Hello all, I hope you had a nice evening and have started off your day well. As you know, I regularly read comments that my readers post on my site and take time to consider all feedback that I receive. This entry is to respond to some feedback that came in and sparked some thoughts. It came in as a posted comment rather than an email, so posting an entry was the only way that I could respond. Here’s the story…
One of my readers who goes by the handle “ConsultantGirl” left the following comment on a recent blog entry yesterday afternoon. I use comment moderation to screen comments for spam prior to posting them to the site. For a split second, I thought about rejecting this one, but I’m not afraid of a little constructive feedback so I let it through:
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“ConsultantGirl said…
As someone who has been in consulting for many years I really want to reccomend your blog to prospective consultants but I have a hard time doing so simply because you open every entry with this seemingly inappropriate welcome that frankly doesn’t make you sound much like a Stanford graduate.
Also your constant complaints about long emails where you can’t address everything is getting tiring. Why not use some of your years of consulting and strip out all the ego stroking intro and extraneous questions and just tackle the salient or new questions. Reading your posts is like going on a dreaded treasure hunt for information. You have to wade through all the crap to get to the meat.”
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In response to the comment above, my mother posted a comment to back me up and ConsultantGirl responded again with the following comment:
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“ConsultantGirl said…
Calm down Momma Bear. No one is insulting your baby’s intelligence. I would think a Stanford MBA doesn’t need his Mom fighting his fights. I am just stating that Marquis puts himself out there as a resource for others looking to break into consulting world and as such he should be writing this in a professional manner, especially since he isn’t writing this blog anonymously. Everything on the internet could/can be used against you in the future.
This blog is difficult to read and my comments were meant as constructive criticism. If you are tired of answering the same question over and over no need to even add the question from the email to the blog. Just list the new questions in bold, then follow up the question with your answer in italics. Maybe at the top of the question list the posters name, age and location.”
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Now that I’ve got some time, I thought it would be prudent to post a response to her comments. I started off intending for it to be a short response, but, as I began typing, the words just flowed through my fingers, resulting in the following. Here we go:
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My response:
ConsultantGirl,
Thanks for checking out my blog and for the constructive feedback that you posted yesterday. I can’t say that I was a fan of the tone that you used, but feedback is always good to receive, regardless of how it is delivered. I would rather have emailed this to you directly, but, because you posted your thoughts as comments, I didn’t have an email address for you. In the future, if you have feedback for me, you’re welcome to email me at marquisweblog-AT-gmail-DOT-com so that I can respond to you directly.
Here are a few notes in response to your comments:
- I don’t know how long you’ve been reading my blog, but this site started off with me sharing my experiences, expressed as the real “me”. I’ve never put myself out there as “a resource for others looking to break into consulting world”…other folks have positioned me in that way. I just share my experiences and answer questions as my way of trying to do a little good. My writings may seem overly informal or unprofessional, but that’s just the way the words come out. Yeah, some may say that my “seemingly inappropriate welcome[s] [don't] make [me] sound much like a Stanford graduate”, but they’re my way of connecting with my core audience of readers, who I hope care as much about me and what I have to say as the information I can provide to them. I’ve been told that my informal nature is what makes readers able to connect with me, which is what’s most important. Trust me…you aren’t the first person to mention that I should come across as more professional on here and you won’t be the last, but I truly do appreciate the feedback about it.
- Exactly how should a Stanford GSB graduate sound? One of the great things about the students and alums there is that we’re all very different in terms of backgrounds, personalities, and demeanors, so there isn’t really a standard expectation there. That’s one reason why I bring so much of myself into this blog…I want people to know that all kinds of folks can get into top B-schools and find the success they seek. As a reader once told me, “if someone like [me] can make it, then anyone can do big things.”
- You’re right about my complaints about long emails where I can’t address everything…I imagine that it must get very tiring to see those complaints over and over. But, imagine what it’s like on my end to receive those emails over and over after posting those complaints. I’m only human and I am allowed to get frustrated by stuff like that. You’ve made a great point though, so I’ll to try to tone it down in the future.
- Thanks for the suggestion about listing the new questions in bold and following up with an answer in italics. That tactic makes sense, but, when I started answering emails on here, I established the precedent of posting reader emails in their entirety and then posting my full responses. That way, I present the readers’ words exactly as they intended…that’s just way I do it. Also, I don’t consider the intros to those emails to be ego-stroking. Rather, they’re just the way folks choose to lead into their questions. Besides, I don’t need my ego to be stroked at all.
