Consulting: Tools for Success February 5, 2001

Consulting: Tools for SuccessFebruary 5, 2001

Boston College Carroll Graduate School of Management

Deborah Bernstein

Rod Blacklock

Suzie Sergi

Vin O’Reilly

Diane Weiss / ConsultingBoston College Carroll Graduate School of Management

Agenda

Consulting: Tools for Success

• Objectives

• Top 10 Lists

• Skills

• Lessons Learned

• Feedback on Your Questions

• Conflict Resolution Exercise

• Q&A

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Objectives

• Provide honest feedback about a career in consulting

• Tie current learning to skills needed in consulting

• Helpful hints for Dianne Weiss Consulting Project

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Reasons TO go into consulting

• Exposure to different companies, industries, and people

• Flexibility of schedule - Autonomy

• Non-repetitive projects

• Training / Learning - formal and informal

• Well-defined career path

• Multiple responsibilities

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Top Reasons NOT TO go into consulting

• Work / life balance

• Travel

• Fix and run

• Always at the bottom of the learning curve

• Metrics

• Multiple stakeholders

• Perception of consultants

• Inability to affect changeVin O’Reilly


Sills Most Often Used

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Diane Weiss / Consulting

• Communication skills– Feedback– Reflective practice– Listening skills– Interview skills

• Thinking on your feet

• Managing upward

• Presentation skills

• Time management skills– Multi-tasking– Multiple projects– Prioritization

• Conflict resolution

• Writing skills

• Project management skills

• Facilitation skills


Lessons Learned for Diane Weiss

• You will rarely implement the optimal solution but you can always implement an effective solution

• Expect to be treated like an outsider; sometimes it will work to your advantage; sometimes it will be a barrier

• Your interests, the firm’s interests, your staff’s interests and the client’s interests are not always aligned

• Rule of thumb: Give the client what they want, but tell them what they need to hear

• Linkage: Tie the solution to the root cause

• Learn to practice conflict resolution versus conflict avoidanceVin O’Reilly


Question: What are specific consulting tools that could help with Diane Weiss?

• Project management– Mobilization

• document roles and responsibilities• discuss team expectations

– Statement of Work / Job Arrangement Letter• scope maintenance

– Workplan• timeline

–milestones / interim deliverables• accountability

• Establish and document deliverables

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Question: What are specific consulting tools that could help with Diane Weiss?

• Project management (continued)– Status meetings (client and team)

• Establish desired outcomes for every meeting• Create an agenda• End with action items / next steps

• Process Analysis– Flowcharting

• Data Gathering– Interviews– Focus Groups– Survey

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Question: How do you define the scope?

• DON’T START WITH THE SOLUTION

• List assumptions

• Assess the situation before identifying the problem and creating a statement of work and deliverables

• Push back on the client

• Write up a problem statement

• Use root cause analysis

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Question: How do you set expectations and manage them?

• Establish team roles and responsibilities and stick to them!

– Open discuss work styles with your team

– Appoint a client point of contact / relationship manager

– Hold team-mates accountable and have repercussions

• Set up regular meetings with the client to avoid surprises and get feedback

• Give real-time feedback

• Establish and document what you expect from the client

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Question: How can we best prepare ourselves for the profession or an interview?

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Industry• Financial Services• High Tech• Higher Education• Healthcare• Retail / Manufacturing• Entertainment

Characteristics• Internal / External• Profit/Not-for-Profit• Large/Small• Public/Private

Types of Consulting• Management Consulting

– Strategy– Risk Management– Change Management– Crisis Management

• Technology Strategy• Human Resources• Process

– Operations– Supply Chain

• Systems Implementation• Marketing• Tax and Legal• Financial Valuation

Answer: Be focused

Question: How can we best prepare ourselves for the profession or an interview (cont.)?

• Be focused about what kind of consulting you want to pursue

• Talk to people: network

• Follow up with interviews that did not go well

• Get your resume referred from someone within

• Check your resume

– don’t underestimate past work experience

– don’t forget charity work

• Research the company Vin O’Reilly


Conflict Resolution Exercise

• Break into your new second semester teams• 1 person from each team should volunteer to be a facilitator /

scribe• Please answer the following question: WHAT IS AN EXISTING

OR POTENTIAL CONFLICT THAT YOUR TEAM MAY FACE AS A CLIENT SERVICE PROVIDER?

• Each team member must produce 3 responses• Report your responses to the scribe• As a team, group common responses together• Identify the most frequently occurring response• As a team, identify 3 action items to resolve or minimize the

conflict discussed Vin O’Reilly


Thank You

Vin O’Reilly

Diane Weiss / Consulting

Deborah [email protected]

Rod [email protected]

Suzie [email protected]


Recommended Reading

• Managing the Professional Services Firm– by David Maister

• First Break All the Rules– by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

• Emotional Intelligence– by Daniel Goleman

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Things to Inquire about when talking to Consulting Firms

• Expected Travel– Staffing model

• National practice• Regional (e.g. Northeast)

• Training opportunities• Simultaneous projects and obligations• Focus on Industry vs… Service Lines• Average duration of projects• Salary, bonus, and benefits structure• Independence rules• Ethics• Calibre of clients

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Documents

Consulting: Tools for Success February 5, 2001