Internal Consultant Training Strategic Toolkit and Strategic Thinking November 14-15, 2013
Internal Consulting Training Strategic Toolkit and Strategic Thinking, November 14/15 Do your team members sometimes feel underequipped to tackle key strategic issues, particularly vs. external, top tier consultants that are occasionally brought in? Has it been a number of years since your team were part of a consulting firm and had access to the robust training programs they used to regularly attend? Do some of your team members come from non-consulting backgrounds and therefore lack training in robust typical structured problem solving approaches? Our world-class training program to address exactly these issues and will be holding its next Strategy Training Course on November 14-15, 2013 in the Sydney CBD. The two-day program has been designed to teach your team the core skills that are employed by top tier consultants and "best in class" internal consulting teams. At a high level the modules for the two day program will consist of the following: 1. THE STRATEGIC TOOLKIT, covers the 17 tools used most often by strategy and internal consulting teams to evaluate companies, business or solve specific business issues. 2. STRATEGIC THINKING is separated into: a. Defining the Issue: Situation, Complication & Key Questions b. Answer First Hypothesis Development: Pyramids, Assertions, Analysis & Objectivity 3. DEVELOPING COMPELLING PRESENTATIONS, is based on understanding your objectives, your audience and designing your storyline and specific slides to optimise your presentation in the time available. The modules will be taught through a mix of theory, case study real world examples and an integrated exercise by accomplished trainers who are themselves practicing consultants and alumni of top tier consultancies and internal consulting teams globally. It is appropriate that all members with different experience levels attend so they learn to apply and manage to the same skill set.
Modules Day 1, 14 November The Strategic Toolkit Defining the Issue Provides an end-to-end framework on the tools an internal consultant should use to approach a project Deep-dives into the 17 most commonly used tools in the following areas: Business Definition (ROS/RMS Matrix, Growth Share Matrix, The Experience/Cost Curve) Cost Optimisation (Cost Reduction, Quick Hit Wins, Organisational Restructuring) Revenue Growth (Segmentation, Targeting, Retention, Cross Sell, Salesforce Effectiveness) M&A (Strategic Rationale, Risk, Valuation & Post Merger Integration) Provides an initial problem solving approach that immediately narrows and clarifies the scope of a project Deep dives into the Situation, Complication, Questions framework Teaches a simple approach that immediately ensures the critical issues are being addressed Provides a complex integrated exercise to ensure the theory can be applied Recommended for all levels so the entire team can apply and manage to this approach The Strategic Toolkit 17 key tools utilised by internal consulting teams DEFINING THE PROBLEM Business Definition 1. Cost and customer sharing analysis The first step involves setting up the Situation, Complication and Question Business Position 2. ROS/RMS 3. Growth Share matrix Situation (S) Describe the background of the problem that the audience is already familiar with 4. Industry experience/cost curve The 3 C s Complications/constraints (C) Define the major problems and constraints facing the analysis. What has changed? Competitors Cost Customers M&A Critical question (Q) Formulate the primary question(s) to be addressed by the project/ analysis Evaluating competitors to determine areas of opportunity 5. Customer segmentation 6. Salesforce 7. Process 8. Cost Tools for cost reduction/ optimisation 9. Internal best practice / relative cost position 10. Quick Hit expense reduction 11. Restructuring Tools for targeting customers and enhancing revenue 12. Customer segmentation 13. Customer targeting, cross-sell and retention 14. Salesforce effectiveness An introduction to acquiring a company 15. Strategic rationale for, and risks of, M&A 16. M&A valuation (including synergies) 17. Post merger integration Hypothesis/answer Primary assertions Secondary assertions Answer the question to resolve the complications. Each hypothesis should be supported by a logic tree Key assertions, which prove the hypothesis, should be mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive ( MECE ) Each is supported by a second level of facts which verify the assertion Facts should verify the primary assertions and be explicit enough to translate into an effective presentation ORGANIC GROWTH INORGANIC GROWTH 23
