Becoming A Trusted Advisor Core Consulting Skills

Background: Mark Hordes Education: • MBA and MS Aurora University • Graduate of the American Graduate School of International Management • BS, University of Houston Personal experience: • Partner, Alexander Consulting • Instructor, Shell Core Consulting Workshop • Global experience in creating strategies for transformational s-business change • Success in designing and delivering professional services selling training and creating services markets • Hands-on experience designing and implementing services readiness assessments and best practice applications for services organizations • Former Big Five partner • Former faculty member The University of Houston • Vice President Quality Consulting, The American Productivity & Quality Center • Former Malcom Baldrige Quality Examiner © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Alexander Consulting, LLP “A management consultancy that creates and implements strategies for professional services organizations” Services Strategy Creation Marketing Direction Sales Effectiveness Delivery Performance OPERATIONS EXCELLENCE TALENT PRODUCTIVITY © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Concepts presented today are taken from our new book: © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting,

Workshop Goal: To help you and your organization build consulting skills, capability and confidence.

Today’s Topics • • • Consulting Foundations Client Development Consulting Relationship Skills Contracting Assessment Services Delivery Managing the Change Leverage The Professional Services Champion © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Introductions Please say hello to the person to the right or left of you and state a book or movie title that best describes your consulting work at your company. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Consulting Foundations © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

The Dangerous Trend: “IT Consultants Score Lowest in Client Satisfaction” (Source: The Management Consulting Client Report , KIRG) 3. 85 (Average Score, 1 -5 scale) 3. 68 3. 60 3. 40 HR © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP Strategy Operations IT Management

Station Break: Client Expectations of Consultants • Working in small groups, discuss and agree upon a list of 6 to 10 of clients’ most important expectations of consultants. • Be prepared to share your list with the large group. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Client Expectations of Consultants 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Competence Credibility Trustworthiness Likeability Business Savvy Responsiveness Empathy Communicate © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Client Expectations of Consultants Clients Said… Consultants Thought… 1. Competence 2. Credibility 3. Trustworthiness 4. Likeability 5. Business Savvy 6. Responsiveness 7. Empathy 8. Communicate 1. Results 2. Reliability 3. Confidence 4. Credibility 5. Empathy 6. Responsiveness 7. Hired Help © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

The Five Fatal Flaws of Consulting (Source: High Impact Consulting) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The project is defined in terms of the consultant’s expertise or products, not in terms of the specific client results to be achieved. The project’s scope is determined solely by the subject to be studied or the problem to be solved, ignoring the client’s readiness for change. The project aims for one big solution rather than incremental successes. The project entails a sharp division of responsibility between client and consultant; there is no partnership between them. The project makes labor-intensive use of consultants instead of leveraged use. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

The 10 Commandments of Professional Consulting 1. Concentrate continually on delivering client value. 2. Commit all stakeholders to action. 3. Clarify complex client issues. 4. Communicate authentically. 5. Collaborate with the client. 6. Conduct a “willing and able” assessment. 7. Control scope creep. 8. Compress the cycle time of delivery. 9. Customize each solution. 10. Continually learn and grow. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Individual Exercise: 10 Commandment Assessment Time Allotment: 15 minutes • Please candidly complete the 10 Commandment Assessment. • After everyone has completed the assessment, we will discuss it in the large group. • Please note, however, that this assessment is confidential and strictly for your own use. Share only what you want. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

All Consultants Must Have These Four Capabilities TECHNICAL EXPERTISE RELATIONSHIP SKILLS CONSULTING PERFORMANCE ENGAGEMENT

Individual Exercise: Four Capabilities Assessment Time Allotment: 15 minutes • Please candidly complete the Four Capabilities Assessment. • After everyone has completed the assessment, we will discuss it in the large group. • Please note, however, that this assessment is confidential and strictly for your own use. Share only what you want. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Train Consultants in Consulting Skills to Build Capability and Confidence © Copyright 2004 Alexander

Client Core Consulting Training Example Unit Unit Unit Unit One: Two: Three: Four: Five: Six: Seven: Eight: Nine: Ten: Eleven: Twelve: Thirteen: Fourteen: Fifteen: The Consultant’s Reality 2 hours Relationship Skills 4 hours Business Acumen Capabilities 2 hour Engagement Management 4 hours Technical Expertise 2 hours Marketing and Selling 2 hours Contracting 4 hours Data Gathering 2 hours Diagnosis The Consulting 3 hours Feedback Process 3 hours Solution and Design 3 hours Implementation 3 hours Closure and Renewal 2 hours The High-Performance Practice 2 hours Continuous Learning 2 hours 40 hours © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

The Consulting Process Getting, Growing, and Keeping Clients Relationship Skills Contracting Assess Delivery Closure and Renewal Integration Solution and Design Feedback © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Business Acumen Success Elements Effective Business Consultants Always: • See the bigger strategic issues facing the client. • Are able to define business solutions. • Possess process knowledge of the functional area of the • • business and industry sector. Can define change management issues. Understand the competitive landscape. Provide relevant skills, strategies, tools, and ideas to the client. Use their knowledge and experience to build strong rapport and sustainable relationships with the client. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Client Development © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

