Management Consulting Tools

Executive Summary:

This document is a log of the sessions that I attended with Ms Sharon Crost between 21^st February 2011 and 25^th February 2011. The logs include an overview of the consulting tools (like presenting and listening), selling skills (like contacting and networking), proposals, project management, strategic analysis, measurement tools and follow up techniques. All this was discussed from teamwork, cultural, social and ethical viewpoints and applied to a business case on the final day i.e. 25^th February 2011.

Date: 21^st Feb 2011, Monday

Pre-class survey

• Avoid bias
• Make the objective clear
• Get a commitment
• Be clear

Key take-away: Very useful for the dissertation – market survey.

Presenting / Listening:

Elevator pitch exercise:

First impressions matter.

“Good morning, I am Aditya. I am a MBA student specializing in Management Consulting. I have 5 years of work experience in the IT industry. I led a multi-cultural team of 7 in India and USA (New Jersey) as part of my last work assignment. I have a passion for solving complex business problems. I am currently looking for an internship in technology consulting in either Europe or USA.”

Key take-away:

· Tell like a story to capture attention.

· Keep thinking quickly. Reached the floor very quickly. So keep practicing.

· Focus on something that relates to the one you talk to.

· Call to action – “can I call your secretary for an appointment?” or “can I send you my CV?” or “Can I get your business card?”

· Offer a value – What’s in it for him/her? What’s in it for me? What’s the value together?

Consultant’s Tool kit

Categorize the tools of a consultant in groups.

Observations:

· Objective was clear, timing was not clear. Resources were not clear.

· React to situation in a chaotic situation. Time pressure, unclear guidelines. What is your natural style?

· Listen to the client’s objective. If you don’t know, ask the client. Know your customer.

A Request For Proposal (RFP) is given by the client. It contains constraints like budget, etc. Teams reply to the proposal by brainstorming. Talk about the problem and get the clear objectives of the problem.

Key Take-Away:

· Listen to the client’s needs.

· You can always negotiate.

· Realize who you are – follower or leader.

· If not sure then ask the client.

· Check-in with the team over time.

Team 6:

Aditya, Karina, Leonardo, Payam, Rob

Written assignment:

An executive summary, key learning’s, your consulting/marketing, written self evaluation, hours spent + hourly rate, a testimonial.

Date: 22.2.2011, Tuesday

Self evaluation: crucial to know your own worth (so that you can bill your clients accordingly).

Making contact

· Online personal reputation is important.

· We can’t control it, but we can manage it. So be careful about what you put online.

· Manage contacts efficiently.

Tool: Google seo handbook

Crowdsourcing exercise:

“The best online reference for management consultants.”

We’ll come on top of google search and will be associated to something in management consulting.

www.spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0As-AYVW9FJ20dFFEQW1VN2TTXU1REZIMEhuX3BOSEE&h!=en&authkey=CNjlr9IP

Contact Information:

Professional contacts are very important because they are in turn connected to their own network.

How to make Professional Contact:-

• Word of mouth

• Friends
• Associations
• CV/Resumes
• Website, blog
• Social networks
• Marketing material
• Success stories
• References

Networking exercise – Viral networking. DO NOT DRINK THE SOLUTION.

Marketing yourself and your reputation:

Know yourself – skills, abilities, motivation, services you offer etc.

Get outside perception by research, reading, journals, etc. Send out your CV regularly to see if you are still in demand. Work on developing skills that are in demand in market.

Own consulting/marketing plan:

Who you are?

• MBA student specializing in Management Consulting.
• 5 years work experience in the IT industry.
• Led a multi-cultural team of 7 in India and USA (New Jersey)

What you do?

• Currently looking for an internship in Technology consulting in either Europe or USA.

How you help your clients?

• Passionate about solving complex business problems.
• My experience & expertise in IT and solid knowledge about consulting make me an ideal candidate for a job as a Technology Consultant.

How to get yourself known?

• Writing blogs
• Networking using LinkedIn and face-to-face
• Practicing elevator pitch
• Sending out my CV on a regular basis

References:

Work on the references on your LinkedIn profile. Ask previous colleagues if they would recommend you. Follow the guidelines because you will be related to that person in case you refer someone else.

Keys to writing references:

Real,

Simple,

Aligned to strengths,

Demonstrated skills or successes,

Aligned to career objectives.

Write a reference for someone (either Sharon, or a colleague or someone who asked you for a reference).

Following is the reference that I wrote for my colleague at ACS, A Xerox Company.

“Vipin is a leader par excellence. He posses a rare combination of strategic thinking and tactical planning. He is a Project Manager with great people management skills. He is a workaholic and brings seasoned know-how to forefront. His passion to keep his team happy is extremely infectious and inspires teams to work towards customer delight. He also has the ability to manage difficult & demanding customers with ease.

