This casebook complements the text Management Consulting Today and Tomorrow. The book consists of 20 cases, including those from Harvard and Stanford and the University of Southern California. The cases cover a broad range of topics and practice areas that are pertinent to current management consulting. The six parts parallel the six parts in the text, including an introduction to the cases by the editors, delineating topics and issues that are critical for todaya (TM)s consultants. Several cases offer new insights into the practice areas of Strategy, IT, Operations Management, Change Management and more on Data Gathering and the Future of Consulting. This casebook, together with the text, will help to increase awareness among consultants and students about skill requirements, as well as make clients sensitive to what is demanded of them in a highly competitive consulting environment.

The fast-emerging sustainability consulting firms are nipping at the heels of the established consultancy giants who are scrambling to find their way in the emergent field of sustainability. The upstarts are challenging many of the established notions of how to add value to their clients' operations. By looking at the business world through what the sustainability expert Stuart Hart calls "new sustainability lenses", sustainability consultants are able to make sense of challenges that are baffling their clients. Moreover, they are also beginning to help their clients uncover new and sustainable value streams, the ultimate goal of good consulting practice. In Consulting for Business Sustainability sustainability consultants from around the world offer some of their perspectives and lessons on how to truly create sustainable value for their clients. Packed with new tools, advice and approaches, the book comprises a unique collection of wisdom from some of the leading lights in sustainability consulting practice. The areas covered include: developing best-in-class environmental management systems; sustainable design; supporting organisational change agents; working with key stakeholders; social impact assessments; human rights; and regulatory risk. The book will be essential reading for practitioners in business searching for advice and toolkits on how to make their sustainability initiatives bear fruit, for consultants looking for advice on how others have provided value to clients, and for students of sustainability looking for best-practice examples and exploring future careers in this burgeoning field.

Although consultants influence the outcome of major endeavors in the fields of management, finance, government, and engineering, few attempts have been made to establish the tenets and techniques of consulting. In Principles and Practices of Professional Consulting, author Steven C. Stryker outlines the basic tools required of this critical skill. In doing so, he looks into the history of consulting, the consulting process itself, and the key practical skills and techniques that are needed for successful consulting. Case examples based on real-life situations aptly demonstrate the applicability of the material to current consulting activities. After introducing the topic and presenting some background information, this book goes through the process of consulting from meeting and securing clients, to planning and implementing a proper strategy, to terminating and evaluating assignments. It provides techniques and principles at each stage of the process which are sure to improve one's consulting practice. This book presents much crucial information that can be immediately used by professionals and students in various disciplines. It is both comprehensive, covering all the essential aspects of professional consulting by uniting theory and practice into a single resource, and accessible, presenting this information in a clear-cut manner that allows it to be easily used by anyone wishing to learn more about the important art of professional consulting.

This title was first published in 2002. How do you add value to your clients? Is it the process you use, or the technical skills you deploy? Or perhaps it's your ability to adjust the way you sell and deliver your services based upon your tacit understanding of your client's culture - the way we do things round here. Such chameleon-like behaviour is fundamental to successful consulting, and yet it is neither widely understood nor practised within the profession. Until now. This book describes a powerful way to improve the consultancy process, from selling the service to delivering the engagement, through a concept called cultural intelligence - the missing dimension of effective consultancy. By revisiting the consultancy process using a simple model of organizational culture, this text creates a potent technique for tailoring the principal consultancy processes of selling, relationship management, account management and engagement management. Such tailoring that ensures the consultant and consultancy firm can blend into their clients' organizations more effectively and as a result add immediate and lasting value.

Originally published in 1970. Trade associations and consultants in their many varieties are arguably the most important of our economic organisations. The people that manage those organisations are among the most influential members of modern society. The research reported in this book constitutes one of the first attempts to obtain systematic knowledge about the process of helping management. This title will be of interest to students of business, management, and economics, as well as policy-makers concerned with external aids in government, associations, and firms.

