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Consulting

I have worked as a consultant and would like to share the knowledge from that experience here.

Your job is to be helpful.​

This is the most important aspect of consultancy. You are a large expenditure, and the ones paying are doing it for a reason. You need to understand that reason. If not, your client will not be pleased. You should aim to have a lasting positive impact on your client. An investment in you as a consultant should be like an investment in a stock; it should pay dividends for a long time after the initial investment.

Onboarding​

Onboarding is a critical phase of your engagement with clients. Make sure that you have an onboarding plan as quickly as possible. Reach out to colleagues already in engagements at that company to find insights and figure out the minutia of the company. A lot of the issues with getting an account and getting access to materials and accounts often require steps or "hacks" that are not documented. To piggyback on your coworker's experience is invaluable here. Make sure to write down as much as possible during this phase, it will help immensely when you are going to help people onboard or you need to go through the steps again.

Finishing​

When concluding an engagement, it's important to consider the following:

  • Am I prepared to include the work completed in my CV? If not, what steps can I take to confidently add them to my CV?
  • What unique value can I offer to my next client?
  • How can I effectively communicate my attributes to a new client who is not familiar with my work, showcasing what makes me a successful consultant?

Stakeholders​

Stakeholders are the persons or entities that define and enable your delivery. They decide if your delivery is a success or not.

Types of stakeholders.​

  • Gatekeepers: These stakeholders control access to critical people or systems. Their purpose is to regulate who gets access to resources and ensure that protocols are followed. Examples of gatekeepers are IT departments, HR, and product owners of various applications.

  • Resources: These individuals or teams are responsible for executing tasks and getting things done. They are essential for project implementation and progress.

  • Authorizers: These stakeholders have the authority to sign off on decisions and provide formal leadership. They are often in charge of approving budgets, timelines, and major project milestones.

  • Network Nodes: These are the connectors within the organization, possessing a wide range of contacts and relationships. They are key for navigating the organizational landscape and building alliances.

  • Tech Influencers: These stakeholders have deep technical knowledge and influence over technology-related decisions. They can guide the direction of technical choices and innovations.

  • Sponsors: These are high-level executives who provide strategic direction and support for the project. They are often responsible for securing funding and championing the project within the organization. Keep Sponsors informed of the project's progress, highlighting achievements and how they align with strategic goals. Sponsors might be quite busy so be aware that their time is critical and their knowledge of the particular project is limited.

Links

Thoughts

  • As a consultant, ensure you have your stakeholders' personal number and contact info, and at least 3. If you have issues, need to get access to the building or are locked out of your computer, this might be a lifesaver. This has helped me on multiple occasions.
  • Use your available network to help you get aligned on the job as quickly as possible. You will get a lot of goodwill if you lessen the onboarding workload for the stakeholders.
  • Communication is everything.
  • Some things are easier to deal with as a consultant, and some things are more difficult. Getting access and permissions are definetly in the latter part.
  • Your stakeholders might be more interested in progress than results. So giving them continous updates and showing your work might buy you a lot of time. Their being involved makes it easier for them to see what is progressing, and that will make them happy.
  • Sometimes the client needs to feel the pain of not taking your advice, before they’re ready to take your advice. - Bitfields´s First Law of Consulting
  • Remember, consultants take amongst themselves.