Wednesday, October 23, 2019
You learned about an 8-week alternative to the traditional, gather-everyone-in-a-room-for-two-days approach to annual planning for your consulting firm. (It was in this article.)
Sincepublishing that piece, consulting firm leaders have lobbed in an array ofqueries:
- Is the process iterative?
- If we don’t meet for two days, do I still have to share the cheesecake?
Themost common question consultants asked about the process was this:
What data should your consulting firm consider during Steps 1 & 2, when you’re examining the facts and gleaning critical lessons that can shape your year ahead?
Goodquestion!
Thinkof your data review from a few orientations:
Outside,Inside and the Consulting Cycle.
Outsidedescribes the trends, shifts and pressures theexternal world exerts on your consulting firm.
Insideincludes the facts, metrics and information that characterize your consultingfirm’s performance.
TheConsulting Cycle neatly bridges the Inside performance of your consultingfirm, and the Outside world.
Below are some suggestions for facts and data you may want to review in each area:
Outside
Data about the outside world includes any major trends, shifts or news that you believe could alter your consulting firm’s ideal trajectory. Some common places to look are:
- Regulatory
- Industry
- Economic
- Social
- Legal
- Technology
- Competitive Set
Inside
Data about your consulting firm’s inside world tends to focus on your financial performance and results. You’ll gain insights about consulting clients or service lines you should let go, and where you should tweak your consulting firm’s efforts based on profitability.
Common Inside data include:
- Income Statement
- Balance Sheet
- Cash Flow Report by Month
- Revenue and Margin by Service Line
- Revenue and Margin by Client
Value Creation
The Value Creation side of your consulting firm’s Consulting Cycle includes all the tasks, efforts, systems and processes you employ to profitably delight your clients.
At a minimum, your data review should include:
- Unsolicited Client Feedback
- Client Feedback from Surveys
- Delivery Capacity Projections
- Delivery Skill Capabilities and Gaps
- Delivery Performance by Consultant
Business Development
The Business Development component of your consulting firm’s Consulting Cycle covers the gamut of activities that secure revenue from new and existing clients.
For instance:
- Summary of Learnings from Wins (Post Mortems)
- Summary of Learnings from Losses (Post Mortems)
- Feedback on Business Development Process from Prospects
- Network Core Size and Growth
- Visibility Building Successes and Failures
- Business Development Performance by Consultant
What other facts, metrics or information do you look at whenevaluating your consulting firm and planning your future?
Text and images are © 2019 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.