Reinventing the Consulting Business Model

Does anyone has an interest on this conversation?

Tags: Consulting

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Permalink Reply by Bob Fariss on March 25, 2011 at 12:34am

What I lucked into was explaining to client candidates that before we spend their money, we are going to build a model of their business to achieve clarity and this is how we do that ................ They love it!

 

Perhaps that is an example of the experience you mention.

Permalink Reply by Christine Thompson on March 25, 2011 at 12:42am

Here's an interview with the GM of Slalom Consulting, an upstart IT + management consulting firm (founded 2001) that's still growing at 35-40% annually. They claim to have a "unique approach..." Although they don't describe their business mode in terms of the BMG canvas, they provide some intriguing glimpses.

 

http://www.vault.com/wps/portal/usa/blogs/entry-detail/?blog_id=126...

Permalink Reply by Patrick van der Pijl on March 27, 2011 at 3:58pm

Very interesting topic Jose, I will share what I have been working on so far with Business Models Inc. our Business Model Strategy company.

 

No more consulting

When I started to work with Alex on the - later called - Business Model Generation book we had lengthy discussions about Consulting. Would we like to run a business consulting firm? Alex said 'no!', no consulting for me. In October 2009 I said I would want to but with a complete different business model. Mmm.. but how? Me being raised in consulting firms like Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers I hated the model. Going into the client company with little knowledge and experience, charging high hourly rates and not showing tangible results. I would like to do that different. However, you need flight hours, focus and experience to find a way how to do that.

 

Unconsulting model

The unconsulting model that we apply now is all around business modeling and strategy. We decided not to charge hourly rates anymore. We only deliver results such as the business model strategy, vision, environment scan, current business model documentation and evaluation and new business model options + a subscription for implementation. BUT, if you want to do that, you need to fully standardise your process. Our proposals, approaches, workshops are fully standardized. We use screenplays in order to improve the process to get to the best quality deliverables all the time. It is fun. Another element is that we do not write reports anymore. We only use visual thinking and we visualize our work. 

 

Results

We see that our clients love it. Because the results are so tangible, you can say with great confidence what you deliver. The price is always fixed. After doing more than 100+ assignments on business modeling the last few years I think we can say we found a model. But, you need to innovate every single day with every single client. 

 

Patterns

You could say talking about business model patterns we follow the pattern 'from services to products' instead of 'from products to services' where currently manufacturing firms are going.  

Permalink Reply by Christine Thompson on March 27, 2011 at 7:14pm
Patrick, this sounds very interesting. Please clarify what you mean by "screenplay" in this context. Thanks.
Permalink Reply by Patrick van der Pijl on March 28, 2011 at 8:13am
Hi Christine, the only way to shift from services to product is to use detailed screenplays for client work and workshops. By this mean you can continuously improve instead of figuring out all approaches and steps again and again. I have been working as a consultant for Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and PwC and we reinvented the wheel every time. You can see the screenplay as part of a movie in which the setting, characters etc. are determined.
Permalink Reply by Bob Fariss on March 27, 2011 at 8:33pm

Thanks Patrick. From Services to Products is a great summary. I also looked for your website after reading the post to see how you were accomplishing all this. It was well worth the time.

 

Your "Product" Value Proposition seems pretty clear; but what are your Channels? What have you found to be good ways to connect?

Permalink Reply by Patrick van der Pijl on March 28, 2011 at 8:18am

In channels I found several good ways to connect:

  1. We run workshops in the Netherlands with 2 professional conference/training companies. Our name is out there every time and people understand what we do and what we deliver;
  2. The book is a good way. I get emails and phone calls from all over the world to see if we can help out clients;
  3. Our website helps but we are working on strong improvement whereas we can show more visual stuff, services and client work. 
  4. Social media will give you some attention as a speaker or expert but not too much on client work i have to say;
  5. Mouth to mouth works very good. We see that if you are able to get a 9,5 out of 10 these clients become extremely loyal. 
Permalink Reply by Karl Burrow on March 28, 2011 at 4:25am

This is  very topic for discussion especially with numerous changes abound in business consulting area.