The Ultimate Consultant--the first book in a series written for experienced practitioners--is filled with helpful interviews and vignettes from an array of successful consultants from around the world, and offers the templates, examples, information, and tools you need to transform your business.

This essential, hands-on resource includes:

This thoroughly research-based book— written by two experts in the field Fred Massarik and Marissa Pei-Carpenter with contributions from other well-known professionals— reestablishes the connection between theory, research, and practice and affirms core OD values. They emphasize the "personhood" of the consultant and client, the relevance of "feel" and intuition combined with fact and technique, and the importance of real people doing real things in real time holistically. In addition to these core ideas, the authors outline new viewpoints that are especially relevant in today's rapidly changing world. They explain that quick-fix linear approaches are not likely to bring substantial lasting results and OD must be rooted in the vast knowledge available about the human condition-recognizing the complexity of real life. They also show how value is the essential cornerstone of organization development.

Explore why -- now more than ever -- the world is in a race to become data-driven, and how you can learn from examples of data-driven leadership in an Age of Disruption, Big Data, and AI In Fail Fast, Learn Faster: Lessons in Data-Driven Leadership in an Age of Disruption, Big Data, and AI, Fortune 1000 strategic advisor, noted author, and distinguished thought leader Randy Bean tells the story of the rise of Big Data and its business impact - its disruptive power, the cultural challenges to becoming data-driven, the importance of data ethics, and the future of data-driven AI. The book looks at the impact of Big Data during a period of explosive information growth, technology advancement, emergence of the Internet and social media, and challenges to accepted notions of data, science, and facts, and asks what it means to become "data-driven." Fail Fast, Learn Faster includes discussions of: The emergence of Big Data and why organizations must become data-driven to survive Why becoming data-driven forces companies to "think different" about their business The state of data in the corporate world today, and the principal challenges Why companies must develop a true "data culture" if they expect to change Examples of companies that are demonstrating data-driven leadership and what we can learn from them Why companies must learn to "fail fast and learn faster" to compete in the years ahead How the Chief Data Officer has been established as a new corporate profession Written for CEOs and Corporate Board Directors, data professional and practitioners at all organizational levels, university executive programs and students entering the data profession, and general readers seeking to understand the Information Age and why data, science, and facts matter in the world in which we live, Fail Fast, Learn Faster p;is essential reading that delivers an urgent message for the business leaders of today and of the future.

"Consulting is all about client results. If you want to help change the strategic destiny of organizations, pursue a high-impact career, and ensure continuous learning, then this book is a must read to help you identify the firm that best suits you."–Thomas J. Tierney, Director and former CEO, Bain & Company

"This is the most comprehensive overview of the consulting industry to date. It is chock-full of useful information for students and professionals considering consulting as a career."–Robert F. Bonner, Director, MBA Career Management, The Wharton School

"If graduating seniors read only one book on consulting, this should be it. Daryl and Sugata demystify the case interview and the realities of the consulting field in an easy-to-read format. Their knowledge and personal insight is invaluable to the job seeker. Many of our students have read the book and successfully landed consulting jobs–this book is a real winner!"–Sheila Curran, Director, Career Services, Brown University

"Strategic management consultants help clients perform markedly better in a world of rapid change. Consultants must constantly learn new skills, contribute to the intellectual capital of business, and build enduring relations with their clients. This book is an excellent window into the unparalleled opportunities consulting offers for personal and professional growth."–Carl W. Stern, CEO, The Boston Consulting Group

"The perfect resource to educate job seekers about the myths and realities of consulting. This user-friendly book will teach you to nail your case interviews and land a consulting job. "–Liz Michaels, Director, Career and Placement Services, University of Chicago

"This book is an excellent starting point for anyone contemplating a career in management consulting. My professional advice to you: Read this book!"–Wayne Cooper, Publisher, Consultants News, President and CEO, Kennedy Information

Visit the authors’ Web site at www.InsideConsulting.com

Obtain the Best Consulting Services for Your Business

In this chaotic age of new technologies, downsizing, and reengineering, managers and executives are relying more and more on the consultant. Hiring the right consultants for your company and making effective use of them is a vital skill, and yet there has been a lack of guidance on this topic–until now.

