Consulting Skills 101 An Overview

1. Consulting Skills 101 An Overview November 2004

2. Introductions Paul Hinds Director Operational and Systems Risk Management PricewaterhouseCoopers PAUL.HINDS@US.PWC.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 • What is the business driver? Current problem, potential problem, lost opportunity? • State a solution in their terms, not yours. Value statement. • Understand how they perceive your services. Business partner, doctor, expert? Approach. • Make sure of the facts. Assumption or hear-say can kill you. Bad data is worse than no data. • 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 firm’s) 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. Technique Purpose Typical Lead-in Phrases The "String" 1. To show interest 2. To help the client open up 1. "Uh, huh" 2. "Tell me more." 3. " I understand" Restatement and Paraphrasing 1. To verify your interpretation 2. To demonstrate listening and understanding 3. To help the client to further analyze the • situation 1. "Let me see if I understand . . ." 2. "So you're saying . . . : 3. "In other words . . . " Summarizing 1. To focus the discussion 2. To clarify priorities or actions 3. To reach agreement 1. "To summarize, then . . ." 2. "Let me see if I can summarize . . ." 3. "So, the key issues are . . ." Clarifying 1. To acquire additional information 2. To further explore a problem 3. To clarify your understanding 4. To verify agreement 1. "I want to make sure I understand, are you saying . . ." 2. "To make sure we are both clear . . ." 3. "Do you mean . . ." Empathic 1. To demonstrate understanding of the clients feelings 2. To enable the client to vent their emotion 1. "How did you feel when . . ." 2. "You obviously have some feelings about that . . ." 3. "You seem . . ." 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. “You know your people and your organization. I have the experience and know the methodology that can help you get where you want to go. We're in this together." 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. Here's my problem; bring me an answer and tell me how much it will cost. You are the expert...you solve it. 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. "I'm a doctor, I can help. Where does it hurt?" 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 firm’s capabilities • Responding effectively to issues of power and influence

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