Here in Japan I run a small strategy, technology and management consulting firm where I have seen an upsurge of consulting with the BMC in various sectors. I firmly agree with Bob Fariss comment on "Clarity". Clients in Japan are not looking for the usual BCG, McKinsey approach, but more along the lines of creativity, transparency, execution and facilitation.  When I propose to my client  about my company business model and value proposition within the framework they can visually see what value we are offering them from the canvas itself with a pure client centric approach.  Thus they can the see what I am offering is more on innovation, visualization  and creativity which add more clarity and the true powerful value  of the canvas.   The market here is very different as  most clients want consulting not based on just solutions in addition to not paying extremely high rates....but along the lines of helping their internal divisions with more innovative ideas to the existing model or  come up with new ones.  As part of the approach I reuse ideas and processes from previous workshops (more visual)which have become more standarized content and adds impact. The soultion is  what is being acheived throughout the initiative which the client visually notices.

 



Permalink Reply by Marc Borremans on March 28, 2011 at 9:13am

Very interested. I am looking after the Global Consulting Practice in a global consulting organization with 350 professionals. We currently started the thinking on the mid-term changes in consulting to find out what will companies need us for and thus how we should develop ourselves.

I look forward to contributing from that perspective.

Permalink Reply by Ant Clay on April 1, 2011 at 6:30pm

Very interesting discussion.

We are a small consultancy that is looking to innovate our business model, lots of what has been said in this thread resonates with me.

Be interesting to hear peoples thoughts about "subscription consulting" when the outputs and method has more variation (because of clients, outcomes etc).

 

Permalink Reply by Robert Pye on April 12, 2011 at 3:24pm

Fascinating thread.  Dear to my heart.

 

I think "consulting" is a very generic label - often a catch-all.  It covers many sins of course.  Agree that the word is desperately unpopular - and understandable that many  do not want to be associated with it.

 

It is easy for any discussion (on any topic) to become "internally" focussed.  "My consulting model is..."  "our problem is..."

 

The BMC has at its heart the Value Proposition(s) which is the right and proper IMO.

 

People (markets) "value" things in many ways.  Someone has indicated that "clarity" is what their clients value.  Someone else proffered that their market values "contractors"  ("how much per hour?).  Self interest at any level of aggregation often muddies the waters in critical thinking on the subject of "value"

 

I propose a thought experiment on "value".  

 

What if we give the proposition an identity (cognition) in its own right?  This proposition consumes "resources", it has "stakeholders", and all the attributes proposed in the BMC.  It's model of "value" is not proscribed by capitalism, shareholder value etc. (although perhaps we might suggest some universal values such as "sustainability" and human rights).  The only self-interest we follow is that of the "proposition".  None of the rest of us actually matter!!

 

If the only self-interest we were to maximise, was that of the proposition, how would value be best achieved?  How could stakeholders be configured according to best-value? How could self interest (for all but the proposition) be policed out of the system?

 

I think that the answers to these questions would invent a truly inspirational solution to the conundrum of re-inventing the consulting business model. One which would have to (by definition) serve the interest of all stakeholders.

 

It poses a bunch of very large questions of course - but it keeps us honest!

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Eduardo M Morgado on April 20, 2011 at 1:24pm

I'm an univertity professor and use the Canvas Bus Model to introduce the students on a coherent way to derive an IT Strategic Plan from the "key building blocks" they collect on the companies theu work for...

To fill the Canvas Poster, they have to interview key managers at the companies and the feedback back they are bringing to me is that the managers are "surprised" with the simplicity and richness of the model. Yes, It is a simple student work, but the lesson is: each key Building Block is at same time simple and direct AND provocative and rich!

 

Their use in seminar will define how deep we will go! That's is the fantastic quality of the model! Simple at first approach to be refined in rounds or Deep and Heavy - key after key.., The consultant and company decide.

 

By the way, the Value Proposition is the keystone of the model.

 

 

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