Moscow February 2006 PS ICMCI The current status and trends of the Management Consultants’...

Moscow February 2006 PS ICMCI

The current status and trends of the Management Consultants’

Profession

Presented by Peter SorensenICMCI Chairman


A presentation made for the Danish Management Board

byProfessor Flemming Poulfelt, Copenhagen Business School

11.januar 2006

Adapted by Peter Sorensenfor

National Institute of Certified Management ConsultantsRussia


Questions

1. What is current status for consultants’ profession in 2006?

2. In which direction are consultants moving?

3. What is important for clients when using consultants?

4. How to secure that cooperation creates values?

5. Which dilemmas do consultants face?

6. Which challenges are next?


Consultants Profession 2006 - An actual picture 1

• Expected Growth above 10% p.a.

• Focus on assignments and projects creating visible value

• Intensive price competition

• Development of new services such as real outsourcing

• IT heats up again, with tough competition

• Buzzwords not enough, classical services again necessary



• Strategy is partially changing, focus on development of management, organisation and competency

• Operational Management is hot stuff (e.g. lean)

• Innovation delivered by consultants is not much wanted

• Knowledge of the specific business areas in higher demand

• Value based consulting is desired

• New fee structures offered?



• Tougher competition for experienced and professional consultants

• Some street traders (”transitional consultants”) in the market

• Increased requirements for future consultants profile regarding professionalism, business acumen, communication and presentation

• Clients demand: Principles to make daily operations more efficient (and implemented) and to increase their competencies



• Types of clients:•Professionel clients with an explicit desire to outsource or insource •The unhappy ones in despair over the complexity of management•Those focused on modern trends wanting to join in•The weak ones who want others to carry the burdens

• In general clients are satisfied with their consultants’ work

• The consultants themselves are rather selfcontent!


Clients’ demands from consultants

• Fulfil clients’ needs!

• Continued rapid change rate

• Reduce and optimise costs

• Accelerating product- and market development

• New competition

• Utilisation of possibilities with new technology

• Globalisation imperative!

• Value of outsourcing

• The arena of management


From a CEO:

“I feel a little uncomfortable when consultants are presenting me major prepacked programmes on how to solve key problems in our company before knowing too much about the organization.”


What do clients expect from cooperation with consultants?

• Insight in clients situation and understanding

• Knowledge and experience

• Qualified play and counterplay

• Consultants able to handle processes

• Comprehensible communication

• Attacking the whole situation

• Match in personal relations

• Careful and timely actions and most of all:

• Long term sustainable solutions


A dilemma?

Clients want consultants to work with them and not for them!

–

Consultants want to work for clients and not with them?

Et dilemma?


To sell without overselling To be precise but on thin background To inform about price without knowing problems To deliver fast results and ensure client participation To use experience without copying yourself To solve problems actively without making client

passive To minimise resources spent and maximise value To be critical and get agreement at the same time To maintain a professional distance and be close To be sharp and obtain clients’ confidence

Ten typical consultant - client dilemmas


A question for reflection

When using suppliers tendency is towards closer relations

►The goal is to obtain synergy and a win-win situation.

When using consultants tendency is towards closer relations but at the same time keeping some distance

►The goal is to obtain synergy and an independent role

Do these simultaneous tendencies sometimes prevent the optimal solutions???

What roles do the consultant and the client desire?


The roles of the consultant

The consultant may be supplier or partner

Supplier: Transaction based

Partner: Relation based


The consultants’ challenges

Developing new models for cooperation between consultants and clients – towards partnership

Adapting some consultants’ deliverables according to new times and new clients’ needs

Recruiting of ”seasoned professionals”

Developing and consolidating simultanously

Continuing increase of professionalisation and the image of consulting

Moscow February 2006 PS ICMCI The current status and trends of the Management Consultants’...

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