The example which I usually give to define consulting is from the travel industry. Suppose, I am planning for a holiday in Goa. I go to Travel Agent ‘A’ clearly stating my requirements. This Travel agent does his homework and gives me a schedule for Goa. I seek the advice of another Travel Agent ‘B’ who in turn gives me some options like Goa, Alleppey, Pondicherry with their pros and cons. The Travel agent ‘A’ acts as a Service Provider while Travel agent ‘B’ acts as a consultant.

To put it together, Consulting (which happens to be one of the most coveted streams for B-school grads) involves understanding of the complete picture, exploring options and helping the customer make a decision. It is a high risk -high gain game where each step needs to be planned carefully as credibility and trust are at stake.

Coming to the traits needed for a consultant, the first and foremost is leadership. A consultant is a role model for the customer and any mistake here can prove costly. Right from dressing to articulation to handholding, the customer looks upon the consultant for guidance. So it becomes imperative that consultants demonstrate leadership in course of their assignments.

Secondly, a consultant is exposed to multiple sectors, some known while some unknown. Ideally customers always want to have people who understand their business but it so happens that we always do not get the exact match. There is the additional advantage of a person from a different sector shedding off his baggage and bringing a fresh perspective. (Remember Steve Jobs and his ability to connect the dots. The title of this article is also inspired by him). So a consultant needs to have the mind set of foraying into unknown territories yet come out with flying colors.

Last but the not the least is the entrepreneurship spirit. You will be lucky if you have a big team supporting you. In most of the cases it is a one man army where a consultant has to run the show right from conceptualization to execution. Gone are the days when consultants used to study, submit a report and leave. Today they have the additional responsibility of implementation. This calls for an appetite for entrepreneurship and risk-taking.

To sum it, a consultant survives on credibility and trust. For this it is necessary that he hones the above mentioned skills in order to make the cut. After all, a consultant is not someone who looks at your watch and tells you the time (pun intended).

Views expressed by Authors/Users/Subscribers etc on this website are completely their personal views and in no way reflect the views of their employers or any connected parties. Please view our detailed Terms & Conditions.

Aspiring Consultants can seek free & valuable advise by Clicking Here

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We, here at Consulting Network, often get emails asking us whether it is advisable to pursue course XX or attend program YY to break into consulting. Though response to that question is dependent on various other data points such as brand value of school, focus of the program, networking opportunities, career opportunities etc, what’s surprising is that we rarely get any queries on how to improve “Soft Skills”.

Most of us are too busy chasing “Hard Skills” – Skills that can get you an interview that we don’t focus on rather important aspect of recruitment – “Soft Skills” – Skills that help you get and then keep the job.  Soft skills are so important that if you become a sound practitioner, they can significantly enhance your career growth.

Recently, I came across an article that mentioned “60 soft skills” as defined by “The Workforce Profile”. According to the study, these skills were defined as “personal traits and skills that employers state are the most important when selecting employees for jobs of any type.”

Personally, I don’t quite agree with the entire list. In fact as Lei Han, a popular career coach and a Wharton MBA, pointed out, some of the items on the list were quite baffling.  However, the list serves as a useful starting point for further analysis. I’ve listed these skills below and I’ve tried to offer some insight on each of these skills.

1. Math. – Ok, is Math really a soft skill? Not in my opinion at least. I think I’d classify math as a “Hard Skill” and definitely an important skill. Essentially all businesses boil down to math, consulting is no different. While being a math whiz is in no way a pre-requisite to a consulting job, a consulting job does require a thinking individual who is comfortable with numbers and can analyze simple data points and reach a conclusion.

2. Safety – Safety? I have no idea what the employers who participated in the survey meant when they put “Safety” as #2 on the list of essential soft skills.

3. Courtesy- “Courtesy” is an essential soft skill. Simple things such as readjusting to accommodate another person on the lift, or say, helping out a coworker in resolving issues with his or her laptop count a great deal. While the above examples relate to interactions with people you meet at workplace. Courtesy towards your clients is also an essential skill in Consulting. Sending a thank you text/email to a client for sending “Data” on time or following up with a client long after a project is over are some of the other examples of Courtesy.

4. Honesty. – I’d rate “Honesty”  very high on my list. I enjoy working with honest individuals. The rule is simple, Be Honest and If you mess up, own up.  Credibility is the byproduct of being honest. A credible person gets approximately 20-30 percent more opportunities than an equally capable individual with a questionable credibility.

