Pandemic – has it also made positive contributions in our society?

The only thing that is constant is Changes”  — said Heracles.  Both we who approach ourselves as consultants and not least companies that make use of Advisory Consultants (Management / Executive Consultants) should be pleased with this. 

The pandemic has led to a paradigm shift through the introduction of Consulting in the Cloud where the companies get the same experienced consultant, but at a significantly lower price and not the well-known long and expensive contracts.

A real Win-Win-Win situation that is value-creating for both parties and not least the environment.

Pandemic period has given us  consultants the necessary experience to deal with even complex problems via the Cloud. We could have seen that before, but many of us swore to the physical presence and personal contact in such processes.

The pandemic would be different.

Physical presence is no longer a prerequisite for understanding thechallenge  and needs and being able to contribute a  positivet  contribution. Until recently, Executive Consulting has been the same as physical meetings that often involve transportation by car, taxi, train, hotel and airlines both  nationally  and internationally.

The pandemic has given us (read: pushed us to)  an experience of using the digital media even in areas where I personally wouldn’t normally do so – and Executive Consulting isn’t the only area where we’ve realized the benefits. Not in the sense that I’m not going to use physical meetings anymore, but I’ve been given a new important opportunity and a new tool – a tool that is very effective both in termsof time, cost and solutionsorting. And again, we have learned that as long as both parties find it useful, we are all eager to make it work.  I would add, however, that it would not have been as easy 20 years ago, but  especially  for us experienced consultants, the need for physical presence is significantly reduced – we can use the experience to help our customers in the right assessments and processes. 

“Been there – Done that” also has an impact in the consulting industry and now also for our customers.

Will this then come all by itself or does anyone have to drive the processes of change here as well?
Definitely the last one.  Also in the consulting industry concerns “The shoemaker’s children…”.  We help our customers to achieve optimal organization and to achieve results, but are probably a relatively conservative industry itself as well.

Some of us have to lead the way – and not least, customers have to make demands on us.  With this interaction, my prediction is that

• the future of Executive Consulting includes extensive use of Cloud and Digital Meeting points through Zoom, Teams, Skype and others
• the price of consultancy services will decrease because the days will be more efficient and travel costs will be drastically reduced
• the assignments will no longer have durations that provide an automatic high final invoice, but may be as high as one/a few  hours(r) – which was completely out of the question only a year ago
• more customers – who  yesterday  think the cost of using Executive Consulting is too high, will use the services and take advantage of it
• using consultants is becoming more and more normal because it is made available

One should always start with oneselves, so how can I take advantage of the new market picture?

I started my life at financial consultancy in 1989 and have been an independent consultant since 1989 – 30+ years just with a couple of interruptions headhunted to specific jobs and roles.

30+ years with an average of 200+ days with my baggage and airline bonus card (historically always between 2 and 8 flights per week). This is what it was needed to succeed as a consultant in the larger Nordic financial firms.

And it would have continued like this into eternity or retirement…

… but Covid-19 hit us – a game changer  in many ways, and suddenly I was asked to find digital solutions and work from home, in the hotel or homeoffice. Actually,any except from the office. And this was not only valid for external consultants, but also the employees of my client.

We met ourselves at the door and had to  rethink; Re-engineering of proven and accepted processes in project management, strategy development,mentoring and I could continue to list  all  the different areas – common to all of them was that they ended up in thedigital   sphere ina way we had never before done.

And 14 months later – this is here to stay. 

The consulting industry will never be the same again-  … “Youlose something – You get something”…  

COVID-19 is soon history, but the experiences of the period should be used in a positive way, hence many  of my 250+ days away and 2 – 8 flights per week  will  be history. It’s not  as necessary to be physical anymore. One  can deal with complex business problems via various digital media and med technological advances, coaching and management can take place  from  anywhere and  anytime around the world. Be it

• litt  ekstra  va wire  on  et  bestemt  område…
• a little professctional  coaching  av  t t  kritic  prosjekt…
• et  eksternt  erfarent  medlem  av  styringsgruppen  din…
• an externally experienced member of your board…
• inndividual one-on-one consultations and one-to-many team consultations
• provideonfidencial and individualised advice at the senior management level
• experience-based 360° view of all relevant aspects of transformation management – from strategy to operational implementation and communication
• analysis and design, from conceptualtdesign to implementation – end-2-end processr  for implementation of change processis

Executive consultants  in general have the tools needed  and that can help the transformation, and “have been there, and I have done it”  allows with the experience one is able to  give the company’s leaders a  Roadmap to the future!

Customers further emphasize that in order to successfully provide counselling via  Clouden instead of physically, it is imminently important – almost a prerequisite that you have

• confidence in the dialogue with boardsofdirectors, senior managers and management teamr
• extensive experience from management level in  many industries – both vertically and horizontally
• extensive experience in executive mentoring, strategic adaptation and execution
• ability to cross-think business solutions, influence and attribution
• the ability to quickly understand a problem, relate it to the business and bring its own proven methods and tools to advise on targeted areas the ability to understand the AS-IS image is aimed at the TO-BE target and provide guidance during the implementation of the necessary delta to achieve the agreed goal
• ability to guide managers on necessary measures to achieve defined future sustainable solutions

These criteria are far more important when you do not meet in the physical environment because, whatever you may think, you lose at least onedimension of thedialogue.

So, instead of at perhaps a minimum of  3  months (historical requirement), one will now  be able to contribute on a small scale even down to a few  hours. All via the Cloud, but when needed, of course,  I’ll   pack  my luggage, book your flight ticket and fly out to meet you, but honestly – I think you’ll find the consulting firm in cloud to be as beneficial to yourself as it is to your business – if not more.

Finally, don’t give up if you think you’re facing resistance.  Even change consultants can be change-minded when it comes too close to…