SMC- Stern Management Consultants Client Satisfaction through Innovation, Teamwork & Professionalism

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1 SMC- Stern Management Consultants Client Satisfaction through Innovation, Teamwork & Professionalism Professor Michael Eisenbud C Fall 2004 Tuesday/ Thursday 11:00A-12:15P Rm. T-LC9 Management Consulting Project Contact Information: Professor Michael Eisenbud Home Office: (203) ebudltd@aol.com (Please use this , not the Stern address) Stern Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 10:00-10:45 or by appointment Office: KMC-9181A Introduction: Knowledge and the ability to keep pace with it with effective change leadership are critical components of any 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 the corporations they work and servicw. 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 1

2 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 need to be better than external consultants since 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 individuals who have been tasked to perform a project. The course draws on a wide selection of readings, cases and team projects to shed light on the complex roles that consultants play while providing value to their clients. Our Firm: SMC 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 3-6 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 in engagement teams will be a key to delivering customer satisfaction. In keeping with these values, Senior Consultants are expected to attend our twiceweekly 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 2

3 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. 3

4 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. Demonstrating personal 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: 1. Did the engagement team deliver what was asked for? 2. Did their results provide real value through analysis, insight and creativity? 3. What action will be taken as a result of this work? 4. 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? 5. Would you hire this team again and recommend them to others? The Managing Director will assess each client engagement team on the basis of: 1. Team planning and effectiveness; i.e., engagement plan, resource utilization, integration and delivery 2. Client satisfaction based on the above feedback The projects (LAST Semester s) we performed: 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 onstage debriefing presentation as part of your assignment. One presentation will be 4

5 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: 1. Client overview 2. Project statement as it was presented 3. Your work plan; i.e., How you planned to attack the engagement 4. As you got into the engagement, what you learned about: i. Your client and their requirements ii. The project scope and reality as it may have evolved iii. Your engagement team and work plan 5. What you presented to the client with a focus on: i. Analytical tools used ii. Proposed solutions iii. Benefits iv. Proof v. Summary 6. Your assessment of your client s satisfaction and why 7. Lessons learned as a team in terms of what you might have done differently as an engagement team and why 8. 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 (Kellogg Champion) and (Martha McCaskey). Your assignments must be in presentation format (PowerPoint) and not exceed the recommended length for each assignment. The Managing Director will evaluate the quality of your work based on: 5

6 a. Your responsiveness to the questions that have been posed b. The clarity of your presentation c. The value of you work compared to that of others SMC consultants 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 Engagement 30% On-Stage presentation 15% Individual Case Assignments (2) 30% % 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. 6

7 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, Micklethwait, J. & Wooldridge, A. The Witch Doctors: Making Sense of the Management Gurus. Random House/Times Business, Other books that deal with the consulting profession include: Maister, David. H. Managing the Professional Service Firm. NY: Free Press, Kubr, Milan (ed.) Management Consulting: A Guide to the Profession. ILO, Geneva: Barcus, S.W. III & Wilkinson, J.W. Handbook of Management Consulting Services. NY: McGraw-Hill, Greiner, L. E. & Metzger, R.O. Consulting to Management. Prentice-Hall, Bellman, G. The Consultant s Calling: Bringing Who You Are to What You Do. Jossey Bass, Block, P. Flawless Consulting. Pfeiffer & Co.,

8 (July 6, 2004 Draft) The Advice Business, Fombrun, Nevins (AB), Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004 Course Pack Readings (CP) Case Studies # Date Topics Senior Consultant Deliverables 1 9/7 Introductions - Expectations Ground Rules - Objectives Project Teams & Assignments What s a Consultant? The Closet Consultant (Handout) AB-Chapter 3, 4 2 9/9 The Case for Consultants Consultants & Change Leadership Change Drivers The Nature of Change CP- Why Transformation Efforts Fail Creating Earthquakes to Change 3 9/14 Understanding Client Needs The Consultant s Role Traits of a Successful Consultant AB-Chapter 23, /16 8 Steps to Change Organizational Frame Bending Visioning CP- Changing Corporate Culture Revitalizing Organizations 5 9/21 The Complexity of Management, Change & Consulting- 7-Factor Model (Handout) Hattori-Seiko Case Discussion CP 1- The Great Disruption Case 1- Hattori-Seiko and the World Watch Industry 6 9/23 Hattori-Seiko Case Discussion (Continued) AB- Chapter 12, 13, 17 CP2- Corporate Transformation Without a Crisis 7 9/28 Preparation for your 1 st client meeting CP 3- Why Good Projects Fail Anyway CP 4- High Impact Consulting CP 5- Leading Change 8

9 8 9/30 Leading vs. Managing Leading Change, Twelve O clock High Video Discussion CP 7- Behavior of Successful Negotiators CP 8- Why Negotiations Go Wrong HAND IN INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT #1- Kellogg -Champion Case (A&B) 9 10/5 Building a Partnership with your Client Role Play for Client Discussions AB-Chapter 19 CP 9- Tactics and Ethics of Persuasion 10 10/7 Thinking Like a Consultant Proposals AB- Chapter 7, 9, /12 Mapping the Project Environment- RACI Data & Diagnosis AB-Chapter 7, 11 Kellogg Champion Case Discussion 12 10/14 Project Management- Assuring Effective Control & Implementation Handling Client Meetings AB-Chapter 9 Team Project Update Reports- Progress, Issues, Lesson s Learned 13 10/19 Club Med Case Discussion Case 3- Club Med (A) 14 10/21 The Consultant s Toolkit AB- Chapters /26 The Consultant s Toolkit AB- Chapters 6 9

10 16 10/28 Deloitte & Touch Case discussion Case 4- Deloitte & Touch Consulting Group 17 11/2 Procure.Com Case discussion Case 6- Procure.Com 18 11/4 Helping Clients to Staff for Success CP 11- Topgrading Assessing Talent- How will you know it when you see it? 19 11/9 Assessing Talent- How will you know it when you see it? CP 10- Good to Great 20 11/11 Balance Score Card, Competencies, Alliances 21 11/16 Presentations for Maximum Impact Global Business Practices- International Consulting (Handouts) Case 5- Martha McCaskey Issue AB-Chapter 8, 14 HAND IN INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT #2 Case 5, Martha McCaskey 22 11/18 Managing Projects & Consultants AB Chapter 24 Ethics, Martha McCaskey Discussion 23 11/23 A Framework for Thinking About Your Career AB Chapter 1, 2, /25 Thanksgiving Holiday 25 11/30 Project Presentations- 1 Submit Hard Copy of Project Report 26 12/2 Project Presentations- 2 Submit Hard Copy of Project Report 27 12/7 Project Presentations- 3 Submit Hard Copy of Project Report 10

11 28 12/9 Project Presentations- 4 Submit Hard Copy of Project Report 29 12/14 Engagement Team Feedback 11