Management Consulting, Step by Step for 2027

Takes you through a consulting engagement from the first conversation to a recommendation the client acts on, with a clear method and a tool for every stage.

Who it's for

Anyone who solves business problems for someone else: independent consultants, people in consulting firms, internal consultants in improvement or strategy teams, and managers asked to lead a review. The worked examples show each method used both from outside and from inside an organisation.

What you'll learn

• Turn a vague request into a precise key question, then scope and price the work and confirm the terms in an engagement letter
• Earn client trust with the trust equation (after Maister, Green and Galford) and a relationship plan built on small promises kept
• Break problems down with MECE issue trees and work hypothesis-first, with a workplan the team reviews every morning
• Gather evidence through semi-structured interviews and precise data requests, and size the prize with quick estimates made three ways
• Synthesise findings into insights with a so-what ladder and build the storyline with Barbara Minto's Pyramid Principle and SCQA
• Sketch a ghost deck with action titles, pre-wire each decision-maker and run a steering committee that ends in recorded decisions
• Choose a handover model, build an implementation roadmap and close the engagement properly

What's inside

• 89 pages, 12 chapters
• Every chapter follows the same pattern: key concepts, a step-by-step method, an illustrative example from a fictional UK organisation, a ready-to-use tool, common mistakes, a key-steps recap and a "Try it" exercise to apply the chapter to your own work
• Tools to copy and use, such as the Problem Definition Worksheet, Issue Tree Template, Storyline Builder and Ghost Deck Template
• A closing action plan with a phase-by-phase checklist for a single engagement and a 90-day plan for building a consulting practice, plus a glossary
• PDF in A4 format — read on screen or print
• Instant download after purchase

Contents

1. Defining the Problem Before You Solve It
2. Scoping and Pricing an Engagement
3. Earning Client Trust
4. Breaking Problems Down with Issue Trees
5. Working Hypothesis-First
6. Gathering Evidence Through Interviews and Data
7. Sizing the Prize with Quick Estimates
8. Synthesising Findings into Insights
9. Building the Storyline with the Pyramid Principle
10. Building a Deck That Makes the Point
11. Pre-Wiring and Presenting Recommendations
12. Handing Over and Closing the Engagement

Part of The Business Library

This title is one of the 55 ebooks in The Business Library, available together for £109 (worth £1,437 if bought separately: the total of the individual prices of the included titles in our store). It is also included in The Ultimate Business Bundle, which adds 8 checklists and toolkits and 10 workbooks — all 73 products for £147.