SH

AR

ON

CR

OS

T

San

Fra

ncis

co

, U

nit

ed

Sta

tes

HA

BIB

AB

OU

SA

LE

H

Gre

no

ble

, F

ran

ce

My Consulting LogBook This log book outlines a journey of a week of

best practices in management consulting, in

addition to the tools and processes which

allow us not only to survive a consulting and

business environment, but also to be the best

consultants. It sheds the light on how to best

invest those tools and processes to manage

projects, risks, and uncertainty.

Executive Summary

Globalization and technological advancement

have shift the old way of conducting business.

Firms these days are compete in every aspect in

order to survive today’s business environment.

The market is continuously changing, and

information and honest opinion are key factor to

success.

Through this one week journey, together we will

explore the art of management consulting and

what it takes to be the best consultant by learning

the followings:

The importance of “people skills” side by

side with the “hard skills” and how to

sharpen it in order to enhance our

individual relationships, job performance

and our career prospects.

How to invest our consulting skills to

understand the client’s needs and

expectations while prioritizing or even

finding alternatives.

How to build our reputation and expand

our network by connecting to others, so

we get connected to the business world.

world.

How to manage business projects

and deal with risks and uncertainty

within the business environment.

Understand the importance of

teamwork, and how to be a

winning team by taking people

out of their comfort zone to

another bigger zone where the

minds of team members meet,

interact and evolve.

Understand the importance of

constructive feedback in our

evolution.

To know ourselves first step for

marketing our identity and

building our online reputation.

Our Adventure Begins...

The adventure started with the first minute

of our specialization week, which was

carefully designed and planned to evolve us

on an individual and professional level. The

exercises handled during the sessions targeted

our soft and hard skills in a professional

business work frame, to sharpen our

management consulting perspectives and

scopes.

“ We Cannot Direct the Wind but We Can

Certainly Adjust The Sails ” - Thomas S.

Monson

ELEVATOR PITCH

This exercise simulates the real life

scenario where we bump into a senior

member in our firm in an elevator and we

try to win them in a very short period of

time, usually 30 to 60 seconds by the time

they reach their floor. It will end up by

exchanging business cards and setting a

meeting time if the pitch was successful.

Self-Reflection

The elevator pitch was the floor base for

selling and marketing our skills and expertise,

while setting the main block for building our

reputation, and expanding our business

network. It gave us the opportunity to

practice, learn and sharpen the skills needed,

step in, leave a great first impression, show

our values, passion, what we believe in, and

what we can accomplish.

Key Learning Elements

Key learnings can be summarized as follows:

Start the pitch strong, while being at

the same time interesting and genuine

for a great first impression, which

push half way to win your proposal.

Make a connection to expand the

business network by adopting a story

telling style mixed with friendly

conversational attitude.

Achieve the main objective of

starting an elevator pitch and make

sure to keep the door open to

continue the conversation in another

opportunity by exchanging business

cards.

QUESTIONNAIRE

A lousy questionnaire was brought to

our attention intentionally to test our

ability to distinguish a good

questionnaire from a bad one by

addressing several key elements that

push it to a higher level.

Self-Reflection

The questionnaire exercise gave us the

opportunity to think beyond what we are

used to consciously and unconsciously,

highlighted the importance of questioning

what we are given in any context, by

thinking critically and globally, and flipping

the scenario within a 3600 framework.

different views from different angles.

It also highlight the importance of being

consistent, not bias and professional in our

deliveries/questions with the client, with

strong attention to details and quality in

order to gather information as much as we

can.

Key Learning Elements

Key learnings can be summarized as follows:

Be clear, keen and delicate in setting

the questionnaire’s questions as they

are used to understand the business

core problems and the client’s needs

and expectations.

Make sure to be smart in choosing

your questions as they can leave a first

great impression and help you win a

business proposal.

Make sure the questions’ time frame

and size of the questionnaire fit the

current situation.

Respect the privacy of your clients.

Open up new doors to solutions

through your questionnaire by setting

alternatives and prioritize while

aligning the priorities with your

client’s needs.

TEAM EXERCISES

This adventure involved four main

activities which started with teamwork

agreement contract which set the ground

rules for working together as a team and

not as an individual, then continued to

the consultant tool kits exercise, then the

cake shop business case which set the

floor for the final teamwork activity which

was the Ebola Business proposal in

Liberia.

“Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress. Working

together is success ” - Henry Ford

Self-Reflection

Teamwork these days is essential to guarantee

a professional path full of success as it creates

synergy, remove social, intercultural, and

political constraints, promotes leaner

structures with less empowerment to

hierarchy, and at the same time encourage

interaction among employees on the

intercultural, professional and personal level.

The teamwork agreement set base floor for

collaboration full of respect, responsibility,

professionalism, and understanding of each

individual strengths and weaknesses, and how

to overcome those weaknesses for high

productivity as a team. The consultant tool

kits gave us the opportunity to stress out

more on the importance of teamwork with

achieving great outcomes in a short period of

1. Supports a more empowered way of

working, removing constraints which may

prevent someone doing their job properly.