- I don’t mind you coming at me hard with your comments, but please don’t disrespect my mother…that’s not cool. She only posted her comment because she thought her son was being attacked, which is a basic reaction that any mother would have. Also, I don’t need my mother “fighting my fights”. In fact, this isn’t even a fight…it’s just a difference of opinion and an exchange of ideas. The word “fight” has such a negative connotation, doesn’t it?
- Finally, if you feel that one has to “wade through all the crap to get to the meat”, you really don’t have to keep reading my entries. I created this site as a way to help people, but I recognize that my style doesn’t suit everyone. So, I don’t get upset when people complain about it. Besides, “all the crap” that you’re referring to are my thoughts, stories, and perspectives, which have always been the foundation of this blog…my long-time readers know that. I’ve found several other sites that mine this blog for insights and then use those insights on their sites. Perhaps they strip out enough of my “crap” to meet your expectations for the “meat”. Who knows?
Take care and I wish you the best of luck as you continue your career in Consulting. Again, if you have any comments or feedback for me, feel free to email me at marquisweblog-AT-gmail-DOT-com so we can take it offline. Thanks.
Marquis
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One of my readers who goes by the handle “ConsultantGirl” left the following comment on a recent blog entry yesterday afternoon. I use comment moderation to screen comments for spam prior to posting them to the site. For a split second, I thought about rejecting this one, but I’m not afraid of a little constructive feedback so I let it through:
—–
“ConsultantGirl said…
As someone who has been in consulting for many years I really want to reccomend your blog to prospective consultants but I have a hard time doing so simply because you open every entry with this seemingly inappropriate welcome that frankly doesn’t make you sound much like a Stanford graduate.
Also your constant complaints about long emails where you can’t address everything is getting tiring. Why not use some of your years of consulting and strip out all the ego stroking intro and extraneous questions and just tackle the salient or new questions. Reading your posts is like going on a dreaded treasure hunt for information. You have to wade through all the crap to get to the meat.”
—–
In response to the comment above, my mother posted a comment to back me up and ConsultantGirl responded again with the following comment:
—–
“ConsultantGirl said…
Calm down Momma Bear. No one is insulting your baby’s intelligence. I would think a Stanford MBA doesn’t need his Mom fighting his fights. I am just stating that Marquis puts himself out there as a resource for others looking to break into consulting world and as such he should be writing this in a professional manner, especially since he isn’t writing this blog anonymously. Everything on the internet could/can be used against you in the future.
This blog is difficult to read and my comments were meant as constructive criticism. If you are tired of answering the same question over and over no need to even add the question from the email to the blog. Just list the new questions in bold, then follow up the question with your answer in italics. Maybe at the top of the question list the posters name, age and location.”
—–
Now that I’ve got some time, I thought it would be prudent to post a response to her comments. I started off intending for it to be a short response, but, as I began typing, the words just flowed through my fingers, resulting in the following. Here we go:
—–
My response:
ConsultantGirl,
Thanks for checking out my blog and for the constructive feedback that you posted yesterday. I can’t say that I was a fan of the tone that you used, but feedback is always good to receive, regardless of how it is delivered. I would rather have emailed this to you directly, but, because you posted your thoughts as comments, I didn’t have an email address for you. In the future, if you have feedback for me, you’re welcome to email me at marquisweblog-AT-gmail-DOT-com so that I can respond to you directly.
Here are a few notes in response to your comments:
- I don’t know how long you’ve been reading my blog, but this site started off with me sharing my experiences, expressed as the real “me”. I’ve never put myself out there as “a resource for others looking to break into consulting world”…other folks have positioned me in that way. I just share my experiences and answer questions as my way of trying to do a little good. My writings may seem overly informal or unprofessional, but that’s just the way the words come out. Yeah, some may say that my “seemingly inappropriate welcome[s] [don't] make [me] sound much like a Stanford graduate”, but they’re my way of connecting with my core audience of readers, who I hope care as much about me and what I have to say as the information I can provide to them. I’ve been told that my informal nature is what makes readers able to connect with me, which is what’s most important. Trust me…you aren’t the first person to mention that I should come across as more professional on here and you won’t be the last, but I truly do appreciate the feedback about it.
