Professor Ken Homa Georgetown University Management Consulting 101 So, you might want to be a consultant Incomplete Without Extensive Oral Elaboration Proprietary Material K.E. Homa
Today s Session Career perspective Key consulting skills How to get there Guide to resources Caveats & Warnings
Caveats & Warnings Courses
Caveats & Disclaimers Shameless promotion STRT 551 FMC (Mod 3) Frameworks, Methods and Contexts STRT 552 SBA (Mod 4) Strategic Business Analytics One View
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 Since One View
Where I m coming from Bona Fides
Ken Homa 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 Ventures: Checkmate, Sequoia Software (now Citrix), SIRVA (a CD&R company), Navigauge, Upper Quadrant
Let s get started
Do you really want to be a consultant? Bright & Dark Sides
Management Consulting The Bright Side 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 The Bright Side 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 The Dark Side Snob factor w/ backlash
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. Are they worth it or not?
Management Consulting The Dark Side Snob factor w/ backlash Intensely competitive Low sense of completion Natural evolution to selling from problem solving Compelling lifestyle issues Tough to get in few stay in
What are they looking for
Management Consulting Interview Probes Presence Intellect Character Background Bright, engaging, articulate Structured, curious, practical Motivated, honest, team player Skills & interests, successes Smart? Distinctive? Client-ready? Advice
Know the criteria, accentuate your positives, but don t try to package yourself to fool them Won t work; true to yourself
Management Consulting Self-selection Criteria Type A personalities High self-esteem Ambitious career goals Willing & able to accept unbalanced lifestyle Unwavering commitment Only the strong(est) survive!
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 Less pure strategy; more org design / implementation / enablement Recent trends
Management Consulting Recent trends Consolidation among giants Global scale, full-service Strategy + implementation More standardized processes A few Goliaths and a dynamic population of Davids Problem solvers
But, some things stay the same
Regardless of venue and orientation. consulting firms want people who are extraordinary problem-solvers
Some theory (sorry) Cognitive psychology
Split Brain Thinking
Split Brain Thinking
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)
Split Brain Thinking Left Brain Engineer, quant Right Brain Designer, poet Cerebral (thoughts) Abstract (concepts) Logical (symbols) Analytic (parts) Core (evidence) Facts (words, numbers) Deductive (sequential) Convergent (end product) Task (destination) Visceral (feelings) Concrete (things) Analogical (stories) Synthetic (patterns) Periphery (subtleties) Impressions (images) Inductive (parallel) Divergent (elegance) Creation (journey)
Reduces to 2 core skill sets
Left Brain Engineer, quant Split Brain Thinking Right Brain Designer, poet Cerebral (thoughts) Abstract (concepts) Logical (symbols) Analytic (parts) Core (evidence) Facts (words, numbers) Deductive (sequential) Convergent (end product) Task (destination) Visceral (feelings) Concrete (things) Analogical (stories) Synthetic (patterns) Periphery (subtleties) Impressions (images) Inductive (parallel) Divergent (elegance) Creation (journey) Structured Analysis Pattern Recognition
What s your natural tendency left-brain or right-brain?
Split Brain Thinking Left Brain Engineer, quant Right Brain Designer, poet Cerebral (thoughts) Abstract (concepts) Logical (symbols) Analytic (parts) Core (evidence) Facts (words, numbers) Deductive (sequential) Convergent (end product) Task (destination) Visceral (feelings) Concrete (things) Analogical (stories) Synthetic (patterns) Periphery (subtleties) Impressions (images) Inductive (parallel) Divergent (elegance) Creation (journey) What s your natural tendency?
What is prized by consultants left-brain or right-brain?
Split Brain Thinking Left Brain Engineer, quant Right Brain Designer, poet Cerebral (thoughts) Abstract (concepts) Logical (symbols) Analytic (parts) Core (evidence) Facts (words, numbers) Deductive (sequential) Convergent (end product) Task (destination) Visceral (feelings) Concrete (things) Analogical (stories) Synthetic (patterns) Periphery (subtleties) Impressions (images) Inductive (parallel) Divergent (elegance) Creation (journey) What s prized by consultants?
Answer: BOTH 2 X 2
Execution Left brainers do the wrong stuff right Whole Brain Thinking Direction Wrong Right Whole brainers do the right stuff right Left Brain Whole Brain No Brain Right Brain No brainers don t attend MSB Right brainers do the right stuff wrong
Some Practical Advice If you want to be a consultant, start thinking in 2 X 2 matrices. Recent Buzz
Recent buzz Right brain
Don t get left behind Big Data Predictive Analytics Algorithms A world awash in data Powerful computing tools Battling algorithms Shortage of power analysts Right Brain Rising
Right brains rising We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear, computerlike capabilities of the Information Age
Right brains rising 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. Reimagine
Takeaways
TakeAways Left-brain performance bar is rising Left-brain: necessary but not sufficient Right-brain: competitive edge Whole-brain: becoming mandatory Consultants expected to be 5-tool athletes. Goal: Whole Brain
Goal: Become a whole brain thinker
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 Frame
So, how to develop these problem-solving skills? FMC, SBA
Some General Advice Take your MBA seriously classes & cases Capitalize on Club & Career Center offerings Learn to speed read and think visually Make nums 2 nd nature especially financials Follow the business news habitually
Some specific advice Fmc - SBA
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?
Until then, some resources
www.homafiles.com
www.homafiles.com Problem solving
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Accessed via www.homafiles.com
Professor Ken Homa Georgetown University Management Consulting 101 So, you might want to be a consultant Incomplete Without Extensive Oral Elaboration Proprietary Material K.E. Homa