Professor Michael Eisenbud
Management Consulting Project
C40.0252 - Spring 2004 Class Schedule
M/W 11:00A-12:15P
(OLD SYLLABUS)
The Advice Business, Fombrun, Nevins (AB), Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004
Course Pack Readings (CP)
Case Studies
Knowledge and the ability to keep pace with it are critical components of a winning strategy. Consulting firms provide an important means of accessing, assimilating and processing such data and converting it into valuable know-how. Increasingly, clients rely on consultants to improve their position in a world where disruptive technologies, product innovation, consolidations and global interdependencies have become the norm.
But even if a consulting career may not seem right for you, you can be certain that you will be called open to participate in or lead a variety of “special projects” during the course of your career. These projects are often used to provide management with a glimpse of the top talent the organization is developing. As a result, your performance in these high visibility roles can be critical for your professional advancement. The skills required for such projects are no different than those required by professional consultants. Perhaps the only difference is that you will need to live with the results you produce.
This course should provide you with a unique window on organizational and business reality; it’s a practicum in every sense. You will be part of a firm called STERN Management Consultants (SMC) and our class sessions will be run like the business meetings you might expect to participate in. It will require you to be adaptive, flexible and yet focused on achieving the results you will be asked to deliver. Ambiguity and the quality of your thought process when subjected to this uncomfortable but seemingly normal reality will be critical. Answers will rarely be black and white. Gray, in its many subtle shades, may become one of your favorite or least favorite colors!
As in the real world, there are no “mid-term or final exams.” Your performance will be evaluated daily based on your contributions to SMC, client feedback and your ability to demonstrate the operational values we strive to achieve- Client Satisfaction through Innovation, Teamwork & Professionalism
An overview of the course follows the syllabus
# / Date / Topics / Senior Consultant Deliverables1 / 1/21 / Introductions - Expectations - Focus
Client Project Teams
Case Assignment Details
“The Closet Consultant”(Handout) / AB-Chapter 3, 4, 7
2 / 1/26 / Client Needs Vs. Client Preparedness
The Consultant’s Role
Traits of a Successful Consultant / AB-Chapter 23, 25
3 / 1/28 /
Building Client Partnerships
Role Play for Client Discussions
/ AB-Chapter 19CP 9- Tactics and Ethics of Persuasion
4 / 2/2 / The Power of Market Reality
“7-Factor Model” (Handout)
Detecting Potential Disruptions / CP 1- The Great Disruption
5 / 2/4 / Guest Speaker: Ron Ashkenas - Robert H Schaffer & Associates / CP 3- Why Good Projects Fail Anyway
CP 4- High Impact Consulting
CP 5- Leading Change
6 / 2/9 / Hattori-Seiko Case Discussion / Case 1- Hattori-Seiko and the World Watch Industry
CP2- Corporate Transformation Without a Crisis
7 / 2/11 / Motivating Client Change, “Twelve O’clock High” (Video) / AB- Chapter 12, 13, 17
CP 6- Creating Earthquakes
Due: INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT #1 - Kellogg -Champion Case (A&B)
8 / 2/16 /
President’s Day: Holiday
9 / 2/18 / ProposalsHandling Client Meetings / AB- Chapter 9, 10
CP 7- Behavior of Successful Negotiators
CP 8- Why Negotiations Go Wrong
10 / 2/23 / Project Management
Mapping the Project Environment- RACI
Data & Diagnosis
Kellogg Champion Case Discussion
/ AB-Chapter 1111 / 2/25 / Team Project Update Reports- Progress, Issues, Lesson’s Learned / AB-Chapter 9
Individual Team Reports
12 / 3/1 /
Club Med Case Discussion
Associates Panel- (Guests from McKinsey, Accenture, Cap-Gemini) 12-1PM
/ Case 3- Club Med (A)13 / 3/3 /
The Consultant’s Toolkit
/ AB- Chapters 6Submit Status Project Report on Client Engagement
14 / 3/8 / The Consultant’s Toolkit / AB- Chapters 6
15 / 3/10 / Deloitte & Touch Case discussion / Case 4- Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group
16 / 3/15 /
Spring Recess
