Consultant thinking

We publish a monthly newsletter on which our consultants comment on a matter of current interest. Set out below is a list of the short papers we have produced in recent months.

Like .....	I felt like clicking ‘Like’ on an FT article about ‘a techie with food ambitions’ – except the FT does not do ‘Like’. There are four ideas worth looking at – once we strip the article of its physical food content and replace it by the metaphysical world of the professional services business.......
Sherlock Holmes – Consulting detective .....	Has there ever been such interest in Sherlock Holmes? Recently we’ve seen the release of two Hollywood blockbusters (with only a loose relationship to the character - in period, but more Indiana Jones than Sherlock Holmes) and two series of a BBC version set in the current day. The membership of the Sherlock Homes Society of London
A new European standard for Management Consultancy .....	EN16114 is not a term to get the pulses racing but it may affect the work of management consultants in Europe and, if it proceeds like many other European standards to becoming an ISO standard, in the rest of the world.
Reports of the demise of classroom based training are premature.....	Distance learning has its place as the success of the UK’s Open University provides strong testimony. But business training cannot rely on distance learning alone.
A view from Taipei .....	The conference in Taipei “Foreseeing 2021” I attended earlier this month was as much of interest for the international perspectives on the present as it was about predictions of the future. I’ve picked out some items that I found to be of particular interest.
Surviving budget cuts in the public sector .....	The reductions in public expenditure have created pressure on a number of public sector consultancy bodies. Whereas in the past they could rely on public funding for the projects they are undertaking, now they are having to become more commercial.
Are ou an effective farmer? .....	The consultancy profession is cyclical. About every ten years we hit a rough patch – and arguably we are in one of the roughest right now. So how can consultants get through such rough and tough times successfully?
If it's easy to read, it's easy to do.....	A fascinating article in February’s “Psychologist” magazine* reports that recent experimental research has shown that print font can exert a profound influence on judgements of ease of doing something, or whether it is true.
What a difference a word makes!	Robert Fonteijn reflects on a change of mission statement
Spring is in the air	Anthony Greenfield talks briefly about the rituals of springtime
Why consulting skills are an essential part of management training	A large number of our clients are not consulting practices and many of the participants in our training courses are not consultants. Consulting skills are now seen by many forward thinking organisations as an essential element of management training and this short article explains why this is the case.
Advanced consulting skills for experienced consultants	Newcomers to the profession usually get training in what it means to be a consultant - as on our ever-popular Core Consultancy Skills course - plus other training when needed for specifics such as presentation skills. Philip Taylor explains the benefits of a new programme for senior level consultants.
Adding value as an internal consultant	In these times of uncertainty and pressure on headcount, internal resources can be perceived as a luxury, so while internal consultants are in the happy position of being on the spot and available they can also be seen as an overhead and a soft target for the cost cutters. Ed Moffatt offers some insights into how internal consultants should position themselves in order to be seen to be adding value.
Sell you way out of economic recession	During today's challenging financial climate, more consultants are being asked to help their companies sell their way out of trouble. However, the reality is that although many traditional delivery consultants are perfectly placed within the customer to sell, they don't view sales as 'their' thing, and are delaying seeking out potentially vital business development opportunities. Anthony Rees of Elevation Learning offers some tips on how to get even the most reluctant consultant started...
Developing your talent during the recession	Recently, leading industry bodies such as the Institute of Directors and the Chartered Business Institute have been reminding businesses of the importance of investing in their key talent during the economic downturn. However, for many of us training budgets are among the first to be cut. So, how should employers retain and develop their shining stars without breaking the bank?
How to win business and deliver results that matter in the current economic climate	There is very little to encourage consulting firms that the tight grasp that has been placed upon discretionary spend is going to be loosened any time soon. In an economic climate where financial institutions and government departments alike continue to make redundancies, it can be difficult to find a shoe in to new business opportunities.
Review of Bridging the Culture Gap	This book is reassuringly unspectacular. It does not pretend there are magic tricks or easily templatable behaviours that will suddenly transform your business fortunes.
Selling and the importance of USPs	As the global recession continues to bite, all business professionals are under pressure to maximize every sales opportunity that comes their way. So what are USPs? Why are they important? How do they enable successful sales?
Improve your relationships and productivity through empathy and understanding – Strength Deployment Inventory	Have you ever wondered why you work seamlessly with one colleague but can’t connect with another? Or why when the going is good your boss behaves in one way, but when times are tough his or her management style changes completely?
Getting to know procurement teams and their guidelines	Are you finding it increasingly tricky to get on to clients preferred supplier lists (PSLs)? Or are buyers asking you for new forms of "assurance" and data so they can add you to theirs? If so, you are not alone. Navigating the new procurement maze is a common problem for many consultants, particularly for independents and small to medium sized firms.
Appreciative inquiry for consultants	The New Year is shaping up to be particularly tough for many markets and, for us management consultants, the pressure is on to find innovative ways to deliver more results, for less. For those of you who fancy taking a new and positive approach with clients this spring, "Appreciative Inquiry" might just be the perfect antidote to hard times....
