Category: Management Consulting

I’ve been asked on a number of occasions to describe how consultants are evaluated in terms of performance, so I thought that I’d finally write these thoughts down publicly. Here’s a whirlwind overview of an illustrative consulting firm evaluation framework for single career tracks. In a nutshell:

1. Analyst / Associate – Performance on project activities and workstreams for a project as evaluated by the manager and partner/principal for the project plus any client feedback, minimum threshold for billable hours, support for internal firm activities and some professional development.
2. Manager – All of the items for Analysts/Associate, plus performance for managing entire workstreams and entire engagements with feedback from principals/partners and clients, evidence of mentoring new consultants, potentially some support for proposal development for existing clients, and potentially some evidence of starting to develop an expertise.
3. Principal (pre-partner type) – All of items for the previous levels but some slanting toward more evidence of specialization, thought leadership, business development at current clients, and potentially evidence of business development at new clients (may be more true of smaller firms). Compensation can have a more substantial component related to sales for some firms. Minimum billable hours starts to drop a bit, but this level (if pre-partner) can be a real gaunlet because the principal is stretched between sales, delivery, while trying to build their case for becoming partner.
4. Partner/Managing Partner – Here we get into sustaining a business to support teams, multiple consultants, and potential practices. At the managing partner level it is about P&L and developing the business, including from strategic areas (e.g., new initiative, focus areas, offices). Also manages the higher level strategic relationships. Minimum billable hours can fall quite dramatically depending on the firm (e.g., cut in half plus/minus or even more at managing level).

Consultants do work long hours. Not as bad as investment bankers though. In my opinion, it takes a conscious effort to have a healthy lifestyle in consulting. Presuming that the focus on health is mostly on physical exercise and diet (versus mental health or social relationships), here are some things I’ve used to try to strike a balance:

• On the job, really focus on what is strategically important; try to cut bait or minimize involvement with small stuff that you shouldn’t sweat. An end goal might be to target roughly 60 hours of work per week on average, and that requires prioritization and efficiency.
• Try to use facilitative consulting methods where possible versus having to deliver content directly. There are two benefits to this (but it depends on the engagement). Facilitative consulting tends to leave a client organization in a better state where things stick (tends to decrease long-term dependency on the consulting firm). The consulting firm can also get better leverage. The thing to watch out for the facilitativre approach is that sometimes the client organization expects the consulting firm to do things for them, even though this might not be in the client’s best interest (e.g., imagine hiring an exercise coach where the coach spends all the time demonstrating exercises; yes you’ve paid them, but eventually it is you that needs to exercise).
• Learn how to execute on an effective, reasonably rounded, exercise program in 30–45 minutes (e.g., cardio, abs, legs, arms workout areas). Could be 3 sets of 2–3 exercises per workout area with some rotation of programs. Perhaps get a physical trainer to come to your house on the weekends to get you in the flow. And cover cases where you need to use minimal equipment (in case gym access is limited). Get a buddy, such as running with a colleague or client. Although this one might add weight to your rollerboard, here’s an example of a workout that can be done with two, five-pound dumbells:
• Since you often have to eat out a lot, consider eating lunch at healthier places, even at salad bars with grocery stores (like Whole Foods). Figure out how to reduce carbs and meat intake if possible (perhaps by getting client recommendations for places to eat). Drink plenty of water.

Edit (February 1, 2019): Based on Kevin Johannes Wörner’s experiences in the industry and at Roland Berger, he shared with me a video that provides his perspectives of work-life balance in consulting. He specifically talks about the roles of industry choice and the consulting team.

I was asked to answer a question about how to become a go-to person when employed within a consulting firm. Here are some thoughts based on my past experience:

1. Be known as a consultant that gets things done on projects in general. This goes a long way in consulting circles.
2. Play a key role in developing new intellectual property or approaches for the firm. For one firm I worked for, I came up with “standard” framework approach for doing business plan analyses for municipal wireless deployments. My team also created an approach for doing wireless spectrum valuation.
3. Pursue mastery in business development if you can (aka sales). If you can sell business (even if in a lead, supportive role) this will also help develop your name in partner circles or at least align you with a key partner in the firm that may sponsor you down the road.
4. Publish articles in a focused area or practice (aka marketing). Although it depends on your firm, consider writing articles, whitepapers, or books. I should have done this more in my career, but when I did eventually publish a book on implementing behavioral science initiatives, it helped solidify a specialty in people’s minds.