---
# System prepended metadata

title: The essentials of consulting
tags: [' Tawa', consulting]

---

---
tags: consulting, Tawa
---

# The essentials of consulting

**Change management:** reorganisation of companies

The ultimate goal of consulting is to increase an organisation's level of effectiveness.

## What is a consultant

Someone who
- advises a client on the desirability of taking some action
- assists the client in
    - making the decision and then
    - implemeting the action

In the past, only advisors. Role limited to specific areas.
Today, most have also developed a general business knowledge.

1. works for other people called *client*
2. **helps** these clients achieve **goals that the client identifies**
3. provides a **specialized skill or expertise** that the client is unable to provide
4. **influence decision** making but with **little power**

Hired because of
- lack of knowledge and skills
- flexible labor pool
- fresh perspective

Acts as a sounding board (*caisse de résonnance*): makes the client work and think by facilitating with the process.

++Key to effective professional management advice++:
Good relation between client and consultant
- Common purpose
- Partnership
- Trust
- Value

The consultant aims to **generate a conversation**.

:::warning
Listening is the most important success factor. A good consultant is first an **active listener**: he listens and asks questions to get to the bottom of things.
:::

### Consultant skills set
- Diagnostic skills
- Analytical skills
- Communication skills
- Intangibles
    - Perform under pressure
    - self-confidence
    - creativity

## Marketing review

### Porter's Five Forces

// TODO remplir
- Barriers
- Buyer Power
- Supplier Power
- Substitutes
- Competition

To sell a product in a company

### SWOT Analysis

Strength / Weaknesses (*internal*)
Opportunities / Threats (*external*)

For everything

### PEST Analysis

- Political
- Economical
- Social
- Technological

Never used

### 4 Ps

- Product (what is it)
- Price (how much will it cost)
- Promotion (how will you promote it)
- Place (where will you sell it)

### 3 Cs

- Customer
- Competition
- Company 

(it's a bit like the 4 Ps but it's less used)

Beer and diapers: https://tdwi.org/articles/2016/11/15/beer-and-diapers-impossible-correlation.aspx

:::info
**Marketing**: The right product in th right place at the right time at the right price
:::

### BCG Matrix

![](https://i.imgur.com/b5ubxCk.png)
Market share = how much do we sell?
Growth rate = how much do people want it?

Star: your product is the #1 product of the market
Question mark: some of the product will become stars, some won't
Cash cow: a product that will always work, and there is nothing to change
Dog: something we need to liquidate


## Consultant techniques

### Logical approach to the case
1. Listen and Clarify
    - Get the facts straight
2. Hypothesize
    - Develop plausible answers
3. Frame
    - Develop framewirk to test hypotheses
4. Synthesize
    - Tell the story

### STAR Technique
For answering questions or talking about a past eperience.
- Describe the Situation or Task you had to do
- Explain what Action you took
- Specify the Results you got.

### Steps to solve a problem by dividing it
Analyse the problem
Split it into smaller bits / Frame the problem
Study
Synthesise


### 7 keys to successful consulting
1. Know your customer
2. Have a marketing plan
3. Differienciate yourself
4. Work at solving the problem (*duh*), not selling something
5. Use education to your advantage
6. Embrace rejection
7. Be honest with yourself; never back away from doing what's right

### McKinsey methodology
1. **Definition**
    - You're trying to get the case
    - No money involved
    - Put in a proposal what your client is asking

    1st contact:
    - Phone call
    - Human Resources
    - internal resources
    - "accidental" meeting (coffea...)
    - Request for Proposal

    Initial phase:
    - What does the client need?
    - What does the client need from you?
    - Is the project already started?

    1st meetings:
    - Defining problems
    - Getting to learn each other (companies...)
    - Defining hiring issues (fees...)
    - > getting hired or not

    OBQ techniques (See below)
    
    
2. **Structure**
    - Analysis of the problem
    - Structure of the work that has to be done
3. **Data Gathering**
    - Make sure that what you want to tell is correct
    - Trying to confirm or deny the approach
4. **Synthesis**
    - Put all the gathered data in a presentation to the client
6. **Buy-in**
    - Make your solution be accepted

![](https://i.imgur.com/dxg60Zm.png)
Source: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxha21yZXZpZXd8Z3g6M2E0OTkzZWQyNjg4NTc1Yw


### Issue Diagram

Can be used for the structure stage of the McKinsey methodology (when you have no idea what to do).
A tree with the following levels:
1. Root = main issue
2. Sub Issues
3. Hypotheses
4. Key Questions


### The OBQ(A) Technique
* Objective
    * The Client's objective
* Barrier
    * The obstacle to the objective
* Question
    * The Consultant's objective
* Answer