What
Clients Think: A Survey of Business Executives
According to a recent study by McKinsey
& Company, some 7,300 senior executives around
the world believe the global economy has improved in
the past six months, but fewer believe that the improvement
will carry through the second half of the year.
When asked "What is the single most pressing business
concern facing your company over the next 12 months?,"
all respondents agreed the overall economic climate
was crucial, but hiring and retaining talent was also
a top concern. HR Consultants who specialize in creative
compensation, benefits and employee retention programs
will likely find clients open to new approaches, or
ideas on how to fix the programs they've already got.
The same report forecasts an increase in merger and
acquisition activity in the coming months. According
to the study, "consolidation is now a global theme."
It should be a good time for consultants providing merger
advisory services to buyers or sellers in business combinations.
With all the missteps we've seen in post-merger integration
activities, consultants who can combine business process
redesign, change management and education programs into
a cohesive service offering will win more than their
fair share of work in this market.
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Five
New Books to Consider
In an interview with MCNews, Tom
Peters said, "If I read a book that
cost me $20 and I get one good idea, I have
gotten one of the great bargains of all time."
Here are five books that may provide a spark.
Happy bargain hunting.
1. The
Third Opinion: How Successful Leaders Use Outside
Insights to Create Superior Results,
by Saj-nicole A. Joni, Ph.D.
Dr. Joni shows how everyone from CEOs to managers can
create a diverse inner circle of advisers, experts,
mentors, confidants and thinking partners to get outside
insights that are trustworthy and unbiased. She explains
how this inner circle provides the kind of guidance,
input and feedback that can turn a good leader into
a great one.
Dr. Joni is the founder of the advisory services firm,
Cambridge International Group. Find
out more.
2.
The Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in
Extreme Leadership, by Steve Farber
Available April 2004
Through an engaging tale with eccentric characters,
Farber explores a leadership model in which leaders
aren't afraid to take risks, make mistakes in front
of employees or actively solicit feedback. Farber makes
the point that, "When necessary, the Extreme Leader
will risk his or her own safety and security in order
to grow the business and--just as important--develop
as a human being." The book is an easy read with
a personal touch.
Farber is president of Extreme Leadership, and a former
Vice President and Official Mouthpiece of the Tom Peters
Company.
3. Persuasive
Business Proposals: Writing to Win More Customers, Clients
and Contracts,
by Tom Sant
Tom Sant recently released this fully revised, second
edition of his classic book, which was originally published
in 1992. The new edition provides practical tools for
maximizing the clarity of proposals and avoiding six
traps that can undermine any proposal. It includes new
strategies for enhancing results by making proposal
writing a core business function.
Sant is a world-renowned proposal consultant. Find
out more. You might also want to read the MCNews
interview with Sant on creating winning proposals.
4. What
Matters Most: How a Small Group of Pioneers Is Teaching
Social Responsibility to Big Business and Why Big Business
Is Listening, by Jeffrey Hollender and Stephen
Fenichell
The corporate scandals of recent years have underscored
the growing emphasis on responsibility and accountability,
and even the world's largest businesses are starting
to pay attention to this issue. This book asks some
tough questions: When do core values conflict with goals
and commitments? Does being a responsible business really
cost shareholders more money? And, how can reputation
become a corporate pressure point? The answers are provided
in seven approaches to social responsibility.
Jeffrey Hollender is CEO of the product company, Seventh
Generation, and the author of How to Make the
World a Better Place. Stephen Fenichell is a
professional business writer whose books include Passport
for Profit, A New Brand World and Plastic:
The Making of a Synthetic Century. Find
out more
5. The
Seven-Day Weekend: Changing the Way Work Works,
by Ricardo Semler
Available May 2004
Semler explains why he thinks companies ought to put
employee freedom and satisfaction ahead of corporate
goals. The book is based on the successful management
practices in Semler's own company, Semco, where employees
set their own hours, there are no assigned offices,
no job titles, no business plans and the CEO lets other
people make nearly all the decisions.
You can judge for yourself how practical this style
of management would be for most companies. Semler is
CEO of the Brazil-based company, Semco. He is known
around the world for championing his employee-friendly
management style. His first book, Maverick,
was an international bestseller.
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Man
Bites Dog
Between the city of San Francisco and
the peaks of the High Sierras lies the city of Lodi,
California. Lodi has great weather, a burgeoning wine
industry and many options for outdoor enthusiasts.
It also has a problem with its consultants.
Three consulting firms were engaged to perform investigative,
engineering and consulting work on the city's sewers
related to ongoing contamination litigation. The work
was apparently arranged by the (now former) City Attorney
and was being paid for through the city's insurance.
But earlier this year, the city stopped paying the
consultants, leaving them with a handful of worthless
invoices. City officials point out that, without the
City Council's approval, no city employee may enter
into a contract on the city's behalf, and they cite
lack of proper contracts as the reason for their refusal
to pay.
One firm reportedly claims the city owes $900,000 in
unpaid services. Another firm is said to be laying off
consultants as a result of the unpaid invoices.
Each firm has filed a claim against the city, which
is the first step toward an eventual lawsuit, which
will likely be a costly, nasty affair that sours the
relationships between the consultants and the client
for a long time. Consultants suing clients is not unheard
of, but is something of a turnabout these days.
It's a rare occasion when there aren't two sides to
every story, and it will likely take quite a while to
unravel this one. But there are clear lessons here for
all consultants. Find out who in the client's organization
has the authority to sign contracts and approve expenditures.
And, no contract = no work--no exceptions.
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A Bright Spot: Product
Life Cycle Management
As businesses look to get products to
market more quickly with less expense and higher quality,
they're turning to Product Life Cycle Management (PLM)
tools to help. According to AMR Research, up to 75%
of a product's life cycle cost is determined during
the design phase. With the proper tools and processes,
improvements of up to 80% or more are possible for activities
such as time to market and the cost of new products.
To make PLM software purchases even more attractive,
some vendors are offering guaranteed improvements along
with their products.
The PLM opportunity is clear for the vendors providing
the tools, but success with PLM will depend on how organizations
redesign the product development and introduction process,
not how well the tools work.
Traditionally, high walls exist between
those involved in the product development process, so
the consultant with strong knowledge of product development
and the ability to build collaborative teams will be
in great demand as clients retool antiquated and expensive
product development processes.
You can find out more about PLM products at the web
sites for Agile and
PTC.
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This
Month in History
On April 1, 1929, inventor Louie Marx introduced
the yo-yo in New York. You could really get into this
at the 2004
World Yo-Yo Competition August 6-8 in Orlando, Florida,
where there will be eight different levels of competition.
On April 3, 1973, the first portable phone call
was placed by inventor Martin Cooper. The phone he used
was ten inches in height and weighed thirty ounces.
On April 24, 1886, petroleum was discovered in
the Middle East. The first well to come in was on the
Egyptian shore of the Red Sea.
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Coming
Attractions
In May 2004, MCNews talks to Harry Mills about his
new book The
Rainmaker's Toolkit: Power Strategies for Finding, Keeping
and Growing Profitable Clients. Mills is
CEO of the Mills Group, an international consulting
firm, and the author of twenty-three books on negotiation,
sales and influence. MCNews will ask Mills about the
most effective ways for consultants and other professional
service providers to generate and sustain profits and
growth in the face of stiff competition and tough economic
conditions.
Look for the interview with Mills in the next edition
of MCNews on May 4, 2004.
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The
End Page
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning
of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
- Winston
Churchill
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Management Consulting News ISSN 1539-2481,
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