5. Grammar – Can be/cannot be classified as a soft skill. When it comes to crafting consulting reports, I’d classify grammar as a hard skill. I don’t want a client to point out a silly grammatical error in a report. At the same time, I’d classify grammar as a soft skill in routine email interactions. Occasional typos are acceptable but when bad grammar in emails becomes a common practice, it can have adverse effect on your career growth.

6. Reliability – Again, I’d rate “Reliability” very high on my list. If you can become an employee that your manager can rely completely on, so much so that when he or she allots you work, he or she can be sure that the work will get done in the most efficient and effective manner – you become a highly valuable asset. Reliable employees are a rare commodity. If you find one, keep them.

7. Flexibility – Definitely an essential soft skill. A lot of people get comfortable with what they know. It is essential to try new things, be flexible enough to try different projects out of your area of expertise.

8. Team skills – #1 on my list. I do not enjoy working with people who are not good team players. The job almost always gets completed in half the time when people work well in a team. It is no wonder that most consulting companies such as Mckinsey, Bain and BCG rate teaming skills very high on their list of requirements in potential hires.

9. Eye contact. – Has it ever happened to you that someone shakes your hand while they are talking to someone else? Annoying isn’t it? – Eye contact is all about paying full attention to the individual you are interacting with. However, i would not recommend sustained eye contact with a good looking co-worker.

10. Cooperation – Similar to Team skills (#8).

11. Adaptability – Similar to Flexibility (#7)

12. Follow rules –is following rules a soft skill? Not exactly.

13. Self-directed – “Self Motivated” perhaps would have been a better option here. It is essential to carve your own path and set your own goals. It’s important to reflect on your aspirations.

14 Good attitude. – Byproduct of skills at #3, #6, #7 and #8

15. Writing skills - Same as #5

16. Driver’s license. – Really? Not a hard skill or a soft skill. I have no idea what “Driver’s license” is doing on this list.

17. Dependability. – Same as #6

18. Advanced math. – “Hard skill”

19. Self-supervising – Definitely an essential skill to have. You don’t want your manager to keep checking in on you every few hours to track progress. A manager appreciates an employee who can take on a job and finish it end to end without any real supervision.

20. Good reference -. Not really sure what “Good Reference” is doing here.

21. Being drug free – Not really a soft skill but yes it’s a desired quality. You can’t advise clients if you are buzzed out half the day.

22. Good attendance – Not exactly a soft skill.

23. Personal energy. - Everyone enjoys working with happy vibrant individuals. Definitely a desirable quality.

24. Work experience – Not a soft skill.

25. Ability to measure – Not a soft skill.

26. Personal integrity – I’d rate “Personal Integrity” very high on my list. People who are honest and having strong moral principles almost always are very likeable in an organization.

27. Good work history. – Not a soft skill.

28. Positive work ethic. – Same as #26

29. Interpersonal skills. – Culmination of #23, #3, #6, #7 and #8

30. Motivational skills. – Definitely a top contender. Its not just enough to motivate oneself but also other members of the team.

31. Valuing education. – Not a soft skill

32. Personal chemistry. – Not a soft skill. Perhaps it  is same as “Team Skills”

33. Willingness to learn. – Absolutely vital skill. One must be willing to go beyond what one has mastered and must be willing to try new things.

34. Common sense. – Absolutely vital. Enough has been said about having common sense. So I wont probe further.

35. Critical thinking skills. – I’d rate it high on my list. As a consultant, you are constantly pushed to connect random information and reach a conclusion.

36. Knowledge of fractions. – Same as math skills. Not exactly a soft skill.

37. Reporting to work on time. – A desirable quality.

38. Use of rulers and calculators. – No comments

39. Good personal appearance. – As a consultant, you need to dress well. It’s a prerequisite.

40. Wanting to do a good job. –Covered above somewhere.

41. Basic spelling and grammar. – Same as #5

42. Reading and comprehension. – Same as #5

43. Ability to follow regulations. – Same as #12

44. Willingness to be accountable.- Same as #26

45. Ability to fill out a job application. – Not relevant.

46. Ability to make production quotas. – Not relevant

47. Basic manufacturing skills training. – Not relevant

48. Awareness of how business works. - Relevant to consultants, but not exactly a soft skill.

49. Staying on the job until it is finished. – It boils down to accountability. You need to accountable for the entire job and not only your allocated portion of work.

50. Ability to read and follow instructions. – Not relevant.

51. Willingness to work second and third shifts. – Why not just get a sleeping bag to work? Not relevant.

52. Caring about seeing the company succeed. – A vital quality.

53. Understanding what the world is all about. – Not relevant.

54. Ability to listen and document what you have heard. – Not a soft skill.

55. Commitment to continued training and learning. – Absolutely vital for growth.

56. Willingness to take instruction and responsibility. – Same as #49

57. Ability to relate to coworkers in a close environment. – Same as teaming skills.

58. Not expecting to become a supervisor in the first six months. – Not relevant.

59. Willingness to be a good worker and go beyond the traditional eight-hour day. – I’d rather prefer my juniors to finish the work in allotted 8 hours and enjoy their life.