17 / 3/17 / Spring Recess18 / 3/22 / Assessing Talent- How will you know it when you see it? / CP 11- Topgrading
19 / 3/24 / Assessing Talent- (Continued) / CP 10- Good to Great
20 / 3/29 / Balance Score Card, Competencies, Alliances
Establish Global Teams & Assignments
21 / 3/31 / Presentations for Maximum Impact
Global Business Practices- International Consulting (Handouts)
/ AB-Chapter 8, 1422 / 4/5 / Procure. Com Case Discussion / Case 6- Procure.Com
23 / 4/7 /
Guest Speaker: Joseph Schling The Hartford
/ Due: INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT #2Case 5, Martha McCaskey
24 / 4/12 / A Framework for Career Management (Handouts)
Consultant’s Panel- (Guests from McKinsey, Accenture, Cap-Gemini) 12:30-1:30PM
25 / 4/14 / Project Presentations- 1 DOC / Submit Hard & Electronic Copy of Project Report
26 / 4/19 / Project Presentations- 2 Con Ed / Submit Hard & Electronic Copy of Project Report
27 / 4/21 / Project Presentations- 3 Housing / Submit Hard & Electronic Copy of Project Report
28 / 4/26 /
Guest Speaker: Mark Nevins, Nevins Consulting, Co-Author, The Advice Business
Ethics, Martha McCaskey Discussion
/ AB Chapter 2429 / 4/28 / Project Presentations- 4 Audubon / AB Chapter 1, 2, 5
30 / 5/3 /
Guest Speaker- Kenneth Nowack, VP & NY Area Leader Cap-Gemini E&Y
Managing a Consulting Firm-Industry Trends
Team feedback on individual performanceSMC-Stern Management Consultants
Client Satisfaction through Innovation, Teamwork & Professionalism
(OLD COURSE OVERVIEW)
Professor Michael Eisenbud
C40.0252.01 - Spring 2004
Monday &Wednesday 11:00A-12:15P
Rm. T-L59
Management ConsultingProject
Contact Information:
Professor Michael Eisenbud
Home Office: (203) 321-8453
(Please use this email, not the Stern address)
Stern Office Hours: Mon & Wed 12:30-1:30 or by appointment
Office: KMC-9181A
Introduction:
Knowledge and the ability to keep pace with it are critical components of a winning strategy. Consulting firms provide an important means of accessing, assimilating and processing such data and converting it into valuable know-how. Increasingly, clients rely on consultants to improve their position in a world where disruptive technologies, product innovation, consolidations and global interdependencies have become the norm.
The consulting industry provides wide-ranging advice to managers at all levels and across most functions: general management, strategic planning, information systems, marketing, organization, finance, human resources and any number of functional specialties from ice cream to artichokes. Although most consultants work as independent entrepreneurs, a growing number of the most prominent corporate advisors work in either large consulting firms or in staff roles in a public corporation outside the consulting industry.
But even if a consulting career may not seem right for you, you can be certain that you will be called open to participate in or lead a variety of “special projects” during the course of your career. These projects are often used to provide management with a glimpse of the top talent the organization is developing. As a result, your performance in these high visibility roles can be critical for your professional advancement. The skills required for such projects are no different than those required by professional consultants. Perhaps the only difference is that you will need to live with the results you produce.
Since most consulting firms are different in terms of how they choose to operate, there is no cookie cutter approach to be prescribed. Most firms invest heavily in training so their representatives adhere to a consistent model when it comes to marketing, proposals, presentations and demonstrated values. In keeping with this reality, our focus will be on learning that is generally transferable to a variety of situation no matter what the setting. Understanding client needs, using critical thinking and analytical approaches to problem solving are examples of the types of learning we will focus on.
The purpose of Management Consulting Project is to introduce you to the art, practice, and problems confronted by consultants. The course draws on a wide selection of readings, cases, team projects, and speakers to shed light on the complex roles that consultants and consulting firms play in enhancing the effectiveness of their clients.
