A description of the nature of the management consulting profession and the requirements for launching a successful consulting practice. Includes client service, marketing and selling and practice management, as well as a discussion of the Management Consulting Competency Framework.

1. Launching a Management
Consulting Practice
A Webinar Conducted by
Mark R. Haas CMC, FIMC
IMC USA Academy for Professional Development
October 20, 2009

2. Desired Outcomes
1. Understand Management Consulting
 Profession, Industry, Consultant, Client
2. Understand How to Become a Consultant
 Competency framework
 Starting a consulting business
3. Understand How to Be a Consultant
 Marketing and selling services
 Delivering consulting services
 Managing the consulting business
4. Decide If Consulting Is For You
 Lifestyle, risks, alternatives, benefits and costs
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3. Part 1: Understand Management Consulting
 Why Does Management Consulting Exist?
 What is Management Consulting?
 Where Does a Consultant Work?
 What Does a Consultant Do?
 How Is Consulting Changing?
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4. What Type of Consultant Can You Be?
 Generalist vs. specialist
 Industry vs. functional discipline
 Process vs. content
 Diagnostic vs. implementation
 Customized vs. pre-packaged solutions
 A mix of the above
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5. Consulting Experiences Vary Considerably
 Facilitate kickoff planning for US military’s World War
IV “Cognitive Dominance” strategy
 Assess operations and advise reorganization of the
world’s largest biomedical research enterprise
 Facilitate planning to recover commercial operations after
nuclear terrorism in LA
 Reorganize a major city school system
 Advise on governance and operations at an environmental
nonprofit
 Develop a business plan/strategy for health care startup
 Revitalize administration and programs for a national
volunteer organization
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6. Business and Consulting are Changing Fast
 Flat world
 Commoditization
 Interdependency
 Speed
 Demographics
A management consultant
needs to be on top of all of
these emerging trends
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7. Part 2: How to Become a Consultant
 The “What” and “How” of consulting
 Consulting competency framework
 Professionalism and ethics
 The consultant’s reputation
 Certification
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8. Consulting is More than Just Knowledge
Consulting Competencies and Ethics
Technical Discipline
“What” Sector Specialization
Professional Associations
Consulting Skills
“How” Consulting Behaviors
Consulting Ethics
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9. Consulting Competency Framework
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10. Market Knowledge and Capability
 Expertise in a technical discipline
 Experience in an industry sector
 What a consultant has to “know”
 This is the “what” of consulting, necessary but
insufficient to effectively support management
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11. Consulting Competencies
 Core consultancy tools, techniques and skills
 Essential to deliver management consulting services
 Specifics vary by type of consulting services provided
 What a consultant should be able to “do”
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12. Consulting Skills and Behaviors
 Entry level prerequisites for a successful consultant
 Enables ability to acquire consulting competencies
 Acquisition based on commitment to life long learning
 What a consultant should “be”
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13. Ethics and the Reputation of Consultants
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14. Value of Certification
 Consulting is unlicensed – for now
 The Certified Management Consultant (CMC®) is
evidence of meeting international standards
 More than 10,000 CMCs worldwide
 Instant network to other accomplished consultants
 A CMC does not guarantee consulting success
 Expectation to contribute to the profession
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15. Part 3: How to Be a Consultant
 Understand the consulting enterprise
 Starting a consulting business or joining a firm
 Why clients pick you and not other consultants
 Networks and pipelines to generate leads
 From lead to prospect to client
 Delivering consulting services
 Managing a consulting practice
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16. The Consulting Enterprise
Networks
Professional
Development marketing
services
Consultant Client
fees
Practice
selling
Management
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17. Starting and Managing a Consulting Business
 Considerations
 Lifestyle
 Risk
 Personal style
 Work style
 Skills
 Choices
 Business organization and size
 Project costing, cost recovery and setting fees
 Practice management
 Technology and resources
 Networks
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18. The Consultant’s Clients
 Who are they?
 Why do clients use consultants?
 Insight into industry or process
 Independence and objectivity
 Specialized expertise or access
 Facilitation and process skills
 Supplemental skilled resources
 Clients really buy confidence, not competence
 Why do clients pick specific consultants?
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19. How Do I Get Clients?
 Your organization/industry
 Your business network
 Teaming/subcontracting
 Friends and family
 Cold to warm calling
 Advertising, publicity
 Pro bono work
Marketing and managing a client pipeline is
a critical part of the business of consulting
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20. Networks
 Networks you design and build
 Professional associations and trade groups
 Online communities
 Specialized by discipline, industry, position
 Where to spend your time effectively
 Geographic and discipline network groups
 Mastermind groups
 Tools and Services
 LinkedIn
 Facebook
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21. Lead Generation Pipeline
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22. Moving Prospects Through the Pipeline
 Convergence of Need + Capability + Passion
 Clearly Identify Client Needs
 Match Your Capability With Client Need
 Everyone Should Be Enthusiastic
 Finding the Qualified Buyer
 Discussions With Prospects
 Submitting the Proposal
 Negotiating the Project
 Closing the Sale
The best proposals
are conclusions,
not explorations
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23. From Proposal to Agreement to Engagement
Proposal Elements How to Acquire Capability?
 Understanding of Need  ?
 Proposed Approach  ?
 Personnel Experience  ?
 Corporate Experience  ?
 Technology, Process, Data  ?
 Management Controls  ?
