Super Bowl Sunday has always held a certain place in my heart. Growing up and to this day I still revel in the fanfare and excitement surrounding one of the biggest events in professional sports. Regardless of whether I have a personal interest in which team wins, I find myself rooting for the underdog and enjoy seeing players perform at their best on the biggest stage possible. A prime example is Eli Manning. Largely and unfairly (in my opinion) overshadowed by his big brother Peyton and other starting quarterbacks, Eli found himself in the Super Bowl facing an opponent and rival who many experts figured to be simply better at winning the big game. Given this pressure and ultimate opportunity, Eli did what a true champion does and stepped up. 

The theme for this post is capitalizing on opportunities when they present themselves to you. I have put together a list of ways to position yourself for and ultimately react to opportunities should they arise.

1. Say Yes: Some of the best experiences in my life have come from simply being open to them. If you are not open to opportunities you will be limited in most aspects of your life including your career. Saying yes to more situations than you say no will yield positive results. 
   
2. Prepare: Eli Manning watched hours of Tom Brady/Patriots game film and was meticulous in his preparation so when it mattered his execution would be flawless. All of this happened before stepping foot on the field on Sunday. Without preparation, victory might not have come. 
   
3. Reach Out: The best part of working in an industry of top performers is absolutely no shortage of experience and inspiration. Having the ability to reach out and gain advice, capture best practices and develop is purely a benefit that cannot be overlooked. Building relationships and being open to criticism will help you to continuously improve on your core competencies and help you learn new skills. Eli Manning had big brother Peyton to reach out to. How valuable was Peyton's advice? Well, considering his team could only muster two wins this season without him, his input is probably pretty valuable. Identifying in your day to day interactions those people who can and will help you get to where you want to go should be a top priority. That is of course unless, unlike anyone who has ever succeeded, you can do it on your own. Everyone needs a support staff and a mentor. Also, being chosen as either should be seen as an honor. Pay it forward.
   
4. Embrace Your Fear: Not everything that happens will be comfortable. If you are someone who can only thrive when you remain in the safe company of the familiar you won't grow. There is an old adage that states you should do one thing a day that scares you and this can be applied to your professional career. An even older adage is that a boat in a harbor is safe, but that's not what boats are for. Branching out is by definition growing.

In summary, by being open, prepared, connected and relatively fearless you will position yourself to step up to any challenge or opportunity that comes along. You cannot fake individual effort when you are honest and enthusiastic in your approach. There were no less than a dozen interviews leading up to the Super Bowl where the interviewer asked Eli Manning if he thought himself to be an "elite" quarterback in the National Football League. I don't think the question is valid anymore.

The reason they give an MVP award is to reward a single effort that leads to a team victory. The challenge is to not only be in consideration for the title, but to remove all doubt.

Part of providing a successful Managed Services Provider (MSP) offering is the ability to organically apply your services to clients in a way that strengthens partnerships and demonstrates overall value. One way is through integration of new and existing Independent Consultants.

Although most MSP programs primarily manage contingent labor, Independent Consultants are just as important as they deliver specialized services to the client and are utilized in mission critical and high profile initiatives.  That being said, unless properly classified employing an Independent Consultant can open a client up to substantial risk. By definition, Independent Consultants are not W-2 employees and do not have payroll taxes withheld automatically. Taxation authorities have criteria to which they must adhere in order to be qualified to work independently. Failure to comply with these standards could result in reclassification by the IRS and could include substantial penalties and back-tax payments.

To avoid these issues many MSP programs will bring in an IC Engagement Specialty Vendor.  This will allow the MSP to partner with the client to help identify and capture these workers while mitigating risk of misclassification. Another benefit of identifying potential IC’s is capturing rouge spend which for many IC engagements is substantial as they are

long term projects with high bill rates for deliverables. From experience I can say that identifying one IC typically leads to other possible engagements and can ultimately lead to expansion opportunities.

Engaging an IC should not be boiler plate.  Each engagement is different based on the size, scope and preexisting relationships.  A “one size fits all” approach is not the best way to apply your IC program as sometimes you really need to use “kid gloves” when engaging IC’s.  I have found that front loading your approach with as much information leads to a smoother engagement.  Assuming an IC is both comfortable and knowledgeable about the engagement process is simply poor planning.  Clearly defining who, what, when, where, why and how from the beginning makes everything much easier. Issues like service fees or varying payment terms should come up after the engagement process. There should be no questions if you handle each engagement in this way.

Focusing on the word “Independent” will really help to define this process from a high level.  IC’s operate the way they do primarily due to the overall freedom it provides. Putting structure around that freedom needs to be handled carefully and with as much respect and tact as possible.

Ultimately incorporating Independent Consultants into a MSP program will strengthen service offerings and overall value while capturing additional spend and mitigating risk to your client.  

The author of this post, Tom Stover, is currently a Program Coordinator with Allegis Group Services supporting the WellPoint Healthcare program. Click here to learn more about Tom.