Management Consulting 101 So, You Might Want To Be A Consultant

Professor Ken Homa
Georgetown University
Management Consulting 101

So, you might want to be a consultant …
Incomplete Without Extensive Oral Elaboration
Proprietary Material
© K.E. Homa
Today’s Session
• Career perspective
• Key consulting skills
• How to get “there”
• Guide to resources
Caveats & Warnings

Caveats & Warnings …
Courses
Caveats & Disclaimers
Shameless promotion
• STRT 551 – FMC (Mod 3)

Frameworks, Methods and Contexts
• STRT 552 – SBA (Mod 4)

Strategic Business Analytics
One View
Caveats & Disclaimers
One man’s view

• Mature, uncensored subject matter
… viewer discretion advised !
• Not necessarily the views of any

organization, official or ad hoc
• No warranty, expressed or implied
Since One View

Where I’m coming from …
Bona Fides
Ken Homa
Princeton University, A.B. cum laude, Economics University of Chicago, M.B.A.
-------------------------FUNCTIONAL FOCUS------------------------
EMPLOYER SECTOR STRATEGY MARKETING LOGISTICS SYSTEMS
Arthur Andersen Consulting X X
McKinsey Consulting X X X
Univ. of Chicago Education X X
General Electric Consumer Goods X X X
Black & Decker Consumer Goods X X X X
Georgetown Univ. Education X X X
Ventures: Checkmate, Sequoia Software (now Citrix), SIRVA (a CD&R company), Navigauge, Upper Quadrant
Let’s get started …
Do you really want to be
a consultant?
Bright & Dark Sides

Management Consulting
The Bright Side
• Intellectual challenge
• Strong peer group
• Diverse experiences
Every couple of months, it’s jump ball:

a new industry, a new client, new jargon.
The Bright Side
• Intellectual challenge
• Strong peer group
• Diverse experiences
• Powerful credential
• Impactful “network”
One of the best post-MBA experiences,

for highly focused fast-trackers
The Dark Side
• “Snob factor” w/ backlash

The book chronicles McKinsey’s
rise … and instances of its bad
advice.
It also “raises an important

question that is applicable to
the entire netherworld of
consultants, advisers and other
corporate hangers-on”.
“Are they worth it or not?”

The Dark Side
• “Snob factor” w/ backlash

• Intensely competitive
• Low “sense of completion”
• Natural evolution to selling
from problem solving
• Compelling lifestyle issues
Tough to get in … few stay in

What are “they” looking for…
Interview Probes
“Presence” Bright, engaging, articulate
Intellect Structured, curious, practical
Character Motivated, honest, team player
Background Skills & interests, successes
Smart? Distinctive? Client-ready?

Advice
Know the criteria, accentuate your
positives, but don’t try to package
yourself to fool them …
Won’t work; true to yourself

Self-selection Criteria
• Type “A” personalities

• High self-esteem
• Ambitious career goals
• Willing & able to accept
unbalanced lifestyle
• Unwavering commitment
Only the strong(est) survive !

If you’re still interested in
becoming a consultant …
Many consulting venues and
and orientations to consider …
“Management Consulting”
Many venues and orientations …
• External, Internal
• Established, “Sprouts”
• Commercial, Government
• Clients: Big, Small, NFP
• General Mgnt., Tech, Niches
• Strategy, Ops, Organization
“Less pure strategy; more org design / implementation / enablement”

Recent trends
“Management Consulting”
Recent trends…
• Consolidation among giants
• Global scale, full-service
• Strategy + implementation
• More standardized processes
A few Goliaths and a dynamic population of Davids

Problem solvers
But, some things stay the same …
Regardless of venue and orientation.
consulting firms want people who are
extraordinary problem-solvers …
Some theory (sorry) …
Cognitive psychology
Split Brain Thinking
Left Brain
Engineer, quant
Cerebral (thoughts)
Abstract (concepts)
Logical (symbols)
Analytic (parts)
Core (evidence)
Facts (words, numbers)
Deductive (sequential)
Convergent (end product)
Task (destination)
Left Brain Right Brain
Engineer, quant Designer, poet
Cerebral (thoughts) Visceral (feelings)
Abstract (concepts) Concrete (things)
Logical (symbols) Analogical (stories)
Analytic (parts) Synthetic (patterns)
Core (evidence) Periphery (subtleties)
Facts (words, numbers) Impressions (images)
Deductive (sequential) Inductive (parallel)
Convergent (end product) Divergent (elegance)
Task (destination) Creation (journey)
Reduces to 2 core skill sets …
Structured Analysis Pattern Recognition

What’s your natural tendency –
left-brain or right-brain?
What’s your natural tendency?