60. Communication skills with public, fellow employees, supervisors, and customers. – Absolutely vital. Yet it has turned up at #60.

As you can see, many of these “soft skills” are not actually relevant. So I searched for a list that is perhaps slightly more relevant and Lei Han had the perfect list

She has brilliantly classified soft skills in two broad categories – Self Management and People Skills. Her list is so comprehensive, that I don’t think there is any need to add any more items.. I am pasting that list here (without any modifications). You can read the complete post on her blog here.

Soft Skills – Self Management Skills

1. Self awareness – knowing what drives, angers, motivates, embarrasses, frustrates, inspires you
2. Emotion management – being able to control unexpected emotions like anger and frustration so you can think clearly and at your optimum.
3. Self-confidence – those who believe in themselves have access to “unlimited power” (wisdom from KungFu Panda)
4. Stress management – Being able to stay calm and balanced in stressful, overwhelming situations
5. Resilience – Ability to bounce back from a misstep in your job or career
6. Skills to forgive and forget – Ability to move on without baggage from a past mistake or something in your career that wronged you
7. Persistence and Perseverance – Ability to overcome challenging situations and obstacles and maintain the same energy
8. Patience – ability to step back in an emergency to think clearly or the ability to pause and wait when you are in a rush or want to rush others.

Soft Skills – People Skills

1. Communication skills – general skills to listen and articulate your ideas in writing and verbally to any audience
2. Presentation skills – ability to maintain attention and achieve your desired outcome from presenting to an audience
3. Facilitating skills – ability to coordinate and solicit well represented opinions and feedback from a group with diverse perspectives to reach a common, best solution.
4. Interviewing skills – ability to sell your skills as an interviewee or accurately assess other’s ability or extract the needed information as an interviewer
5. Selling skills – this is not just for people in sales.  This is the ability to build buy-in to an idea, a decision, an action, a product, or a service
6. Meeting management skills – at least 50% of meetings today in corporate america are a waste of time.  This is the skill to efficiently and effectively reach productive results from leading a meeting
7. Influence / persuasion skills – ability to influence perspective or decision making but still have the people you influence think they made up their own mind.
8. Team work skills – ability to work effectively with anyone with different skill sets, personalities, work styles,  or motivation level
9. Management skills – ability to motivate and create a high performing team with people of varied skills, personalities, motivations, and work styles.
10. Leadership skills – ability to create and communicate vision and ideas that inspires others to follow with commitment and dedication.
11. Skills in dealing with difficult personalities – Ability to work well or manage someone whom you find difficult
12. Skills in dealing with difficult situations – Ability to stay calm and still be effective when faced with an unexpected difficult situation.
13. Ability to think / communicate on your feet (under pressure) – ability to articulate thoughts in an organized manner even when you are not prepared for the question or situation you are in
14. Networking skills – ability to be interesting and interested in business conversations that motivates people to want to be in your network.
15. Interpersonal relationship skills – ability to build trust, find common ground, have empathy, and ultimately build good relationships with people you like or in positions of power/influence.
16. Negotiation skills – ability to understand the other side and reach a win-win resolution that you find favorably, satisfies both sides, and maintains relationships for future dealings
17. Mentoring / coaching skills – ability to provide constructive wisdom, guidance, and/or feedback that can help others further their career development
18. Organizing skills – ability to organize business gatherings to facilitate learning, networking, or business transactions
19. Self-promotion skills – ability to subtly promote your skills and work results to people of power or influence in your organization.  This will build your reputation and influence.
20. Savvy in handling office politics – office politics is a fact of life.  This is the ability to understand and deal with office politics so you can protect yourself from unfairness as well as further your career.

So how many of these 28 soft skills do you possess? Let us know through the comments tab below.

Views expressed by Authors/Users/Subscribers etc on this website are completely their personal views and in no way reflect the views of their employers or any connected parties. Please view our detailed Terms & Conditions.

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TABC i.e. Time and Activity Based Costing is normally seen as one of the costing method in many areas. Additionally this method also shows us many avenues of cost savings besides traditional methods. TABC puts solid measurements for time and resource usage in various areas of business. TABC also helps in deciding billing rates and base-costs of product more finely.

The basic idea behind TABC is converting cost of resources into time domain and then converting them back to time and material domain as and when needed.

