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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
bc
How to be a
Great Consultant
March 1998
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
Developer: Alex Wouterse
Reviewers: Tony Ecock
Steven Tallman
John Clarke
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Great Consultant
Great Consultant
bc
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Key success factors
The function of expectations in predicting consultant success
Managing expectations for new consultants
Evolving expectations for experienced consultants
Key takeaways
Agenda
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Great Consultant
Great Consultant
bc
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Great consultants base their success on characteristics that extend well beyond analytical thinking.
Baseline analytical expertise, but also…
Excellent interpersonal skills and knowledge of people management
facilitation
motivating others
conflict management
Frank self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses
Receptiveness to feedback from a variety of sources
Ability and willingness to act on feedback
training
experimentation
practice
Desire to succeed as a consultant
Five Key Characteristics
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Great Consultant
Great Consultant
bc
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Key success factors
The function of expectations in predicting consultant success
Managing expectations for new consultants
Evolving expectations for experienced consultants
Key takeaways
Agenda
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Great Consultant
Great Consultant
bc
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
What people expect of you will depend on their needs and perspective.
If in doubt, ask about the expectations of the people you work with.
Expectations and Differing Perspectives
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Bain VPs on what it takes to be a successful consultant...
“Few consultants have the total package when they arrive. The best consultants leverage either extraordinary analytical or client skills and then develop the rest over time.”
“Paradoxically, team skills are not a way that consultants distinguish themselves. Almost everyone we hire has excellent team skills based on where and how we recruit.”
“Over time, there is no substitute for the ability to quickly crack a tough business problem/analysis and design/execute an efficient path for gathering the data to back it up. This is what we do day in and day out. It creates client success stories and smooth team operations.”
Successful Consultants: Bain VPs’ Perspectives
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
“Unsuccessful consultants...
…are arrogant and unreceptive to feedback. They stop three-quarters of the way through the analysis because they are confident it’s right and don’t convince skeptical clients to change.”
…do not become expert in the functional or industry area they are working in. The clients question their value-added - often from their first interaction.”
…do not get out in front of their managers. They are executing another person’s ‘to do’s’ rather than designing their own path. They don’t live up to, let alone exceed, expectations. Their lifestyle is totally reactive. And their morale is understandably low.”
…treat the Bain job as an extension of school. Like courses and professors, cases and team leaders are good or bad. Case work is an assignment, not a personal mission. Also, they think in terms of ‘us/them’ rather than joining the team and pulling for the joint cause. As a result, they do not add as much value as they think they do, or they’re capable of, and they are tiresome to manage.”
Unsuccessful Consultants: Bain VPs’ Perspectives
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Great Consultant
Great Consultant
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Key success factors
The function of expectations in predicting consultant success
Managing expectations for new consultants
Evolving expectations for experienced consultants
Key takeaways
Agenda
*
Great Consultant
Great Consultant
bc
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
When you start working, you hear different things about Bain and what others expect of you.
“You sign up. Then, they tell you what you are really up to.”
“Get on a good case. Work for a good manager/mentor.”
“If you are not involved in recruiting, that’s a bad sign.”
“The first year you will probably do spreadsheets, spreadsheets, spreadsheets.”
“A great analyst can get away with lousy team scores.”
“Make a good impression on the VPs you are working with. That’s all that counts.”
This module aims to tell you what you really can expect and what is expected of you.
Start-Up Expectations
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Consultant expectations and roles are grounded in the Bain mission.
Bain & Company’s mission is to help our clients create such high levels of economic value that together we set new standards of excellence in our respective industries.
This mission demands
Mission Statement
We believe that accomplishing our mission will redefine the management consulting business, and will provide new levels of rewards for our clients and for our organization.
The Bain vision of the most productive client relationship and single-minded dedication to achieving it with each client
The Bain community of extraordinary teams
The Bain approach to creating value, based on a sharp competitive and customer focus, the most effective analytic techniques, and our process for collaboration with the client
Mission and Expectations
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
The Bain vision of client relationships is realized by delivering results, not reports. Your role as a consultant is a function of Bain’s vision for each client relationship.