How to Use a Consultant in Your Company delivers expert advice and practical guidelines on how to successfully create and manage the client/consultant relationship–to your advantage. John McGonagle and Carolyn Vella provide up-to-the-minute information on:

• Defining your consulting needs
• Finding and selecting the right consultants
• Managing the paper trail–corporate policies, contracting issues
• Working with an individual consultant or an entire firm
• Handling disputes, lawsuits, and complaints
• Evaluating consultants

Including forms and other materials for help in developing formal policies, billing procedures, and more that you can adapt to fit your own situation, How to Use a Consultant in Your Company is the one-book-fits-all solution for anyone responsible for getting the most out of their company’s consultant.

Consultancy and Innovation links two important aspects of European economic development in the past thirty years: the pace of technical and management innovation, and the growing significance of technical and business consultancy. This book includes detailed studies of consultancy activities or 'knowledge intensive services' (KIS) in eight EU countries, written by national experts in the field.

eBook available with sample pages: 020311664X

Developing Organisational Consultancy provides consultants with theoretical and practical advice on how to handle typical consultancy challenges. Well-established organisational consultants from the UK and the USA offer descriptions of problems they have encountered in their work, theoretical and practical approaches that they have found helpful, cases from their actual practice, and advice about how to apply their suggested approach generally. Chapters are grouped together to address three key areas of interest to consultants: * evolving a professional stance * considering psychodynamic approaches * applying organisational theory. For both experienced and newly-practising organiszational and management consultants, this book is a valuable source of reference and the key to developing a more aware and successful practice.

This title was first published in 2002. How do you add value to your clients? Is it the process you use, or the technical skills you deploy? Or perhaps it's your ability to adjust the way you sell and deliver your services based upon your tacit understanding of your client's culture - the way we do things round here. Such chameleon-like behaviour is fundamental to successful consulting, and yet it is neither widely understood nor practised within the profession. Until now. This book describes a powerful way to improve the consultancy process, from selling the service to delivering the engagement, through a concept called cultural intelligence - the missing dimension of effective consultancy. By revisiting the consultancy process using a simple model of organizational culture, this text creates a potent technique for tailoring the principal consultancy processes of selling, relationship management, account management and engagement management. Such tailoring that ensures the consultant and consultancy firm can blend into their clients' organizations more effectively and as a result add immediate and lasting value.

Drawing on extended ethnographic studies of management consultancies in the Oslo region of Norway, this book seeks to find a richer understanding of their role in contemporary work life and the attraction their practices exert on people. The author shows that management consultancy is an arena of meaning that should be analysed as a 'cultural space'. With a detailed investigation into consultancy as a cultural phenomenon, Henningsen argues that its services can be viewed as a 'micro-utopian' vision which can lead to a happier working environment for individuals.

The field of management consultancy research has grown rapidly in recent years. Fuelled by the drivers of complexity and uncertainty, a growing number of organizations - both profit and third sector alike - are looking at management consultancy to assist in their aims for development and change. Consultants have become a common feature in organizational change initiatives, involved in both providing advice and in implementing ideas and solutions. However, despite this growing recognition and influence, management consultancy is still often misunderstood or criticized for its lack of theoretical underpinning. The book seeks to address these issues by offering applied theoretical insights from academics that both teach and practice management consultancy. Written by recognized experts in their field, the contributors combine original insights with authoritative analysis. Uniquely, this book identifies emerging themes with critical discourse and provides rich empirical case study evidence to show the reader how management consultancy projects are implemented. Real-world international consultancy projects are featured as written up cases featuring organizations from multi-national corporations to the public sector. Written for graduate level managers or those who have practical leadership experience, this book will enable readers to apply management consultancy models beyond a classroom context

Reveals emerging techniques for answering the challenges senior managers face today: improving organizational quality, inspiring team performance, and creating powerful long-range strategy. Presents a proven model for understanding organizations and demonstrates how it can be used to effect positive change in organizational systems.