Lean Manufacturing concept defines 7 types of wastes viz. Over-production, Waiting, Motion, Inventory, Movement, Over-processing and Defects (in short also remembered by PWM-I-MOD). Out of these seven wastes, four of them (Over-production, Inventory, Over-processing and Defects) have materialistic wastage and hence easily identifiable and can be calculated. However, for motion, movement and waiting type of wastes one often doesn’t go beyond recognition of the agony that they generate.

Yet, whenever there is time is involved which is wasted it is not taken into account gets easily subsidized. Having TABC in place in your business, the paradigm towards seeing wastes in the work could change drastically. This means, while a few minutes of waiting was acceptable earlier; post implementation of TABC, it would also come under savings’ radar. For the obvious reason that now you are in better position to calculate cost of each minute or second. And as the time passes by, your money-meter will start ticking, showing you the money you are wasting.

Thus, when your business starts seeing time as important resource and more importantly when it can recognize cost associated with each minute, waste reduction can gain more importance than ever. Simply because now the total wastage cost would go up and saving time would mean saving costs at each step. TABC can be used not only for mainstream activities but also for ancillary functions and activities.

It must be understood that TABC by itself doesn’t reduce costs; however, it establishes a strong platform in identifying those cost saving opportunities and manifests them appropriately. Finally, action needs to be taken by you.

Read more on : How to Calculate Cost of Time?

Views expressed by Authors/Users/Subscribers etc on this website are completely their personal views and in no way reflect the views of their employers or any connected parties. Please view our detailed Terms & Conditions.

Aspiring Consultants can seek free & valuable advise by Clicking Here

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1. Not taking ownership of your work

I see young consultants failing the ownership test all the time; I remember that not too long ago, we had a team meeting at the end of a financial year that was chaired by our Director (Partner). We had done reasonably well as a team that year and all the graphs had a positive slope.  However, just before our Director concluded the meeting he said – I want you all to take ownership of your work; I think there is still a scope of improvement on that front.

I thought about what he said and why he said it, after all, our unit was doing reasonably well.

Me, being me, I probed further. I went up to him and asked him what he meant by his comment on ownership. He told me that in an entire engagement cycle (from client proposal to final report and follow ups), it is not enough to merely complete the specific task allocated to you. You need to proactively get involved in all aspects of the engagement.

What I realized was that a lot of new consultants mistake an engagement cycle to be modeled on assembly line manufacturing, wherein everyone has predefined task and if everyone were to complete their tasks effectively. The final product would be perfect. There may be some merit to this line of thought; however, ownership is about not only doing your task well, but also making sure that everyone works cohesively. Ownership is also about proactively assisting other members of the team.

So how does this “ownership model” really work? – If you are new in the system. First step is to make sure you do the task assigned to you in the most perfect manner possible. If someone asks you to make two slides in a presentation, make sure that those two slides do not need any rework by the person who has allocated the task to you. Take ownership of those two slides. The idea is to become a stakeholder in a consulting project.  Once you master the task allocated to you. Ask for more work. Go up to the seniors and ask them for work. Keep turning up for more work till they have no more work to give you. Once your team starts to trust you, they will give you more responsibility and before you know it, you will be a critical member of the team.

People who do not take ownership of the tasks allocated to them can quickly have fallout with their team. If over a period of time, you realize that you are not getting more responsibility in projects then perhaps you are committing the cardinal sin of not taking ownership of your work. i’d advise that you take a close look at your attitude towards work and overall commitment towards a consulting career.

2. Not getting along with people you work with

Your Boss or your senior may be horrid to get along with but that does not preclude you from not giving your best on each and every task allocated to you. One of the biggest things I’ve learned over the course of my consulting career is how to build relationships. There have been times when I’ve not got along well with certain people, but I’ve learned to co-exist and in time, how to thrive in such environments.

If you are the junior, then the responsibility to co-exist with the person you are in conflict with falls squarely on your  shoulders.  Conflicts at workplace are appraisal killers. As a junior, you want people to stand up for you and not stand against you.

Ideally, as a junior, you are not allowed to have any conflicts what so ever. Consulting or any business for that matter is all about perception and if you want to thrive, you need to learn how to manage what people perceive about you.

Also, as a junior you must take every opportunity to bond with your team. If there is a team gathering – Be there or better help organize it. If there is a birthday celebration – Take the lead.

