A short semantic history of management consulting
Enter the consultant
What kind of management consultant do you want to be?
The client relationship
Consulting – the second oldest profession in the world
Friendship or partnership
Who is the client
Your contribution is built on influence only
The most important thing to do
Who are your competitors?
“Good enough”
The essence of management consulting
Values
Ethics
The moral foundation
Illustrative tools
How to prioritise
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)
Fishbone diagram
Ansoff’s growth matrix
The BCG matrix
Key financial ratios
Cost curve
Scarcity
Supply and demand
Spiral Dynamics
The Adizes methodology – a brief description of three theoretical foundations
Perception of reality
Managerial terminology relationships
Development systems
Process consulting
A process-based consulting system
The most important leadership skill
The long-short route to implementation
“We” cannot take a decision, only “I” can
The secret of implementing decisions: CAPI
The decision-making process
How to charge for your services
Success sharing
Selling management consulting services
Travel expenses
The content of a contract
The impact of influence
The real leader
Change
How to handle disagreement
How to handle conflict
Cultural differences
Politics
The Adizes comprehensive system for change and improvement
Management responsibility matrix
Instruction
Example
This book is chosen as part of the course material at University of Fredericton’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Consulting Leadership program (https://ufred.ca/)
This book by Mr. Sandermoen should be read not only by aspiring consultants but by those practicing already. Mr. Sandermoen has succinctly summarised all the critical aspects of the consulting profession, bringing his own vast experience to document how it does and should work.
Kjetil has been my valued associate and partner for more than two decades and as I read the book I realised how brilliantly organised his approach is.
This book will be a required textbook for all Adizes associates and is wholeheartedly recommended.
Dr Ichak Kalderon Adizes
Founder, Author, Management Guru, Business Consultant
I am in the profession of management consulting and am heavily involved in the governance of the profession. I found this book to be very engaging and helpful. The author shares his lifetime of experience on how he successfully approached the profession. That would be enough, but he also shares many useful tools that are helpful in management consulting engagements. If you are serious about being a great management consultant, you must read this book and keep a copy on your shelf.
Dwight W Mihalicz
Chairman of International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMC)
Kjetil Sandermoen on TEDx talk in 2021, Switzerland