Proyecciones basadas en variables físico‐químicas

The delivery of the exercise may be of interest to a number of people outside the client organisation. Often institutional investors such as banks and venture capitalists will demand the opinions of outside experts before committing capital. If the business is the subject of a possible acquisition, the acquirer may require that a consultant evaluate the business. In these cases the initiation may be formalised so as to keep the third party informed.

2.7

Preliminary analysis of the issues and

defining objectives

The consultant must make a decision about what can be achieved by the con- sulting exercise. It is this that will be offered to the client in the formal proposal. This decision must be based on an understanding of the business and its situation. Background research and an evaluation of the business will be called for. This stage calls on the analytical approaches discussed in Chapter 6.

There are three key questions to be answered by this preliminary analysis:

1 What are the major opportunities and issues the business faces?

2 What prevents the business capitalising on the opportunity or dealing with the

issues?

3 How can the consultant’s service help the business overcome this block?

The formal proposal will be made around the answers to these questions. It should not be forgotten that this is a preliminary analysis. Any analysis demands an investment of time and effort (and possibly direct expenditure) in developing an understanding. This investment must be of the right order for the project. On the one hand, it should be sufficient so that a proposal can be made which is relevant, meaningful and, critically, attractive to the client. If the consultant is in a competitive situation, then investing in this understanding may offer good dividends. On the other hand, the investment should not be too high in relation to the final scope of the project. Clients rarely pay the con- sultant for making the initial proposal. The costing of this preliminary evaluation must, ultimately, be included in the overall bill for the exercise. If the pitch is competitive, the consultant will not see any return on the investment if the proposal is not successful.

A simple test can be applied before a consultant dedicates resources to gaining new information at this stage. This is to ask how the information will be used. If it is needed to develop an understanding of how the client potentially may

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.. 48 Part 1 / Management consulting in context and how it adds value

be helped, it may be useful. If it will be used only for delivering that help, it can safely be left until a commitment has been made to the full project. A manage- ment project of any significance should be defined around its objectives; that is, what it aims to achieve. Objectives provide a means of communicating the reason the project exists, provide a common focal point for all involved and act as an indication of what level of investment is appropriate, given the options available for other projects.

Defining proper objectives is a very important part of the project. A critical element in the success of the consulting exercise is that its objectives are well defined and understood by all involved. It is the objectives of the project that the client is ‘buying’. At this stage it should be noted that objectives represent the link between where the business is now and where it might be with the con- sultant’s help. It is also useful to note that objectives are different from outcomes. An objective is what the consulting project will achieve. An outcome is what the business will be able to do as a result of the consulting exercise.

2.8

Pitching the project: the formal proposal and

project charter

The formal proposal is a pivotal point in the consulting exercise. It represents the consultant’s statement of what he or she can achieve on behalf of the client business. The proposal defines what the client will be paying for. Investing time and effort in the preparation and communication of a good proposal always pays dividends. A full exploration of the details to be included in and the structuring and writing of a formal proposal is given in Chapter 3. An important point to be made at this stage is that the proposal operates at a number of levels.

The key functions of the proposal are as follows. The proposal:

n provides a concise and efficient means of communicating the objectives of the

project to the client;

n guides analysis and ensures that investment in information gathering is at an

appropriate level;

n gives the consulting team a common focus when differentiating tasks and

organising the project delivery;

n provides a fixed point of reference which can be referred back to if it is felt the

project is drifting;

n can be used to manage the expectations of the client.

This last point is very important. If properly written and presented, the proposal prevents expectations of the outcomes becoming unrealistic. This can easily happen and if expectations get too high, even a good project will disappoint the client. The project charter is discussed in more detail in Section 5.4. This provides the key document for the project and the ‘ground rules’ for the team. The project charter is a very useful document, not just for the client but for the consulting team as well. It acts as an anchor for the project and manages the expectations of both parties. It is often kept to one page and is always agreed by the project team

Chapter 2 / Consulting: the wider context and consulting process 49

at the start. It can change only if all members of the team agree and they have very strong reasons for changing it.

2.9

Project progression and follow-up

Progression represents the actual undertaking of the project. At this stage the consultant applies his or her insights, expertise and knowledge to create a new understanding for the client. Every consulting project has its own character but also includes some essential activities, which are common to most projects. The important ones are as follows.