3. Saying no before saying yes.

I’ve been guilty of saying no before saying yes during my early days as a consultant; however, over a period of time, I’ve learned how to manage the expectations of my seniors. Whenever, I am allocated work, my first step is to estimate the amount of time It would take me to finish the allocated task, add approximately half hour to that estimate to account for any miscalculation in estimation in amount of work required and then commit a deadline to the person who has allocated the work to me.  Usually, the person allocating the work to me and myself agree on the deadline and I get on with my work.  [if we do not agree, then we get into a discussion where we break the task down into micro tasks and come up with an agreed upon deadline]

However, as a junior you may not have this liberty and you have to somehow get the work done on or before the deadline allocated to you. Seniors who are good at what they do always account for the additional time that a newbie would take to complete a task so usually deadlines assigned by them tend to be fair.

Instead of giving deadlines, I prefer having a discussion with my juniors about when they can finish the work. The idea is to help juniors in estimating the work before they actually get down to doing the work. Life is all about estimation isn’t it?  There have been occasions when I’ve allocated work that should not take more than X hours to juniors and then asked them how much time it would take them to finish the job. There are three responses I usually get

-          “X –X+1 hours” – I like junior who respond in such a manner. An actual number or a deadline within the acceptable range tells me that the junior has thought through the task allocated to him or her, estimated the work required and hence, in his or her mind he or she has already started working on the task.

-          “I don’t know – X+ (4-7) hours maybe” – Red flag alert.  Such a response immediately indicates that the junior is not keen on taking ownership of the work allocated to him or her. What usually follows is a discussion on why X+ (4-7) hours.   Not exactly the situation a junior would want himself to be in.

-          “I can only give the work to you X+ (7+10) hours” – WHAT? WHY? – Clearly, the junior has not broken the task down into micro tasks or correctly estimated the time required; In fact, such a response tells me that he or she has correctly estimated the time required but has also included leisure time (Long coffee breaks, chatting with friends, social networking etc) in committing the deadline.

If your team is stretched for time or working on a weekend, then offer to lend a helping hand. Tight deadlines are opportunities win your team’s trust. If you help your team finish the project on time, you will be a superstar.

These were three things that top my list of “Things that can put a full stop (.) to a Consulting Career”. If you have something to add to the list then please do so by commenting on this post.

Views expressed by Authors/Users/Subscribers etc on this website are completely their personal views and in no way reflect the views of their employers or any connected parties. Please view our detailed Terms & Conditions.

Aspiring Consultants can seek free & valuable advise by Clicking Here

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Research the client

Understand your prospective client inside out – Here are some of the questions you should seek answers to –

• What does the prospective client do?
• What goods/services does he provide?
• What sectors/companies does the prospective client invest in?  (In case the client is an investment bank/PE fund)
• How will these services help the prospective client?
• What is unique about the prospective client?
• Is client facing some problems that you can help with?

A lot of consultants skip the research bit related to the client. Because two clients are from the same industry does not mean they are the same. As a consultant you are paid to offer insights, and as far as consulting proposals go, you offer insights even before the prospective client has agreed to give you the work.

Your consulting proposal should clearly outline what you feel is the area you can help the client with and why.

Understand your value proposition

What do you bring on the table that the competitor doesn’t?  I like to follow what is known as “So what?” approach.  If you think your value proposition is something such as – We have an experienced team, then here is what the prospective client would say – So what? So does your competitor? Why should I give you my hard earned money?

To understand your value proposition, you not only have to understand your service offering inside out but also those offered by the competitors.  Most good consulting proposals follow a very simple problem – solution – output approach.

Describe the problem; outline the solution and chart out what the client stands to gain

Customize, till you can’t customize no more.

Customize the proposal till you cannot customize no more. Simple slogan that says all that you need to know about consulting proposal. Think of proposals like a gift; well-thought out and customized gifts create a much deeper impact than random gifts ordered from the internet.

Content is king, but make sure the business proposal is aesthetically pleasing

Ok, you have amazing solution to sell; you understand the client. So you should win the project. Right? Not always. Treat your business proposals like a piece of art. Make the aesthetically appealing to the reader.  The colors, the graphics, the smart art, the font size, the charts are just as important as the written content.  Keep the following points in mind

• Always make your presentation less than half as long as you think it should be.
• Don’t go overboard with graphics. Find the right balance between written content and graphics.
• Don’t use consulting buzz words.
• There is no room for humor in business proposals.

Don’t overpromise and under-deliver

Only promise that you can deliver for sure. Over-delivering at a later stage is much better than promising big things in the proposal and then fizzing out at the time of execution.  Keep in mind the following things when writing a business proposal

• The costs involved in executive the proposed scope of work – If you over promise, you would need extra resources. Thus, profits head downwards
• The technology – Do you have the required technology that the project demands?
• Do you have the skill set in your team to deliver what you have promised?

