Dimitry's Rules for Consulting ############################## Why do they need you? ===================== * Organizations sometimes do need real advice to get **where they want to be**. * Sometimes organizations know where they want to be, but don't know **how to get there**. * Most often, organizations know exactly what has to happen, but have too much organizaional inertia to even budge without an **outside voice**. Why do you do this job? ======================= * Perhaps you are truly an **expert in your field**. * Perhaps **you can sell** heat lamps at noon in the Gobi Desert. * Most importantly, you actually have **something to contribute** in your practice area. * Contrary to popular belief, BS sells poorly. .. note:: The shortest path out of consulting is to be wrong. .. * Every time you *open your mouth*, you bet your entire future. * Every time you *fail to open your mouth*, you foreclose on that future. .. note:: The second-shortest path out consulting is to not risk being wrong. .. * This job requires **audacity** and **sagacity**. Presentation ============ * It's the **content**, stupid. * No amount of slide beautification will cover empty conent. * It's also the **beautification**. Most of your clients expect **leadership**, which does require **image**. .. note:: You can't go wrong by being right. .. * Dress the part of the expert in your field. **Clothing is communication**. * Even if your clients wear their formal dress hoodies, you will dress in accordance with **professional expectations** in your society. * In Anglosaxon culture, this is flexible for women, but very rigid for men. * Clients will judge everyone in accordance with their biases. Fair or not, we cannot wish other people's biases away. The Engagement ============== * Traditionally, beyond the phases of project management, the "performance" portion of a consulting project contains three phases. * **As-Is**: Gather the current state. * The organization *never* runs as management thinks it does. * Learn what the tribe values, even if you need to destroy it. * **To-Be**: Gather and influence management's goals for the end state. * Redirect discussions of *how* and force discussions of *what*. * To-Be is an organizational configuration management exercise. * Once they decide on the future you planned for them, make them proud of getting to that conclusion. * Even the hiring party needs to stay motivated through a hard transformation. * **Gap Analysis**: Design a path to the end state. * This is your how. Very often, this will break into mini-engagements with subordinate entity or third party entity transformations. * Amateurs and strategy. * Gap analysis is always a logistics exercise, even in non-log organizations. * Technical transformations are always process transformations. * Process transformations are always re-orgs. * Re-orgs are always traumatic. * The output of gap analysis is one or more project plans, each with their own kickoff for the transformation. * Don't lie about timelines. * If something takes a week of calendar time, it takes a week of calendar time. * You cannot "work harder" and make the facts change. * The first two can happen in any order or simultaneously. * Run workshops for everything, even if management tells you whom you shouldn't ask. * In fact, find those people and ask them discretely. Everyone holds a piece of tribal knowledge. Pre-engagement ============== * Kick-off meetings * This is your first intelligence gathering opportunity to learn the depth of buy-in to your consulting engagement. * Set expectations. False humility goes a long way here to help you win trust. * Casual social contact * Establish rapport with at least one decision making stake-holder. * Establish *distinct* rapport with at least one knowledgeable observer. * Every organization has one. Find him or her. It is usually a person with high intelligence and good verbal skills, but mismatching demographics to their organization. * Elicitation skills are key. Post-engagement =============== * Sell. Sell. Also, sell. * Your services do not end with project closure. * If you are actually providing skilled support, ensure they are aware of how else they can reach you. .. note:: Every formal contact closes with re-contact permission and agreement. .. * Every sale closure is a project opener. Every project closure is a likely new sale opener... ...if you are actually a consultant, as opposed to a space-filler. * Follow-up on organizational changes. * Take responsibility for wins and losses with the ability to fix problems. * Maintain social contact with decision makers. Do not abruptly drop relationships at project closure. * Pretexts for contact: lifecycle events, holidays, and, most importantly, cutting edge news in your industry. * *"Did you hear...?"* * *"What does it mean for your firm now that...?"* * Staffing * Often, you will be with the customer for their change, executing your plan. It better be a good one. Money ===== * Always be charging. * All work is billable hours. * Undercharging and overcharging are both fraudulent activities. * Most consulting organizations require 110% standard utilization. * That means **44 hours** of billables per week, not including administrative or non-billable tasks. * Time sheets are critical. * CAS-compliant organizations will require daily updates. * Keep your own ledger of hours worked per project or charge code. * These are table stakes for doing this job. * None of this is optional. "I'm not good at paperwork." doesn't cut it. * Fear the beach (or bench). * Non-billable time is training time, officially. * Unofficially, it's sales time. Every waking moment should be on guaranteeing your peak utilization for the month. **Do not remain on the bench.** * No one respects the utility player. Helping others without billing makes you a nice person: **the nice person with whom they used to work**. Government consulting ===================== *coming soon* Managing consultants ==================== *coming soon*