Five Ways to Raise your Game in Consulting - Part 3

Third in a Series

How to Differentiate Yourself and Your Consultancy

Five Ways to Raise Your Game - Use of a Competence Framework

By David Norman, FCMC, CMC-AF

I started this series to help you discover five ways to raise your consulting game.  In the previous blog, Adherence to an Enforceable Code of Ethics, I presented that adherence of an enforceable Code of Ethics would be a major part of this market differentiation.  Public examples of poor ethics decisions (such as McKinsey’s $641 million fine for their work in Purdue Pharma opioid effort) were used to simply demosntrate that behaviors in line with a Code of Ethics might have precluded most/all of these very embarrassing and costly cases.  This week this article was picked up in my news feed “Consulting Firm McKinsey to pay $230 million in latest US opioid settlements” primarily to local governments and school districts.  

Deeply consider this -- remember that one of the founders of McKinsey, Marvin Bower said, “There was a backbone in the firm that was nonnegotiable when it came to matters of ethics.”  It was said, “…that Marvin incorporated the code of ethics in establishing this firm” noting the impact Mr. Bower had on the founding of McKinsey.  Yikes, how the mighty have lost their NorthStar. 

Once again, the high cost of inappropriate behavior rears its ugly, and expensive, head.  Nearly $1B in settlement because of behavior that adherence to an enforceable Code of Ethics might have prevented – the very Code of Ethics one of McKinsey founders tried to inculcate into the organization!   But back to the topic of this blog.

 “It’s not What you consult in, but How you consult?” was stated in the first of this series of blogs.  The services that you provide clients are not what I am presenting here; that’s the What you do.  In the first of this series, I also presented an international definition of a management consultant shortened to read: – one who helps organizations through their knowledge and skills to provide objective advice the organization may be lacking.

You and your practice likely fit within that inclusive definition whether you are a solopreneur, in a small to mid-sized boutique firm, in a larger professional services firm or inside an organization whose primary purpose is not consulting.

Competence Framework

This blog series is on, however, market differentiation – how you separate yourself and your practice from others to gain market share and increased exposure.  I propose the second way herein.   In addition to adherence to an enforceable Code of Ethics I believe that a deep understanding of the set of international consulting competencies adds to your market uniqueness.  Most consultants are trained in What they consult in, few are cognizant of and practice the very skills needed in the act of consulting – the How you consult.  Fundamental to this How, is a competence framework that is an international effort “which specifies the cluster of related activities, principles, commitments, knowledge, skills and experience that a management consultant should demonstrate in practice in order to successfully complete an assignment, independently and unsupervised.”

The bottom line is that understanding and adhering to the Framework is to instill confidence in you and your practice.  It is a profession-wide understanding of appropriate professional behavior.    There are four levels (dark blue).  On the bottom is the foundation, Ethics and Professional Conduct, and on top of this is Consultative Behavior, Practice Capabilities, and Business Insight and Aptitude

Ethics we wrote about in the previous blog.  Professional Conduct is the subject of the next in the series, Blog # 4.

Consultative Behavior is the actions that your client and others experience.  It is essential to know your own skills (beyond the What you do) in how you interact with others or intervene through problem-solving.  Awareness of what you are hired into as a role and what role you have in the task is very important.  In short, consultative behavior includes both your personal capabilities and your personal behavior.

Practice Capabilities is the understanding of consultancy especially with regards to building and sustaining relationships and the consulting process itself.  Practice capabilities include your assignment/engagement management methodologies and your consultative capabilities.

Business Insight and Aptitude is achieved through experience as a consultant and in participation in consulting industry activities and consulting associations, like IMC USA.  Finally, this section includes your client, specialism and sectorial knowledge and your consultancy and consulting business insight.

Together, these from the Competence Framework which provides more details in each of these major sections and the competencies mentioned above.

How does this framework assist you in differentiating your practice?

Market Differentiation.  As mentioned in an earlier blog in an effort to differentiate yourself and your practice you focus on What they do, your skills and experiences that you bring to the client.  Indeed, most consultants focus their sales and marketing efforts on two ‘features’ – their professional skills and experiences and their knowledge of a segment or type of business as qualifiers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach; it works for many consultants but in my view doesn’t go far enough.

My contention is that there is an additional, powerful set of differentiators that involves (1) your unique experience and knowledges, (2) an international consulting competence framework, and (3) wraps it all around adherence to an enforceable Code of Ethics and a Code of Professional Conduct (subject of the next blog).   It is this Competence Framework that provides the foundation for a great practice as it details the expectations of consultants, perhaps even some you haven’t considered.  Take a look at it, you’ll likely see opportunities for you to grow.  I believe that a deep understanding of the components of the Consulting Competence Framework will not only help you become a better consultant but also help instill confidence in your prospects and clients. 

Perhaps this graphic will help summarize the Consulting Competence Framework.  Use it perhaps to identify those areas you might want to do a deeper dive into to help you become a better consultant.  With the Consulting Competence Framework, I acknowledge that a management consultant bears a three-part responsibility – to Society, the Client, and the Profession.

In the next blog we will demonstrate how an understanding and adherence to a Code of (Professional) Conduct further separates you from thousands of other consultants, assisting with your market differentiation.

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