The Consultant Zone of Influence Getting, Growing, and Keeping Clients Promoting LEADS Qualifying SUSPECTS

Making the C-Level Call 1. Earn the right to be there--do your homework. 2. Be ready to share something of value first (industry information, best practices, etc. ) before probing. 3. Bring supportive data to backup your claims. 4. Think and talk big picture. 5. Link your conversation to how your solutions address his or her critical business issues. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Consulting Relationship Skills © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Six Elements in Building Strong Consulting Relationships Decorum Trust Commonality Value Empathy Credibility ©

Small Group Exercise For each assigned element, add three more important actions that you

Building Rapport • Building rapport is the first step in establishing strong relationships. •

Individual Exercise Pretend you are going to meet a client for the FIRST TIME. List both the verbal and non-verbal clues that you need to be aware of in building rapport. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Listening and Probing Before you can solve client problems, you have to answer two questions: 1. Do I actually know the client’s issues? 2. Does the client know that I know his or her issues? Listening and probing are the tools needed to answer these questions. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Exercise: Barriers to Listening 1. Individually think of a recent situation (business or personal) where your lack of listening caused a problem. 2. Come up with the barriers that contributed to the problem. 3. Discuss your findings with your group and come up with a list of five common barriers to listening. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Tips to Active Listening • Imagine that you will be asked to provide a detailed description of the conversation. • Act as though this is a “mission critical” conversation. • Listen with your eyes as well as your ears. • Write out the probes you will ask ahead of time so that you concentrate on what is being said and not what you will say. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Probing Open Probe • When you want to allow the client to respond freely to gain general information. Or… • When you want to encourage expansion. Closed Probe • When you want to limit the client’s response to uncover specific information. Or… • When you want to confirm your understanding. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Open Probes Usually begin with: • What? When? Where? Why? or How? Or… •

Closed Probes Key words that help you identify closed probes include: • • •

Skill Practice: Probing A client statement will be read aloud. If the ball is thrown to you: 1. Tell if you will use an open or closed probe. 2. Ask the probe. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

The Four I’s Probing Strategy Issues • • Importance Impact Investigate What are the main issues you and your department are facing? Let’s take a look at ___ for a moment. Is this a nice-to-do, or something important to your organization? Sounds critical. Tell me, what is the impact of not addressing this problem? I see. Together, can we investigate how my organization might be able to help? © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Contracting © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Roadblocks to Success Contracting Exercise List below all the possible things that can go wrong when you do not have a contract with a client. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

The Six Elements of Good Contracting 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Explore potential traps and misunderstandings with clients without appearing negative. Strike a balance between the client’s responsibilities and commitments in the early stage of the relationship. Give true assumptions about the amount of work that will be expected by the consultant and the client. Rehearse the contracting meeting by playing both sides of the exchange: the client and the consultant. Provide information related to your available time. Move forward with clarity on measures, results expected, and accountabilities. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Case Study Exercise A Case of Disappointment Team Discussion Questions • • • Were the expectations realistic? Was the system ready? Were they committed? Who was the consultant? Who was the sponsor? Who was the client? Who should have signed the contract? What groups or people were involved? Were the roles/relationships clear? What were the client’s real objectives/hoped-for outcomes? What criteria should be used to evaluate the consulting effectiveness? Who should evaluate the consulting? What were the other contracting issues? © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Consulting Proposal Format (Source: How to Write a Proposal That’s Accepted Every Time. Alan Weiss. Kennedy Publications. December, 1998. ) 1. Situation Summary: Restates issues, importance, and impact. 2. Business Objectives: Describes expected results in client terms. 3. Progress Tracking: Establishes how headway will be measured. 4. Timing: Anticipated durations with recommended timelines. 5. Accountabilities: Agreed upon consultant and client actions. 6. Credentials: A brief citation of why you are the best choice. 7. Methodology: An outline of required steps. 8. Options: A choice of options that can meet business objectives. 9. Terms and Conditions: Fees, expenses, and terms for each option. 10. Acceptance: Place for appropriate person to sign the proposal. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Assessment © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Successful Interviewing Use the relationship skills (listening, probing, and acknowledging) to: • Establish and maintain rapport. • Gather personal perceptions supported by facts and/or stories. • Test the findings from other inputs. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Interviewing Exercise Practice gathering data through interviewing. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Services Delivery Research shows that clients don't care what your engagement delivery methodology is; however, they do expect you to have one. Example: A Methodology to Integrate Service Lines © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Delivery: Best Practices (Source: The State of S-Business: An International Report of Progress, Performance and Best Practices. James A. Alexander. AFSMI. 2002. ) • Project managers know how to manage project scope. ** Service providers: • • Utilize a common methodology. ** Demonstrate appropriate selling skills. ** Possess adequate account management skills. ** Have access to real-time customer information. ** Understand the services industry. * Understand process consulting. * Know the critical business issues of their customers. * Legend: *Statistically proven s-business differentiator from product-centered company. **Statistically proven practice of top-performing s-businesses. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Planning for Implementation Checklist This checklist has been designed to help you to develop a plan of action for the solution you plan to implement. 1. Acceptance: How can we gain acceptance from others? What advantages can we show for the suggested solution? How might we demonstrate these advantages? 2. Anticipation: What objections to our solution can we anticipate? How should I/we respond? 3. Assistance: How can other people or groups help us to apply our solution? 4. Location: What places or locations are best suited for putting our solutions into practice? 5. Timing: How can we take advantage of special times, days, dates, etc. for implementing our solutions? 6. Precautions: How can we pretest our solution to ensure its effectiveness? © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Scope Creep Exercise “We can’t figure when this project is going to end? ” “Can you give Marketing a hand for about a week? They are in trouble. ” “What do you mean the audit project was not included? ” “When we meet on Fridays with your team, it’s a circus! Who is in charge? ” © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP What have you heard from your clients?

