Management Consulting 101
So, you might want to be a consultant …
© K.E. Homa
Proprietary Material
Incomplete Without Extensive Oral Elaboration
Professor Ken Homa
Today’s Session
• Career perspective• Key consulting skills
• How to get “there”
• Guide to resources
Caveats & Warnings …
Shameless promotion
•
STRT 551 – FMC
(Mod 3)Frameworks, Methods and Contexts
•
STRT 552 – SBA
(Mod 4)Strategic Business Analytics
Caveats & Disclaimers
One man’s view
• Mature, uncensored subject matter … viewer discretion advised !
• Not necessarily the views of any organization, official or ad hoc
• No warranty, expressed or implied
Caveats & Disclaimers
Where I’m coming from …
Princeton University, A.B. cum laude, Economics University of Chicago, M.B.A.
---FUNCTIONAL FOCUS---
EMPLOYER SECTOR STRATEGY MARKETING LOGISTICS SYSTEMS
Arthur Andersen Consulting X X
McKinsey Consulting X X X
Univ. of Chicago Education X X General Electric Consumer Goods X X X
Black & Decker Consumer Goods X X X X
Georgetown Univ. Education X X X
Ken Homa
Do you really want to be
a consultant?
• Intellectual challenge • Strong peer group • Diverse experiences
Every couple of months, it’s jump ball: a new industry, a new client, new jargon.
Management Consulting
• Intellectual challenge • Strong peer group • Diverse experiences • Powerful credential • Impactful “network”
One of the best post-MBA experiences, for highly focused fast-trackers
Management Consulting
• “Snob factor” w/ backlash
Management Consulting
The book chronicles McKinsey’s rise … and instances of its bad advice.
It also “raises an important question that is applicable to the entire netherworld of
consultants, advisers and other corporate hangers-on”.
• Intensely competitive
• Low “sense of completion” • Natural evolution to selling
from problem solving
• Compelling lifestyle issues
Tough to get in … few stay in
Management Consulting
The Dark Side
“Presence” Intellect Character Background
Bright, engaging, articulate Structured, curious, practical Motivated, honest, team player Skills & interests, successes
Management Consulting
Interview Probes
Smart? Distinctive? Client-ready?
Know the criteria, accentuate your
positives, but don’t try to package
yourself to fool them …
• Type “A” personalities • High self-esteem
• Ambitious career goals • Willing & able to accept
unbalanced lifestyle
• Unwavering commitment
Only the strong(est) survive !
Management Consulting
If you’re still interested in
becoming a consultant …
Many consulting venues and
and orientations to consider …
“Management Consulting”
Many venues and orientations …
• External, Internal
• Established, “Sprouts”
• Commercial, Government • Clients: Big, Small, NFP
• General Mgnt., Tech, Niches • Strategy, Ops, Organization
Recent trends
“Management Consulting”
Recent trends…
• Consolidation among giants • Global scale, full-service
• Strategy + implementation
• More standardized processes
Problem solvers
Regardless of venue and orientation.
consulting firms want people who are
extraordinary problem-solvers …
Some theory (sorry) …
Split Brain Thinking Left Brain Engineer, quant Cerebral (thoughts) Abstract (concepts) Logical (symbols) Analytic (parts) Core (evidence)
Facts (words, numbers) Deductive (sequential) Convergent (end product)
Split Brain Thinking Left Brain Engineer, quant Cerebral (thoughts) Abstract (concepts) Logical (symbols) Analytic (parts) Core (evidence)
Facts (words, numbers) Deductive (sequential) Convergent (end product)
Task (destination) Right Brain Designer, poet Visceral (feelings) Concrete (things) Analogical (stories) Synthetic (patterns) Periphery (subtleties) Impressions (images) Inductive (parallel) Divergent (elegance) Creation (journey)
Split Brain Thinking Left Brain Engineer, quant Cerebral (thoughts) Abstract (concepts) Logical (symbols) Analytic (parts) Core (evidence)
Facts (words, numbers) Deductive (sequential) Convergent (end product) Task (destination) Right Brain Designer, poet Visceral (feelings) Concrete (things) Analogical (stories) Synthetic (patterns) Periphery (subtleties) Impressions (images) Inductive (parallel) Divergent (elegance) Creation (journey)
What’s your natural tendency –
left-brain or right-brain?
Split Brain Thinking Left Brain Engineer, quant Cerebral (thoughts) Abstract (concepts) Logical (symbols) Analytic (parts) Core (evidence)
Facts (words, numbers) Deductive (sequential) Convergent (end product)
Task (destination) Right Brain Designer, poet Visceral (feelings) Concrete (things) Analogical (stories) Synthetic (patterns) Periphery (subtleties) Impressions (images) Inductive (parallel) Divergent (elegance) Creation (journey)
What is prized by consultants –
left-brain or right-brain?
Split Brain Thinking Left Brain Engineer, quant Cerebral (thoughts) Abstract (concepts) Logical (symbols) Analytic (parts) Core (evidence)
Facts (words, numbers) Deductive (sequential) Convergent (end product)
Task (destination) Right Brain Designer, poet Visceral (feelings) Concrete (things) Analogical (stories) Synthetic (patterns) Periphery (subtleties) Impressions (images) Inductive (parallel) Divergent (elegance) Creation (journey)
Answer: BOTH
Right Wrong Direction
Right
Brain
Whole
Brain
No
Brain
Left
Brain
Exec utionWhole Brain Thinking
Right brainers do the right stuff wrong
Left brainers do the wrong stuff right
Whole brainers do the right stuff right
No brainers don’t attend MSB
Some Practical Advice
If you want to be a consultant,
start thinking in 2 X 2 matrices.…
Recent buzz …
Don’t get left behind …
“A world awash in data” Powerful computing tools “Battling algorithms”
Shortage of power analysts
Right Brain Rising
We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear, computerlike capabilities of the Information Age …
We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear, computerlike capabilities of the Information Age …
… to an economy and a society built on the inventive, empathic, big-picture capabilities of what’s rising in its place, the Conceptual Age.
Right brains rising …
TakeAways
• Left-brain performance bar is rising
• Left-brain: necessary but not sufficient
• Right-brain: competitive edge
• Whole-brain: becoming mandatory
Goal: Whole Brain
Goal: Become a ‘whole brain’ thinker
More specifically, develop 5 key skills
5 Key Skills to Develop
1. Frame complex problems
2. Generate testable hypotheses
3. Gather and analyze facts efficiently 4. Craft creative, practical solutions 5. Syndicate support and mobilize
So, how to develop these
problem-solving skills?
• Take your MBA seriously … classes & cases • Capitalize on Club & Career Center offerings • Learn to speed read… and think visually
• Make nums 2nd nature … especially financials
• Follow the business news … habitually
Some specific advice …
5 Key Skills to Develop
1. Frame complex problems
2. Generate testable hypotheses
3. Gather and analyze facts efficiently 4. Craft creative, practical solutions
5. Syndicate support and mobilize
5 Key Skills to Develop
1. Frame complex problems
2. Generate testable hypotheses
3. Gather and analyze facts efficiently
4. Craft creative, practical solutions
5. Syndicate support and mobilize
www.HomaFiles.com
Management Consulting 101
So, you might want to be a consultant …
© K.E. Homa
Proprietary Material
Incomplete Without Extensive Oral Elaboration
Professor Ken Homa