Timing is everything.

I’ve tried to save the most important thing for last – Timing is everything. If a prospective client asks you for a business proposal on Wednesday and you deliver the proposal by Friday evening .Here is some news for you – He is not going to read the proposal till Monday morning and by Monday morning he might not want to hire you.

Understand the time schedule. Quick turn around and strong understand of time frame is essential to winning a business contract.

Views expressed by Authors/Users/Subscribers etc on this website are completely their personal views and in no way reflect the views of their employers or any connected parties. Please view our detailed Terms & Conditions.

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1. “Impossible – It cannot be done”

Nothing spells disaster like the word “Impossible”.  As the old age goes –Even impossible says I am (m) possible – If your boss suggests something and you retort – “Impossible – It cannot be done”. Immediately, you are tagged as a quitter, a bad listener and an immature employee.

Here’s why – firstly, if your boss suggested something, then he has already considered all possibilities and according to him, the task is definitely possible. So by using the phrase “Impossible – It cannot be done”, you just contradicted your boss.

A number of consultants make this mistake – especially in my first year in consulting.  It’s a habit you can easily develop and thankfully a habit you can quickly get rid of as well.

2. I would have done so much better if I had been on this project.

This is one of those comments that dig the grave for you. A statement such as the one above belittles the efforts of others and sometimes even your own effort. Here’s a real life example. I was working on an engagement for over 2-3 months and once we were done and the client was happy. I made a passing comment that if we had more time, we could have further improved our final report.

Though this was merely a passing comment, my manager caught on – He made me list down all the ways I thought I could have improved the report and after I was done listing down all the points he discussed each  point with me, arguing against each point that I had listed. Clearly, I would have been much better off not making such a comment.

3. I did not do my MBA, Engineering etc to do this

Getting printouts, delivering reports to the client, coordinating with executive assistants and setting up meetings etc was not mentioned in your job description; but here’s the reality – you have to do all of these things and you are not the only one. If you are asked to do something that wasn’t mentioned in your job description there are two ways to react – firstly, you can say – “I did not do my MBA, engineering etc to do this job”  or  you go ahead and get the job done.

The point is, a lot of things aren’t detailed in your job description, including surfing Facebook from work , emailing friends, but we end up doing such things every now and then  So when your boss asks you to do something a little out of the ordinary, don’t take offense. Go ahead and get the job done.

4. It wasn’t my fault

When something goes wrong, the natural response is – It wasn’t my fault. The problem with this approach is that when you are part of a team – As is the case for most consulting assignments – It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. The point is that you should only  focus on the problem at hand and how it can be fixed and not on whose fault it is.

There is a simple approach – Figure out what went wrong, detail steps that need to be undertaken to fix the mistake and get the job done. An analysis into how things went downside can be done when the project is over.

5. I did it all by myself

Me, Me, Me – I did it all by myself, of course there were these other people on the project who also worked as hard as me but I did it all by myself – It’s just the kind of attitude that can halt your progress. When a client appreciates your work, take credit as a team. Just like the shipping crew, a consulting team sails and sinks together.

When you try and hog the limelight – remember, your boss is watching and he or she knows exactly how much effort everyone put in.  Even if you were the “Super Star” – i.e. you did do something really great on the project, invite other team members to share your success, doing so will help you build strong relationships with people you work with.

Image credits: Dailyme.com

Do pitch in with your comments and suggestions, here’s a list of few article you might want to read

1. How to succeed with your new boss

2. Things that can get your fired

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Following is a guest post by Nitin Kesan

