Consulting%20Skills%20101

1

• Consulting Skills 101
• An Overview

November 2004
2

• Introductions

Paul Hinds Director Operational and Systems Risk
Management PricewaterhouseCoopers PAUL.HINDS_at_US.P
WC.COM
3

• Overview

• Types of OSRM Consulting Assignments
• EAGLE Consulting Model
• Active Listening
• Consulting Orientations
• Business Partner
• Expert
• Doctor-Patient

4

• Types of OSRM Consulting Assignments

• Risk Management Services
• Security Consulting Services
• Compliance Services
• Audit Support
• Systems Quality Services
• Systems Selection
• Other Special Projects

5

• Consulting Skills

• Business of Consulting Section 1
• Explore Section 2
• Agree Section 3
• Not Covered
• Leverage Section 4
• Execute Section 5

6

• Top 5 List

1. What is the business driver? Current problem,
   potential problem, lost opportunity?
2. State a solution in their terms, not yours.
   Value statement.
3. Understand how they perceive your services.
   Business partner, doctor, expert? Approach.
4. Make sure of the facts. Assumption or hear-say
   can kill you. Bad data is worse than no data.
5. Keep focused, keep it simple. 1-10 pages, and
   then add supplemental data to the back.

7

• Eagle Consulting Model

8

• Eagle Consulting Model - Explore

• Explore critical business issues and develop
  trust and credibility with clients by
• Conducting a front-end analysis using the Client
  Understanding Model
• Developing powerful questions for client
  interviewing
• Marketing (your firms) capabilities
• Applying active listening skill
• Responding effectively to issues of power
• and influence

9

• Eagle Consulting Model - AGree

• Reach agreement with client by
• Developing a shared assessment of client business
  issues and needs
• Clarifying specific expectations and outcomes
  needed for success
• Managing issues of communication, control and
  commitment

10

• Eagle Consulting Model - Agree (continued)

• Gaining buy-in for your project approach
  including
• Budget/time requirements
• Project definition/boundaries
• Defining client roles
• Confirming investment of client resources

11

• Eagle Consulting Model - Leverage

• Leverage global capability of your firm to
  provide unsurpassed client service efficiently
  by
• Accessing key firm technologies, people and
  centers of excellence
• Demonstrating effective use of leading-edge
  methodologies
• Employing current firm best practices and lessons
  learned from previous engagements.

12

• Eagle Consulting Model - Execute

• Execute engagements with clients by
• Maintaining regular communication concerning
  progress and issues
• Teaming effectively with client and specialty
  teams with the firm
• Managing tasks and people effectively
• Applying robust data gathering and analysis tools
• Generating actionable recommendations supported
  by focused arguments
• Employing effective presentation strategies

13

• Eagle Consulting Model
• Performance

• Achieve new levels of performance by
• Facilitating measurable results in client
  organizations
• Creating value for clients
• Developing long-term partnerships with clients

14

• The Client Understanding Model

Purpose
Product ServiceStrategy
Operations
Organizational Drivers
Industry Forces and Dynamics
Performance
The Client Understanding Model represents a
framework for conducting client and industry
analysis
15

• Active Listening

• What does it achieve?
• It opens people up rather than shutting them down
• It encourages people to
• Start talking
• Keep talking
• Fully express their ideas and concerns
• It enables you to interpret as accurately as
  possible the meaning another person is trying to
  convey
• It conveys to other person your understanding and
  acknowledgment

16

• How is it Done?

• This kind of listening is not passive. It
  requires you to work with the other person to
  make sure you have heard them and to communicate
  that you have heard by
• Physically attending to the other person using
  eye contact and posture
• Actively encouraging the other person using
• Attentive silence promotes ("tell me more", "go
  on", uh huh")
• Infrequent questions ("what happened then?")
• Door openers ("you look exhausted - what
  happened?")
• Responding to the whole message . . .
• Paraphrasing or summarizing
• Reflecting both the content and the feeling in a
  way that demonstrates understanding and
  acknowledgment
• Checking that you have understood by asking
  ("Have I got this right?", "Have I heard you
  correctly?")

