Future of SS Consulting
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Nobody Expert.
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July 8, 2004 at 5:05 pm #36104
Noname expertParticipant@Noname-expertInclude @Noname-expert in your post and this person will
be notified via email.To understand the future of Management Consulting in Future,need to know your valuable view in regard to the following 4 questions:
*What will be the role of management consultants in the next 5-10 years?
**What types of needs will be in demand for management consultants moving forward?
***What types the future hold for professional consulting associations and what role will they play?
****What important issue about the future of this profession have I failed to ask?
I should greatly appreciate any feedback and response,considering that some of those questions will trigger a positive debate in this Forum. kind regards.0July 8, 2004 at 5:39 pm #103140
Ken FeldmanParticipant@DarthInclude @Darth in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Have no fear, the Consultant species will continue to thrive regardless of what happens to SS. If not six sigma, then SSDD. Consultants thrived with the Quality Circles, Deming stuff, the TQM offshoot, Crosby, ISO, Baldridge, SPC, Lean and all its variations and the ever present field of leadership and behavioral change. As long as senior leadership fails to actually change and stops giving lip service to the next great thing, there will always be a fertile feeding ground for management consultants. And if we, God forbid, run out of new things for them to consult in…not to worry, we can always recycle some of the old but not forgotten fads of the past. It has always been that way and always will…don’t mess with the natural order of the universe. This is from one who spent 20 years doing it and periodically entertains the thought of returning…but alas a real job with a great company is not a bad thing so I stay.
0July 8, 2004 at 7:40 pm #103150Yes, amen, thank god for unenlightened management and bad MBA programs.
0July 8, 2004 at 7:59 pm #103152
question manParticipant@question-manInclude @question-man in your post and this person will
be notified via email.This great company of your’s….how has senior management embraced six sigma? Honest please. Not your usual BOA pumping. (Trust me, I know, I work there)
0July 8, 2004 at 8:11 pm #103153
Ken FeldmanParticipant@DarthInclude @Darth in your post and this person will
be notified via email.If you work there, then why ask? In a company as large as BOA it is likely that different people will have different perspectives as a function of where they work, who they work for and what they do in the organization. They will also form comparisons based on past experiences. I have, in the past, given my perspectives and as expected, received some heat from those viewing the same picture from a different angle. No sense rehashing all that again, especially since it is off topic from the original post. If you want to discuss what you see going on at BOA offline, please feel free to email me at [email protected] and we can share perspectives.
0July 8, 2004 at 11:55 pm #103174Dr Darth? How vain can one get.
Ah, the BOA debates again. Must be something to it I suppose.0July 9, 2004 at 12:43 am #103176
Ken FeldmanParticipant@DarthInclude @Darth in your post and this person will
be notified via email.My post made it real clear that I don’t want to reopen the debate on BOA. As for vanity in using the Dr Darth name…the real name is DrDarth66. I have a Darthmobile which is a 1966 Black Corvette Coupe…noisy and fast…much like the driver I assume someone will gladly point out. Wish there was a way to post some pics of it. Fun car to get away from the stress of posting on the Forum :-). Lighten up all those ready to pounce!!!!! We need a little relief from our friendly space cadet V.
0July 9, 2004 at 3:33 am #103179This is no healthy debate. Not what was requested by noname
0July 9, 2004 at 12:21 pm #103187
Ken FeldmanParticipant@DarthInclude @Darth in your post and this person will
be notified via email.I agree. I was the first to state an opinion but others have sought to wander from the topic. What is your response to the original post? Maybe that will get us back on track.
0July 9, 2004 at 3:30 pm #103196Thank You.We should go back to the original track. regards.Mman
0July 9, 2004 at 3:38 pm #103197I agree as you was the first who has tackeled this topic seriously ,putting some valuable ideas (adding).I wonder why to go around such an importnat subject for each consultant,it is discussing our future career,what about new ideas :Beyond SS?,advanced TQM?Quality Best Practice (QBP)?What else?thanks & regards. Mman
0July 9, 2004 at 3:41 pm #103198Excellent Ideas.What do you mean by SSDD??regards
0July 9, 2004 at 3:59 pm #103199
Ken FeldmanParticipant@DarthInclude @Darth in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Make sure you put it in the context of the sentence…Same Sh_t, Different Day
0July 9, 2004 at 4:27 pm #103202I appreciate greatly your kind positive response.What a an excellent career future we should all expect?thanks and regards.
0July 9, 2004 at 5:08 pm #103203Great ,thank you.Considering that many CEO’s lack the sense of humor,they are so serious ,trying always to put challanges and barriers ,almost without aim…….kind regards,MMAN
0July 9, 2004 at 6:22 pm #103208Noname Expert:
Youre having a tough time getting any value added responses to your original questions. I dont have anything good to eat in the ol lunch pail today so Ill use my lunch break to take a whack/swing/bite
SS has made but a dimple into the number of companies that could/would/should benefit from it. To date, SS has been embraced by many large, Fortune 500 companies and other, small/medium progressive-thinking companies. The vast majority of companies, small to medium in size and less progressive thinking companies have yet but will, begin to investigate it. This investigation will probably take place as a requirement of being able to do business with the large companies that previously embraced SS.