What is prized by consultants –
left-brain or right-brain?
What’s prized by consultants?

Answer: BOTH
2X2
Whole Brain Thinking
Left brainers do Direction Whole brainers do

the wrong stuff right the right stuff right
Wrong Right
Left Whole
Execution
Brain Brain
No Right
Brain Brain
No brainers don’t Right brainers do

attend MSB the right stuff wrong
Some Practical Advice
If you want to be a consultant,
start thinking in 2 X 2 matrices.…
Recent Buzz
Recent buzz …
Right brain…
Don’t get left behind …
Big Data Predictive Analytics Algorithms
“A world awash in data”
Powerful computing tools
“Battling algorithms”
Shortage of power analysts
Right Brain Rising

Right brains rising …
We are moving from an economy

and a society built on the logical,
linear, computerlike capabilities of
the Information Age …
Right brains rising …
We are moving from an economy

and a society built on the logical,
linear, computerlike capabilities of
the Information Age …
… to an economy and a society

built on the inventive, empathic,
big-picture capabilities of what’s
rising in its place, the Conceptual
Age.
Reimagine
Takeaways
TakeAways
• Left-brain performance bar is rising
• Left-brain: necessary but not sufficient
• Right-brain: competitive edge
• Whole-brain: becoming mandatory
Consultants expected to be 5-tool athletes.

Goal: Whole Brain
Goal: Become a ‘whole brain’ thinker
Goal: Become a ‘whole brain’ thinker
More specifically, develop 5 key skills

5 Key Skills to Develop
1. Frame complex problems
2. Generate testable hypotheses
3. Gather and analyze facts efficiently
4. Craft creative, practical solutions
5. Syndicate support and mobilize
Frame
So, how to develop these
problem-solving skills?
FMC, SBA
Some General Advice
• Take your MBA seriously … classes & cases
• Capitalize on Club & Career Center offerings
• Learn to speed read… and think visually
• Make nums 2nd nature … especially financials
• Follow the business news … habitually

Some specific advice …
Fmc - SBA
?
?
Until then, some resources …
www.HomaFiles.com
www.HomaFiles.com
Problem solving
www.HomaFiles.com
Accessed via www.HomaFiles.com
Professor Ken Homa
Georgetown University
Management Consulting 101

So, you might want to be a consultant …
Incomplete Without Extensive Oral Elaboration
Proprietary Material
© K.E. Homa

Management Consulting 101 So, You Might Want To Be A Consultant

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Professor Ken Homa

Management Consulting 101

Incomplete Without Extensive Oral Elaboration

• Key consulting skills

• How to get “there”

Caveats & Warnings

• STRT 551 – FMC (Mod 3)

• STRT 552 – SBA (Mod 4)

One man’s view

• Not necessarily the views of any

• No warranty, expressed or implied

Since One View

Princeton University, A.B. cum laude, Economics University of Chicago, M.B.A.

Arthur Andersen Consulting X X

Univ. of Chicago Education X X

General Electric Consumer Goods X X X

Black & Decker Consumer Goods X X X X

Georgetown Univ. Education X X X

Bright & Dark Sides

Every couple of months, it’s jump ball:

One of the best post-MBA experiences,

• “Snob factor” w/ backlash

It also “raises an important

“Are they worth it or not?”

• “Snob factor” w/ backlash

Tough to get in … few stay in

“Presence” Bright, engaging, articulate

Intellect Structured, curious, practical

Character Motivated, honest, team player

Background Skills & interests, successes

Smart? Distinctive? Client-ready?

Won’t work; true to yourself

• Type “A” personalities

Only the strong(est) survive !

• Clients: Big, Small, NFP

• General Mgnt., Tech, Niches

• Strategy, Ops, Organization

“Less pure strategy; more org design / implementation / enablement”

• Consolidation among giants

• Global scale, full-service

• More standardized processes

A few Goliaths and a dynamic population of Davids

Structured Analysis Pattern Recognition

What’s your natural tendency?

What’s prized by consultants?

Left brainers do Direction Whole brainers do

No brainers don’t Right brainers do

“A world awash in data”

Powerful computing tools

Shortage of power analysts

Right Brain Rising

We are moving from an economy

We are moving from an economy

… to an economy and a society

• Left-brain performance bar is rising

• Left-brain: necessary but not sufficient

• Right-brain: competitive edge

• Whole-brain: becoming mandatory

Consultants expected to be 5-tool athletes.

More specifically, develop 5 key skills

1. Frame complex problems

2. Generate testable hypotheses