basictraining
BY ART VAN BODEGRAVEN AND
KENNETH B. ACKERMAN
the right stuff: picking a consultant
“OK, WISE GUYS, SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW some-
thing about consulting. If you’re so smart, how do you
pick the right one?”
That was the gist of the responses we received to our
two-part series on consulting and consultants last year
(see “we’re consultants, and we’ve come to help,” May
2009, and “why consultants?” June 2009). To answer, it is
tempting to say that you could just call us. But as much
as it pains us to admit it, that very well might not be the
right fit for you, your company, or the problem you’re
trying to solve.
Actually, finding a consultant isn’t all that difficult (see
our June 2009 column for suggestions on how to locate names). If
you sit still long enough—say, seven
minutes—a consultant is likely to
find you. (A word to the wise—don’t
say “yes” over the telephone.) It’s
finding the right consultant that
sometimes proves tricky.
ter, it is vital.
If you think you are an “A” player and are after best
practice, best in class, world class—whatever industry-leading solution may be involved—say so, and don’t get
led down the path of tried-and-true safe solutions. If
what you really need is a safe and reliable solution, save
the search for innovation and pioneering until you’ve
mastered the basics.
In any event, you will have to get comfortable talking
openly with consulting candidates about these kinds of
issues. It’ll help weed out some of the mismatches, and it
will help the consultant craft a better targeted proposal
for your evaluation. Any consultant
worth anything should be able to
talk coherently with you about time,
cost, and risk factors in alternative
approaches.
Let the dancing commence …
Let’s assume that you’ve done the
reconnaissance work and have come
up with a list of names. Now, it’s
time to start talking with the candidates so you can assess the initial
match.
In that regard, it helps if you’ve given some thought to
the size and shape of what you’re after. For instance, if
you’re looking for a study and report, you’ll need to
think about depth of detail, level of effort, and how
much you’re willing to pay for that. Bear in mind that
when you’re hiring someone to do a study, implementation experience may not be as critical as the ability to get
at facts and conclusions with some dispatch, and the gift
of writing concise and clear evaluations.
If you’re looking for a preliminary design rather than
a study, you’ll have a whole different set of questions to
weigh. For example, you’ll want to consider whether
you’re after high concept or actionable recommendations and priorities. In the former case, an implementation track record might not be so important; in the lat-
Sorting things out
Now, you’re down to a short list of
finalists. What’s next? In general,
this step resembles the RFP preparation process for selecting a system, a third-party service provider,
or whatever. You’ve got to decide
what factors are important to you
and what their relative weight in the
final decision ought to be.
Is an expansive geographic footprint a plus? Is local
presence highly desirable? How important is relevant
experience—functional, industry, operational? Is there
bench strength—or a contingency plan to cover key consulting roles? How much will your internal resources be
committed, and how much should they be? You get the
drift.
For most companies, functional experience will rank
high on the list. Why waste time with a candidate who’s
good overall but has never worked in the segments of
your business that need fixing? (Fair warning:
Functional system implementation experience is not the
same as hands-on functional working experience. There
are people putting in warehouse management systems
who have never seen an order being picked.)
