Kennedy Corner
»Kennedy Corner: Roles and Responsibilities
I’m a college hoops fan. During the hysteria, I connected with several colleagues to discuss the games; some of these friends are client-facing consultants, others serve supporting roles inside their firms. We talked quite a bit about different players’ abilities, and how certain players can thrive under one coach’s system, but probably would only see the end of the bench in another program.
»Kennedy Corner: Keep Your Friends Close
Because of the power advisors wield, clients often feel beholden to their consultants. As a result, consultants have what I call a Don Corleone relationship with their clients: “Someday,” says the Godfather/Consultant, “and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.”
»Kennedy Corner: Do Your Roots Determine Your Future?
This time of year, I’m planning my annual pilgrimage to a handful of business schools. It’s part of my give-back in terms of helping educate future practitioners. The forums are extremely satisfying—I provide insights on an industry that will employ more than a third of those graduates; and the students ask questions that more seasoned professionals would never deign to consider.
»Kennedy Corner: House of Lies—What’s in a Name?
Many of you have probably watched the new Showtime series, “House of Lies.” The black comedy’s portrayal of management consultants makes me blush. At least the guys and gals in AMC’s 1960s-era Mad Men look cool sipping martinis and smoking unfiltered Lucky Strikes. The “Lies” cast can’t pull off the same with their money-grubbing soullessness, and brilliant-but-vacuous characterizations of blood-sucking consultants.
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Interviews
»One on One with Strong-Bridge’s Ken Simpson
Based in Seattle, Strong-Bridge Consulting has a hand in some pretty hot-moving industries: from Telecommunication to Consumer Electronics to Healthcare and Financial Services. As key players in the industries shake off the last remnants of the Great Recession hangover, Strong-Bridge has found clients are once again kicking it into high gear, pushing products and services into the rebounding marketplace. Consulting One on One sat down to discuss it all with co-founder and CEO Ken Simpson.
»One on One with L.E.K. Consulting’s Stuart Jackson
Stuart Jackson, recently named President of North America for L.E.K. Consulting, has been with the firm for 25 years, and watched it grow from a young yet capable firm brimming with confidence to a proven entity with seven offices around the world. L.E.K. is focused on helping clients find something that has eluded even successful companies: growth.
»One on One with Aspen Advisors’ Dan Herman
When Dan Herman founded IT/Healthcare consulting firm Aspen Advisors in 2006, he set out to create a firm that would help executives make difficult decisions and manage large-scale technology-enabled projects, particularly on the clinical side, where Aspen strives to help healthcare providers reduce costs and improve patient care.
»One on One with Peppers & Rogers Group’s Orkun Oguz
How well companies adapt to the changing social landscape and harness the power of social media could mean the difference between making a meaningful and lasting connection with clients, and being passed over for a company that actually listens. Peppers & Rogers Group, which has long been a thought leader on the importance of treating customers as individuals, launched the Mobile App Index, which aims to help companies ensure their social media interactions with customers are a conversation, not a one way street.
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Cmag.com Exclusives
»All I Needed to Know About Business Consulting I Learned in Kindergarten
While mission statements are common place in business consulting, it is sometimes difficult to see how they are exhibited and practiced. There appears to be a disconnect between values and business consulting practices. Using Robert Fulghum’s work (All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten) as a framework, James M. Schear set out to label, frame, and provide illustrations for how to engage in business consulting using values.
»Q&A: Maintaining a Competitive Edge in a Global Community with Services Resource Planning
The following is a Q&A between Ed Marshall, General Manager of Services Vertical, NetSuite, and Brian Becker, McGladrey National Leader, Technology Consulting, highlighting best practices the McGladrey team has identified in working with modern consulting and professional services firms.
»Your Project Planning Processes May Be Causing You Unneeded Stress
If you are an executive in a professional services organization, then a few minutes spent on this article may reduce your daily stress by 15 percent. I am sure you will agree that projects that go bad (and cause you immense stress) do so because they were not planned very well to begin with. Planning a professional services project is the most important and challenging part of the engagement life cycle.
»Pause and Rethink; Pivot your Startup
While launching a venture, majority of the times the things do not go as expected. When the going gets tough, work on course correction or what is called “Pivoting” in the world of start-ups.
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2011
»The 2011 Best Small Firms to Work For: 5) Infinitive
Infinitive has been a Best Small Firms to Work For stalwart—appearing on the list every year since Consulting starting ranking small firms in 2008.
It’s often hard to quantify what specifically builds a strong firm culture, but consider this example from Denis McFarlane, CEO of Infinitive: In the last company-wide meeting in 2010, employees voted on company initiatives that had been submitted to firm leadership, which committed to implementing the two that received the most votes.
The first initiative, a wellness program, is well underway and is being managed by a committee of employees, McFarlane says. Meanwhile, the second, a structured training program, is in the planning phase.
“ ‘Infinitivians’ ” as McFarlane calls employees “are telling us that including them in both the selection and development of new programs fosters buy-in and furthers team morale,” he says. “Our culture makes Infinitive unique and is introduced from the first recruitment call and is reinforced on a daily basis. We have a continued focus on our people.”
That focus on people extends to their enrichment and professional development as the firm expands its breadth and scope with three additional companies: Infinitive Analytics, which is focused on web analysis; Infinitive Federal, which supports the federal government; and Infinitive Insight, which provides risk management services. The firm is also building out CRM and Digital Media capabilities, thus providing new learning and growth opportunities.
McFarlane says it all boils down to three things he tells his employees to focus on every day—Kicking Butt for the Client, Helping Fellow Infinitivians, and Having Fun. “It’s important to enjoy what you do,” he says. “If someone’s not having fun kicking butt for the client and helping fellow Infinitivians, than something’s not right.”
—J.K.
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