Vipin firmly believes in the mantra of Globalization. He encourages cultural diversity and an innovative thought process in his teams.

It was a pleasure to have worked for him and I wish him success with his future endeavours.”

Selling and buying exercise:

Sales force: Smiling face, “nice handshake” – OH MY GOD. Clearing the requirements. Demonstrated the use. Quota: 20 euros. But offered it for 40 euros to the clients. Clients didn’t even believe in the product. Budget is generally not clear, but buyers do know some sort of limits.

Key take-away:- I thought otherwise, I thought the budget comes first and then the product is searched.

Sales team didn’t have the product that was required by the client. Sales men started the conversation. That’s how it is done normally. Active listening was good, Lena was para-phrasing well. Credibility was requested by the clients. Mis-understanding between the sales team - Oliver and Lena. Sales team should have started selling whatever they have instead of asking the client.

Who gets their price, the person who quotes the price first or second? Depends on the conditions.

Pricing:

Free is not a price, it’s an exchange of value.

Always give pricing options to the client. A + B for XYZ price and C + D for PQR price.

Contract should have milestones and they are used for payment to the consultants.

Saying no to a client? Maybe you can use the alternative like ‘Yes, but…..’ or suggest alternatives, or phases to the assignment. Don’t always think of clients to be at a higher position.

Very interesting when you deal with new and ongoing clients:

BCG like matrix that is used for determining which clients you should be focussing on.

Similar for managing ongoing clients.

Review in free time.

Value pricing – Assess based on the client’s need, what are they willing to pay for it? If they are willing to pay high price, then try to charge them a high price. Else try to find if there is anyone else willing to pay high price. Or else price lesser but not lower than your value in any case.

Date: 24.2.2011, Thursday

• If taking notes disturbs in active listening then don’t do both together.
• Try to focus on what the client wants.

Proposals:

Worst case scenario: competition and formal proposal.

• Executive summary

• Who u are, this is what we are. Here’s the problem and this is what we are proposing

• Objective – Same as the client’s. If not clear just ask.

• Project structure – Here is the structure. I am going to do this and this and this.

• Timeline - Clearly explain the milestones.

• Price - these are the different alternatives. Generally it works.

• Issues/exceptions – Risks, issues and exceptions. List your assumptions. Includes consultant and client risks both. How will the risk be shared? (Risk Management Plan)

Issue	Likelihood	Impact	Management/ Back-up Plan
	High/ Medium/ low	High/ Medium/ low

• Company or personal profiles – alter according to the client.

• References (customers, websites) – Websites and real references.

• Contact info (email/phone, etc.) – Business cards, etc.

Generally the proposals are contractual. So get the client boss to sign the proposal to get a commitment.

Grade the team on Greenpeace case proposal

Communicate = 3

Critical thinking = 2

Solve the business problem = 2 (Didn’t like the $4 million proposal. It might create doubts in the client’s mind whether the quality of the market survey is going to be good.)

Think Globally = 2

Team work = 2 (Olga came up with ideas which were not discussed with the team)

“We are from group6 consultants. We are so and so.”

Get a template for your consultancy ready with these sections, logo and contact information.

Key take-away:

• Beginning and ending should be strong.
• Don’t pre-apologize or make excuses within the presentation.
• Don’t pre-set the stage for your problems.
• Do your expectation management before the presentation, not during the presentation.
• It’s not always the best idea that wins, but the most comprehensive and simple idea

Project Management:

Budget, scope and time – triangle of constraints.

Refer: http://www.suite101.com/content/the-constraints-triangle-a246319

	CONSTRAINTS	OPTOMIZE	ACCEPT
RESOURCES
TIME
SCOPE

Consulting Project Management

WBS = Work Breakdown Structure (like used in Xerox).

Pareto or 80/20 rule.

5 Why’s

SWOT Analysis

Tips on questionnaire

Measurement should be SMART

Summary Dashboard has to be considered.

Business needs	Our Solutions
Managing or relationship	The next steps

Time Sheet

Day	Time in class	Time at home	Daily Total
Monday (21st Feb 2011)	4.5 hours	0.5 hours	5.0 hours
Tuesday (22nd Feb 2011)	5.25 hours	0.75 hours	6.0 hours
Thursday (24th Feb 2011)	3.5 hours	0.5 hours	4 hours
Friday (25th Feb 2011)	7.5 hours	0.5 hours	8 hours
Total Hours	20.75 hours	2.25 hours	23 hours

Per hour rate = $250

Total bill = 250 X 23

= $5750

Evaluation – Written Assessment

Rate on a scale of 0 to 3

The student demonstrated the ability to communicate effectively	The student demonstrated the ability to summarize issues	The student organized the optimized the logbook for best use of others’ time	The student demonstrated critical thinking	The student demonstrated global thinking	Comments
3	2	2	2	2