Scope Creep Checklist SUCCESS FACTORS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2. 3. RATING low high Client expectations are clear. Ranges of performance are defined. Frequent communications on scope. We have grouped the issues by priority and scope levels, H/M/L. Issues are included in feedback meetings. We have established objectives and results. We have anticipated new players’ objectives, goals, and priorities. We have set aside funds for scope creep. 9. We have analyzed scope alternatives. 10. We feel comfortable saying no. 1 2 3 4 5 © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP TOTAL SCORE = 1 2 3 4 5 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5

Service Recovery “Top 10 Service Attributes of Importance to Clients” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Being called back when promised. Receiving an explanation of how a problem happened. Providing information as to what numbers to call. Being contacted properly when a problem is resolved. Being allowed to speak to your boss. Being told how long it will take to solve the problem. Being given useful alternatives if a problem can’t be solved. Being treated like a person. Being told about ways to prevent a future problem. Being given progress reports if a problem can’t be solved immediately. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Service Recovery Exercise I. You are engaged in an Overhead Cost Reduction Assignment, and it looks like you will not meet the time deadlines established. II. You are engaged in a Change Management Project, and you cannot get the cooperation of key sponsors to provide you with the support you need to do the project. III. You are installing SAP and, despite your best efforts, the system is still not integrated in areas such as purchasing, financials, and supply chain inventories from around the world. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Managing the Change © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

“Making Change Work" Negative Resistance Positive Acceptance The faster people accept change the faster results can be achieved. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP Source: ODR, Inc. and Andersen Consulting

The Cost of Resistance People lose enthusiasm. Market opportunities are missed. Management’s credibility suffers. The competition gains an advantage. The cost is high. © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

The Cost of Resistance Good people leave. Benefits take longer to achieve. $ Time

Dealing with Resistance: One Block at a Time Make It Happen! Resistors © Copyright

Change Plan Approach Organizational Impact Analysis Business Process Analysis Sponsorship Strategy Ownership & Involvement Strategy Change Navigation Strategy Job Design Strategy Training Strategy Documentation Strategy Communication Strategy Type name here Type title here NEWS FLASH ! Type name here Type title here Workplan Design and Development Estimate © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP Rollout Timeline and Approach Estimate MARCH Implementation Support Strategy

Communication Activities: Client Example Create Informed Workforce Establish Project Credibility Project Newsletter Division Management Meeting Steering Committee Meeting Bulletin Board Displays Core Integration Meetings Printed Documents Broadcast cc: Mail messages Change Management Meetings Flash Develop Sponsorship Commitment Messages from the Steering Committee Communication Team Meetings Create Workforce Buy-in Provide Forum for Feedback Formal Survey “Road Shows” Meeting Presentations Dialog Sessions/Focus Groups Town Meetings Promotions/Incentives Brown Bag Lunches © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP Suggestion Box Walk Arounds Reengineering Hotline

Leverage © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Ideas to Leverage Success Present Project Results with the Client at a Conference Publish a Case Study Leverage Conduct Post. Review Interviews or Focus Groups © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP Mid-Point of the First Project, Discuss Next Project Steps

Ensuring Client Follow-Up: Initiative Criteria Screen CRITERIA 1 2 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. RATING low high Size of Potential Impact. Speed of Impact. Probability of Success. Availability of Resources. Time Requirement. Money Requirement. Hassle Factor. Sexiness. TOTAL SCORE = © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5

The Professional Services Champion Ideal Attributes • • • Genius of Einstein Vision of Jefferson Strength of Superman Patience of Gandhi Communications skills of Roosevelt Creativity of da Vinci Magnanimity of Sister Teresa Ambition of the Clintons The conviction of Churchill--never, never give up! © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP

Thank You for Your Participation and Attention Contact Information: Alexander Consulting, LLP Mark Hordes (713) 781 -0251 office mark@alexanderconsultingsbiz. com www. alexanderconsultingsbiz. com © Copyright 2004 Alexander Consulting, LLP