Innovation is more than idea generation	I’ve become increasingly fascinated with where ideas come from and how to generate more and better ideas and bring them to life. I’ve also been studying horticulture for a few years and am increasingly clear that there are some powerful analogies between the two. Here are a few:
How do you consult?	A client recently said to two consultants at the end of an interim project review meeting: "We've never worked with consultants like you before."
Incisive Questions	Thinking can be bad for your health and your career. The wrong kind of thinking, that is. The limiting type.
Dealing with The Winter Depression	I don’t know about you but, for me, January and February are perilous months. The excitement of the holidays is gone, the blissful memory of the Quality Street tin has left its weighty mark and the new year’s resolutions have transformed themselves into additional guilt.
Handling resistance	We’ve all felt it. The frustrating sense that your brilliant idea or the team’s important next step is getting blocked. You spot the body language – loss of eye contact, moving away from you, crossing arms and legs – but still they won’t say what’s wrong. You can’t argue a client out of resistance, because it’s an emotional response. How do you cope?
Don't Say Goodbye Like an Englishman	A few years ago I was working on a project team in Hungary. As we neared the end, one by one the consultants quietly headed for London. When it was my turn to depart, the sponsoring director said: "Surely you are not going say goodbye like an Englishman?"
A Consultant's stressful life!	The life of the consultant is a stressful one, so you need to take care of yourself. If you suffer on a regular basis from some of the following symptoms it is likely as a result from stress:
Push and Pull in the world of consulting	Giving advice should just be one of the things management consultants do. Not every situation is helped by an expert opinion. Sometimes the best thing for a client is that we give then "a damn good listening to".
Balanced thinking and feeling	Most of us have a natural inclination to see either the logic (or lack of it) in a situation or the impact on the people involved. For instance, two consultants might look at a client's proposed acquisition in two ways:
Is taking action such a good thing?	For most of us, making things happen is assumed to be the way to survive. Taking time for reflection is seen as evidence of being ineffective. This is expressed as "Don't just stand there, do something!"
Its what you know that matters	Being a training provider to many consulting practices we are privileged to get to know them behind the scenes. One of the questions we ask on selling skills courses is, "What distinguishes you from your competitors?"
Are you a trusted client?	Many professional firms aspire to recognition as a "trusted adviser", some using the book (yes, "The Trusted Advisor") by Maister, Green and Galford as their bible.
The benefits of concrete	For years now on training courses, we've happily taught the difference between abstract and concrete concepts in our approach to data collection.
In praise of selfishness	Anyone reading this will know that consultants - like anyone else - are far from being paragons of virtue! Why then praise selfishness?
Training: do we have to do it together?	Some years ago (dot.com boom time) I was discussing the virtues of web-based training with the training director of a major IT company. "It's great in theory", he said, "but people won't put the time in to do it."
The Practice of Training: how to translate learning into performance back at work	This paper examines consultancy skills training events, with a particular focus on aspects of the evaluation of the training and its subsequent transfer into consultancy practice..
Input, information, knowledge or wisdom?	I remember a particular exchange between myself and a professor when I was an undergraduate. Following some criticism of an essay I had written I explained that I felt I had provided the correct information. The professor dryly replied "I think that you are confusing input with information”.
Friday Afternoon Blues	Another week another lesson hammered home. The nature of the consultants’ profession is that the work load and demands on us is never smooth and is often fragmented.
Rules-Based Purchasing	Those who sell consultancy to the public sector (and increasingly to the private sector) will be well aware of the procurement processes that they must navigate to win business...
Budgeting for Internal Consultancy Services	Who should hold the budget for internal central service functions? In my time, I have come acrosss
Competing for Talent	Consultancies, like many other organisations, compete not only for clients but also for talent.
The Grumpy Old Men Approach to Consultancy	I am not given to paranoia, but I can't help sensing some significance in that, at Christmas I was given several books based on the "Grumpy Old Men" genre...
Portfolio management: planning the renewal of strategies, processes and skills-sets.	The way most businesses respond to the varying demands of their customers is to put together portfolios. Externally, at the business unit level, these would consist of portfolios of products, markets...
The value of social capital	Knowledge-based businesses have become accustomed to the idea that much of the productive capacity and value of their business...
The consultants' survival kit	A first move into consultancy can be a culture shock: new entrants are often unnerved by the lack of structure and support in an...
A consultative approach	The pressure is on for skills-led businesses to create durable competitive advantage. They must become more than suppliers of products..
Methodology or madness?	Are consultants artists, responding intuitively to each presenting situations, or scientists, applying predefined procedures to solve problems? For...
Internal Outsourcing	The strategic "make-or-buy" decision has led many companies to outsource some of their processes to specialists, while...
Manager = internal consultant?	Life at the top may always have been hard, but at least in former days the role of the manager was relatively easy to define. Management...
Developing Customer Intimacy	All businesses must face the prospect that each product or service, no matter how sophisticated, will sooner or later become...