Where Am I Going, and How Do I Get There?
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- Date Submitted: 02/14/2011 02:43 AM
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Where am I going, and how do I get there?
Reflecting on the Learning from the Managing Professional Services Firm Course
It would seem nowadays that no self respecting exec level presentation is complete without the (over)use of a Sun Tzu quote, but there is one that comes to mind that summarises the major take-aways from the course.
"The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand”.
Having taken part in the course with a view to moving into management and strategy consultancy, the course has given me an insight in three areas in particular that I had not considered to be as important as the quality of output and productivity of a professional. These are, considering how a professional deals with their environment, their own profile in the business, and finally how they tackle leadership and the deliberate efforts required to ensure the success of their goals (which may or may not be achieving partner status).
These thoughts have led me to develop the following model that I believe will act as a roadmap to assist me in my move into and development through a consultancy firm.
The Choice: Finding the right company for you (Environment)
The case studies have revealed how important it is to pick a company that fits with one’s own personal paradigms, values and ideas of the work life balance. The aspects that I have identified as being differentiators of particular importance, and are actors that I will include in my search for a firm that ‘fits’ are:
Knowledge Management – The firm’s competitive strategy determines the nature of consultancy work to be conducted, hence the type of work one wants to conduct will determine the nature of the company they want to work for. Is the strategy one of Codification e.g. reusing knowledge assets (Accenture), or Personalisation e.g. customised solutions for unique problems (McKinsey). Although the results...
Reflecting on the Learning from the Managing Professional Services Firm Course
It would seem nowadays that no self respecting exec level presentation is complete without the (over)use of a Sun Tzu quote, but there is one that comes to mind that summarises the major take-aways from the course.
"The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand”.
Having taken part in the course with a view to moving into management and strategy consultancy, the course has given me an insight in three areas in particular that I had not considered to be as important as the quality of output and productivity of a professional. These are, considering how a professional deals with their environment, their own profile in the business, and finally how they tackle leadership and the deliberate efforts required to ensure the success of their goals (which may or may not be achieving partner status).
These thoughts have led me to develop the following model that I believe will act as a roadmap to assist me in my move into and development through a consultancy firm.
The Choice: Finding the right company for you (Environment)
The case studies have revealed how important it is to pick a company that fits with one’s own personal paradigms, values and ideas of the work life balance. The aspects that I have identified as being differentiators of particular importance, and are actors that I will include in my search for a firm that ‘fits’ are:
Knowledge Management – The firm’s competitive strategy determines the nature of consultancy work to be conducted, hence the type of work one wants to conduct will determine the nature of the company they want to work for. Is the strategy one of Codification e.g. reusing knowledge assets (Accenture), or Personalisation e.g. customised solutions for unique problems (McKinsey). Although the results...