17

• Active Listening Techniques

18

• 5 Straight "A's" For Your Active Listening Skills

• ATTEND to what the person says, does and
  communicates non-verbally
• AVOID jumping to judgments, interpretations or
  solutions
• ACKNOWLEDGE what the person is communicating to
  you let them know you have got the message
• APPRECIATE and genuinely try to understand their
  point of view
• ASK open-ended questions to encourage the person
  to talk more freely and openly

19

• Active Listening Summary

• Do's
• Try to pick up and reflect back to the client key
  words which express their major concerns and
  feelings about the issues
• Invite them to tell you more
• Ask them to draw charts or organizational
  pictures of those involved
• Let them describe situations without judging or
  interrupting them
• Use nonverbal behavior to encourage the client to
  communicate with you as fully as possible
• Use open ended questions
• Support their efforts to get a clearer
  understanding of the problem and their own role
  in it

20

• Active Listening Summary

• Don'ts
• Don't show lack of interest or impatience
• Don't contradict the client
• Don't put your own judgments or labels on what is
  being said
• Don't imply that you approve or disapprove of
  what the client says about others
• Don't offer solutions before the client has asked
  for them

21

• The Client Understanding Model

Purpose
Product ServiceStrategy
Operations
Organizational Drivers
Industry Forces and Dynamics
Performance
The Client Understanding Model represents a
framework for conducting client and industry
analysis
22

• Consulting Orientations

• Consultants must negotiate their primary approach
  with clients, choosing from among three essential
  orientations.
• Expert
• Doctor-Patient
• Process Consultant or Business Partner

23

• Consulting Orientations

• The Business Partner role provides the greatest
  opportunity for delivering lasting value to
  clients and facilitating effective organizational
  change. The Business Partner Role
• Maximizes client investment throughout the
  consulting process,
• Provides the greatest degree of flexibility for
  clients and consultants, and
• Facilitates the development of new client skills
  for addressing future challenges.

24

• Consulting Orientations - Business Partner

25

• Consulting Orientations - Business Partner

• Defining Characteristics
• Client maintains ownership of the problem
• Diagnosis is shared
• Solution generation is shared
• Client learns skills for future challenges
• Diagnosis and intervention are intertwined
• Critical Success Factors
• Client does not know the source of the problem
• Client does not know what expertise may be needed
• Client knowledge is need to effectively diagnose
  problem and determine solution
• Client and consultant are committed to common
  goals

26

• Consulting Orientations - Expert

27

• Consulting Orientations - Expert

• Defining characteristics
• Client diagnoses problem
• Client determines expertise needed
• Consultant "owns" problem
• Consultant generates solution
• Consultant receives praise of blame
• Critical Success Factors
• Client correctly diagnoses problem
• Client correctly identifies consultant
  capabilities
• Client correctly communicates problem and
  expertise needed
• Client accepts potential consequences of
  intervention

28

• Consulting Orientations (continued)

• Not Appropriate When
• Problem is too complex
• Diagnosis is difficult
• Possible results are "too hot to handle"

29

• Consulting Orientations - Doctor

30

• Consulting Orientations - Doctor

• Defining Characteristics
• Client identifies symptoms
• Consultant diagnoses disease and prescribes a
  cure
• Consultant "owns" problem
• Consultant receives praise or blame
• Critical Success Factors
• Diagnostic process itself is considered valuable
  and helpful
• Client correctly identifies symptoms and area of
  "sickness"
• Those involved with the "sickness" provide
  accurate information needed for a valid
  diagnosis. Data is not hidden, nor are the
  symptoms exaggerated.

31

• Consulting Orientations (continued)

• Client understands and correctly interprets the
  diagnosis provided by the consultant and
  implements the prescription offered
• Client remains "healthy" after consultant leaves
• Not Appropriate When
• Symptoms or "sickness" is not clear
• Client is not willing to be dependent upon a
  consultant for both diagnosis and prescription
• Client is concerned to learn the skills needed to
  address similar occurrences in the future

32

• The Consulting Model - Explore

• Explore critical business issues and develop
  trust and credibility with clients by
• Conducting a front-end analysis using the Client
  Understanding Model
• Developing powerful questions for client
  interviewing
• Applying active listening skills
• Marketing the firms capabilities
• Responding effectively to issues of power and
  influence

33

• Top 5 List

1. What is the business driver? Current problem,
   potential problem, lost opportunity?
2. State a solution in their terms, not yours.
   Value statement.
3. Understand how they perceive your services.
   Business partner, doctor, expert? Approach.
4. Make sure of the facts. Assumption or hear-say
   can kill you. Bad data is worse than no data.
5. Keep focused, keep it simple. 1-10 pages, and
   then add supplemental data to the back.