1 / 44

Choosing Team Members

Choosing Team Members. Random drawing of members Sit with your team members for the duration of the semester Team building exercise Select project manager Team contract. Skills and Talents Worksheet. With regard to your potential consulting career: List things you can do

maynard
Download Presentation

Choosing Team Members

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Choosing Team Members • Random drawing of members • Sit with your team members for the duration of the semester • Team building exercise • Select project manager • Team contract

  2. Skills and Talents Worksheet • With regard to your potential consulting career: • List things you can do • List things you would be rather doing • Some items will appear on both lists • Where your true interests lie • True passion areas determine how successful you are

  3. Introduction to Business Information Systems Consulting

  4. What is Consulting? • The U.S. spends $2.3 trillion on projects every year, an amount equal to one-quarter of the nation’s gross domestic product. • The world as a whole spends nearly $10 trillion of its $40.7 trillion gross product on projects of all kinds. • More than sixteen million people regard project management as their profession.

  5. More Consulting Info • Famous business authors and consultants are stressing the importance of project management. As Tom Peters writes in his book, Reinventing Work: the Project 50, “To win today you must master the art of the project!”

  6. Categories of Consultants • Three categories of consultants: • Large firms consultants • Internal consultants • Independent consultants • Solo (proprietorship) • As a group (partnership)

  7. What is Consulting? • What is a consultant? • An advisor who is in a position to have some influence over an individual, a group, or an organization, but who has no direct power to make changes or implement programs.

  8. What is Consulting? The term “consultant” has become much maligned and in disrepute. Scenario 1: Client: What time is it?

  9. What is Consulting? Scenario 1: Client: What time is it? Consultant: What time do you want it to be?

  10. What is Consulting? Scenario 2: Client: What time is it?

  11. What is Consulting? Scenario 2: Client: What time is it? Consultant: Give me your watch and I will tell you.

  12. What is Consulting? Scenario 3: Those who can…do.

  13. What is Consulting? Scenario 3: Those who can…do. Those who can’t…consult.

  14. Areas of Consulting • General Management • Planning, strategy, corporate policy • Manufacturing • Production control, facilities management, materials management • Personnel • Training, recruitment, employee benefits

  15. Areas of Consulting • Marketing • New product introduction, pricing, promotion, sales forecasting • Finance and Accounting • Cost accounting, tax advice, investment • Procurement and Purchasing • Commodity classification, inventory management, stores operation

  16. Areas of Consulting • Research and Development • Project determination & evaluation, cost control • Packaging • Packaging machinery, design, testing • Administration • Office management, office planning design & space utilization, EDP

  17. Areas of Consulting • International Operations • Import, export, licensing, tariffs, joint ventures • Specialized Services • Catches all the many other areas • Executive recruitment • Test prepping, essay editing, and application consulting • IT/Computer consulting • E-Business consulting

  18. Types of IT Consulting • Contract Programmer • Codes, tests, debugs for an hourly rate • System Integrator • Selects and configures hardware and software • Custom Developer • Develops custom software for clients

  19. Types of IT Consulting • Expert Consultant • Advices top decision makers on policy or technical direction via lectures and seminars • Technical Management Consultant • Project management; provides SDLC • Consulting Firms Employee • Employee of the Big Four accounting firms and corporations

  20. Why Does Company Want a Consultant? • Fill in the blank space

  21. Why Need a Consultant Anyway? • The need for personnel • Put out a great amount of work over a short period of time • Unique expertise on short-term or project basis • The need for fresh ideas • Employees too close to problem to understand all ramifications

  22. Why Need a Consultant Anyway? • Company politics • For various political reasons those who understand the problem are not allowed to present it • Consultant assumed to be more impartial and less likely to be influenced by company politics

  23. Why Need a Consultant Anyway? • The need for improved sales • No business can exist without sales • To increase sales in a short time frame • The need for capital • Every company needs money • Help find sources of capital