2. Promotes flatter and leaner structures, with

less hierarchy.

time, while breaking down the intercultural

and personal constraints for better

productivity. It also introduced us to the

essential tool kits a consultant needs in order

to survive a consulting career. The two cases

activities allowed us to excel and win a

business proposal by framing it and

presenting it professionally as a team.

Key Learning Elements

Key learnings can be summarized as follows:

Commit yourself to the team, be well

prepared, on time, and respect the

opinion and feelings of the team

members while overcoming the

social, cultural, political and ethical

differences.

Know yourself first, and discover the

strengths and weaknesses of your

team members, and allocate tasks

accordingly for higher business

accomplishments.

Always have a backup plan in case

something goes wrong with your

current plan.

Assign roles within your team, and

stick with it to be consistent and

unified in your deliveries and

decisions in front of your client.

Familiarize well yourself with your

consulting toolkits.

Communicate clearly and effectively

within your team and client.

Always provide time for feedback

within your team and to your client.

NETWORKING

This exercise presented a live case

demonstration of the mushroom effect

when it comes to connecting with people

and expanding our network. It showed in

a realistic manner how by connecting

with one person we get connected and

granted an access to others, in his

network. It was the ground floor to

address the importance of networking in

building our online reputation which is

crucial in today’s business environment,

so we be differentiated from other

candidates or professionals.

“It's not important who you know, IT'S

WHO KNOWS YOU” - Business Networking

Self-Reflection

Every human being is unique in every aspect.

Our survival since the early age of existence

relied on our skills and potentials which

evolved with time to fit and suit today’s

environment. To be differentiated from

others as a potential breeding mate or even

potential employee, we need to get noticed.

If we don’t get noticed then we don’t exist.

To exist, we need to connect, communicate

and expand our network in order to build our

reputation.

Expanding our business network should go

side by side with building a genuine trust

worthy online reputation based on trust and

strong relationships. The exercise provided us

with necessary tool kits and processes.

Key Learning Elements

Key learnings can be summarized as follows:

Clear communication is essential in

delivering your message and

explaining your goals and

expectations.

Know the persons you are connecting

to, their values, cultures, visions, and

professional expectations.

Be authentic and consistent in

building your reputation, trust,

relationships and network.

Become known as a powerful mind to

others by being engaged with your

network and leading critical

discussions and open ended

questions.

Have a clear understanding of who

you are, what do you do, and how you

can help others and make a

difference.

It is not important who you know and

what makes you special is who knows

you.

Stay connected by quick follow up

on referrals given to you.

Understand that we choose our

destiny which is the result of our daily

decisions.

Build your online reputation and

market it so you stay engaged.

SALES/PRICING EXERCISE

This exercise simulated a selling and a

pricing activity. A team of two were trying

to sell a product to two tourists in the alley

of Grenoble, and set a profitable price.

“The moment you make a mistake in

pricing, you're eating into your reputation

or your profits.” - Katharine Paine

Self-Reflection

The main intention behind this exercise is to

understand the importance of confidence in

who you are, what you do and how you

market it. In the selling scenario, the adequate

attitude in conducting business along with

appropriate level of confidence in your

product, play a major role in closing a deal, or

an agreement with a client. In addition,

proper understanding of the product you are

selling, what makes it special and how you

mark it, makes it appealing for the client.

Knowing your client well, and what interests

him in the product or the service you provide,

through proper understanding of his needs,

through active listening and smart

conversation are the key elements for

winning and closing a sale. The same applies

for winning a business proposal.

When it comes to pricing, always know your

walking away margin, and try as much as you

can to expand your bargaining zone, and

make sure not to leave money on the table.

Key Learning Elements

Key learnings can be summarized as follows:

Understanding the client’s needs and

interests in your service is starting

base for your business negotiation.

Know your product or service well

and get familiar with its features from

every aspect as shows trust and

confidence in what you do.

Be consistent and accept projects that

fall into your domain of expertise,

otherwise you might be putting your

reputation and business in high risks.

Have the appropriate set of skills

and creativity to influence your client

and leave a strong first impression.

There is no such a free thing.

Everything comes with a price.

Go with the wave, and adjust the sails

by having back up plans, alternatives

and setting priorities.

Preparation is a key element for

successful negotiation. So know your

limits, set your ceiling, and expand

your bargaining zone.

Strategic no is a yes. Always show up

with the “yes I can do it” attitude.

When it comes to resources, time and

scope, set your constraints, know

how/where to optimize and accept.

MARKETING MYSELF AND MY REPUTATION

Marketing your reputation is the first step

to get noticed and hired by a professional

firm. In order to be able to professionally

market yourself, we need to investigate

the following stops:

Who I am…

A passionately self-motivated, honestly

responsible, analytically problem-solving

oriented, and a multilingual professional from

Lebanon, currently pursuing MBA, and

majoring in Management Consulting.

