Management Consulting
The Why, What and How
by Kjetil Sandermoen
"This is the book I wish I could have read myself about 30 years ago when I first started my career as a young management consultant."
This book gives an overview of ways to work as a management consultant, including relationships with clients, ethics, pricing, contracts and some basic tools for delivering consulting services.
This book was written for those who want to work in this area, for existing consultants, and also for managers and buyers of management consulting services.
"Yes, I claim that to understand the internal and interpersonal politics of any organization, is a necessary prerequisite for a good management consultant."
"When young people are asked about their dream job, management consulting is often high on the list."
CONTENTS
What is management consulting?
A short semantic history of management consulting
Enter the consultant
The future of management consulting
Insights
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
Ethics and values in management consulting
Values
Ethics
The moral foundation
Tools and development systems
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
Decision-making and decision-taking
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
Pricing and contracts
How to charge for your services
Success sharing
Selling management consulting services
Travel expenses
The content of a contract
Typical challenges
The impact of influence
The real leader
Change
How to handle disagreement
How to handle conflict
Cultural differences
Politics
Appendix 1
The Adizes comprehensive system for change and improvement
Appendix 2
Management responsibility matrix
Instruction
Example
Decentralization and delegation
"...a lot of organisations become centralised because of poor planning, unclear objectives, insufficient control and bad information systems. This will cause centralisation because you can only decentralise if you know what is going on. This is another paradox: decentralisation requires good control. Without control you will be forced to centralise decision making, or else the company will get into even more serious trouble, fast..."
"What is the most important skill for a leader or manager to master? I would say it is the decision-making process."
START READING THE BOOK
MANAGEMENT_CONSULTING_IS_NOT_FOR_DUMMIES_KJETIL_SANDERMOEN_30 pages.pdf
"... when I was asked by the managing partner of the consulting firm what kind of consultant I wanted to become, my reply was honest surprise: Are there really different kinds?!"
"Perhaps the most important strategic decision in management consulting is how to price your services, both how much you charge and what for."
"I am sure that many organisational problems are based more on politics than on policies…"
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/)
ENDORSEMENT
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)
"… it will draw significant resources away into internal disintegration and fights, rather than freeing the same energy for external opportunities and tasks."
Kjetil Sandermoen on TEDx talk in 2021, Switzerland