The art of management consulting - to consult or not to consult

If Jesus Taught At Harvard Business School Podcast

In today’s session we have Ade Ojomo - a management consultant in the consulting, advisory and training space, discussing the frameworks involved in the consulting practice and exploring the skills be an effective consultant

Peter Ferdinand Drucker was an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business corporation.

With regards his role in the area of management consulting, he said:

”My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions."

The word “consultant” can sometimes be misleading in organisations because individuals may actually be performing a manager’s role. It is therefore important that this difference is understood when it comes to the definition of roles and responsibilities in an organisation - internally or externally.

The difference between a consultant and a manager is that a manager is someone who has direct responsibility over the action. The moment you take responsibility, you are acting as a manager.

A Consultant on the other hand is a person in a position to have some influence over an individual, a group, or an organisation, but who has no direct power to make changes or implement programs

Consulting involves providing a list of services to clients ranging from planning, recommending, assisting or advising regarding different subject matters. This could include the following: Personnel, Financial Analysis, Auditing, System Analysis, Market Research, Product Design, Long range planning, Organisational Effectiveness, Safety, HR and many more. The recipient of this advice is normally called a “client”.

The case study that will be discussed for today’s episode will be based on a scenario that happened over 2000 years ago. The Babylonian Kingdom was looking for individuals to work as officials and consultants to the government. During the tenure of their appointment, a problem arose which the main client; King Nebuchadnezzar needed a solution provided. It was presented to the in-house managers, but they could not provide any options on how to resolve the problem.

Kapitler

1. The art of management consulting - to consult or not to consult (00:00:00)

2. Introduction (00:00:23)

3. Introduction to Topic (00:03:34)

4. Case Study 1 - Entry and Contracting (00:04:46)

5. Entry and Contracting (00:07:59)

6. Case Study 2 - Discovery, Dialogue, Feedback and Decision to Act (00:13:34)

7. Discovery and Dialogue (00:16:40)

8. Feedback and Decision to Act (00:19:26)

9. Take Away Points (00:21:55)