Relationship to Client
Value Added Results
“Fee-for-service Adviser”
(Billing hours of advice)
“Dedicated Partner”
(Selling profits at a discount)
“Profit Participator”
(Buying profits at a bargain)
“Empowered Entrepreneur”
(Taking full ownership position)
Consultant role:
Independent and objective
Industry experts
Serve a client for a fee
Strong alignment with dedication to client’s destiny
Experts on the client’s industry and key strategic challenges
Long-term relationships
Value-sharing whenever possible
Controlling role towards client management
Exclusivity, no conflict of interest
Focus on results
Active dedication to success by full risk sharing
Entrepreneurial role based on experience in “results through strategy”
Client Relationships and Consultant Role
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
The Bain mission and vision can be translated into concrete expectations for a new consultant. Your ultimate success will rest upon your ability to meet these expectations.
What will make you
a great consultant at Bain?
Value Addition
Client Relationships
Communication
Extraordinary
Teams
Expectations are integrated into a business system (recruiting, training, professional development, performance management)
Expectations are linked with market positioning and Bain brand (“results through strategy”)
Success Factors and Expectations
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How to be a Great Consultant
What do we expect from you as a new consultant in the area of value addition?
Identify the
action/
answer that will
lead to
client value
Pyramid the
problem
Plan the work
Execute the
work
Interpret
the analysis
Identify key issues of workstream
Help to formulate specific hypotheses
logical
mutually exclusive/ collectively exhaustive (MECE)
Develop blank slides
Design analysis to complete the slides
Design templates to gather data
Identify checkpoints
Develop a timeline
Gather representative, primary data in the most efficient way
Perform zero defect analysis
Avoid crunches
Reality check
Anticipate client reaction
Deliver expected results
Baseline:
Oversee interdependencies with whole case
Help structure the “big picture”
Create a completely MECE pyramid of the client’s problem
motivate the client to take action, or
prove the answer
Get to the heart of the matter quickly
Build up realistic HIT-based planning and Answer-First consistently
Master most complex analytical toolkit
Coach other team members
Develop breakthrough insights and significant tangible results on your specific module
Distinguishing:
Expectations: Value Addition
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
What do we expect from you as a new consultant in the area of client relationships?
Evaluate client
needs
Manage client
situation
Build
relationship
Generate
impact
Sensitive to client needs, constraints, and culture
Conduct professional and controlled interactions
Always run well-prepared meetings
Viewed as expert by client
Work with client on relevant issues
Help to support change in individual interactions
Baseline:
Cultivate acute awareness of others’ attitudes and values
Follow up all client commitments
Build personal relationship based on outstanding expertise and empathy with client
Turnaround client team members into real change agents and “Bain friends”
Distinguishing:
Expectations: Client Relationships
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
What do we expect from you as a new consultant in the area of communication?
Interact parallel
with client
Develop a
presentation
Present
Ensure
consensus,
follow up,
and action
Leave a trail
Adopt a candid and precise communication style
Help to create a well-structured, logical presentation
Generate flawless, succinct “Bain standard” slides
Rehearse sufficiently
Prewire assigned client employees
Present own work with flawless execution
Note key client questions and observations in meetings and presentations
Provide back-up
File
Baseline:
Use communication to convince and motivate clients to take desired action
Independently prepare a “crisp” presentation
compelling storyline
high impact slides
Be proficient and convincing in larger, formal presentations
Guarantee achievement of desired results
Make excellent BRAVA and practice area contributions
Distinguishing:
Expectations: Communication
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
What do we expect from you as a new consultant in the area of extraordinary teams?