So, the market for SS consultants should be good? Unfortunately, there has been a tremendous dilution in the deployment of SS principles and methodology. Many organizations/institutions are offering hybrid certifications and training to allow almost anyone to claim SS leadership capabilities (currently being heavily diluted at the BB level). This shortcutting or taking the easy way out will force some of the traditional consulting firms/individuals to rethink their strategy (to potential clients they will appear inflexible and high priced). But, as we all know you get what you pay for .
Future consulting needs/demands? Try integrating multi-lingual and multi-cultural training of SS methodology. Try integrating SS training via the internet to multi-locations within the same company. Try deploying SS into non-traditional businesses. Try integrating SS into elementary/secondary education.
Future for professional consulting associations? What about working together to create requirements and standards that compete against the dilution impact? What about working together to educate companies that they dont have to rally behind one (and only one) miracle-producing program? To that point, demonstrate how SS, Lean Manufacturing, Theory of Constraints, ISO, Kaizen, TQM, etc., etc. can co-exist. Try exploiting the benefits of each in a cohesive, business culture.
Aspect of the future you forgot to ask? The impact of demographics Baby boomers leaving the work force, GenXers becoming managers/leaders, China and other countries emerging, healthcare, digitally available data, you name it! Things are going to change and it will be very interesting to see if SS is around long enough to meet the challenge of evolution. Step back and think about the future it will happen!
I wish I had more time to expand/detail but lunch is over. Hopefully, youll get additional feedback. OLD0July 9, 2004 at 6:55 pm #103209
Ken FeldmanParticipant@DarthInclude @Darth in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Good post. You mention the dilution of SS principles and methodology. Since the post is about SS consulting, do you see a dilution of the skill sets of the consultants providing this service? You only have to read some of the previous posts on this Forum where somebody asks what book to read or where to go to learn SS so their company can start consulting in SS. BBs/MBBs discouraged with how businesses are implementing SS are now all of a sudden qualified to be consultants. I see a link between the dilution of the methodology and the dilution of those doing the consulting. I also believe that a recognized certification/licensing, similar in nature to the JD or CPA, would help separate out, as Deming called them, the Hacks from the qualified. Since there doesn’t seem to be an alternative to SS on the visible horizon maybe we have the time to perfect the approach before it loses favor and CEOs move onto something else.
0July 9, 2004 at 7:10 pm #103210Darth:
Yes, I agree with you that the dilution possibly includes consultants and their services. I too, shiver when I read some of the posts/questions and I wonder what are they thinking or attempting to do? For successsful SS leadership/consulting there needs to be a balance of recognized experience and education. I think you are right in thinking there is time to recitfy the situation. GOOD EXCHANGE!!! OLD0July 9, 2004 at 7:18 pm #103211There is always going to be a wide variation of skill sets among BB, MBBs or for that matter in any field. Just take a look at the skill sets of yourself and your MBB peers at your company! There is nothing new here. Let’s move on to a new subject! Hopefully technical next time.
0July 9, 2004 at 8:08 pm #103215This is a truly value added thread. I am also increasingly concerned that Six Sigma as a practice is becoming diluted. As you have previously noted, the movement from other less lucrative and less in demand consulting fields to Six Sigma has been nothing short of astounding. Everyone and his/her brother is now a Six Sigma expert hawking their wares. In my corporation we have seen quite a few so-called certified Six Sigma experts come in, ostensibly having worked at BB and MBB levels that, in my opinion, did not have a clue as to how to identify, analyze and correct even the most basic causes of variance. For the most part it was not a case of their having intentionally misrepresented themselves to us, it was lack of preparation and not having gained the prerequisite on the job experience to be able to tackle workplace problems and thats the analytical portion let alone the leadership and organizational development aspects of the job. I believe it reflects more poorly on the slipshod training and certification companies that have, in the absence of a standardized Six Sigma body of knowledge and qualifying group/agency, sprung up to make a fast buck irrespective of subsequent damage done to trainee, hiring entity, and the field than it does the people eager to begin the process of gaining and using Six Sigma analytics making uninformed choices in regard to selecting training bodies. If Six Sigma practitioners and Six Sigma committed corporations dont begin to demand and look for means of assuring standardization we are going to find ourselves losing reliance on one of the better analytical toolsets and management mindsets that have come along. ASQ has made a late entry attempt (self-serving or not) to establish a uniform body of knowledge for Six Sigma, but I believe that it will take the establishment of a Six Sigma specific body headed by elected and widely recognized Six Sigma subject matter experts to begin to establish the standardization of the body of knowledge, training and practicum required for certification, and an accepted and meaningful Six Sigma certification. If you look at it objectively Six Sigma practitioners and their committed senior management hold vast sway over many corporations profitability and its a wonder in our post-Enron business environment that the SEC has not stepped in out of concerns regarding corporate due diligence and demanded Six Sigma practice standardization. There are, once again in my opinion, about 8 10 frequent posters in this forum (or maligned by members of this forum) who could, working together, create the type of a standardization body that Im speaking of. And this is not even considering the positive benefits derived through proactive and sophisticated marketing of the Six Sigma fields and its contributors.
