ESCP ALUMNI magazine - #196 - Hiver 2021 - 78

Vie des entreprises LES MÉTIERS DU CONSEIL
Four Distinct Approaches
to Consulting Services
Katerin LE FOLCALVEZ (EAP 88)
Insigniam Partner
There are different ways to use consulting
services and it is useful for people who
want to use consul t ing serv ices to
distinguish the different approaches based
on the value they are looking to generate
for their business. Some of those ways
could look like any one of the following:
Advisory - The consulting firm will visit
the clients' premises do some thorough
analysis and prepare a playbook with a set
of recommendations for the client to then
implement (should they wish to).
› Training - The consulting firm can train
the people of the client organization
in new skills or methods which are
then (hopefully) applied later on in the
course of work.
› Done-For-You - The consulting firm
deploys its people and resources to
build, manage or operate an initiative
for the client.
› Catalyze/Empower - The consulting
firm works with the people of the client
organization directly on the projects
and obstacles they are currently faced
with to see fresh possibilities, think
newly and take unprecedented actions.
No single one of these approaches is
better than the others but they do differ.
All have their own merits and each
method is likely called for depending on
the intended outcome. Some things to
bear in mind with each are as follows;
› In an advisory method the thinking is all
done for you. Perhaps you don't have the
time, the skills or the training necessary
to get what you need in which case
you can get others to do this for you.
This is a prescriptive approach with the
actual
implementation then left to the
organization.
› In training people, method two, one pitfall
is that people will simply take what they
have learned and fit it into their already
existing ways of thinking. In this way,
nothing much changes. The other pitfall
to this approach is that the person being
trained may not know what it actually
looks like to put this theoretical knowledge
into practice. Again they can only see from
their own world or experience what it
would be to apply it.
› With Done-For-You the responsibility
of implementation lies with the hired
firm. This can be beneficial again if your
organization does not possess the needed
resources or expertise. However any
learning or experience is then lost once
the hired firm completes the project and
leaves.
One approach does stand apart and that
is the fourth one, catalyzing people. The
pandemic has shown us that what has made
us successful up to today will not guarantee
our future success and many executives are
facing a double challenge:
1) Reinvent how they engage not only their
employees, but their whole eco-systems
around their mission and goals, including
how they want to positively impact the
world. This is becoming a strong component
of the license to operate.
2) Charter new strategic courses in an
environment where today's threats can turn
into tomorrow's opportunities and viceversa
and where competition is not only
fierce but also multi-faceted.
This requires new thinking and ownership
from all levels to ensure that diverse voices
are heard and weak signals are captured,
while keeping inspiration alive at all times.
In a recent client meet ing one of the
part icipant s acknowledged this unique
approach cal l ing
i t
a
" people helping
themselves " approach versus " Here's a 200page
analysis we have prepared that you can
study " . He appreciated that he was given the
freedom and responsibility for the project.
After all it was his project! When what you
want to accomplish requires to shift 1) how
people view what they are working on, 2)
the environment in which they are working
and 3) themselves in that environment, this
fourth approach has more transformative
impact and st aying power
methods of consulting and learning.
than other
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ESCP Alumni Magazine numéro 196 ❙ HIVER 2021
ESCP ALUMNI magazine - #196 - Hiver 2021

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