But this was just the tip of the iceberg. I had
to bring on board the bank’s Operations and
Technology teams, apply change management
techniques and train the internal teams on the
new systems, coordinate actions of consultants
from other companies that were initially
hesitant to collaborate, speak to regulators on
behalf of my client, mentor and motivate my
team and help to recruit Mexican professionals
and incorporate them into the team. All these
actions have one thing in common - manage
and direct people towards achieving the
project’s ultimate objectives.
There is not a systematic, fool-proof method of
achieving success as a consultant, but there
are three key factors that will dramatically
increase the odds of being successful:
1.
Understand
the
industry’s
best
practices and identify the companies’ needs.
Big corporations have great potential but
also have great inefficiencies. It’s easier to
realise this for an external consultant that is
well-versed with the industry benchmark. In
knowing your client’s organisation and the
desired best practises, you can point out
where the problems are and be paid to solve
those problems. For me, when I am working
with a new banking client it is easy to identify
the improvement areas as I have a clear idea
of what the best practices are.
As only a fixed number of working hours are
paid by the contract this means you will need
to execute the extra tasks that crop up due
market volatility in the same time and with the
same team size as initially planned. This can
be a headache in the short term. In the long
term, benefits from additional projects will
compensate for it.
The best part of being a consultant: Being an
expat or traveling somewhere abroad while the
client is paying all your bills.
The worse part of being a consultant: Even if
all your expenses are covered and you live in
a suite, sometimes you also have to spend all
your time in the office!
My Plan B: If I had to choose different career,
I would choose to work in the transformation
area of a big financial or telecommunication
company. I believe that work in this space
would still enable me to use my consultant
brain to solve problems and optimise things
to make my company a better business and a
better place to work in.
2.
Get to know your clients and build
personal trust. Get to know them professionally
and also personally. A client is looking for an
expert to solve his/her problems but also for
a partner to work with and trust. Organising
events (playing sports together, attending
sports events or movie premieres, volunteering
together, etc.) to spend time with your clients
outside the office is a great way to cultivate
those personal relations. This is my favourite
part as it is a great excuse to be out of the
office. Thursday’s football league games were
great fun and were also a great way of building
personal relations outside the office.
3.
The short term is important but long-term
is essential. Executing a project can be tough.
Organisations are volatile and their needs can
be even more. In contrast, the project contract
is static. A good consultant should remember
that, no matter what the contract says, they
are there to solve the client’s problems and to
create a long-term relationship with the client.
STAR
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