 Client Provided Items  ?
 Performance Evaluation  ?
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24. The Consultant’s Recurring Dream
Charles Russell, Meat’s Not Meat ‘Till It’s In The Pan (1915)
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25. Delivering Services
 Establish the relationship
 Formalize project plan and outcomes
 Manage staff, cost, quality, schedule
 Conduct research and ask staff
 Complete and validate the diagnosis
 Develop findings and recommendations
 Review and reconcile findings with client
 Implement recommendations
Communicate,
 Evaluate and manage performance
Communicate,
 Conclude the engagement Communicate
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26. More Challenges Beyond the Engagement
 Staffing your firm
 Teaming with others
 Subcontracting
 Passive income
 Pro bono work
 Resolving problems
 Unexpected opportunities
Network,
Network,
Network
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27. Challenges of Managing a Small Firm
 Get the Work
 Do the Work
 Manage the Business
 Learn and Grow
. . . Simultaneously
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28. Part 4: Is Consulting Right for You?
 Why Are You Considering Consulting?
 What is Your Long Range Plan?
 Are You Committed to Consulting as a Profession?
 Can You Meet Each Criterion?
 Business Goals
 Lifestyle Goals
 Client Acceptance
 Contingency Plans
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29. Use a Typical Consulting Process to
Decide if Consulting is Right For You
Where Am I
Going?
Who Am I?
How Will How Do I
I Know? Get There?
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30. Who Am I?
Am I Right for Consulting?
 Personality
 Curiosity
 Perception of risk
 Sense of urgency
 Work environment
 Tolerance for ambiguity
 Breadth of experience
 Analytical skill and interest
 Depth of general and business knowledge
 Commitment to consulting as a profession
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31. Where am I Going?
Stages of Consultant Development
Stage Early Advanced Mastery
Expertise Provides technical skills/ Secures, designs, and Can secure, design, and manage
experience to a project. manages small consulting large, complex, team-based
Developing skills defined projects. Practices skills consulting projects. Meets highest
by Common Body of consistent with Common Body international standards of
Knowledge and of Knowledge and Competency competence, including IMC USA
Competency Framework. Framework CBK and CF
Scope Narrow specialty in a Applies expertise across Creates new approaches to
technical discipline / industries and disciplines applying expertise across industries
industry and disciplines
Organization Tactical support to middle General business advice to Broad strategic advice to senior
managers managers and executives managers and executives/Board of
focus Directors
Value to Client Solves technical/tactical Recommends and implements Sought by and considered a
problems, often limited in solutions to client needs. partner by executives. Long term
scope or solution space Anticipates emerging client engagements and retainer
needs and helps resolve. relationships are the norm
Commitment to May belong to technical Member of IMC USA and Member of IMC USA and bound to
and/or trade associations bound to IMC USA Code of IMC USA Code of Ethics. Has
Profession and to IMC USA. Does not Ethics. Has enough skills and obtained CMC® certification.
subscribe to a formal code experience to obtain CMC® Actively contributes to profession
of ethics/enforcement. certification
Experience Up to 3-5 years as an 5-15 years as an external or Greater than 15 years as an
external or internal internal consultant with internal or external consultant
consultant experience managing
increasingly large complex
projects
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32. How Do I Get There?
What is Your Plan to Become a Consultant?
 Education/Training
 Experience
 Affiliation
 Certification/Licensing
 Business Form
 Lifestyle
 Reality Check
 Opportunity Costs
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33. How Will I Know?
Success Measures of Professional Consultants?
 Your Formal Plan
 Identify and Develop Consulting Skills and Behaviors
 Prepare and Confirm Business and Marketing Plans
 Test by Partnering With Experienced Consultants
 Evaluation of Progress Against Plan
 Business Goals
 Lifestyle Goals
 Client Evaluation
 Contingency Plans
 Satisfaction
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34. Consulting Can Be a Rewarding Profession
 You know about consulting as a profession
 You have the basics of how to become a consultant
 You appreciate what it takes to be a consultant
 You can now decide if consulting is right for you
 You have resources available to help you
 Bibliography (with pre-reading materials)
 Associations (particularly IMC USA)
 People (other consultants and your business associates)
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35. Thank You for Your Attention
Mark R. Haas CMC, FIMC is President of Research and Organization Management,
Inc., a Bethesda, MD based management consulting firm. ROM provides executive-
level organization assessment, performance management, strategy development and
execution management, primarily for science, technology and R&D-focused clients.
Mark has advised federal agencies, nonprofits, trade associations, national labs, oil
companies, state agencies, colleges, banks, and professional service firms. He is a
Certified Management Consultant, author, expert witness, facilitator, invited speaker,
and lead quality (Baldrige) examiner.
His projects range from facilitating planning recovery from nuclear terrorism and development of military
strategy, to improving leadership and operations for biomedical research programs and environmental
nonprofits. He is listed in Who’s Who Among Emerging Leaders and Who’s Who in America and holds
degrees from Colgate and Harvard Universities. Mark has a commercial pilot’s license and instrument rating,
used to be a decent golfer, spends too much time reading about history of science and, in the 1980’s, he and
his wife quit their jobs and took a year-long trip around the world. He is immediate past Board Chair, and
former Ethics Chair, and a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants USA, the professional
association and certifying body for management consultants in the US.
www.rominc.com
mhaas@rominc.com
(301) 320-5889
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