- Exactly how should a Stanford GSB graduate sound? One of the great things about the students and alums there is that we’re all very different in terms of backgrounds, personalities, and demeanors, so there isn’t really a standard expectation there. That’s one reason why I bring so much of myself into this blog…I want people to know that all kinds of folks can get into top B-schools and find the success they seek. As a reader once told me, “if someone like [me] can make it, then anyone can do big things.”
- You’re right about my complaints about long emails where I can’t address everything…I imagine that it must get very tiring to see those complaints over and over. But, imagine what it’s like on my end to receive those emails over and over after posting those complaints. I’m only human and I am allowed to get frustrated by stuff like that. You’ve made a great point though, so I’ll to try to tone it down in the future.
- Thanks for the suggestion about listing the new questions in bold and following up with an answer in italics. That tactic makes sense, but, when I started answering emails on here, I established the precedent of posting reader emails in their entirety and then posting my full responses. That way, I present the readers’ words exactly as they intended…that’s just way I do it. Also, I don’t consider the intros to those emails to be ego-stroking. Rather, they’re just the way folks choose to lead into their questions. Besides, I don’t need my ego to be stroked at all.
- I don’t mind you coming at me hard with your comments, but please don’t disrespect my mother…that’s not cool. She only posted her comment because she thought her son was being attacked, which is a basic reaction that any mother would have. Also, I don’t need my mother “fighting my fights”. In fact, this isn’t even a fight…it’s just a difference of opinion and an exchange of ideas. The word “fight” has such a negative connotation, doesn’t it?
- Finally, if you feel that one has to “wade through all the crap to get to the meat”, you really don’t have to keep reading my entries. I created this site as a way to help people, but I recognize that my style doesn’t suit everyone. So, I don’t get upset when people complain about it. Besides, “all the crap” that you’re referring to are my thoughts, stories, and perspectives, which have always been the foundation of this blog…my long-time readers know that. I’ve found several other sites that mine this blog for insights and then use those insights on their sites. Perhaps they strip out enough of my “crap” to meet your expectations for the “meat”. Who knows?
Take care and I wish you the best of luck as you continue your career in Consulting. Again, if you have any comments or feedback for me, feel free to email me at marquisweblog-AT-gmail-DOT-com so we can take it offline. Thanks.
Marquis
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Hey Marquis,
Long time. The comments posted by the reader were in bad taste. I don’t understand what is with writing long posts? Every blogger has his/her own style of writing.To each his own. I myself end up writing long posts and replying to my users directly through my posts. The only intention is that the other users may also get benefitted.
You are an honest guy Marquis and all this reflects through your posts. Don’t let such comments affect you.
Always remember, you have a huge fan following as well.
Marquis — I think you are striking a good balance. The bloggers I admire (you, Fred Wilson, Brad Feld, Gary Vaynerchuk, Howard Lindzon, among others) do an excellent job of conveying information, being professional when neccesary (with plenty of moments of levity), and letting the reader get to know them. There’s always the risk that you put too much out there, but I think that risk is balanced by the benefit you’re giving the audience and the feeling knowing you’re really helping other people. I think other bloggers (including me) could learn alot from your tone and style – alot of the stuff out in the blogosphere related to management consulting and careers can be pretty dry and you definitely liven things up.
Way to body that comment. Keep it real always.
Marquis – am finally reading this post now.
As a fellow blogger who has "put himself out there", you get both loyal, positive readers and those that can sometimes be negative/somewhat harsh in their criticisms.
What I find interesting is that 9 times out of 10, those criticisms come from people who choose to remain anonymous.
That aside, I agree that feedback is incredibly helpful and appreciate the honesty as well.
I really do appreciate you putting this out there to share your thoughts. To each their own – you have a unique writing style, and I (and many others I know) enjoy reading your posts and sharing in your advice and knowledge.
Keep up the good work!
Kevin
Marquis,
In regards to the tone of your entries. The reason why I follow your blog is precisely because of your style of writing. Reading, researching, and learning about the industry of consulting is an arduous and important task in my life right now as I look to begin business school this fall. There are dozens of resources that people can use and they have a lot of value but they tend to be impersonal. Your blog provides a human touch and levity on a task ( learning as much as one can about consulting) that can be intimidating.