|
| Clarity |
 |
"The client didn't implement the team's recommendations," complained one consultant.
It's always more interesting for you, and valuable for the client, if the client acts on your recommendations. After all, consultants are hired to get things done. But many of us have worked with clients who failed to implement the improvement programs they paid for.
Often, this failure to launch is attributed to poor timing, lack of budget, or shifting client priorities. But it's also likely that a lack of clarity as to how the client should proceed is the culprit.
For any project, the first few steps are usually the hardest. Bringing clarity to those first halting steps can be the consultant's most important contribution to the client's success.
As you create recommendations for clients, think about the challenge of transitioning from analysis to the implementation phase. For each recommendation, be clear with the client about its purpose, outcome, implication, risks, and remedies. Be explicit about the precise steps the client can take to convert recommendations into reality.
It's easy to blame a client for a lack of will when a consultant's recommendations are shuffled to the bottom of the to-do list. But maybe the consultant is equally to blame. Nothing clears the hurdles of money, priorities, and politics better than complete and clear direction on how the client should proceed. The real question is how many consultants are willing to take the time to light up the implementation path for their clients?
We're shining some light on your path this month with articles covering subjects such as mastering presentations, proposal writing, marketing a book, managing the consulting sales process, and more.
Enjoy this month's issue.
And send me an email if you have comments.
P.S. Don't miss the next session in our Path to Profit webcast series. This month's program, The Art of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants, focuses on specific strategies to help you land more clients, serve the clients you have, and maintain your sanity.
Mike
McLaughlin
Editor
Management Consulting News is a publication of MindShare
Consulting.
|
| MCNews 12 Index of Professional Services |
 |
Even as the US stock market gave back some of its earlier gains, the consulting industry roared ahead. Six of the firms in the MCNews 12 Index realized double-digit growth in their stock prices for the first half of 2007.
On the downside, BearingPoint's stock price has continued its slide and outsourcers Wipro and Infosys are struggling with below average stock price performance.
In spite of the lagging stock price performance of some firms, the industry has raced ahead of the overall market performance.
|
MCNews 12 Index |
YTD
Change |
S+P 500
YTD Change |
| June |
1059 |
5.94% |
4.97% |
| May |
1042 |
4.2% |
7.24% |
| April |
1039 |
3.9% |
4.09% |
| Jan to March |
1016 |
1.6% |
.98 |
The MCNews 12 Index reflects general investor sentiment about the state of the global professional services industry.
The twelve publicly-traded companies included in the MCNews 12 Index account for roughly $80 billion in combined annual revenue, and serve clients around the world.
Learn More about the MCNews 12 Index 
|
| Interview:
Jerry Weissman |
 |
  In preparing any presentation, you need to think about what the audience knows, doesn’t know, needs to know, feels, thinks, and believes about your subject.
When the founders of Yahoo, Intuit, eBay, and Netflix need a presentation coach, they turn to Jerry Weissman for help. He is the founder of Power Presentations Ltd and the author of Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story and In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions…When It Counts
We asked Weissman for his advice on how to get an audience's attention, and hold it.
Read
our interview with Jerry Weisssman
|
| The
Writing on the Wall, by Alan Weiss |
 |
 Why "Off the Shelf" is Off the Wall
There is tremendous value in providing intellectual capital that is uniquely yours to a client. That capital may be in the form of ideas, models, processes, new combinations, or customized approaches.
Providing "off-the-shelf" material is never very valuable and places you in the commodity category. Why would consultants do this?
Because many don't have much creativity or intellectual capital.
Read
the article
|
| Passing the "Tell Me More" Test |
|
 by Jill Konrath
Establishing a business relationship with a new prospect is a lot like walking on a balance beam. Every single move you make has consequences.
When you execute flawlessly, you're in a perfect position for your next move. However, any misstep on your part sends you into recovery mode. Sometimes you're able to bounce back, but other times you fall off and are out of the competition.
To make it even more challenging, stone-faced judges ruthlessly evaluate how well you perform each move and its level of difficulty.
Sounds an awful lot like sales to me.
Read
the article
|
| Top Ten Business Hotels |
|
If you've ever tried to find that perfect business hotel, here's some advice from the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine.
The latest survey of business hotels considered features such as Wi-Fi, concierge services, restaurants, and other amenities to identify the best of the best hotels for business travelers.
Top 10 Business Hotels Overall
The Peninsula, Bangkok
The Peninsula, Chicago
Ritz-Carlton, Santiago, Chile
St. Regis Hotel, Beijing
Four Seasons Hotel, Canary Wharf, London
The Imperial, New Delhi
Alvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires
Park Tower, Buenos Aires
Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
The Lancaster, Houston
|
| Coming
Attractions |
|
 "All leaders and all companies talk about the importance of communication. So why do so many companies struggle to do it well? If you have any doubt, just ask your employees."
Next month, our guest will be Bob Prosen, author of the award-winning book, Kiss Theory Good Bye: Five Proven Ways to Get Extraordinary Results in Any Company. Prosen outlines five essential principles that drive profitability and success in any business.
His get-it-done approach to harnessing the power of an organization fueled Prosen's own success at a variety of large and mid-sized businesses.
Now, Prosen is a consultant, educator, and speaker working with leaders of organizations in business, government, and not-for-profit arenas.
Join us as we ask Prosen how consultants can apply his tried and true tactics to influence change in client organizations. We'll also be sure to learn if we can keep just a little of our management theory.
The next issue of Management Consulting News will be out on August 7, 2007.
|
