One may argue that most of the times, the key deliverable the client or project sponsor is looking for, is not a deck, but a validation of their own agenda.
Having said that, each project will have a different set of deliverables at each stage, which will vary by the nature of the project. Most Strategy Consulting projects are 6–8 weeks long and have 3 distinct phases:
- Exploration or Discovery phase: 1–2 weeks
- Deep Dive: 3–4 weeks
- Future state design or strategy finalization: ~2 weeks
Let me give you a quick overview of what each phase is about and the key deliverables Consultants usually create in each phase:
Exploration/ Discovery - Phase 1
This phase is where the Consulting team lands on site (unless you’re talking 2020!) and starts engaging with the key client stakeholders through kick-off workshops and meetings (for very senior client executives). The intention is to quickly ramp-up and understand the current state organization, key challenges faced by the function in scope and understand the details of the problem you’re trying to solve.
Key deliverables at this stage are:
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Current state analysis: This outlines the Consulting team’s understanding of the current state issue and is presented to the client in the first 1 to 2 weeks. The intention is to outline the issue and see if it resonates with the client. Have we left out anything from our definition of the question/issue/challenge to be solved?
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Our Approach: Here the Consulting team outlines the approach it will take over the next 3 to 4 weeks to deep dive into the issue and perform an in-depth analysis. It also outlines the support needed from the client (in terma of stakeholder time, engagement, timely data inputs etc.) to carry out the analysis.
Deep dive - Phase 2
This phase is the most intense because the entire outcome of the project depends on the detailed analysis of the issues/ challenges done in these 3 to 4 weeks. Here, the Consulting team usually splits up into sub-teams or workstreams, if the project is big enough and each small team then takes up parts of the analysis. This phase involves more 1-on-1 meetings with less senior client executives, who are more into the details and can provide the data/inputs for the analysis.
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Detailed analysis: This can be heat maps, activity analysis worksheets, data analysis (especially for strategies to manage cost or increase profit), comparison of the client’s metrics to industry benchmarks, etc.
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Industry Best practices: Consulting firms maintain a database of metrics and practices for peer companies. This is invaluable to clients and is the main reason that Consulting firms can add so much value in such little time. A quick comparison of the client’s current state practices and to what the industry best practices are today and long-term vision to where the industry is headed in the future is the exact validation that C-suite executives are looking for
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Gap analysis vs. peers: Because Consulting firms maintain this master database of best practices and industry benchmarks, they are quickly able to provide a comparison of the company’s current metrics against ideal values and point to where the gaps are. This is a short cut for executives who want to define their long-term strategy around the 3–5 areas that will be most impactful and get the maximum ROI. Also makes a good story for the board.
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Dashboards: Consultants are skilled in organizing information for senior management consumption and automating the process of creating these reports. In many cases, automated reports/dashboards are the main deliverables of a short engagement that is aimed at providing more structure and a logical flow to a company’s management reports.
Future state design - Phase 3
Think of this as the wrap-up phase, where the main objective is to get the client buy-in to the strategy your team has proposed. This is usually achieved through 1-on-1s with the key client stakeholders to get their feedback and refine the strategy accordingly. Consulting teams will usually hold a grand finale workshop towards the end of the project where all key stakeholders ( especially if they are very senior) will participate in an offsite or lab to agree on the final strategy, milestones, and implementation plan.
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Target State: This outlines the future state of the talent, procedures, and IT systems in the organization. The target state outlines the organization chart/structure, skill sets required and technology to support peak performance.
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Roadmap to target state: This outlines the key milestones that the client needs to achieve to finally reach the ‘north star’ defined as the future state.
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Detailed Implementation plan: The plan breaks down each milestone into key tasks/activities required to be performed. It usually has weekly/monthly timelines and target dates associated with each activity and owners assigned for accountability.
Got more questions on Consulting? Comment below or email me at punya@byondgood.com.
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Got more questions on Consulting? Comment below or email me at punya@byondgood.com.
Punya is a former management consultant with 15 years of experience at 2 Big4 firms, serving top Fortune500 clients. She has lived and worked in 6 countries and changed 3 careers working across several industries. Punya is passionate about coaching new and aspiring Consultants to succeed in Management Consulting.