This Week in Consulting
Friday, Feb 2nd, 2018
THIS WEEK’S MUST READ
When it comes to undertaking significant transformations – creating a shared services organization, reengineering a major business process, designing a new organizational structure, or implementing a new performance management system – the approach most organizations use is based on outdated assumptions. Various studies put the success rate of business transformation at less than 30%. Yet most executives persist with the traditional model in the belief that the organization will execute better next time. This Week’s Must Read features an insight piece from Valeocon, in which the author examines why the traditional approach used by companies in business transformations is no longer suitable for delivering values in today’s business environment. The author suggests companies to apply an agile mindset towards transformation initiatives and use carefully designed, well-supported experiments to build agile competencies and muscle.
Find out more by reading the full article here: “Take an Agile Approach to Business Transformation to Increase Your Odds of Success”, written by Thomas Bertels.
INDUSTRY NEWS & INSIGHTS
- Elixirr and Thomas Cook Money Aim to Disrupt Holiday Financial Services: Consulting firm Elixirr and Thomas Cook Money (TCM) have signed a five-year strategic partnership to create a new holiday money solutions service. The agreement will see a team of Elixirr advisors work with TCM to help customers plan their future holiday spending. | Elixirr Press Release
- RSM Expands Consulting Services by Joining Forces with SecureState: RSM has announced its acquisition of Cleveland-based SecureState. The firms have signed a definitive agreement for RSM to acquire all assets of SecureState upon the deal’s expected close date of March 1. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. | Securestate Press Release
- KPMG Faces Carillion Auditing Investigation: KPMG has seen a turbulent beginning to 2018 in the UK. The company is set to be investigated by the UK’s Financial Reporting Council over its role in the collapse of construction firm Carillion. The probe will examine whether the organisation’s auditor failed to adhere ethical and technical industry criteria, which could carry a hefty fine, should KPMG be found against. | The Guardian
- HR Departments Lack “good understanding” of Automation Impact on Skills: According to a new study, around a third of global companies with revenues over $100 million are planning to upgrade their HR infrastructure. However, four in every ten in the US, and a quarter of those Europe said that they currently lack a “good understanding” of how automated processes could impact their skills requirements. | Consultancy.uk
TRENDS
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
- Smart Contracts in Financial Services: Getting from Hype to Reality:The potential of smart contracts – programmable contracts that automatically execute when pre-defined conditions are met – is the subject of much debate and discussion in the financial services industry. This report reveals why and how smart contract adoption can lead to reduced risks, lower administration and service costs, and more efficient business processes across all major segments of the financial services industry. | Bart Cant, Amol Khadikar, Antal Ruiter, Capgemini
- The TMT Revolution: Ride the Wave—or Drown in it: The Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) industry is poised for tremendous growth in the next decade. But that doesn’t mean industry players should get complacent. New technologies and business models may make a splash and gather momentum, but even the best ideas aren’t evergreen. | Luca Ridolfi, Douglas Tsang, Alix Partners
- Product Management in the Age of Disruption: Product managers at many incumbent technology companies have effectively been encouraged to think small. They typically focus on just one product line, whose boundaries are often narrowly defined by industry analysts. They are measured on their ability to ship products on time and on budget. Those are worthy business goals, but meeting them doesn’t mean a product will succeed in the marketplace or that customers will be delighted. | Mark Brinda, David Mortlock and James Dixon, Bain
- The Business Leader’s Guide to Robotic Process Automation and Intelligent Automation: Robotic Process Automation has been maturing quietly over the last decade and is now used for enterprise-scale deployments. Intelligent Automation, while still nascent, promises hugely transformative potential in the near future. To maximize the impact of robot-led automation, business leaders need to have a solid understanding of the available tools and a clearly defined strategy for automating their enterprises. | Peter Lowes, Subodh Chitre, Deloitte Consulting
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CONSULTANT CORNER
- How Consultants Can Market Like A Thought Leader: The biggest marketing mystery for professionals, consultants and small service businesses is how to attract high-paying clients on a regular and consistent basis. Clients want to hire the authority in the field. The key is to be a thought leader who is sought and bought, not just another professional who has to continually tell and sell to find clients. | Henry DeVries, Forbes
- 4 Changes an Elite Management Consultant Would Tell You to Make to Maximize Your Productivity: Management consulting is a stressful business. As a result, elite consultants have developed a number of ways to maximize their time. Here are four time management secrets that are practised by high-powered consultants at leading firms. | John Boitnott, Entrepreneur
CONSULTING CAREER
- The Top 15 Consulting Firm Employers for Undergraduate Students: According to a new survey of British-based students, 15 consulting firms are among the 100 best companies to work for as a UK undergraduate. Check them out. | consulting.uk
- Consulting-Map of Graduate Employers: Management Consulting is a massive and complex market consisted of a variety of players. You need to know the different types of consultancies in order to assess your best fit. Read this article to learn more. | The Gateway
CONSULTING JOBS
- Tefen Consulting is currently hiring management consultants for client engagements in key industries and functional practice areas (strategy, operations, organizational design, etc) to join their NYC office. Learn More
- RGP is seeking to hire a Change Management Consultant who has 3+ years of consulting experience and knowledge of change management principles and methodologies to join their worldwide community of human capital professionals. Learn More
Hélène Laffitte is the CEO of Consulting Quest, a Global Performance-Driven Consulting Platform and author of “Smart Consulting Sourcing”, a step by step guide to getting the best ROI from your consulting. With a blend of experience in Procurement and Consulting, Hélène is passionate about helping Companies create more value through Consulting.
