Management Consulting is concerned with helping businesses grow and improving their performance through solving problems that companies might have on their way to achieving their business aspirations.
Consulting covers all areas of business, be that IT, Finance, HR, R&D and Marketing. Top consulting firms like McKinsey, KPMG and Ernst & Young have thousands of employees and departments that specialize in each of these areas. Whereas small consulting practices may offer services in a particular area, for example, IT Management Consulting or Financial Management Consulting.
As a management consultant, one is required have a great expertise in their field and to constantly expand own knowledge. Established and top consulting companies such as McKinsey have the necessary resources to make a life of a management consultant easier. Employees are provided with databases, guides and literature that is needed for their knowledge expansion. If you are looking into a career of a management consultant, it is beneficial to familiarize yourself with the key terms and concepts as well as tailor your communication style.
Consultants are usually hired by management to solve the business problems regarding their needs and the market context. After establishing the problem, consultants are required to dig into the problem coming up with a deep analysis as well as possible solutions.
Finding right solutions requires both sufficient research and knowledge. Said research comes in a form of gathering and analyzing relevant data. This usually includes investigation of reports, databases, interviews and other forms of available necessary information. Every consultant is required to have a great knowledge of their client – acquaintance of their products and sales, their plants and technology they use, location and the remote teams that the company may have is the required basic. Market perception is also required prior to beginning the actual work.
Knowledge and the expertise of consultants is expected to be superior to the one of those, who hire them. For the client, every meeting must be worth the time and money invested in hiring a consultant. The ‘Ghost Deck’ – the first version of your final product is created in the first few meetings. Every different project will require different approaches and solution and the consultant must consider all the possible solutions that may help the client resolve their business problem. Naturally, unperceived problems may arise on the way, solutions to which are also required to address.
Thinking like a consultant requires great analytical skills and the ability to step outside of the box and creating the right framework, that will benefit the client.
With all the necessary knowledge and analyses ‘the deliverables’ are created - a presentation of existing problems, and suggested solutions. Best presentations carry complex and often multi-faceted solutions in a brief and well-structured document that is easy to understand and to follow. It is up to the organization to choose to follow on all or several advises. Consultants may be hired to oversee the implementation of said changes. Alterations to the main course can be made even at this stage depending on the companies and market’s response.
The general implication of being considered an expert consultant suggests superior knowledge which is difficult to come by. The solutions that an expert consultant identifies need to be based on in-depth knowledge of the market, sector and the client. This solution also must be good enough to justify the fee.
Dreaming of becoming a management consultant? We're here to help:
Our case interview method
Our case interview course has been developed by MBB consultants with clear goals in mind - To teach you how to think, act and communicate like a world-class strategy consultant. By going through it you'll become equipped not only to ace the interview process, but also to be a top performer at your firm.
Other methods focus on helping you memorize dozens of frameworks and pre-packed structures. We take a different approach. We believe that distinctive candidates and distinctive consultants don't rely on crutches and that they use their own minds to solve the toughest problems. We're here to help them master the concepts and processes they need to be able to shine. We can support you in:
1) Understanding business fundamentals: Get your mini-MBA with our Marketing, Strategy and Economics, Accounting & Finance modules
2) Learning how to crack a case: Identify the problem, Build a problem driven structure, Lead the analysis and how to provide recommendations.
3) Shaping your approach with our building blocks: Master profitability analysis, competitive dynamics, pricing discussions, among others.
Our coaching sessions
Coaching can help the best candidates to pinpoint their development points and turn them into strengths. They will give you self-awareness about your profile and how to best position yourself for that MBB offer. Equally importantly, they will give you the confidence to know you can succeed in such a challenging process.