 05: Client Relationships & Business Models. IN THIS EPISODE * Lead the client relationship and agree on clear next steps. * Build strategy with the entrepreneur and let discovery shape the work. * Match recommendations to the business stage and available resources. * Explore business-model questions, customer focus, and competitive advantage. CHAPTERS 0:00 ARCH Consulting show introduction 0:35 Build a productive client relationship 4:05 Develop strategy with the entrepreneur 7:44 Turn discovery into useful deliverables 12:43 Match advice to the business stage 18:15 Product, concept and business model 23:13 Six questions behind a business model 27:48 Use client goals to uncover the next step 30:05 Bring the work together 30:39 Closing Watch the companion workshop and its teaching visuals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_LokQFk82U Watch The Consulting Experience in order: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJaG-LnoeEY Related episode: What Do Entrepreneurs Create? https://soundcloud.com/claudekershner/ep-118-what-do-entrepreneurs-create Explore The Dr. Claude Kershner Show: https://thedrclaudekershnershow.com/ Listen to The Consulting Experience on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/claudekershner/sets/the-consulting-experience

What do entrepreneurs actually create? Dr. Claude Kershner explores how skills, resources, and opportunities become customer value, workable businesses, and meaningful progress. This workshop covers four kinds of ventures, escaping the commodity trap, focused marketing, and the systems needed to manage growth. Consulting examples show how to turn a client conversation into useful next steps and deliverables. Chapters 0:00 Show intro 0:35 Creating value 2:35 From skill to opportunity 6:03 Learning and adapting 8:51 Four kinds of ventures 14:25 Escaping the commodity trap 16:54 Focused marketing 18:14 Working on the business 21:00 Entrepreneurship and management 24:19 Applying the lesson to consulting 33:48 Connecting the business model to value creation Watch the video: https://youtu.be/3fvOtkHTFew

A business plan should test your strategy before you commit your money and time. In Part 2, Dr. Claude Kershner connects customer choices, operations, capacity, and budget into one workable plan. Learn the three stages of planning, why profit is different from cash, how to secure resources without buying them, and which assumptions to research first. This episode follows Strategic Thinking About Your Business (Part 1). Chapters 0:00 Show intro 0:35 From strategic thinking to business planning 1:26 Plans are nothing, planning is everything 2:13 Why plan? Two kinds of work 3:35 Plan from three points of view 4:02 Do your own planning 4:46 The planning chain 5:48 The dessert bar story 6:38 Three stages of planning: the chocolate maker 8:37 Profit is not cash 9:22 Get resources without buying them 10:45 Do the research 11:31 Why planning fails 11:52 Two claims that destroy credibility 12:25 Keep planning 12:45 Three things to do this week Watch the video: https://youtu.be/wmKr6fp4mEw

Entrepreneurs spend plenty of time working in the business. This episode helps you step back and work on it: decide whom to serve, what to offer, and how to stand apart from competitors. Dr. Claude Kershner uses small-business examples to explain segmentation, product mix, the commodity trap, positioning, and the value proposition. Use these ideas to sharpen the strategic choices you will test in Part 2. Chapters 0:00 Show intro 0:35 Working on the business, not just in it 1:19 The entrepreneurial journey 2:15 Reactive, tactical, or strategic 2:57 Strategic choices connect: bowling alley and chocolate shop 4:06 Products: breadth, depth, and the role of each item 6:04 Your market is not everyone 6:36 The segmentation tree and the birdhouse 8:06 Escaping the commodity trap 8:44 Yolanda's differentiation challenge 10:19 What you sell, at four levels 12:13 Finding a niche 13:02 A distinctive place in the market 14:13 Positioning 15:18 The unique value proposition 16:26 Bringing the choices together Watch the video: https://youtu.be/ZQH6oe_j1gk

A reading episode for faculty, and for anyone who wants to listen in. The School of Global Business is launching a faculty-led initiative to evaluate and advance the thoughtful integration of AI across our business disciplines. Before the launch workshop, three readings were recommended. This episode reads all three aloud so you can take them in on a commute, on a walk, or between classes, and come to the table ready to talk. Three lenses on one question: 1. Evidence: "Labor Market Impacts of AI: A New Measure and Early Evidence," by Maxim Massenkoff and Peter McCrory, Anthropic (March 2026). 2. Foresight: "Four Futures for Jobs in the New Economy: AI and Talent in 2030," World Economic Forum white paper (January 2026). 3. Action: "SOGB AI Fluency for Workforce Readiness," executive report by Dr. James A. Thomas for the School of Global Business. The question to carry into the workshop: What should a graduate of each of our programs understand, or be able to do, in order to succeed in an AI-influenced workforce? Hosted by Dr. Claude Kershner. All words in the readings belong to their authors, lightly adapted for listening. Charts, footnotes, and references are omitted, so please consult the original documents for full data and citations. Narration produced with ElevenLabs.