One of the most common challenges facing any organization including associations (and members of our profession) is articulating a succinct answer to the enduring client or member question: where is the value? I am sure many of us have articulated to colleagues, newly hired consultants or business partners why one should sacrifice the occasional evening or weekend to the cause of raising the bar for management consulting. I often give it some thought – that is an essential conversation for me and probably for many of us.
Rather than put up or sell you a list of benefits, let me dig into three examples of where you may find your own answer:
Value - Content – we recently offered a professional development platform by staging a content rich conference featuring senior partners and a range of experts talking about topics that affect all of us in consulting. It wasn’t free but not much in life is, is it? Our highways, sidewalks, lawns, libraries, education, healthcare and everything else in our public domain (the commons) has been paid for by someone through taxes and volunteer time. We were able to assemble over twenty speakers talking about client engagement, shared economy, big data analytics, blockchain technology, happiness, finding your element, disruption and real estate, what young consultants think, what partners think, why privacy matters and more. You and folks from twenty other countries had more than enough to talk about. Just to make sure, we hosted a number of dinners and lunches to give you something to do while offering opinions or connecting.
Registrants now have access to presenter’s Power Points to back up the hyper stimulated environment of the conference. For some, this represents value.
Value - Connecting – as well as finding people to talk to and possibly work with, you belong to a community that offers another 2800 possible connections. As you do the exponential math, you will quickly conclude there is a very large number of links to help you in so many ways. Just to get you closer to our community and the bigger global community, here are some links - in addition to CMC-Canada blogs - that might provide some on-going stimulation as bloggers talk about what it means to be a consultant – what you decided to become at some point in your career (they may help provide an inside look at the consulting life and the profession. Some of these sites are not updated regularly, but they still offer good material):
- Steve Shu Consulting - http://steveshuconsulting.com
- Consultant Ninja - http://www.consultantninja.com
- Management Consulted - http://managementconsulted.com/consulting-news
(This site has a number of "day in the life" interviews with consultants – for example, http://managementconsulted.com/consulting-interviews/nortel-interview - Killer Consultant - http://www.killerconsultant.com
- Consultant Insider - http://consultantinsider.blogspot.com
- The Analyst - http://banalyst.wordpress.com
- Tom Spencer’s Blog - http://www.tomspencer.com.au
- MindShare Consulting - http://mindshareconsulting.com
- The Source Blog - http://www.sourceforconsulting.com/blog
- The Crazy Lives of Consultants - http://crazyconsultant.blogspot.com
- Consulting Ideas - http://consulting-ideas.com/category/blog
- Consultant's Mind - http://consultantsmind.com
- High Flying Ladies - http://www.highflyingladies.com/choose-a-path/consulting
- PhD Consultant - https://phdconsultant.wordpress.com
- Working with McKinsey - http://workingwithmckinsey.blogspot.com/
- Bain Voices - http://bainvoices.wordpress.com/
- http://firmsconsulting.com - this one website, in my opinion, is sufficient for all interview prep and getting an idea as life as a consultant.
- Preplounge.com
- caseinterviewsecrets.com
- http://blog.aciron.com
If you are a student and wish to prepare for a case interview with a consulting firm, there is always www.AcetheCase.com
For others, this represents value.
Value - Thirty other reasons - If you prefer to tell your own story, Bain Research (Bain and Company) has come up with a wonderful menu of sources of value (see below).
Reflect on your experiences with CMC-Canada and start listing how you get value from your membership. Here’s an attempt on my part.
1. Badge value – using the designation to help brand your practice and you as a practitioner
2. Integrates – into a community of practice across the country and around the globe
3. Nostalgia – is the same organization that the pioneers of the profession founded and built
4. Affiliation and belonging – quickly positions you with a community of like minded professionals
5. Connects – to people/colleagues/ ideas/opportunities
6. Saves costs – through our affinity partners
7. Makes money – through the NRC-IRAP MAS program
8. Fun/entertainment – informal evenings with fellow members
9. Wellness – through giving and helping students, those interested in the profession, the community
10. Rewards me – offering your know how (as a Board member) to decisions affecting the future of the profession.
Try to build your own list by working through as many elements as possible.
Others can find value here.
While You Are At It
Value can be found in many areas of a national community. It just takes a little work to think about it.
You have been contacted about renewing your membership in CMC-Canada - click here to log-in and renew online. Think about the value list you have built, think about why you chose to be a consultant, think about the conference you just went to, think about the next generation of consultants looking for advice from older and experienced consultants and then make sure we keep our association viable by paying your dues. While nothing is free, sometimes its value goes beyond dollars and cents.
