Maximizing the Value of Consulting A Guide for Internal and External Consultants
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
JACK J. PHILLIPS, PHD, is a world-renowned expert on accountability, measurement, and evaluation. Phillips provides consulting services for Fortune 500 companies and major global organizations.
DR. WILLIAM D. TROTTER, is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of strategic planning, process and organizational transformation, and creating high-impact internal consulting capabilities.
PATRICIA PULLIAM PHILLIPS, PHD, president and CEO of ROI Institute, is an internationally recognized consultant in measurement and evaluation. Her clients span over 60 countries and include global corporations as well as government, non-profit, and non-governmental organizations.
Maximizing the Value of Consulting is an indispensable, practical guide for managing, measuring, and delivering the results that make internal and external consulting a lasting value to clients and the company. Sponsored by the ROI Institute and the Association of Internal Management Consultants, this book provides a roadmap to relevance for consultants operating in the increasingly fast-paced, changing, dynamic environment. Readers will learn how to use resources properly and manage the investment efficiently, while truly connecting to the business, securing appropriate levels of commitment, and providing adequate levels of support. Detailed coverage includes guidance toward calculating the value of consulting in terms that executives understand, including business impact and ROI, and using the appropriate tools to show how things are working throughout the process.
Whether organizations are using internal or external consultants, or both, consultants can provide better value to the company. Consultants are needed to provide advice, support, and insight into the processes undertaken to improve the business, and integrate the input of different functional units into a more streamlined strategy. This book is designed to help consultants provide the utmost value to clients by maximizing organization, efficiency, and ultimately, ROI.
- Manage for value with better organization and cost control
- Set objectives at multiple levels to deliver useful results
- Measure implementation, impact, ROI, and intangibles
- Use final results to drive appropriate actions, creating lasting value
The skyrocketing need for internal and external consultants will continue, in almost every functional area ranging from HR and technology, to auditing and risk management. Maximizing the Value of Consulting provides a manual for relevant, value-driven consulting, with world-renowned expert insight.
About the Authors ix
Acknowledgments xv
Preface xix
Chapter 1 The Role and Importance of Internal and External Consulting 1
Chapter 2 Organizing the Consulting Practice to Deliver Value 37
Chapter 3 Managing the Consulting Practice to Deliver Value 81
Chapter 4 Controlling Costs and Enhancing Value 117
Chapter 5 Utilizing the Consulting Scorecard for the Practice 153
Chapter 6 A Logical Approach to Measure Impact and ROI for Projects 175
Chapter 7 Developing Powerful Objectives at Multiple Levels 217
Chapter 8 Aligning Projects to the Business 233
Chapter 9 Planning the Evaluation 253
Chapter 10 Methods of Data Collection 269
Chapter 11 Data Collection at All Four Levels 315
Chapter 12 Isolating the Effects of Consulting 341
Chapter 13 Converting Data to Money 371
Chapter 14 Tabulating Project Costs and Calculating ROI 409
Chapter 15 Reporting Results to Key Audiences 439
Chapter 16 Call to Action 479
Notes 485
Index 489
By consistently delivering and maximizing value for clients, professional consultants have become an integral and permanent part of organizational landscapes. Maximizing the Value of Consulting offers internal and external consultants an essential resource for managing, measuring, and delivering consistent results that are valued by their clients. Sponsored by the ROI Institute and the Association of Internal Management Consultants, and written by a team of experts, this important guide provides a roadmap for consultants who must deliver promised results when operating in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing global environment. Comprehensive in scope, the text shows how to use resources properly and manage an investment efficiently, connect successfully to the business, secure appropriate levels of commitment, and ensure adequate levels of support.
The text describes the current opportunities available to consultants, shows how the field has evolved, and reviews the profession’s key issues and challenges. Maximizing the Value of Consulting then puts the focus on how value is delivered throughout the consulting process—from the beginning of a project to the end. The authors demonstrate how to manage an organization’s consulting investment, ensuring that a consultant’s work is efficient and delivers optimal ROI. The text also offers guidelines for setting clear objectives at multiple levels and shows how to monitor and report on the success of consulting as an entire function or as an entire organization for external consulting. In addition, the authors reveal what it takes to deliver value in a project, illustrating how any consulting project can be measured all the way through to the long-term impact and total ROI.
Designed as a practical resource, Maximizing the Value of Consulting includes important suggestions on how to report results to senior executives, so they can see collectively how well consulting is working, the value consulting is adding to the organization, and how it connects to critical issues and business outcomes.
The ever-growing need for highly trained internal and external consultants continues in almost every functional business area, ranging from human resources and technology, to auditing and risk management. Maximizing the Value of Consulting provides a manual for relevant, value-driven consulting, grounded in world-renowned expert insight.
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
JACK J. PHILLIPS, PHD, is a world-renowned expert on accountability, measurement, and evaluation. Phillips provides consulting services for Fortune 500 companies and major global organizations.
DR. WILLIAM D. TROTTER, is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of strategic planning, process and organizational transformation, and creating high-impact internal consulting capabilities.
PATRICIA PULLIAM PHILLIPS, PHD, president and CEO of ROI Institute, is an internationally recognized consultant in measurement and evaluation. Her clients span over 60 countries and include global corporations as well as government, non-profit, and non-governmental organizations.