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The Different Types of Consulting - A Progression Perspective

Going through various posts made by my classmate's made me reflect on some key realizations that this course has brought in me. While the list goes long, one of them demystified the true nature of my previous job role and also helped me narrow down the nature of my aspirational role. As the title mentions it the Consulting Workshop session that has given me an insight on the  - The Different Types of Consulting that we see around us.

The first thought that came to my mind is what typically comes to anyone's mind when we say types of consulting  - Strategic, HR, Operations, IT, Financial, Risk, etc. According to an article by  Consulting.com, there are "15 popular types of consulting". But as the list says popular, there are also other forms. This classification is basis the subject matter expertise possessed, which could mean there will be more types of consulting as per upcoming needs arising in the market. 

The Consulting workshop made me aware of a classification that is more finite and thus helps people make decisions as per their mindset and competence rather than just the SME(subject matter expertise) they possess. According to this model, there also exists a natural progression within consulting types irrespective of the SME.  This is a classification suggested by Dr. Peter Steidl and popularised by Darren Woolley, Founder of Trinity P3. The classification is as follows in the ascending order of progression.

1. Product Consulting - In this form of consulting, the organization specializes in an offering that can be sold or implemented with minimum or no customization. It is usually a tool or interfaces that the client is expected to use as per his needs and understanding. The role of a consultant is to simply understand the problem and suggest a product that best suits the client's needs and thereafter conduct the sale. Some well-known examples are Assessment tests, CRM or Employee Engagement tools like Salesforce or Amber, Industry Insights/Trends Reports, etc.

2. Process Consulting - Higher up the hierarchy is a form of consulting where the services of the consultant extend to him/her being involved in the implementation partially.  It is more of a service offered to the client, a service which can accommodate minor customizations for alignment but largely follows a template perfected by the organization such that the process itself becomes proprietory. Some well-known examples are Compensation Benchmarking, Assesment Centres, Learning Management Systems, etc. 

3. Grey Hair Consulting - This is what most aspirants of consulting think they will be doing when they are aspiring for the role. This involves the complete involvement of the consultant with the client and using his/her expertise to solve problems. Simple plug and play methods do not work here because the consultant carries knowledge but not baggage from his previous experience while diagnosing and resolving the issues. The consultant never assumes a certain type of response and is comfortable with ambiguity and emergence. Some well-known examples are Large Scale Interventions, Process Reengineering, Leadership Development, etc.

4. Rocket Science - this is usually ground-breaking, thought-leadership work, solving a problem that is unique or unusual or did not exist previously. Genuine rocket science is rare because a new problem can only ever be solved once before the type of work moves down the chain. What was once rocket science becomes process or product consulting one it is perfected over time and contexts.

Comments

  1. AnuSeptember 30, 2019 at 11:26 AM

    Adding onto it, A consultant is a person in a position to have some influence over an individual, a group or an organization but has no direct power to make changes or implement programs. Competencies of a consultant are: Listening , questioning skills, Intervention design skills, process facilitation skills, diagnostic skills and system thinking skills.

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