Alright, so you’ve read how-to articles on websites exhorting you to build on multiple skills before you can shift from your current industry profile onto your preferred advisory/consulting role. But the question is, does that advice work for you? If not, then who should you bet your money on? Well, at the risk of sounding clichéd, I would argue that the best advice you can get is in fact from the one you meet every day in the mirror as no one knows you better than yourself! So if you are from an IT background, you may think of entering IT consulting, if you have been working in a energy-based company, you may think about energy or environment consultancy, and if you have public sector experience, moving onto a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU)-centric advisory profile could be a good option. Many other fields of advisory have been opening up lately in many consultancy firms, including the Big4’s.
This instantly leads us to another more important question. How does one land the role specific to our area of expertise, and considering the high competition for advisory roles, how should one stand out from the crowd in a convincing manner, and not be perceived as another brick-in-the-wall?
Here I will try and answer this by giving some of the pointers that would help you put your best foot forward:
1. Process improvement : Consultants are required to suggest solutions and improvements to existing processes on an regular basis. So if you are able to show that you were instrumental in bringing about a crucial change or improvement in your existing department or function that ultimately helped to make things better, it would add that required edge to your profile.
2. Specialist qualifications/ certifications : You may also consider obtaining that specialist qualification, eg: Six Sigma certifications. Make sure you do your research before you go in for such courses to ensure that its relevant to your current industry, and so that it adds value to your profile.
3. Clarity in objective: The first question on most recruiters’ minds would be the reason why you are seeking a change at this stage in your career, so there is no room for ambiguity on this one. Put yourself in the shoes of an interviewer and pose counter-questions for all your answers to ensure that you have a solid argument.
4. Building networks: Companies often rely on references from their own people when it comes to new recruitments, so continuously build your contacts in the consulting arena. This would also help you get an insiders view of how life as a consultant is like.
5.  Tailoring your resume: Stress upon those skills which would be relevant to the job which you’re applying for. For eg: If you are applying for a strategy consulting position, highlight situations where you may have suggested a unique perspective to a situation or designed an alternative strategy, which ultimately led to savings (monetary or otherwise) in your function.
6. Gaining experiences : Even if an offer doesn’t sound that great to you, go ahead and gain that valuable interview experience; Interviews help you better understand the kind of questions that may be asked, and in turn help you gauge how well prepared you are.

About Nitin Kesan: Nitin worked as a consultant with one of the Big4 firms. Nitin has recently decided leave the core consulting practice and move to slightly different role in the industry. Do check out the other popular article written by Nitin for Consulting Network - Is consulting for you?

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Earlier in 2010, AON went about acquiring Hewitt Associates for about $4.9 billion to strengthen its human resource base. Consultancy firms – Booz & Co. and AT Kearney were involved in merger talks, which eventually didn’t take place. Going by the annual revenues of these two firms the merger would have placed them third in strategy consulting – behind McKinsey & Co. and BCG. After a successful deal structure with Bearing Point’s North American arm, Deloitte was most recently involved in advanced merger talks with Germany’s Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. This deal fell apart on Wednesday 23rd Nov, sighting Roland Berger’s plan to remain independent – gaining a close to 100% majority voting from its partners, as reported by Financial Times. A successful deal between these two firms would have challenged some of the big names in the strategy consulting landscape, clearly creating a global strategy leadership with annual revenues close to $3 billion.

A traditional forecast model cannot predict the future M&A’s as consulting firms are slowly, but steadily coming out of recession. It would however be interesting to see how firms will be looking to adapt from focusing on deals to enjoying a more transformational relationship. For some consulting firms, this means to return to their traditional consulting roots; while for others, the challenge would be to focus on diversification without compromising their reputation and cost base. Success for consulting firms lies in understanding their position within the strategy consulting landscape, and the specific threats and opportunities this brings.

You may also follow this article on author’s blog: http://experiencesspeak.blogspot.com/2010/11/overview-of-current-strategy-consulting.html

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While going through ‘Consulting Network’, I must confess I was a bit surprised to find professionals from a diverse set of industry backgrounds looking for advice and seeking to break into the consulting arena. The reasons are not hard to find. Consulting offers a challenging work profile, coupled with an attractive remuneration and a chance to rub shoulders with senior management at companies, advising them on various issues and a chance of being a partner to their growth. Add to that a top-notch work environment and we get a career option which is quite hard, if not impossible to ignore.

But while all this may sound hunky dory, it is important that you adopt a balanced outlook without wearing those rose-coloured glasses. Ideally, one should be well aware of some of the realities of what a consulting career entails before you grab that consulting offer-in-waiting. So without building any further, lets get down to the brass tacks at once -

a) Dealing with people

As a consultant, you would deal with a variety of clients day in and day out; some would be easy to approach whereas others would be a hard nut to crack. Consultants who can talk their way through difficult situations are always sought out, so this counts as the ‘make-or-break’ skill that you need.

b) Traveling

If travelling to different places is one of your dreams, consulting gives you plenty of chances to fulfil those since consultants typically spend around 60-70% of the time outside their home location. While travelling helps to connect with people from different backgrounds and to have different experiences, an overdose can sometimes become painful, so it boils down to how comfortable you are with the scenario.

c) Ability to stretch

As a consultant, you should be able and willing to put in long hours at work, including working on weekends if the demand arises. Deadlines are a way of life here and one must be prepared to not only meet them but also exceed them in order to achieve success.

d) Know what the client wants

Its also important to learn to put oneself in the others shoes and be able to look at the bigger picture. At the end of the day, ideas are good only if they are practical and make sense to the client. They must also be communicated in a time-efficient manner. A 10-minute presentation would make a stronger impact than a 100-page report.

