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| Welcome |
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This
issue marks the beginning of our fifth year publishing
Management Consulting News,
and we’re working to bring you more ideas and
strategies to help build your business.
We
are featuring an intriguing interview with Peter Navarro,
who believes consultants and executives are missing
out on the chance to get a leg up on the competition
because they fail to manage the impact of the business
cycle on business performance.
Starting
this month, Alan Weiss, a thought leader in the consulting
industry, launches a monthly column for us called “The
Writing on the Wall.” Don’t miss Alan’s
musings on everything consulting.
You’ll
also find articles on how to get powerful testimonials,
turn client conflict into opportunity, avoid the most
common consulting project screw ups, and more.
Enjoy
the issue. And send me an email
if you have comments.
Mike
McLaughlin
Editor, Management Consulting News
___________________ SPONSORED LINK ___________________
Only
three times a year, Alan Weiss presents this unique
career development opportunity for a select handful
of people. Click
here for photos, testimonials, agenda, qualifications,
and registration.
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| Interview:
Peter Navarro |
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Given the impact of the business cycle on corporate
performance, this month’s guest, Peter Navarro,
wonders why so little has been done to help executives
forecast the business cycle and manage through it. Navarro
is the author of The
Well-Timed Strategy: Managing the Business Cycle for
Competitive Advantage.
In
our interview, Navarro points out the three corporate
capabilities he believes are essential for executives
to understand the world around them and use that knowledge
effectively. Navarro’s advice isn’t theoretical.
He gives examples of businesses he believes have mastered
the business cycle.
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| The
Writing on the Wall, by Alan Weiss |
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 Recipe
for Success
Can
you imagine a chef inviting you into a restaurant but
cautioning, “I’m not that good, and there
are far better kitchens, and if you’d like to
make any suggestion about food preparation, I’m
happy to adjust my approach”?
The
great restaurants, which are difficult to get into,
make it known that they have the best food anywhere,
the chef is a star, and even frown upon any substitutions
requested by diners. You tend to trust these kitchens,
at least the first time around, because you’re
hoping they know more than you do and possess unique
talents. No one attempts to bargain about the bill.
Why
is it, then, that consultants are so inclined to lose
eye contact, lose confidence, and lose the high ground
when they approach (or are approached by) prospects?
Read
the complete article by Alan Weiss
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| Why
IT Outsourcing Fails |
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As
executives continue to explore the options for outsourcing
their IT operations, they should consider a cautionary
tale from a recent PA
Consulting Group survey of more than 300 executives,
IT outsourcing suppliers, and legal advisers.
The
global survey results suggest there’s plenty of
room for improvement in making IT outsourcing programs
work. PA analysts concluded that many outsourcing clients
are missing the boat when estimating the costs of IT
outsourcing.
Clients
do a good job estimating the costs of operating IT in
an outsourced environment, but they underestimate the
costs of managing the change to the new environment
and the costs of managing the legacy IT organization.
Almost half of the survey respondents didn’t include
those costs in their business cases.
The
survey results also point to a mismatch between client
and outsourcer expectations. Two-thirds of outsourcing
clients, for example, want access to the IT skills of
their outsourcing service providers, while less than
15 percent of outsourcing firms believe that’s
what clients want. The result: Clients believe their
outsourcers are meeting the strict terms of service
contracts, but falling short of meeting the broader
IT needs of the business.
Outsourcers
point the finger of blame at their clients. Only 21
percent of outsourcers believe their clients clearly
articulated their outsourcing objectives. Unfortunately,
there’s more than enough blame to go around.
Instead
of playing the blame game, outsourcers should put the
brakes on the sales engine and help clients create a
true picture of the costs of an outsourcing decision.
And clients should sharpen the pencil on their costs,
objectives, and measurements of success. Maybe a little
more preliminary work before the sale will result in
more successful ventures for everyone involved.
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| Get
Trust-Building Testimonials for Your Firm |
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 “It’s
hard to deny: today’s buyers are a distrustful
bunch.”
Consultant
and author Jay Lipe knows how to use the power of testimonials
to help bridge the trust gap with clients. In his article
“Get Trust-Building Testimonials for Your
Consulting Firm,” Lipe gives consultants
a step-by-step approach for getting head-turning testimonials.
Read
Jay Lipe's article
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| Fighting
Click Fraud |
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In
the past few years pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has
taken the marketing world by storm. Advertisers bid
for prized keywords, hoping that their ads will appear
in prominent positions when potential customers use
those keywords in their Internet searches.
One
nagging concern of PPC advertising is click fraud, which
occurs when there is a click on your paid link or affiliate
link without any intention of purchasing or registering.
These fraudulent clicks are created in one of two ways:
either a human is physically clicking on your search
terms or a robot or script is written to simulate the
actions of a human visit.
Some
advertising industry executives believe that 20 percent
to 35 percent of all clicks on a PPC ad are fraudulent,
which boosts the effective cost of PPC advertising.
Click
Forensics, Inc., an independent reporting service,
has published the first Click Fraud Index, which measures
the fraud experienced by more than 400 PPC advertisers.
The overall rate of PPC fraud is lower than believed,
averaging about 14 percent. The top advertising sites,
like Google and Yahoo, experience fraud rates in the
12-13 percent range, while second tier advertising sites
can experience fraud rates as high as 29 percent.
If
you or your clients are using PPC, you should take into
account that the real costs of PPC advertising may be
higher than you think. Advertisers can apply for free
membership in the Click
Fraud Network and track their own PPC campaigns.
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| Coming
Attractions |
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“…the
litmus test for all of us is—do I generate more
energy when I walk into a room or when I walk out of
it?” – Steve Farber
Steve
Farber’s first book, The
Radical Leap, introduced readers to
the concept of extreme leadership. His work won him
Fast Company magazine's Readers'
Choice Award. Farber has extended his work and published
The
Radical Edge, an inspiring tale that
shows us what leadership is all about.
Next
month we’ll ask Farber how consultants can best
use their own leadership skills in a client environment.
Look
for the next issue of Management Consulting
News on June 6, 2006.
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Why
don’t consulting firms pay more attention
to managing the business cycle? Not only is this
an essential element of strategy, it also presents
consulting firms with one of the most lucrative
opportunities on the cutting edge of strategic
management.