In addition, there will be a panel of entry level Analysts and a panel of Consultants who are currently working at consulting firms (McKinsey, GG-EY, Accenture, Protiviti). These panels will join us following class on 3/1 and 4/7 to discuss realities of the consulting industry. Students from Professor Langer’s section of this course will also attend these sessions. Everyone is expected to attend.
Our Firm:
Roles-We are all members of Stern Management Consulting (SMC). I am the firm’s Managing Director (MD); you are each Senior Consultants.
Structure- The firm is organized into engagement teams, each of which consists of 3-4 Senior Consultants. Teams work independently, but the firm comes together twice weekly to discuss various topics, including engagements.
Values- Two primary values drive everything we do at SMC and are the backbone of our success:
1. Client Satisfaction (Internal and External)- By assuring effective communications, sound working relationships, thorough preparation, analysis, insight and delivery of quality services on a timely basis.
2. Collaboration & Teamwork-Sharing your point of view (POV) and respecting the contributions of others is important to our firm. Your ability to work effectively as engagement teams will be a key to delivering customer satisfaction. In keeping with these values, Senior Consultants are expected to attend our twice-weekly firm meetings fully prepared. Meaningful discussion is impossible only if everyone is ready and focused on the topic of discussion.
Individual and Team Coaching-The MD believes in the importance of coaching and the development of SMC’s staff. He is available to each engagement team as requested. It will be up to your team to arrange such meetings. The meetings will require an agenda and an advanced look at the meeting material by the MD. This material must be submitted electronically to the MD at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled meeting.
In a consulting firm, no client material would be presented to the client without internal review. It is suggested that each team arrange to review their proposals, work plans and project reports with the MD before they are submitted to your client.
Your MD will be available to any Senior Consultant who might want to discuss individual, personal career or other issues. If published office hours are not appropriate, other times can generally be arranged.
The MD’s POV:
This course should provide you with a unique window on organizational and business reality; it’s a practicum in every sense. It will require you to be adaptive, flexible and yet focused on achieving the results you will be asked to deliver. Ambiguity and the quality of your thought process when subjected to this uncomfortable but seemingly normal reality will be critical. Answers will rarely be black and white. Gray, in its many subtle shades, may become one of your favorite or least favorite colors!
Because of this, I do not intend to have a mid-term or final exam. Your performance will be evaluated, as detailed below, by your contribution to your SMC associates and clients (internal and external) as well as the firm’s values you effectively demonstrate.
Performance in this type of environment is less dependent on “right and wrong” than on your skill at understanding your client’s standards and expectations. Those expectations are usually the result of what your client has received from others under similar circumstances. You may not like those standards, but they are your client’s reality. You are providing a “high cost” service. As such, your clients (your MD, SMC associates and client project leader) will be the arbiters of the value of what you deliver.
Performance Criteria:
Consistent with stated SMC Values, Senior Consultant performance evaluations will be based on four factors:
(1)Client Satisfaction, Collaboration& Teamwork- Consistent with SMC Values, application of these firm values will be a critical component of performance assessments.
Consulting firms operate best when there is an open, collaborative environment in which people feel comfortable to share their thoughts and insights. There are rarely dumb questions or ideas . . . although there are occasional exceptions! Our team needs to learn from each other with one thought inevitably leads to another. The end result is a better product for the client and collaborative learning.
Both personality and culture influence the ease with which you approach this issue. In any event, it is a critical factor when it comes to determining the effectiveness of a consultant in any business environment. Demonstratingpersonal growth in this area can be as important as providing ongoing, quality contributions throughout.
Support of these values will be measured by client feedback, preparedness and participation in our twice-weekly firm meetings.
(2)Client Engagements- Each engagement team takes on a semester-long client project. Projects will be assigned and staffed soon after the semester begins. The team is fully responsible for all phases of the project including: planning, proposal preparation, analysis, execution and closure.
The client, on the basis of the following criteria, will evaluate project results:
- Did the engagement team deliver what was asked for?
- Did their results provide real value through analysis, insight and creativity?
- What action will be taken as a result of this work?
- What are the 2-3 factors that contributed most to the success of the engagement team? What 2-3 factors served as roadblocks to their effectiveness as an engagement team?