0July 9, 2004 at 8:40 pm #103219
Ken FeldmanParticipant@DarthInclude @Darth in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Well stated, thanks for the contribution.
0July 9, 2004 at 8:41 pm #103221
Reigle StewartParticipant@Reigle-StewartInclude @Reigle-Stewart in your post and this person will
be notified via email.R2D2:
As we speak, there is a substantial effort currently underway to do just what you are speaking of. This effort is operating under the banner of the “Six Sigma Federation” and currently involves several universities (US and international schools of enginerring and business) as well as several fortune 100 corporations. Standardards are being defined for BOK, deployment, implementation, management, metrics, certification, and a host of other factors. It is anticipated that the standards will be implemnted during 2005.
Regards,
Reigle Stewart0July 9, 2004 at 10:21 pm #103231Who would be qualified to set such standards?
0July 9, 2004 at 10:44 pm #103233
Ken FeldmanParticipant@DarthInclude @Darth in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Dr. Harry, of course.
0July 9, 2004 at 10:51 pm #103235And what’s wrong with that? Somebody has to be the target!
0July 10, 2004 at 11:18 am #103245Perfect……
0July 10, 2004 at 4:04 pm #103247Thank You Old for your comprehensive “added-value”reply.Hope your “enthusiastic”contribution would motivate others to share and brainstorm some new ideas in this concept.I believe this debate is vital and essential for all those who are interested to continue or to build a new career in SS. kIND rEGARDS
0July 12, 2004 at 5:16 pm #103294
John J. McDonoughParticipant@John-J.-McDonoughInclude @John-J.-McDonough in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Sorry to be a little late to the party here. Last week was a bit hectic.
I don’t necessarily see the “dilution” as an entirely bad thing. Not so long ago, the only choice for a company looking for guidance was the big consulting houses. Sure, these people may well bring a little expertise to the table, but they also bring a strong focus on generating billable hours and building a permanent relationship that can continue to deliver those billable hours, while delivering to the client the minimum possible value. Some of these houses are experts at raping the customer, and companies who are trying to implement may well be better of with someone who knows how to spell Six Sigma.
As hundreds of small players enter, the customer now has choices. Sure, there are going to be a lot of consultants, as was pointed out earlier, who have read the book and now call themselves experts. But there are also genuine experts out there, and dedicated Six Sigma cheerleaders, who are sincerely interested, in the true Six Sigma spirit, of delivering their customers maximum value for their dollar.
In the short term, kind of where we are now, the customer is in a sort of bad spot. There are huge numbers of choices, and very little data on which to judge them. But over time the word will get around, it will become apparent who is hot and who is not, and after capitalism does it’s thing, the Six Sigma practice will ultimately be better off.
–McD
0July 15, 2004 at 4:31 am #103455
Noname expertParticipant@Noname-expertInclude @Noname-expert in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Thank You for your “added value” contribution.Just you hit the target,but still one question needs to be answered (from the companies point of view):How to discover those “vague”consultants at the early stage? kind regards
0July 15, 2004 at 6:28 pm #103535
John J. McDonoughParticipant@John-J.-McDonoughInclude @John-J.-McDonough in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Noname
I’m afraid businesses are left with their traditional, old-style tools … instinct, word of mouth, and hard nosed interviewing. No magic here! Better get the old man who remembers how to do these things helping with the choices.
–McD
0July 15, 2004 at 10:18 pm #103545
Attempting to ClarifyParticipant@Attempting-to-ClarifyInclude @Attempting-to-Clarify in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Noname expert:
What was the purpose of your original post? You asked 4 questions. The thread reads like darth and old attempted to answer the questions and John qualified one of their points. You say this specific post was the only one to hit the target? Please clarify what are we aiming for?0July 16, 2004 at 3:26 am #103551Thank You for your wise message.I was trying to open a debate,discussing the future of SS Consulting,so I have suggested those questions.Ofcourse I have appreciated greatly all the received contributions,specially those of darth,old and john……..I think all have added value and enriched the thread with their remarkable points of view,also you are refreshing the discussion again with your question,thank you and regards.
0September 10, 2004 at 5:06 pm #107146
Nobody ExpertParticipant@Nobody-ExpertInclude @Nobody-Expert in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Thank You for your deep thoughts,regards
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