This new edition gathers more than 22 experts to outline the theory behind consulting, providing insight into change processes and management issues in the field. The business of consulting has grown faster than most other businesses, due not only to increased demand by clients, but also to the innovative capabilities of numerous consulting firms as they develop new services. Divided into six parts, the book introduces readers to the consulting industry, addressing the major practice areas, contexts, and implementations of the field. Significant updates detail the effect of the economic troubles between 2004 and 2010 and then 2010 and now; analyze the market response to consulting in recent years; and provide a more thorough understanding of how consulting is applied in the different areas of a business, such as operations, marketing, and finance. Introductions written by the editors offer further insight into the themes and learning goals of each section, helping readers to recognize the elements of a successful consultation, and utilize their new skill set. The text concludes with a look at the future of consulting with regards to ethics standards and how strong manager-client relationships contribute to financial growth. Readers will also learn how the developing field of entrepreneurship creates new economic structures and job opportunities. Practitioners, consultants, clients, faculty, and students of business and management will learn not only how to consult, but also gain the skills needed to adapt to and lead organizational change, giving them a competitive edge when they enter the field.

Another extraordinary business fable from the New York Times bestselling author Patrick LencioniWritten in the same dynamic style as his previous bestsellers including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni illustrates the principles of inspiring client loyalty through a fascinating business fable. He explains the theory of vulnerability in depth and presents concrete steps for putting it to work in any organization. The story follows a small consulting firm, Lighthouse Partners, which often beats out big-name competitors for top clients. One such competitor buys out Lighthouse and learns important lessons about what it means to provide value to its clients. * Offers a key resource for gaining competitive advantage in tough times * Shows why the quality of vulnerability is so important in business * Includes ideas for inspiring customer and client loyalty * Written by the highly successful consultant and business writer Patrick LencioniThis new book in the popular Lencioni series shows what it takes to gain a real and lasting competitive edge.

How does this scenario sound? You have an area of expertise. You can offer sensible and authoritative advice to others. They pay you. You go home feeling fulfilled.

Sound too simple? Well with some enthusiasm and some Smart advice to help you along the way, Patrick Forsyth, successful entrepreneur and leading consultant, will show you everything you need to know about starting and maintaining a successful consultancy.

"Smart Things to Know About Consultancy" will give you the foot-up you need; from deciding your service range and fee scale, through targeting prospects and brand management, to writing winning proposals and working styles. You need to be a jack of all trades and, more importantly, master of many. Patrick Forsyth reviews these topics and many more: The nature of consultancy a what do consultants actually do?

• Marketability - any consultant must decide exactly what it is that he or she is going to actually do for their clients. OK, so youve got a great area of expertise, but is there a market for it?

• Setting fees and fee policy - consultancy may be inseparable from the word advice, but there is a difference. Advice can be freely given, but consultancy needs to be paid for. You need to decide how exactly you will charge and, in due course, get the money thats due to you.

• Target market - once you have your business up and running you need to decide where your clients are going to come from. With whom do you communicate? You need to decide who and how many to approach, and, equally important, who to ignore.

• Promotion a so now you know who to communicate your message to, but whats the best way to go about it? And how does one manage that processat the same time as juggling the other twenty things that are just as important?

• Career options a what does the future hold?

SMART QUOTES:
'The best way to predict the future is to invent it' Dennis Gabor

Learn exactly what you need to know, do and deliver to be a great management consultant. Readers will understand:

•How should you identify and define the services you will offer?
•Why do clients buy consultancy and what are they looking for?
•How can you bring maximum value to the client’s organisation?
•How do you engage clients and win work?
•How can you deliver results that will be sustainable for your client?
•How do you establish long-term relationships that bring you repeat business with clients?
•When should you say ‘no’ to a consulting engagement?
•How do you navigate your way through the potential ethical dilemmas that face consultants?

