The current status and trends of the Management Consultants

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The current status and trends of the
Management Consultants ProfessionPresented by
Peter SorensenICMCI Chairman
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A presentation made for the Danish
Management BoardbyProfessor Flemming Poulfelt,
Copenhagen Business School 11.januar
2006Adapted by Peter Sorensenfor National
Institute of Certified Management
ConsultantsRussia
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• Questions
• What is current status for consultants
  profession in 2006?
• In which direction are consultants moving?
• What is important for clients when using
  consultants?
• How to secure that cooperation creates values?
• Which dilemmas do consultants face?
• Which challenges are next?

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• Consultants Profession 2006 - An actual picture 1
• Expected Growth above 10 p.a.
• Focus on assignments and projects creating
  visible value
• Intensive price competition
• Development of new services such as real
  outsourcing
• IT heats up again, with tough competition
• Buzzwords not enough, classical services again
  necessary

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• Consultants Profession 2006 - An actual picture 2
• Strategy is partially changing, focus on
  development of management, organisation and
  competency
• Operational Management is hot stuff (e.g. lean)
• Innovation delivered by consultants is not much
  wanted
• Knowledge of the specific business areas in
  higher demand
• Value based consulting is desired
• New fee structures offered?

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• Consultants Profession 2006 - An actual picture 3
• Tougher competition for experienced and
  professional consultants
• Some street traders (transitional consultants)
  in the market
• Increased requirements for future consultants
  profile regarding professionalism, business
  acumen, communication and presentation
• Clients demand Principles to make daily
  operations more efficient (and implemented) and
  to increase their competencies

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• Consultants Profession 2006 - An actual picture 4
• Types of clients
• Professionel clients with an explicit desire to
  outsource or insource
• The unhappy ones in despair over the complexity
  of management
• Those focused on modern trends wanting to join in
• The weak ones who want others to carry the
  burdens
• In general clients are satisfied with their
  consultants work
• The consultants themselves are rather
  selfcontent!

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• Clients demands from consultants
• Fulfil clients needs!
• Continued rapid change rate
• Reduce and optimise costs
• Accelerating product- and market development
• New competition
• Utilisation of possibilities with new technology
• Globalisation imperative!
• Value of outsourcing
• The arena of management

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From a CEO I feel a little uncomfortable when
consultants are presenting me major prepacked
programmes on how to solve key problems in our
company before knowing too much about the
organization.
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• What do clients expect from cooperation with
  consultants?
• Insight in clients situation and understanding
• Knowledge and experience
• Qualified play and counterplay
• Consultants able to handle processes
• Comprehensible communication
• Attacking the whole situation
• Match in personal relations
• Careful and timely actions and most of all
• Long term sustainable solutions

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Et dilemma?
A dilemma? Clients want consultants to work with
them and not for them! Consultants want to
work for clients and not with them?
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Ten typical consultant - client dilemmas

• To sell without overselling
• To be precise but on thin background
• To inform about price without knowing problems
• To deliver fast results and ensure client
  participation
• To use experience without copying yourself
• To solve problems actively without making client
  passive
• To minimise resources spent and maximise value
• To be critical and get agreement at the same time
• To maintain a professional distance and be close
• To be sharp and obtain clients confidence

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A question for reflection When using suppliers
tendency is towards closer relations ?The goal is
to obtain synergy and a win-win situation. When
using consultants tendency is towards closer
relations but at the same time keeping some
distance ?The goal is to obtain synergy and an
independent role Do these simultaneous tendencies
sometimes prevent the optimal solutions??? What
roles do the consultant and the client desire?
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The roles of the consultant The consultant may
be supplier or partner Supplier Transaction
based Partner Relation based
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• The consultants challenges
• Developing new models for cooperation between
  consultants and clients towards partnership
• Adapting some consultants deliverables according
  to new times and new clients needs
• Recruiting of seasoned professionals
• Developing and consolidating simultanously
• Continuing increase of professionalisation and
  the image of consulting