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| Closure |
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Clo-sure: a bringing to an end; conclusion
As a project winds down, consultants and clients make that final push to wrap up every detail and stay on schedule. It's common, though, particularly on longer projects, for that last burst of activity to fall short, and so the scheduled end date slips.
In spite of superb planning, some projects will take longer than expected. But you want to avoid a sloppy ending--at all costs. The best, first step to a crisp project ending is to talk to the client about closure from the outset. And then repeat at regular intervals.
You can take simple steps to create a mindset of closure, like scheduling the wrap-up meeting at the beginning of the project, keeping the project end date front and center with the client, setting the stage for how the client will move forward once you are gone, and pushing back on requests to revise the schedule.
Consultants often tolerate delays at the end of projects for the sake of client goodwill and future business development. The attitude is laudable, but this type of flexibility can sap your profitability and convey a message that you don't know how to close out an assignment.
Clients place high value on consultants' skill in facilitating tough decisions. When tough calls linger, don't be surprised to observe tension in the client relationship. Even minor undecided issues can cause delays, so make sure they don't creep up on you at the end.
It's hard work to keep a project on track. Recognize that many schedule delays are subtle expressions of resistance to change. Once you become complicit in that resistance, you're part of the problem, not the solution.
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 low-cost strategies to market your practice, serve clients, and maintain your sanity.
Also note: You can download four free chapters from the new book, It Sure Beats Working: 29 Quirky Stories and Practical Business Lessons for the First-Time, Mid-Life, Solo Professional, by Michael J. Katz.
For details, visit his site: www.ItSureBeatsWorking.com.
Mike
McLaughlin
Editor
Management Consulting News is a publication of MindShare
Consulting.
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| MCNews 12 Index of Professional Services |
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For the second month this year, the MCNews 12 Index failed to pull into positive territory. But even with the -2% YTD return on the index, the news isn't all bad. For the past few months, BearingPoint, Wipro, and Infosys stocks have been hammered, pulling the index down.
Concerns over rising wages in India, the impact of the credit market debacle, and foreign exchange rates have hurt Wipro and Infosys. BearingPoint's stock continues to struggle as it has for most of the year. EDS offered early retirement to 12,000 workers last month, but that did little to buoy its near-term share price.
Hewitt, IBM, and Accenture continued their strong YTD performance, which underscores the strength in the services industry. Third quarter earnings reports are coming in now and some analysts suggest that profitability of some outsourcing firms could exceed expectations.
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MCNews 12 Index |
YTD
Change |
S+P 500
YTD Change |
| September |
979 |
-2.13% |
7.28% |
| August |
988 |
-1.19% |
4.02% |
| July |
1101 |
10.15% |
8.39% |
| Jan to June |
1059 |
5.94% |
4.97% |
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 
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| Interview:
James Kouzes |
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  Leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.
If you only have time to read one book on leadership, make it The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. With 1.5 million copies sold, it's the last book on leadership you'll need.
As the fourth edition of the book was released, we asked James Kouzes about his latest research on leadership, and how consultants can use that information to lead client teams and projects more effectively.
Read
our interview with James Kouzes
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| The
Writing on the Wall, by Alan Weiss |
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 Michelangelo Was a Businessman
Michelangelo Buonarroti was one of the great artists of recorded history. One of his greatest problems was not with tint, or raw materials, or difficult settings, or criticism, though these were all difficulties of one degree or another.
His greatest problem was securing business. He was not wealthy, could not create art for art's sake, and had to pay his helpers and landlord. He needed business--patrons--in order to survive. He managed to attract them and mostly please them, though with customers such as Popes Julius II and Leo X, you didn't need enemies or critics.
Read
the article
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| How to Grow and Sell a Consulting Firm--Part 2 |
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by Paul Collins
 In Part 1 of this series, we looked briefly at the mergers and acquisitions market for consulting firms and highlighted typical deal values. We also introduced the topic of how you actually value a people business with few, if any, fixed assets.
Now, using a model we call the 'Eight Levers of Equity Value,' we're going to look in more detail at the factors that create equity in a consulting firm.
Read
the article
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| Top Ten Management Consulting News Articles |
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The Management Consulting News archive now contains more than 250 interviews and articles written for and by consultants. If you're interested in what people read most often on our site, here are the ten most requested items from the archive so far in 2007, in descending order of popularity:
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| Coming
Attractions |
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"The old saying is wrong--winners do quit, and quitters do win."
Seth Godin is a bestselling author on topics such as marketing, the spread of ideas, and managing both customers and employees with respect. When he isn't working on books, or speaking to audiences, he writes the most popular marketing blog in the world.
Godin invented many of the terms and concepts underlying modern marketing, including "Permission Marketing," "IdeaViruses," and "Sneezers."
His latest book, The Dip, is his fastest-selling to date. It's about knowing when to quit and when to stick it out. Most importantly, the book is about being the best. We'll ask Godin why 'the dip' is not always a bad place to be.
The next issue of Management Consulting News will be published November 6, 2007.
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