Consulting for Real People: a client centred approach for leaders and change agents 2/e shows you how to become truly client-centred by empowering your client and supporting them right through to the point where the new behaviour replaces the old. Formerly titled '||'''Client-Centred Consulting: A practical guide for internal advisers and trainers'||''' this highly successful book has been fully updated to reflect advances in the field. The scope of the book has also been expanded to include issues, dilemmas and the operational styles of both internal and external change agents. Other new topics covered include change management issues for leaders, managing large-scale organisational changes, and ways in which change agents can empower themselves and their clients. The book begins with an exploration of all aspects of change management from the perspective of consultant, manager or team leader. It goes on to explore the range of consulting styles available and the structure of the consultant-client relationship. Finally it explains why successful change agents must have a high level of personal power and self-esteem and it explores ways in which these can be acquired.

This volume in the Business Analysis Professional Development Series by renowned expert and best-selling author, Karl Wiegers, and a group of noteworthy contributors, provides experienced, advanced-level business analysis and project management practitioners with proven strategies and tips for making the successful transition from highly respected internal expert to a fulfilling and financially rewarding career in consulting. Key Features: Addresses how to effectively lay the foundation and structure of your consulting business; how to deal with or avoid the many pitfalls of working outside the corporate world and working remotely from home; and how to balance life, family, and work Presents a list of next steps at the end of each chapter with actions you can take immediately to begin applying the guidance and tips provided Furnishes valuable strategies and tips for such essentials as setting rates for your services, invoicing, purchasing appropriate insurance, establishing important business rules or policies, managing your finances and taxes, and other administrative aspects of your consultancy Articulates how to market your services, land both new and repeat business, negotiate deals, and craft written agreements with clients Describes how to establish multiple revenue streams, ways to leverage your work to develop sources of passive income, and some important issues of copyright, fair use, and managing and protecting your valuable intellectual property Provides sample checklists to help you keep all the activities you will be juggling as a consultant under control Identifies effective techniques for engaging clients in various situations, as well as warning signs about clients who can cause you headaches and how to deal with them Supplies solutions to a wide variety of problems and challenges of the consulting world, contributed by a group of noteworthy independent consultants with diverse experiences Discusses other common consultant activities that can generate a steady flow of revenue such as training, presenting at conferences, and other public speaking, and provides guidance and tips for delivering effective presentations with confidence Offers strategies and tips pertaining to partnering with other consultants on larger projects and how to make such arrangements work Examines the value of participating in professional associations and pursuing relevant professional certifications as a way to market your services and attract new clients and opportunities Explores the benefits of writing white papers and articles for magazines, journals, websites, and blogs as a means to simultaneously share your knowledge with the world and market your expertise to prospective clients Elaborates on the process and value of writing a book in the area in which you consult, how to get it published and distributed by a reputable publishing company that can reach your market, how to co-author a book effectively, and how a good selling book can be a powerful tool for getting clients and building your business WAV offers downloadable templates for consulting, writing, speaking, and licensing agreements, and checklists and forms to help you plan and manage your consulting business -available from the Web Added Value - Download Resource Center

What is management consultancy? How has it developed? How does it affect businesses? This book answers these questions and introduces the field for those looking to develop a career as a management consultant. Providing a thorough introduction to management consultancy, Morgen Witzel covers the topic from a range of perspectives including the field's historical development, the client's perspective, business analysis, return on investment, consulting failures, ethics and accountability and the growing importance of sustainability. With exercises and case studies throughout, this practical textbook provides students with a rounded and critical understanding of what it means to be a management consultant and in so doing, will help readers emerge as employable management consultants of the future.