- Would you hire this team again and recommend them to others?
The Managing Director will assess each client engagement team on the basis of:
- Team planning and effectiveness; i.e., engagement plan, resource utilization, integration and delivery
- Client satisfaction based on the above feedback
The projects we will have to staff and perform include:
- Con Edison- An analysis and recommendation re: their Custom Call Center
- NYC Dept. of Corrections- Efficiency recommendations for inmate information calls
- NYU Housing- Assessment and recommendations re: the Water Street facility
- Audubon Society- Creating a vision for the future and how to get there (tentative)
Brief project summaries and client contact information will be available at the start of the semester.
(3)On-Stage Presentation- Each client engagement team is expected to lead an “on-stage debriefing presentation” as part of your assignment. One presentation will be made to your client and whomever else they choose to invite. The second presentation will be made to your SMC associates.
The objective of your presentation to your client is to communicate the results of your engagement. The length and scope of this presentation needs to be determined by your team and your client.
The objective of your SMC presentation is to constructively teach your consulting associates by conveying your team’s approach, insights and recommendations. This will be your very own “case study” from which they can learn.
Each team will have a total of 60 minutes for their SMC presentation (45 minutes for the presentation plus 15 minutes for Q&A.
Each engagement team presentation at SMC needs to address:
- Client overview
- Project statement as it was presented
- Your work plan; i.e., How you planned to attack the engagement
- As you got into the engagement, what you learned about:
- Your client and their requirements
- The project scope and reality as it may have evolved
- Your engagement team and work plan
- What you presented to the client with a focus on:
- Analytical tools used
- Proposed solutions
- Benefits
- Proof
- Summary
- Your assessment of your client’s satisfaction and why
- Lessons learned as a team in terms of what you might have done differently as an engagement team and why
- Each team member must submit an individual assessment of his or her learning from this engagement. What personal insight did the assignment bring to you about yourself, team dynamics, a consulting career, etc.? This should be submitted directly to the MD and separate from your team’s report.
The Managing Director in collaboration with your consulting associates will assess your on-stage presentation based on the value of what was learned.
(4)Individual Case Assignments- All consultants are expected to individually execute 2 case-based assignments. These will be due on 2/11 (Kellogg Champion) and 4/7 (Martha McCaskey). Your assignments must be in presentation format and not exceed the recommended length for each assignment.
The Managing Director will evaluate the quality of your work based on:
1. Your responsiveness to the questions that have been posed
2. The logic and analysis you apply
3. The completeness of your response
4. The clarity of your presentation
Service & Product Delivery:
Electronic Delivery- All communications, reports, projects must be sent electronically to SMC recipients. Communication with your client can be any way they prefer.
Consistent with our focus on client satisfaction, all deliverables must be received on the prescribed due date. Delivery dates are fixed and clearly defined. Late submissions will not be considered. It is every consultant’s job to identify potential delivery problems early and to find work-around approaches that will avoid delivery problems.
While your work effort may be considerable in terms of application time, this metric will have no impact on the assessment of your work. What matters is the quality of your work in terms of: delivering what you were asked for, analysis, creativity, insight and your ability to effectively communicate this to your audience
Balanced Score Card:
Based on the above performance evaluation criteria and SMC’s Value System, grades will be weighted as follows:
- Client Satisfaction, Collaboration 25%
& Teamwork
- Client Engagement25%
- “On-Stage” presentation20%
- Individual Case Assignments(2)30%
-----
100%
The message should be clear, individual or even team excellence cannot come at the expense of your client or your SMC associates.Providing superior analysis and insight has little value if your client is not delighted with the overall results.
Resources:
Management consulting has been much in the news in the last few years. In addition to the books already included as part of your course reading, two of the most visible books have been:
- O’Shea, J. & Madigan, C. Dangerous Company: The Consulting Powerhouses and the Businesses they Save and Ruin. Random House/Times Business, 1997.
- Micklethwait, J. & Wooldridge, A. The Witch Doctors: Making Sense of the Management Gurus. Random House/Times Business, 1996.
Other books that deal with the consulting profession include: