MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - THE TRUSTED ADVISORS
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - THE TRUSTED ADVISORS
The essence of consulting is to help a client create value by providing information and advice which leads to lasting organizational change in a variety of ways including development of new strategies, accounting systems, information systems integration, quality management, process redesign, marketing, distribution channel development, logistics, leadership training, cost control, productivity enhancement, leveraging technology, activity based costing, competitive analysis, human resource strategy and value management.
Experts of all kinds frequently refer to themselves as "consultants to management," but only those who advise on the management process itself can legitimately be called management consultants (though even this generalization is being challenged today). One definition that has gained widespread acceptance came not from consultants themselves but from academia.
Management consulting is an advisory service contracted for and provided to organizations by specially trained and qualified persons who assist, in an objective and independent manner, the client organization to identify management problems, analyze such problems, recommend solutions to these problems, and help, when requested, in the implementation of solutions.
Management consulting in the United States has undergone a very dramatic change over the past fifteen to twenty years. The reason for this change is to cater to an evolving market and to stay competitive. About fifteen years ago, the emphasis was purely on technology. Clients wanted their systems to be better and faster. The general thinking was that every problem could be solved by technology. Organizations implemented large, complex systems for accounting, customer service, sales force automation etc., without giving real consideration to the people who would have to use them. This also led to different divisions in an organization using incompatible systems, duplication of work and repeated storage of information resulting in what is commonly referred to as “technology stovepipes”. Several years of complex implementations were followed by a flurry of activity in training staff and building interfaces between systems used by different divisions within the organization.
About a decade ago, the consulting industry began its most recent metamorphosis to ultimately reach the state that it has achieved today. This process began when several top consulting organizations expounded the concept of total consulting. Moving away from the traditional technology solutions, clients were now advised to solve problems by considering a combination of strategy, process, technology and people. Consultants began addressing problems at a macro level across the entire organization and by viewing the organization as a whole entity. The consultant evolved from a person who recommended and implemented technology systems to a person who collaborated with the client and helped resolve business problems affecting the organization as a whole. The consultant had morphed; he/she was no longer a technologist but more a trusted advisor.
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS THE TRUSTED ADVISORS - To learn more about this author, visit Atul Uchil's Website.
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Answering the question "what is management consulting?" is as difficult as attempting to answer the question "how high is the sky?” There are two causes for the confusion about exactly what management consultants do. First, management consulting is an umbrella term that encompasses many different careers. Second, management consultants cannot give specific examples of their work because it almost always is confidential and highly sensitive.
The essence of consulting is to help a client create value by providing information and advice which leads to lasting organizational change in a variety of ways including development of new strategies, accounting systems, information systems integration, quality management, process redesign, marketing, distribution channel development, logistics, leadership training, cost control, productivity enhancement, leveraging technology, activity based costing, competitive analysis, human resource strategy and value management.
Experts of all kinds frequently refer to themselves as "consultants to management," but only those who advise on the management process itself can legitimately be called management consultants (though even this generalization is being challenged today). One definition that has gained widespread acceptance came not from consultants themselves but from academia.
Management consulting is an advisory service contracted for and provided to organizations by specially trained and qualified persons who assist, in an objective and independent manner, the client organization to identify management problems, analyze such problems, recommend solutions to these problems, and help, when requested, in the implementation of solutions.
Management consulting in the United States has undergone a very dramatic change over the past fifteen to twenty years. The reason for this change is to cater to an evolving market and to stay competitive. About fifteen years ago, the emphasis was purely on technology. Clients wanted their systems to be better and faster. The general thinking was that every problem could be solved by technology. Organizations implemented large, complex systems for accounting, customer service, sales force automation etc., without giving real consideration to the people who would have to use them. This also led to different divisions in an organization using incompatible systems, duplication of work and repeated storage of information resulting in what is commonly referred to as “technology stovepipes”. Several years of complex implementations were followed by a flurry of activity in training staff and building interfaces between systems used by different divisions within the organization.
About a decade ago, the consulting industry began its most recent metamorphosis to ultimately reach the state that it has achieved today. This process began when several top consulting organizations expounded the concept of total consulting. Moving away from the traditional technology solutions, clients were now advised to solve problems by considering a combination of strategy, process, technology and people. Consultants began addressing problems at a macro level across the entire organization and by viewing the organization as a whole entity. The consultant evolved from a person who recommended and implemented technology systems to a person who collaborated with the client and helped resolve business problems affecting the organization as a whole. The consultant had morphed; he/she was no longer a technologist but more a trusted advisor.
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS THE TRUSTED ADVISORS - To learn more about this author, visit Atul Uchil's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Atul Uchil Video - Atul UchilDo not sell products, services or commodities. Just establish strong relationships with clients and achieve the coveted status of a trusted advisor. Then, your clients will elect to buy services and/or products from you. Never try to sell them.
I know that this sounds deceptively simple. Almost as if one could just sit around and wait for things to happen. Establishing and maintaining trusted client relationships without trying to sell them anything, requires a lot of patience and a constant struggle against the temptation to start selling.
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