e) Present like a pro

Sharp presentation skills would help you not only in clinching that dream offer but also in your subsequent worklife. This holds true since you may have very good ideas but unless you present them convincingly, it would be easy to shoot them down. Fortunately, this is a skill which can be developed with practice.

e) Teaming

Consultants almost always work in teams, and needless to say, one should be comfortable working as a team and collaborate effectively on any project, and be careful not to indulge in one-upmanship.

f) Getting noticed

Keep those grey cells running and come up with new creative techniques of doing the same task. This will differentiate you from other team members apart from adding to the overall team efficiency.

g) Be enthusiastic

Be wary of being typecast and always show interest in areas which may lie outside your scope of responsibility, but which nevertheless affect the project at hand. This would help broaden your knowledge as well.

To sum up, consulting has its share of challenges too which must be properly understood in order to avoid falling into the proverbial trap and to lead a balanced and successful professional life. And though you may face those initial hiccups, be resilient in your approach and success would be yours for sure!

About Nitin: Nitin worked as a consultant with one of the Big4 firms. Nitin has recently decided leave the core consulting practice and move to slightly different role in the industry.

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Conflicts are unwanted byproducts of a demanding consulting lifestyle.  Conflicts vary in intensity and in character; some of the examples of conflict are:

• A disagreement with your boss over a specific point in a report
• A disagreement with your senior over work allocation
• A disagreement with your coworker over quality of work
• A conflict arising from differing value systems of two coworkers

What i have learned is that managing conflict is an art – An art you master only in time ; However, there are some strategies that can help you manage conflict better. I’ve summarized these strategies below.

1. The Magic Line : On my first two assignments we had a strict engagement manager. Though he was good at finding minor faults in our reports, we had our share of disagreements.  Almost as a sacred tradition in an Indian tribe , reviews constituted a long elaborate process where the engagement manager went over each line in our report and we sat around him and answered his queries.

Most of the queries by our engagement manager were well articulated and made sense, however, every now and then he would point out a flaw, which in all fairness was not a flaw at all.  The first time he started to point out the “potential flaw” – I cut him short and started off with my explanation on why the potential flaw was not a flaw at all.   He was clearly agitated, however he ignored me and moved on. Minutes later he came up with another “potential flaw” – As expected, i started off with my explanation. This time he asked me to shut up. So i did exactly that.

In hindsight, there were many flaws in the ways i approached this potential conflict/disagreement :

Firstly, I was completely disinterested in listening to my managers point of view because i had assumed that there was no merit in his view.  Key lesson here – as the proverb goes – God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason. Listen more, speak less.

Secondly, by cutting him short,  I had unknowingly challenged his authority. In the mind of our tribe leader (our engagement manager), i had transformed into one of those young youths who wanted to venture out to the city. Clearly, I was not going to find a place on his list of favorites.

After committing the same errors a couple of times, I learned by lesson and discovered the magic line  (I think I’ve created enough suspense around the magic line, it is only fitting that i reveal it now) -

I agree with your view/point/idea and I see how this  point may be perceived this way. However, I would appreciate if you would consider this alternative [explain your point of view]

I can tell you for experience that this “Magic Line” works like a charm – Try the magic line and let me know how whether it works for you as well as it works for me.

2. Walk away ! -  There is a lot of wisdom in the saying – In a conflict between two parties, neither benefits -  Ok!  I may have manufactured this saying on my own but there is still a lot of wisdom in it. In most conflicts at work, it does not matter who is at fault because a conflict adversely affects the reputation of the conflicting parties. So what do you do when an individual is hell bent on arguing? – I follow a simple two step strategy

1. Is the topic worth arguing over? - For example arguing with a new joiner over whether we should adhere to ethical guidelines set by an organization is an issue worth arguing over because its important for a new joiner to understand the importance of ethics and implications of deviating from ethics.  However, arguing over whether a team did a good/bad job in one of the previous engagements is counter productive.

2. Do i foresee a clear end to the argument? – If i am having a civilized discussion with one of my co-workers over an important issue and i feel that we can agree on an alternative then by all means i would pursue the discussion. However, if i think a discussion will only lead to an argument and eventually to a conflict then I follow the following strategy.

I walk away – I simply proclaim that - I do not feel that we can reach a conclusion so lets stop the discussion here. [this is the point where i walk away]

I understand that some of you may feel that walking away may seem impolite. However, walking is an effective strategy for protecting your reputation.

There are a couple of more tips I’d offer but I’ll save them for another day.

Share your views on conflict resolution in the comments section below.

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