  24. Why Need a Consultant Anyway? • Government Regulations • If not obeyed can result in penalty • The need for maximum efficiency • Inefficiency leads to high costs, making prices noncompetitive • The need to diagnose problems and find solutions • You should become very adept at this

  25. Why Need a Consultant Anyway? • The need to train employees • Business operations are becoming more and more complex • The need for a complete turnaround • Consultant troubleshoots to pull off a complete turnaround • Computers and data processing

  26. How Do Clients Analyze Consultants for Hiring? • Fill in the blank space

  27. How Potential Clients Analyze Consultants for Hire • Can you add something to company’s total output? • Will your expertise bring company any closer to its goals? • Can you make company work more effectively? • Will you save company time and money? • Within budget, can you do a comprehensive and effective job?

  28. Assessing Your Skills and Talents • Aware of both strengths and weaknesses • Type of consulting field to break into • Take time to assess skills and talents • In-class Consulting Skills Assessment Exercise – Do It Now … take out a sheet of paper and make 2 columns – list your strengths and weaknesses

  29. What Skills Do You Need To Be An Outstanding Consultant? • Fill in the blank space

  30. What Makes an Outstanding Consultant? • Bedside manner • Ability to get along with client • Not so much what you say but how you say • Ability to diagnose problems • One of most significant criteria • Ability to find solutions • After diagnosis, suggest right course of action

  31. What Makes an Outstanding Consultant? • Technical expertise and knowledge • Technical expertise in a field is important • Expertise comes from education, experience, personal skills • Communication skills • Superior communication (written/oral)

  32. What Makes an Outstanding Consultant? • Marketing and selling abilities • A good marketer and a good salesperson • Sell an intangible product • Management skills • Ability to manage a business • Ability to run projects

  33. What Makes an Outstanding Consultant? • Two groups of skills • BIG Three and BIG Four • BIG Three • Communications 2. Technical command of a subject 3. Ability to get along • BIG Four 1. Analytical skills 2. Sensitivity to others 3. Tolerance for lifestyle 4. Strong personal drive

  34. Minimum Six-Figure Consultant • Eat, drink, and breathe customer service • Keep up with latest changes in your field of expertise • Develop ability to identify problems quickly • Look for creative ways to solve problems • Use excellent communications skills

  35. Minimum Six-Figure Consultant • Be 100% confident that you will succeed • Be professional in everything you do • Be a people person • Be the best manager you can be • Give clients more than they expect

  36. Skills and Talents Worksheet • Outstanding job skills possessed • Specialized education and training possessed • Special licenses possessed • What most do you like about present job • What you have been told that you do extremely well

  37. Marketing YourselfNaming Your Business • What is in a name? • Plenty, esp. if you want your business to be successful • Choose names carefully • Portray an aura of professionalism • Stay away from cutesy names • Must contribute effectively to your marketing approach

  38. Naming Your Business • Should name of practice contain your name? Advantage: • Clients like personal touch • Should name of practice precisely and and immediately communicate the services that you provide?

  39. Naming Your Business • Examples: • Telephone Marketing Consultants • Preciseness locks you into predetermined market and service • Hindrance to expand your services later • Should the company name cause others to view your practice as being a public-interest, non-profit organizations?

  40. Naming Your Business • Examples: • The Center for _____________ • The ___________ Resources Center • The Institute for the Study of ___________ • The Alliance to ______________ Advantage: • Prestige, lends credibility • Field important enough to warrant founding of an institute or center

  41. Naming Your Business • Using fictitious names other than your business names? • Advantages: • On retirement or withdrawal from business, you can sell your assumed name but keep your corporation • Helpful for trial efforts. If they flop, no harm done

  42. Developing a Brochure • As part of marketing plan • Entire career depends on it • Describes what you have accomplished and what you can do for client • Concentrate on your past successes

  43. Developing a Brochure Five issues to be addressed: • Should clearly convey your services • Should tell customers why you are best • Should give a few reasons why you should be hired • Should include brief bio information • Should include info about your other clients

  44. Brochure for Your Consulting Firm • Develop a brochure to market yourselves to your client

More Related