carolina CONSULTING CONSULTANT TRAINING WORKSHOP carolina CONSULTING 1

carolina CONSULTING CONSULTANT TRAINING WORKSHOP

carolina CONSULTING 1 Section: Intro Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Today’s Agenda 1. 2. 3. 4. Introduction to CC Finding Clients The Consulting Process Frameworks for Structured Thinking and Problem Solving 5. Team Relations and Client Relations

carolina CONSULTING 1 Section: Intro Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Club History • Club created in April 2002 – Merged Carolina Web Servers and Carolina Consulting Solutions • Combining Strategy Consulting with Technology Consulting • Devoted to delivering consulting services to our fellow clubs

carolina CONSULTING 1 Section: Intro Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Mission and Vision • Club Mission: – Our ultimate goal is to help student groups create a better Carolina, and we will achieve this by providing exceptional management and IT consulting solutions to student groups and creating opportunities for our members to grow personally and professionally. • Club Vision: – Moreover, we work to become an effective and readily accessible student resource for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, facilitating the improvement of student groups through our business and technology knowledge and problem-solving experience.

carolina CONSULTING 1 Section: Intro Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Organizational Structure • • Consultants Project Managers Organization Managers Executive Committee • Emphasis on Lateral Interaction

carolina CONSULTING 1 Section: Intro Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Meetings • Overall club meeting on the first Wednesday of each month • Speaker once during the remaining three weeks • Team Meetings • OM/PM Meetings • Random group outings and dinners

carolina CONSULTING 2 Section: Initial Steps Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Client Acquisition • Receiving a client request • Client Acquisitions Associate arranges initial client meeting: – Confirm contact information – Establish meeting times – Outline client’s current situation – Itemize and rate client’s needs – Answer questions about CC

carolina CONSULTING 2 Section: Initial Steps Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Accepting a Project Bid • CAA presents client to the Executive Committee – Merits and shortcomings – In the client’s best interests? – In CC’s best interests? – Project’s feasibility determined • Approval by consensus

carolina CONSULTING 2 Section: Initial Steps Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Presentation of a Client • Client project presented to the consultants • Project team determined • CAA provides Project Manager with informational overview

carolina CONSULTING Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 The Consulting Process: A Step-by-Step Approach 3 1. Client meeting with PM/consultant team Section: The CC 2. Timeline and background research Process 3. Team-based Problem Solving 4. Recommendation of a Solution Step 1 5. Implementation and Evaluation Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

carolina CONSULTING 3 Section: The CC Process Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Step 1 of 5: Client Meeting with PM/Team • Conduct client meeting within one week of team formation • Goals of this meeting: – SWOT Analysis – Defining objectives and deliverables – Determining Client vs. CC roles

carolina CONSULTING 3 Section: Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Step 1 of 5: Client Meeting with PM/Team SWOT Analysis • Strengths – What does the client currently do well? The CC • Weaknesses Process – What areas need improvement? • Opportunities Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 – Are there any areas into which the client can expand? New service avenues or targets? • Threats – What forces (external and internal) prevent the client from full effectiveness?

carolina CONSULTING Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Step 2 of 5: Timeline and Background Research 3 Section: The CC Process Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 • Brainstorm possible solutions • Analyze secondary data sources: – Observe club meetings and practices – Conduct campus surveys – Have members evaluate their experience – Interview executive committee – Examine/analyze internal documents

carolina CONSULTING 3 Section: The CC Process Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Step 3 of 5: Team-based Problem Solving • Use data to evaluate how client currently does things – What are the sources of problems, and what are the symptoms? • • Examine existing solutions Brainstorm alternative solutions Conduct additional research Determine set of recommendations

carolina CONSULTING 3 Section: The CC Process Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Step 4 of 5: Recommendation of Solution • Presenting solutions to client – Introduction – Review SWOT Analysis – Data gathering methods used – Recommended solutions – Benefits and costs – Implementation schedule

carolina CONSULTING 3 Step 5 of 5: Implementation and Evaluation Section: The CC Process Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 • Client decides Carolina Consulting’s involvement in implementation • Determine if implementation assistance is possible: – Strategy implementation – IT implementation

carolina CONSULTING 3 Step 5 of 5: Implementation and Evaluation Section: The CC Process Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Examples • Launch a publicity campaign to mold campus opinion • Redesign an inefficient executive hierarchy • Develop or renovate website • Shift from paper to electronic data exchange • Conduct a member recruitment drive

carolina CONSULTING 3 Step 5 of 5: Implementation and Evaluation Section: The CC Process Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 • 360 -degree Evaluation – – Project Managers Consultants Organization • Client evaluation (by PMs)

carolina CONSULTING 4 Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Porter’s 5 Forces • Industry Competitors: what other clubs exist that do similar things? Section: • Risk of New Entrants: are other clubs being formed that could take away membership from Analysis the client? Models • Bargaining Power of “Suppliers”: what do members want/need in order to be committed? • Bargaining Power of “Buyers”: what is the client’s relationship with those it serves? • Threat of Substitutes: are members getting fed up and moving on? Are those the client serves looking elsewhere?

carolina CONSULTING 4 Section: Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 The Three C’s • Company – What resources and skills does the client organization already possess? (ties together with SWOT) Analysis Models • Competition – Identify strengths and weaknesses of similar clubs and use/adopt what worked or did not work for them. • Consumer – Who does the club want to reach?

carolina CONSULTING 4 Section: Analysis Models Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 The Four P’s • • Product Price Promotion Place

carolina CONSULTING 5 Section: Team and Client Dynamic Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Team Chemistry and Accountability • Communication the key to success and sanity • Joining a team implies making a commitment to your team members • Using meeting time wisely – Preparation, not excuses – Respect each other’s opinions • Have fun and be creative!

carolina CONSULTING 5 Section: Team and Client Dynamic Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 Client Interaction • We’re not here to figure out “why the client sucks” • Remember: these are our fellow students – Be respectful, be prompt, and LISTEN – Advise them and help them improve, not prove how smart you are • We can only make recommendations – Our role is not to force change down the client’s throat

carolina CONSULTING 5 Consultant Training Workshop September 21, 2002 A Fresh Perspective • Perhaps the most important thing we offer to the managing team of a Section: student group is an outsider’s Team fresh perspective. and • We see things differently than they Client may see them because we do not Dynamic know “how it’s always been done. ” • Thus, we can approach a situation objectively and see areas where change and growth can occur.

FIN Get some lunch. . . Break into teams for the case studies