Continuing Professional Development (CPD) ideas for digital consultants

All types of business consultants need to take continuing professional development (CPD) seriously. This post contains a list of ideas that you can apply.
As a bonus, at the bottom of the article is a link to an Excel file that you can use in planning your own CPD activities. The file can serve as a way of planning your training needs and then recording a) what you’ve done and b) planning on how you can use them in your work.
On to the ideas:
Informal CPD ideas
- Keep a reflective journal
- Read books relating to business and digital
- Read journals and academic magazines
- Read blogs and whitepapers
- Listen to industry podcasts
- Monitor areas of interest on social media
- Watch vendor demonstrations of software and tools
- Review what your competitors and peers are doing
- Watch how more experienced consultants handle themselves
Formal CPD ideas
- Attend a training course
- Find and work with a mentor
- Request feedback after projects from superiors or the client
- Attend seminars or conferences
- Develop plans to apply what you are learning
- Write a paper or blog post on new topics that relate to your focus area
- Seek professional business coaching
Subscribing to Storm81 should go without saying.
CPD planning and tracking template
To help you plan and track your progress, I’ve created an CPD Excel template for digital consultants. To download the free template, click the button below (note that registration is required to get the file):
CPD Planning Template Free Excel file – registration requiredAnything missing?
Share your CPD ideas in the comments below.
I’d really like to hear what’s worked for you in terms of training, reading and development. Either add a comment below or contact me directly with ideas and strategies for becoming a better consultant.