The Jamie Oliver approach to change management and how you can use it as a consultant
By James. September 10th, 2010. Posted in On assignment 1 Comment »
A few years ago Mr Jamie Oliver, the chirpy Chef from Essex, had a TV series in which he tried to change school dinners in the UK (jamieoliver.com/school-dinners). He wanted to feed the children of Britain better, healthier more nutritious food that would give them a better start in life and, so it proved in many cases, help them concentrate and learn at school.
As change programs go this was huge. Not unlike a lot of the change programs management consultants are asked to design, manage and run daily. If anything it was probably an even bigger task than most consultants will ever take on.
Continue reading»How working in a restaurant made me a better consultant
By James. September 3rd, 2010. Posted in On assignment No Comments »
What have running a restaurant and running consulting projects got in common? In both cases the goal is the same; to deliver a great customer experience.
In the restaurant business is doesn’t matter what sort of food you serve, or what type of restaurant you run you need to deliver a great customer experience if you want your customers to keep on coming back. The same is true of consulting; it doesn’t matter what the subject of your consulting project is, or what you need to deliver, ultimately you need to do it while making working with you a great customer experience for your clients. If they’re happy they will hire you again and they’ll make sure they let the World know how good they thought you were.
Continue reading»Graduates – Thinking of becoming a consultant? Think again
By James. August 27th, 2010. Posted in Your career No Comments »
Becoming a consultant is an attractive and lucrative prospect for many graduates. The good salary, golden handshake, good promotion prospects and project based work all sound great. Recruitment fairs up and down the country are full of recent graduates selling the benefits of being a graduate consultant at many of the top consultancies in the World.
And for many, joining a management consultancy as a graduate is a great move. You get to work with incredibly intelligent people who work hard and take pride in what they do. You get to learn from some of the best people in their fields. You get to work on projects and for clients that no other job could offer you. On top of that you get paid well, you get to travel and you get the chance to gain experience and build a CV that is hard for anyone else to match.
But, and this is a big but, it is not suitable for everyone.
Continue reading»The Knights of Room Service
By adamanonymous. August 20th, 2010. Posted in On assignment, Your career 1 Comment »
“Is there much opportunity for travel?”
We’re at a graduate recruitment milkround presentation, I’ve just stood up and enthused about the joys of consulting and more specifically my employer and the whole room is now mingling in a post-presentation hubbub. The asker couldn’t put a more open and earnest expression on her face – she’s putting so much effort into appearing attentive and professional that I suspect she won’t really listen to my answer.
Continue reading»How to approach internal projects – Part 2 (of 2): The Cons
By Mike. August 13th, 2010. Posted in Off assignment 1 Comment »
Last week, in part one (How to approach internal projects – The Pros), we focused on all the good aspects of working on internal projects. This week we will be looking at the negative aspects of working on these kinds projects and what you can do to keep your project, and your sanity, on track.
Continue reading»