Self
Team
Office
Be receptive to feedback
Sustain commitment to Bain
Be a true team player 100% of time
Contribute positively to morale
Manager
(upward)
Be reliable
Be supportive
Act as an accepted and responsible member of office community
Demonstrate professional behavior to all administrative staff
Systematically solicit and use feedback from others to improve own performance
Successfully motivate and integrate other new consultants into team
Leverage manager’s time and value added
Manage proactive contribution to overall office morale
Network
Earn respect
Engage in informal office activities
Baseline:
Distinguishing:
Expectations: Extraordinary Teams
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
According to VPs, successful consultants do not ignore the basics.
You can never overdo prewires
Send faxes well in advance of teleconferences
number your pages
Only produce slides after the story or executive summary is written
in the best presentations, taglines correspond to the executive summary verbatim
producing slides and then trying to make a story out of them is the single greatest cause of yield loss at Bain
Create fewer, better slides
reduce rework - create “client ready” slides for the first time
use graphics technology to leverage your work, not expand it
use fewer words, bigger text
Develop a bias for fact-based slides - avoid stoplight charts or subjective word slides
label appropriately
include sources
Rehearse presentations sufficiently to make adequate eye contact with the audience
don’t read slides to people who can read slides for themselves
slides support the story and are no substitute for real-time commentary
Start with the end in mind
if the end product is a board presentation, blank out a board presentation - don’t try to start with a management level presentation and convert it
Tips from VPs
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Great Consultant
Great Consultant
bc
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Key success factors
The function of expectations in predicting consultant success
Managing expectations for new consultants
Evolving expectations for experienced consultants
Key takeaways
Agenda
*
Great Consultant
Great Consultant
bc
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Expectations evolve for an experienced consultant. Great consultants are “caseteam leaders and managers-in-training.”
Evolving Expectations
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
State-of-the-art problem-solving know-how and client process skills
Over time in a consultant’s career, basic values remain the same but differ in emphasis.
Junior consulting staff
Senior consulting staff
Time Allocation
Analysis/
problem-solving
Caseteam/client
management
Sales/marketing
Know-how creation
and experience sharing
Role:
Key success factors:
Top analyst/problem solver
Change agent
Leadership in
effecting change (process skills)
“Performance Partner” for top management
Sales/marketing, product development
Role Development
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Expectations about your role will increase in line with your broadening skill levels.
Value addition
Client relationships
Communication
Extraordinary
teams
Focus on assigned workstream
Become expert in certain tools, functions, tasks
Focus on big picture
Gather and share expertise in major relevant business/industry issues
Establish relationship with specific client team members
Become a respected project team member
Establish long-term relationships with key client decision makers
Earn personal respect beyond mere project/ business issues
Communicate proactively and professionally
Create well-prepared parts of presentations
Use communication skills consciously and systematically to motivate others to take action
Create and supervise the creation of complete presentations that convince the client
Be a great team player
Engage in informal office activities
Help others to integrate smoothly into the team
Actively contribute to office/firm development - manage a major activity (recruiting, training, etc.)
Junior
Senior
Expectation and Skill Development
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Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
No matter what path you may eventually take, there is significant overlap between Bain and career key success factors.
Bain
Career
Build a personal track record of value addition
Bullets on your resume
Develop a list of team members and clients who like and respect you
Personal network
Bain & Beyond
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Great Consultant
Great Consultant
bc
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Key success factors
The function of expectations in predicting consultant success
Managing expectations for new consultants
Evolving expectations for experienced consultants
Key takeaways
Agenda
*
Great Consultant
Great Consultant
bc
Copyright© 1998 Bain & Company, Inc.
How to be a Great Consultant
Great consultants...
execute on more than good analysis
develop excellent interpersonal and people management skills
self-assess for areas of potential growth
use feedback to achieve full potential
proactively manage caseteam work, managers, and clients
are aware of career milestones and their shifting roles, and actively manage transitions
capitalize on opportunities to go beyond baseline performance to achieve distinguishing results in value addition, client relationships, communication, and extraordinary teams
integrate caseteam work and firm asset-building into personal and professional aspirations
Takeaways
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Great Consultant
Great Consultant
