An Introduction to Consulting

Consulting and coaching are two popular career moves.  Both are popular in that they offer the promise of high compensation and high psychic rewards.  Furthermore, there are few entries to entry as a career move.  This series of blogs will address management consulting.

Management consulting is a great career in which to use your knowledge and expertise to help businesses succeed. As a management consultant, you will be responsible for analyzing business operations, developing strategies, and creating solutions to improve efficiency and profitability and you will do so as an outsider. To be successful in this field, you need both the skills (the ‘What’ you consult in) and the competences (the ‘How’ you consult).  Most of the time consultants talk about what they do, rarely does one publicity discuss the later and I will do in following blogs.  Learning the How about consulting is as important as the What and likely serves as a major marketing differentiator that generally goes unnoticed or referenced.

But, first, from the outside both management consultants and their clients focus on the tangible, quantifiable parts of the effort – the skills you, i.e., “I’m a marketing consultant,” or “ … an H/R consultant,” and the list goes on.  Our One-Minute-Elevator speeches focus on our skills.  One differentiates oneself from other, similar skills providers.  

Amplifying your skills and to be a more effective consultant, you also must have other competencies including:

• a deep understanding of business operations, processes, and industry trends.

• a strong knowledge of financial management, operations management, and strategic planning.

• excellent communication and negotiation skills, as you’ll be working with a variety of stakeholders.

• familiarity with the latest technologies and business software to help you streamline operations and maximize efficiency.

Further, while there are additional competencies, please notice that the short-list above does not relate to your skills/your consulting offering rather to how you consult and interact with both prospects and clients alike.

By developing these skills and utilizing these practices, you can become a successful management consultant. With the right knowledge, competencies, and attitude, you can help businesses improve their operations and reach their goals and, I might add, reach your goals.

In successive blogs we will further breakdown the How, assisting you in developing strategies to be a more effective and successful consultant.