Modules Day 2, 15 November Answer First Hypothesis Development Developing Compelling Presentations Deep dives into structured problem solving, including issue trees and using a hypothesis-driven approach An approach to ensure that all issues relevant to the problem are addressed (are Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive) A detailed discussion of the steps involved in developing an answer-first hypothesis, when to use this approach and common pitfalls Provides a complex integrated exercise to ensure the theory can be applied Recommended for all levels so the entire team can apply and manage to this approach Provides a comprehensive deep dive to: Understanding your audience Building a compelling and audience appropriate storyline Putting together data and word slides Effectively speaking and presenting Provides an integrated exercise that covers storylines, slide production and actual physical presentation skills Provides a comprehensive set of PowerPoint template slides as a takeaway for participants PROBLEM SOLVING APPROACH An Answer First (Hypothesis Driven) problem solving approach has been applied by leading consulting organisations to solve many complex business problems EFFECTIVE SLIDE COMMUNICATION SUMMARY Key Takeaways Developing Compelling Presentations Definition: Benefits: Risks: Answer First Formulating a hypothesis from experience, business intuition and the facts at hand, and then developing a series of analytic tests that will prove or disprove the hypothesis (deductive) Always more efficient, especially if issue has been previously addressed Workplan/logic tree lends itself directly to storyline and presentation Hypothesis can be self-fulfilling, new blinding insights may be missed Difficult to employ where no clear hypothesis or experience exists Inference Collecting facts and performing exhaustive analysis, the result of which will allow you to infer the answer to the problem (inductive) Effectively builds background data and context where none previously existed Can lead to new insights - may identify broader, more strategic issues Can easily stray into irrelevant analysis - yield loss Difficult to prioritise or selectively prune analysis without central hypothesis 1. Understand the audience 2. Define your objectives 3. Build the storyline 4. Develop the slides Demographics (size, seniority, age, native language ) Prior knowledge of project? Prior experience with Portland? Likely opinion/attitude Decide on answer first or answer last Why are we having this meeting? (inform? force a decision? drive to action?) What do we want the client to know or do by the end of the meeting? What is definition of success for this meeting? Write the storyline with bullet points on a single page Test for logic (horizontal and vertical) and comprehensibility (the reasonable person ) Include key elements: objectives, agenda, situation, complicaton, question, executive summary, key data slides, summary, next steps 15-20 slides (+ backup) for a one-hour meeting Choose only the key supporting data slides Parallel construction for word slides Remove clutter from data slides to highlight key point Applicability: Appropriate approach 90% of time Appropriate approach 10% of time 59
Trainer Overview & Cost ABOUT THE TRAINERS. Our trainers have been trained and then trained others at the world s leading firms. We select trainers on a combination of capabilities including: proven delivery execution in the marketplace (they are in the trenches too); proven experience and expertise delivering engaging training; the highest intellectual and professional calibre. The trainers can be unbundled for one on one coaching, small team training and training strategy planning. FEATURED TRAINERS Himanshu Dua Based in Sydney, Himanshu has over 20 years experience at a Senior Executive level in both consulting firms (Bain & Company) and internal strategy teams where he worked for Westpac Banking Corporation as a Head of Group Strategy. Himanshu has extensive strategy and consulting experience in financial services, airlines, retail and mining. He has run internal consulting and strategy training courses for the past 10 years for clients including Westpac, Orica, The Portland Group and David Jones as well as other ASX top 100 companies. COST: $1800 PP (+ GST) DAY ONE The Strategic Toolkit (9am 5pm) Defining the Issue DAY TWO Answer First Hypothesis Development (9am 5pm) Developing Compelling Presentations Price is inclusive of: all takeaway materials in a binder a USB stick with key toolkit and PPT templates light lunch and refreshments on both days HOW TO BOOK. Send an email to himanshu.dua@internalconsulting.com with the number of attendees you wish to confirm. Payment details will then be provided to secure the place. Please note that places are limited, early booking is advised