ã Copyright Custom Decision Support, Inc. (2001)

• The Nature of Consulting
• Types of Consulting Services
• Using Consultants
• So You Want to be an Independent Consultant

• "Consultancies" is Vaguely Defined
• Spectrum of Services Provided by Consultancies
• Outsourced Services are well Defined Products (Contracts)
• Advisory Service Often Go Along for the Ride

• Advertising and Promotion Placement
• Market Information and Marketing Research
• Legal Services and Support
• Information Systems Development and Support
• Accounting Services
• Training
• Tool Manufacture

• Financial Audits

• Independent Financial Statement Audits*
• Financial "Deal" Audit (New Businesses)
• Control Audits

• Strategic Audits

• Portfolio Audits
• Forecast Audits
• Marketing Audits

• Operational Audits and Certifications

• Quality Audits and Certification
• Manufacturing Reviews (Benchmarking)
• Process Audits
• Policy Audits

• Planning Support
• Operational Development
• Market Evaluation
• Marketing Research
• Meeting Facilitation
• Advertising Creation
• Forecasting Systems
• Decision Support Systems Development

• An Outsider’s View
• A Communications Conduit

• From the Troops to Management
• From Management to the Troops
• Saying the Unsaid

• Asking the Unaskable Questions (Emperor’s Clothes)
• Based on the "Temporary" Assumption

• Large Consulting Firms
• Accenture, KPMG, BCG, Bain, McKensey & Co., etc.
• Contracts: The Highest Level of Management
• Customer Value:

• Compelling Directions for Action
• Due Diligence

• Goal: To derive optimum directions through the analysis of operations and business conditions.
• Based on Extensive Analysis of Internal Data
• Supported by Interviews with Key Personnel
• And Proprietary Market Information
• Customer Value:

• Buy-in to Strategic Directions
• Excuse for Radical Reorganization
• Board Level Support

• Goal: To propose an optimum Information Systems to obtain justifying competitive advantage
• Preliminary for an Implementation Contract, (Loss Leader?)
• Customer Value:

• Justification for a Large Investment
• Insight into Unknown Technology
• Experienced Advisors

• Goals: To be Ahead of the Curve in the New Management Procedures

• Total Quality Management
• Management Orientation
• E-Business

• Programs in Support of On-Going Clients
• Customer Value:

• Improved Profitable Management Organization
• Meet Customers Expectations
• Provide a Halo of Management Competence

• The "Green Team" (Inexperienced Workers)
• "Telling me what I already know"
• Using Our Own Data
• Excessively Expensive
• Nothing New
• Don’t Stay Long Enough to Do Anything

• The Effect of the Consultant Acts through the Client
• Large Firms Interface with Upper Senior Management

• Downward focused Authority
• Value is Credibility

• Small Firms Interface on the Business Level

• Downward authority with in the Business Unit
• Only Influence Upward

• Covers a Broad Range

• Single Practitioner supported by Technology
• Medium Size Specialty House (The Kotler Group, ARBOR, etc.)
• Focus is on the Service Provided
• Customer Value:

• Solution to a Problem
• Support (Advisory Services) Supplement

• Example will be Custom Decision Support, Inc.

• Goal: To assist in the Solution of a Specific Business Problem through the Development of a Written Business Plan
• Do what needs to be done:

• Facilitation of Planning Meetings
• Analysis of Operations
• Writing of Drafts

• Customer Value:

• Outsourced Management Resource
• Force to Resolve the Issue
• Outsiders View

• Goal: To Understand the Market and Provide Due Diligence
• Activities:

• Problem Formulation
• Design, Execution, Data Analysis
• Interpretation

• Customer Value:

• A Quantitative Basis for Decision Making
• Market Insight
• Management and Troop Support for Actions

• Goal: To be on the Leading Edge of Management Science and Provide Due Diligence
• Models Cover a Broad Range

• Pricing Models
• Expansion (Industry) Models
• Sales Aides

• Customer Value:

• Answering Some of the What-If Questions
• Gaining Management Support
• Obtaining Group Buy-in

• Saying No!
• Listening
• Working with the Organization
• Recognizing Who has Power (Influence)
• Being Willing to Walk Away
• Matching Personalities and Skills

• Firms divide between "Professional" and "Entrepreneurial"
• This is the traditional distinction between large and small
• However, it is not a question of size but culture
• Professional Organization Understands Specialization and Use Consultants
• Entrepreneurial Organizations Focus on "Generalists" and Use Suppliers as Consultants
• Most Truly Large Firms Sub-divide into the Units that Correspond to Relative Small and Medium Size Operations

• To be Competent in the Field of Expertise
• To have the "Best Interests" of the Client’s Firm in Mind (Trust and Loyalty)
• To be "Honest" and Relatively "Open" with Client
• To be Tactful and Discreet within and outside of the Client’s Organization
• To Complete Projects On-Time and within Budget
• Follow "Corporate Guidelines" when associated with the Client’s Firm

• To be Paid in Full and On-Time
• Not to "Have Your Chain" Pulled (Consulting for Free)
• To be Informed on Project and Business Status as Soon as Possible
• To Have Access to the Internal Communications
• To be "Honest" and Relatively "Open" with the Consultant

• Call in Consultants Only When You Need Them
• Use Consultants Only for Their Expertise
• Understand What You Expect from the Consultant
• Objectives, Goals, Real Deadlines, and Budgets
• Clearly and Repeatedly Communicate that to the Consultant and Yourself
• Make the Consultant Reflect It Back
• Do Not Expect the Consultants to Do Management’s Job
• They Should Not Make the Decisions
• Meet Your Organizations Commitments on Time
• Make Clear End Points of Projects
• Require Good Documentation with Presentations

• Tough Clients are Almost Always Easier to Handle than Tough Bosses
• Your Time is Under Your Control:

• You Can Work Any 70 Hours a Week you Choose
• Rationality Never Governs Client Demands

• Though Some Independent Consultants Make a Good Living:

• On Average Similar Level Managers Do at least as Well
• Some Tax Breaks, Some New Taxes
• High Uncertainty and Variation in Income
• No Paid Insurance or Retirement Fund

• It is Very Learning Business and Usually Not Boring

• You Have to Do Everything!
• Need to Stay Flexible.

• All responsibilities are yours
• Control your time (Peter Drucker "The Effective Executive")
• As with all business: The Key is Marketing and Sales

• You Must Do It All the Time!

• Know your weaknesses

• Be very honest with yourself
• Avoid situations which expose your weaknesses
• Use resources and partnerships to support your weaknesses

• Build on Relationships (Pay attention)
• Exploit your Strengths

• You Need a "Sugar Daddy"

• Large Quality Client
• Willing to Stay with You
• Willing to Support You for a Number Years

• An Existing Market

• You Can’t Build a Market "Gittleman’s Law"
• Provide Well Defined Existing Services

• Give Exceptional Customer Value

• Faster (more Response) than the Competition
• Cheaper than the Competition
• Better than the Competition

• Control Costs and Your Ego

• Clients are Generally Unable to Differentiate Between Competence and Excellence
• Clients are Hyper-sensitive to Responsiveness
• Clients Always want more than they Say
• Uninformed Troops are Always Suspicious of Consultants
• Clients are less Price Sensitive than they appear

• Consulting Covers a Wide Range of Services
• The Customer Value focuses on Assistance and Advise
• Clearly Defined Scope and Objectives is Critical for Successful Use of Consultants
• Being an Independent Consultant is Rewarding but a Lot of Work