choosing a consultant

8/3/2019 Choosing a Consultant

1/11

W A Y S W I N !to

ChoosingAConsultant:


2/11


3/11

TheodoreRoosevelt

Hire people who gettheir hands dirty.1

In technology consulting, the work is

usually done by somebody else.

Theres a glaring disconnect between

the people who consult and the people

who execute. The consultants don't

often get their hands dirty.

Dont buy it.

When consultants and technologists

are in separate organizations, there

are many hand-offs. Thats when the

ball gets dropped.

A business plan divorced from the

realities of execution can be loaded

with impractical assumptions that

have to be unwound then re-wound

which costs time and money.

The better way? Hire technology-

trained consultants who work

hand-in-hand, day-by-day with the

IT people who wire the project so

strategy translates directly into act

Its the shortest path to

advantage.


4/11

If you fail to planyou plan to fail.

Anon.

2

Demand aroadmap.

Consultants are good at producing

reports. Thats not what most clients

want. They want a roadmap.

A report tells you where to go. A

roadmap shows you how to get there.

Its a work plan with paths, durations,

and milestones. It can start

tomorrow.

Are roadmaps strategic enough?

Absolutely.

Thats the starting point.

Conceptual thinking only goes so far

in the messy work of aligning IT with

your business. Moving forward

requires finely-detailed momentum.

Ask for the roadmap.


5/11

FrankScully

Dont be wowedby big.3

Theres an old saying: You cant get

fired for hiring

You know the rest.

But are the largest consulting firms

always the best choice? Can they

possibly do everything better? Is the

price worth it?

The largest companies are very good.

But you can often achieve

significantly better value, equal

talent, and faster, more practical

results with consultants who are

closer to the ground.

Innovation happens at the edge.

Talent moves around. Cost-efficiency

matters. And growing firms have

more at stake so they try to hit the

ball out of the park every time.

Those are four good reasons not to

be wowed by big.


6/11

The important

thing is not tostop questioning.

AlbertEinstein

4

Work withspecialists.

There are generalist consultants. And

there are specialists.

It makes sense to work with firms

organized around specialists.

Smart people succeeding every day

in your domain can cut to the chase.

Take banking. Why work with a

generalist in finance when your

problem is credit card transaction

risk? Talking to the credit card risk

consultant leads to a more

meaningful conversation.

Likewise with software packages.

Likewise with some specific part of

your value chain. Or almost any othe

challenge short of total enterprise

restructuring.

Start with a specialist, dont end up

with one.


7/11

J. K. Galbraith

Avoidblack boxes.5

A black box is a consulting solution

dropped from the sky onto your

organization. It has no windows. Its

as rigid as a brick. It gets done to you

not with you.

You dont want one of those.

Black boxes are efficient for the

consulting organization. Often sold

by senior people then implemented

by juniors, they are unpacked the

same way every time without much

customer interference.

The downsides, of course, are many.

Black boxes ignore uniqueness. The

path might not be exactly right. And

your people probably want to do

more than just sit back and watch.

Theres a better way. Work with a firm

where senior advisors custom fit

every solution to your situation

even the smaller, less glamorous job

then work with you, not in spite of

you.

Customization. Transparency.

Collaboration. Flexibility.

You can have it all. But not in a black

box.


8/11

The greatest of all

gifts is the power to

estimate things at

their true worth. La

Rochefoucauld

6

Dont paythrough the nose.

Lets get it on the table. Excessive

fees are a sore spot these days.

Theres a lot of fee-fatigue in

technology consulting.

Many CIOs find themselves holding

their noses while writing the check.

Part of the problem is having to feed

the pyramid top-heavy consulting

organizations with armies of

heavy-hitters to support.

And service levels frequently dont

live up to the promise. A common

cost overrun is re-doing work

because the strategy doesnt hold up

in reality.

So wheres the real value? In smaller

firms, staffed by hungrier specialists

with more offshore talent, and much

better prices.

Much better.


9/11

RalphWaldo Emerson

See cost-cuttingas a virtue.7

At a time when most companies are

being told to cut costs to the bone,

wouldnt you want a consultant that

has cost-cutting in its DNA?

Of course.

But among consulting firms,

especially the largest ones,

cost-cutting is not commonly a

strength.

Unless you come from IT

outsourcing.

In outsourcing, cost-reduction is

religion. Its a major part of the job.

You become extremely adept at

finding efficiencies. In fact, you areoften compensated based on the fat

you trim and the performance you

drive.

Consultants steeped in the

cost-reduction ethic are gold. When

they also happen to be outstanding

strategists, they are platinum.


10/11

If you talk to a man in a

language he understands,

that goes to his head. If youtalk to him in his language,

that goes to his heart.

NelsonMandela

8

Look forallegiance.

Its rare that consultants work for the CIO.

If that sounds crazy, its not. There are

few consulting firms of any size that

make the CIOs agenda their main

concern.

The largest firms are constituted to aim

higher on the food chain. The smallest

firms dont have what it takes to both

guide and run a major CIO-sponsored

initiative.

In the middle is the sweet spot of true

partnership.

What does it take?

A 100% commitment to the CIOs agend

of aligning business and technology an

the focused, pragmatic insights to make

happen.

Demonstrated staying power. Sitting

beside the CIO, not across from him/her.

And staying with the work, not

disappearing after the sale.

The willingness to listen not just

prescribe.

And deep technology roots, so you spea

a common language.

It comes down to investment. A true

partner is invested in the relationship.


11/11

Its rare that consultants work for the CIO.

If that sounds crazy, its not. There are few consulting firms of any size thatmake the CIOs agenda their main concern.

The largest firms are constituted to aim higher on the food chain. The smallestfirms dont have what it takes to both guide and run a major CIO-sponsoredinitiative.

In the middle is the sweet spot of true partnership.

What does it take?

A 100% commitment to the CIOs agenda of aligning business and technology and the focused, pragmatic insights to make it happen.

Demonstrated staying power. Sitting beside the CIO, not across from him/her.And staying with the work, not disappearing after the sale.

The willingness to listen not just prescribe.

A d d t h l t k l

VictoryWinning should feel victorious whenyour consultants join you in the battle,knee-deep in your issues, ready (and

equipped) to do whatever it takes.

Cognizant Business Consulting ishelping CIOs feel exactly that wayevery day. Victorious.

Please call us to find out how we aredifferent and what more we can do foryou.

World Headquarters:500 Frank W. Burr Blvd.

Teaneck, NJ 07666 USA

Phone: +1 201 801 0233

Fax:+1 201 801 0243

Toll free: +1 888 937 3277

Email:[email protected]

European Headquarters:

Haymarket House

28-29 Haymarket

London SW1Y 4SP UK

Phone: +44 (0) 20 7321 4888

Fax: +44 (0) 20 7321 4890

Email:[email protected]

www.cognizant.com

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