Consultancy Skills
Consultancy Skills
Consultancy Skills
Dr Simon Haslam
• Your role
• Your consultancy experience
• What you’re hoping to learn from today
1. What we mean by
consultancy
What we mean by
consultancy
The MCA defines management consulting as: “The creation of
value for organisations, through improved performance, achieved
by providing objective advice and implementing business
solutions.”
Why
Additional capacity, third party objectivity,
process skills, access to specific information, ‘bad
guy’
Eras of consultancy
• Scientific management
• Strategy boutiques
• Technology enabled change
Management Consulting
Labour government - £2m pa spend
Previous conservative government - £0.5m pa
European market (2010) – 25m euros
Sourceforconsulting.com identified six key client trends:
5. Outcome – the majority of firms now sit in the middle between advice
and implementation.
A new basis of differentiation is needed: outcomes.
1. Opportunity development
2. Agreeing Terms of Reference
3. Information gathering
4. Interpretation and insight development
5. Sign-off
6. Aftercare
‘What are the deliverables?’
Cost
Spec/quality Time
Intervention styles
• ‘Expert consultant’
• ‘Process consultant’
Hands on – hands off
7. Help them think through their own ideas
6. Add options to their ideas
5. Advise them what to do
4. Tell them what to do
3. Show them how to do it
2. Do it with them
1. Do it for them
Competence framework
© Institute of Consulting
Internal
Micro environment
Macro environment
In one application, sensemaking is
approached as the ability or attempt to
make sense of an ambiguous situation.
More exactly, sensemaking is the process
of creating situational awareness
and understanding in situations of high
complexity or uncertainty in order to make
decisions. It is "a motivated, continuous
effort to understand connections (which
can be among people, places, and events)
in order to anticipate their trajectories and
act effectively“
‘agreement’
high
low
Invoice promptly
Opportunities Threats
Refreezing
Changing
How to Change - Stages
Gerry Egan’s ‘Model B’
1. Present 2. Preferred 3. Getting there
‘Story’ Possibilities
Strategies
Commitment Plan
‘Leverage’
High
power
Low
power
Co DV
nn D
Pr ec
oc t iv
es ity
M s or
ot sp
io
n ee
co d
nt
ro
Strategy canvas
la
bl
La e
rg
e
Nintendo’s ‘blue ocean’ response
pu
bl
ic
Wii
PS3
X-Box 360
Perceived integrity
Share capital
2007
Investor diversity
Product range
(investors)
(using strategy canvas)
Financial 'safety'
Gap analysis
Gp1-2012
Political' activity
FT focus
Focus on
disadvantage
Product range
(customers)
Gp2-2012
Regional presence
Capacity
building/facilitation
Core competence
C.K Prahalad and Gary Hamel’s view is that
strategy should focus on an organisation
recognising ‘what it is fundamentally good at’,
and building from this. They provide access to a
wide variety of markets, contribute significantly to
end product benefits and are difficult for competitors
to imitate.
POLITICAL ECONOMIC
SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY
ENVIRONMENT REGULATORY/
LEGAL
NPD, Employee
Future Learning & growth development,
Adaptability
High
Likelihood Med
Low
Existing New
products products
Existing Product
Penetration
markets development
New Market
Diversification
markets development
Strong
Business
competitive Medium
position
Weak
Recognition Affiliation
(Expressive) (Amiable)
Dominant Unassuming
(assertive)
Achievement Security
(Driver) (Analyser)
Contained
(emotionally controlled)
How each style makes decisions
PROMOTING FACILITATING
• Boldly • Facilitating
CONTROLLING ANALYTICAL
• Realistically • Reluctantly
• Willing to take • Logically
calculated risk
• Slowly
• Independently
• Likes to study alternative
• Prefers effective possibilities in detail
alternatives
• Carefully
In bid meetings…
Do your homework – think of the questions you might
be asked
Work in your elevator pitch
Don’t make statements you can’t back up
Ask questions back – seek to clarify
Be honest – if you don’t know something, admit it
Take responsibility – show how you will add value
Agree follow up actions – and do yours
The ‘elevator pitch’
The ‘elevator pitch’ is a short summary which quickly
and simply explains a product/organisation and,
importantly, its value proposition.
Your elevator pitch
• Addresses a problem
• Outlines your solution/value proposition
(what you do to help others).
• Brief
• Easy to understand
• Emotional hooks
• Say what you want
Brand
“A promise”
58
Competitive Advantage
D
i Patents
f Copyright Brand Values
f
i Registered Design/logo
Distribution Channels
c
u Strategic People, team, knowledge
l
t Tactical Positioning
y
Product quality
Pricing
Customer Service
Promotions
Time taken to copy
Branding and the
entrepreneur
• Brand often linked with entrepreneur
• Brands are built – you don’t start with a
strong brand
• Brand development is a consequence of
doing business
• Does the brand have ‘stretch’?
• Can you protect your brand?
10 entrepreneurial
branding tips
1. The design of your logo really doesn’t matter.
• Customer focussed
• Proactive
• Innovation focussed
• Resource leveraging
Executive Presence Model
Professional
Stories image
Politically Social
aware skills
Inspirational
Courage presenter
Future
Self belief orientation
State
Corporate
management
view
© DTC Ltd
Passion Clarity
Questioning – 8 views
1. Questioning for whose benefit?
2. Open-ended to explore…
3. …closed to verify
4. ‘Why’ – raises level of (but intrusive)
5. ‘How’ – homes in on practicalities/detail
6. ‘Have you considered…’ – quegestions
7. Prefixing reduces the threat of questions
8. Checking understanding - powerful
Listening (after Nancy Kline)
• Pay beautiful attention to the client, don’t even think
about interrupting, make sounds only occasionally to
indicate understanding or encouragement, keep
your eyes on your client’s eyes, don’t ask picky
questions, smile occasionally, look interested, be
interested and be at ease…
…and don’t even think about interrupting.
Intuitive core
What
‘Complicated’ – where the answer isn’t obvious
Challenges
How organisations assimilate information
How this fits with consultancy project objectives
30%, 60%, 10%
Personal change process
• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance
Strategy formation?
Understanding Doing something
what’s going distinctive
on about it
Analysis Creativity
Learning
Adapting to
changing
conditions
DP Matrix factors
Business Unit Strength Industry Attractiveness
Market share Market growth rate
Brand strength Market size
Production capacity Industry profitability
Profit margins/income Industry rivalry
Growth in market share Marco-env (PESTEL)
Distribution channel access
Strategic thinking
1. Systems perspective – mental model of the
complete system for value creation (and
implications)
2. Intent focused – to be more determined and
less distractible
3. Thinking in time – past/present/future in mind
at the same time
4. Hypothesis driven – creative and critical
thinking
5. Intelligent opportunism – being responsive to
good opportunities (changing environment)
How to Change - Stages
Best books
• Peter Block – Flawless Consulting