More Related Content Similar to Kmg phila presentation 11 nov09 Similar to Kmg phila presentation 11 nov09 (20) 1. 1 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. So You Want to be a KM Consultant? Joe Raimondo jraimondo@iknow.us.com Iknow LLC November 11, 2009 9. The Making of a Consultant I always wanted to be a consultant. I don’t know why. 3 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. © www.despair.com 14. The Making of a Consultant With Iknow Since 2005 “A meritocracy of ideas.” Model has evolved with shifting market. “KM Dream team strategy” Experienced consultants and practitioners across the spectrum of KM topic areas. - Unique combination of business strategy and technical delivery capability across content management, collaboration, and other KM topics (e.g. taxonomy, CoP, org governance.) 5 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 18. KM Consulting – a Horizontal Market Perspective Subject matter expertise Project & Analysis Expertise Technical/Platform Expertise KM Expertise (plus…) Trusted Advisor/Guru 8 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 27. The Big 4 model – up or out – is kind of a constant, either you qualify yourself as a partner, or you eventually land a staff position at a client 28. There are staff positions at consulting firms, but it a risky proposition – always the first to go in a downturn.11 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 30. Once you sell, of course you deliver – but the long-term perspective on business development and closing is the engine for growth. 32. Successful sales in consulting comes in all forms, from cold calling to 100 percent networking12 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 38. Guru-dom The option to being the big closer/Partner/Principal is to be a Guru. Requires more of a focus on constantly generating new intellectual property. Still requires selling and closing, but the IP (books, courses, methods, etc.) are the primary draw. 14 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 39. KM Consulting Strategy: 2010 & Beyond Strategy as the Optimization of a Portfolio of Intellectual Assets A Textbook Approach Strategy and the Sole Practitioner 15 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 42. Capture, classify and develop avenues for distribution of as much of the artifacts of your intellectual effort as possible 43. Provides the engine for generating the intellectual assets that move your firm forwardFor more info, see The June 2005 Harvard Business Review “Surprising Economics of a "People Business” by Felix Barber, Rainer Strack http://bit.ly/2B0Jtt 16 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 46. Seven Keys to Consulting Success Winning the Proposal Game Your Give Away Dealing with Expectations Moving In – becoming part of the family Appearing bigger than you are—project yourself Eating your own dog food—practicing what you preach Build your virtual team 19 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 48. Your Give Away You must offer a “freebie” – a lure for potential clients - A free taste of the services you offer to get them hooked The BEST charge clients for their give-away. - It gets the client’s skin in the game. Make sure that you (and the potential client) don’t confuse your give away with your real offer! 21 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 49. Dealing with Expectations Winning professional services business requires setting high expectations. The biggest source of suffering in professional practice is the inevitable divergence of expectations once delivery begins. The client is always right – to a point. It’s important to establish a partnership with clients that allows give and take. Don’t be afraid to fire a client. - In the long run, it’s more important to maintain your professional integrity than to be abused for billable hours. 22 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 50. Moving In – Becoming Part of the Family “Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar..” You want to cultivate a trusted advisory relationship AND maintain your independence. This is a high-wire act for consultants. You have to create your own structure that YOU belong to so you’re not dependent on belonging o the client’s culture and structure. 23 Copyright© 2005 by Iknow LLC and Incoda Corporation. Company confidential materials. Do not copy or distribute. 51. Appearing Bigger—Projecting Yourself One of the tenets of small business is to find ways to appear bigger than you are. Overinvesting in image – quality of materials, deliverables, web site, etc. is one way to accomplish this. Pulling in allies from your network to flesh out your team also can be helpful. Be smart about this, and also be accurate. Leaving people with an impression is different that mis-representing yourself. 24 Copyright© 2005 by Iknow LLC and Incoda Corporation. Company confidential materials. Do not copy or distribute. 52. Eating Your Own Dog Food—Practicing What You Preach Vexes every consultant – focus should be on delivery and new business development. But especially in a discipline like KM, it’s important to be able to lead client – to show a vision, to open their eyes. Practicing KM internally – no matter your size – expands the boundaries of your professional capabilities. 25 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 53. Build your Virtual Team Consultants are expected to be experts in their disciplines. - But too often they think that their expertise in a domain extends to other domain. Beyond your professional cadre, it’s important to build a social network that’s balanced with people who have key skills. Train your team’s eyes to spot opportunities for you. - They should be clear about what you do that they can reliably identify an obvious opportunity back to you. 26 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. 54. Conclusions & Takeaways 27 Copyright© 2009 by Iknow LLC. Have an up-to-date, market-responsive strategy Over-invest in image Charge for your give away Maximize your on-line footprint with a digital asset strategy Editor's Notes Why this – why now? Observing the trends with the group, people from corporate roles becoming consultants Counselor, educator, facilitator –- it fits my Myers-Briggs type. That’s what I thought. I’ve been involved in KM for 20 years, and in professional services for 15. Noticed shift in market in 2006. Summation of 10 years of online and mergence of 2.0 Currently launching a new strategy based on a social media If you’re not comfortable with the notion that you’re always selling WHILE delivering, then maybe consulting isn’t for you. Alternatively, if you have a never-ending stream of referrals and extensions Surprisingly little research has been done of strategy of consulting businesses Globalization of wage rates has been the biggest strategic threat. Large numbers of New entrants has been driven into market. Low barriers of entry – get some cards from Vistaprint and you’re in the game. But once in,where do you put your attention? What are your assets? A good rolodex iis a quickly depreciating asset unless you prime it with new contacts. New social tools help, but there is no competitive advantage to be derived from this. The only winning strategy is to create a series of mini monopolies in which you’re the sole provider. This is a spin on the Blue Ocean strategy, but it’s hard because while the barrier to entry are allow, the barrier to pushing a really unique idea can be quite high when you’re dealing with intangible assets.
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