Holding a Bachelor of Engineering (Class

2006) & Master of Engineering in

Mechanical Engineering (Class 2008).

I have a proven leadership and strong

organizational skills, and critical team-

building attributes. I am interested in

consulting, as I have the adequate skills,

qualifications, experience and personal

attitude to succeed in a consulting

environment which is based on critical

thinking, problem solving, clear

communication and outstanding delivery.

What I do…

I am currently an MBA professional and a

Mechanical Engineer with diverse experience

and expertise in sales, mechanical design, and

outdoor advertisement billboards. During my

career I’ve successfully led teams to achieve a

common purpose while directing resources

to maximize business revenues and profits.

How I Help My Clients…

I help my clients by knowing myself first, my

capabilities, potentials and domain of

expertise while putting it all in a business

framework. Business and market research is

my tool kit along with my expertise, online

reputation and network. Knowing my clients,

his needs and expectation is a key element in

understanding his business and industry

sector in order to win a business proposal and

provide him with functional business

solutions and survive today’s competition

while maximizing his profit margins.

How to Reach Me…

Website:

www.Habib-Abou-Saleh.com

LinkedIn Profile:

fr.linkedin.com/pub/habib-abou-

saleh/12/98a/69a/

Skype: Habib.AbouSaleh

Mobile: +33613883186

Email: h.abousaleh@gmail.com

PERSONAL SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH WEAKNESSES

Passionately self-motivated, honestly responsible, analytically problem-solving oriented and multilingual professional with high level of patience.

Love Challenges, committed, responsible and deliver high quality work.

Don’t tolerate cheating and lying, plus you need to earn my trust and friendship.

Might compromise my professional life over my personal life sometimes to meet expectations and deliver a high quality work.

I am a person who makes his heart more involved in decision making depending on the situation, instead of being objective.

I think maybe more than I should about the future.

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

I am gaining new skills which are essential in a business environment and would open opportunities in the near future for me.

MBA and Management consulting are highly demanded in today’s business environment.

I have a multicultural and international profile suitable for international working environment.

Being a holder of a Lebanese Passport hinder my freedom of traveling and thus evolving on a professional and personal level as desired.

I am very patient but when someone test my patience, eventually I explode with anger which might affect a bit my decision making ability.

Fear being unemployed as a responsible family person.

TRIANGLE OF CONSTRAINTS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT (Resources, Time and Scope) Key elements and take away:

The most important element for the client is the constraint. This element is non-negotiable and our strategy evolves around it.

The second most important element for the client is the one that we can optimize. It gives us room for more flexibility, alternatives and backup plans.

The last element is agreed with the client to be accepted.

The Triangle of Constraints must be aligned with the client’s needs, expectations, and functionality in project management.

CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK

The feedback process involve three main necessary portions: Appreciation, Evaluation and Coaching. These three main styles are essential to build and deliver

a constructive feedback. They are wrapped in what is called “Sharon Crost Sandwich” where we state what was good, what needs improvements, and what

we would like to see in the future. Constructive feedback is highly valuable as it motivates people’s behavior and push them to excel what they are good at

and how they deliver it. At the same time, if it is corrective, it helps people evolve, and modify their behavior to achieve better outcomes on a personal and

professional level. In addition, it shows that we really care in helping others, and been conducting active and genuine listening.

RECOMMENDATION LETTER FOR A TEAM MEMBER

To Whom It May Concern, Date: 1rst of March 2015

I am delighted to recommend Ms. Carolina Serrano, a colleague of mine, and a current MBA professional at Grenoble Graduate School of Business. I know Carolina since August 2014. During the time we spent together in the same classroom, and through the MBA program, Carolina has shown a high level of dedication, and commitment toward her program, and classmates. I am proud to describe her as a colleague who authentically enjoys working with others, and in teams.

Carolina is an outstanding, polite, respectful, trustworthy and superb professional to work with. In our MBA classroom, Carolina demonstrates constant discipline, knowledge and respect regarding the university culture and policies, works efficiently within a professional team environment. Furthermore, Carolina clearly expresses her ideas, thoughts and perspectives through active participation, and add value to the class discussions and course learnings, through active listening, critical thinking, and self-reflection.

Carolina is a reliable, unbiased and responsible professional, who could diffuse stressful situations in a variety of scenarios, in a tactful manner. Our Classmates, Professors, and university staff, highly value Carolina’s great passion and contributions on an ongoing basis.

I hope that you will find this information to be helpful during your deliberations. If I can be of any further assistance, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at +33613883186 or at h.abousaleh@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Habib ABOU SALEH

Mechanical Engineer, M.Eng, MBA www.Habib-Abou-Saleh.com Skype: Habib.AbouSaleh