There is no doubt about life. As the founder of management consulting industry, how can you rely on writing and analysis methods?
Wang Zhongyang founded Quanzhen Sect, and Huashan was impressed by the four skills of swordsmanship, ranking first in the world in martial arts. Not the plough Beidou array, but the first kung fu, the first finger. But because the plough Beidou array is easy to learn and use, Quanzhen Qizi only learned this and went to Jianghu. As a result, Jianghu only heard about the Beidou array, but did not know the first feat. Ouyang Feng didn't buy it. He humiliated Quanzhen Qizi. At most, the plough Beidou array is a facade kung fu, and the first kung fu and the first finger are martial arts stunts.
Pyramid writing principle and MECE analysis method are not only the work skills summarized by McKinsey employees in order to better complete their work. For McKinsey, these are just cosmetic efforts, not housekeeping skills.
Fighting Jiangshan depends on skill, and defending Jiangshan depends on courtesy. Learn from the people who guard the mountains and rivers, and you will only learn to show off. Why is McKinsey so awesome? Not because its current employees know the pyramid writing principle and MECE analysis method, but because its founder marvin bower is great.
He said that there should be a management consulting industry, so there was a management consulting industry. He said that a plan would sell for tens of millions, so how can it be done?
When marvin bower took over McKinsey, the management consulting industry did not exist, and McKinsey's business was accounting and making a living. It is he, marvin bower, who has an insight into the market demand: the boss is not omnipotent. In fact, he has many puzzles and needs professional consulting services. Therefore, he chose to provide professional advice on various major management issues only for various bosses, thus creating a management consulting industry.
At that time, everyone didn't understand what it was, and even the boss felt that he was a fool.
In the face of doubt, Marvin responded with a very awesome sentence: "We don't belong to any industry, we are professional." To put it bluntly, we are nothing more than awesome. When a person is confident enough to think that he can change the world, he really changes the world. At this point, the bosses also believe and cherish it.
Why do you choose to only connect with the boss? Because only what the boss values is the most valuable. In China, we often say that it is a long-standing problem, and this is the reason. It has an entrance.
First, it is conducive to decision-making. Because the plan is only responsible to the boss, the boss's decision is the final plan. At present, many consulting companies are hurt by the revision of the draft, just because they are all kinds of supervisors and managers. They submit reports layer by layer, but none of them can make a final decision. To be efficient, find someone who can make decisions.
Second, only focus on major issues. Hands-on, not leadership; Whoever can lift his weight easily is the boss. The boss will know everything as much as possible, but only focus on major issues, such as organizational structure. This is Marvin's advantage. He has the boss's thinking and knows the boss's pain points. Therefore, in McKinsey's plan, no matter what problems an enterprise has, in the final analysis, it is an organizational structure problem.
Third, you can charge a high price. Help the boss solve a problem worth one billion or even ten billion, and the boss will think it's worth asking only ten million. If you only provide services for the manager, the budget will be stuck and it is impossible to ask for more than fifty cents.
So from the beginning, Marvin made the rules, dealing directly with the boss, and professional managers rolled aside. As a brand-new industry, McKinsey has suffered a lot under this high standard, but it has survived after all.
Dealing with the boss is not easy, so you have to face a question: who are you? Why give me advice? This is also the biggest challenge Marvin faced when positioning McKinsey as a management consultant.
How to explain and prove? As a result, Marvin wrote analysis articles on management issues in major business magazines, had lunch and chatted with executives of various enterprises in his spare time, and went to various forums to give speeches on business issues. Anyway, I just try to show my face and talk about my method system and business views.
Then what? No, just three words: Wait! Wait! Wait!
What if no customers come? Wait a minute. What if there is no operating income? Wait a minute. What should I do if I can't afford it? Wait a minute. Anyway, I just don't come to the door to attract customers. This is called strategic waiting.
Marvin was born in the M&A industry. At that time, the United States was in the midst of a 30-year economic crisis, and many enterprises were either merged or reorganized or went bankrupt directly because of poor management. In other words, the boss asked Marvin to see if he could get a chance. Marvin's work goes well. As long as he gives professional advice, bosses will not question it, but will be very willing to listen to his advice.
Marvin realized that people who are willing have taken the bait: "If we ask customers for help, they will feel obligated to help us with our work and act according to our suggestions. Customers who are pulled will often put on an attitude that proves to me. "
When customers come to your door, you will only come if you agree with them. "Who are you?" "Why did you give me advice?" These questions, before the customer came to the door, he already had the answer in his heart. If there is no answer, cooperation will only begin in doubt and end in doubt, and both sides will lose.
Customers take the initiative to come to the door, while McKinsey waits at home to establish its own home advantage. According to Sun Tzu's Art of War, it means "making people not making people", and McKinsey leads the whole consultation process.
The client has arrived. Let's get started.
However, when it comes to industry experience, consultants are definitely not as good as bosses. The boss has been in the business for more than ten years, and his understanding of the industry is definitely deeper than that of foreign consultants. When it comes to business management, consultants are no better than bosses. The enterprise was founded by the boss, which is clear at a glance.
What valuable services can McKinsey provide to customers? No matter how the business content changes, the value core of McKinsey has not changed.
1, global vision. McKinsey calls it high-level thinking, which treats key external factors with a high-level mentality, and at the same time has a deep understanding of the inside of the enterprise and the development rhythm of an enterprise. Mckinsey has an overall survey outline, which is a map of the enterprise after investigation. If you have a good idea of the overall situation, you will have a well-thought-out plan.
The answer is in the first line. All the problems of the enterprise are deeply felt by front-line personnel; Many front-line personnel have solutions to problems. Get out of the air-conditioned room and go to the front. The answers to all questions are at the forefront. As Party B, not limited by the management level, you can hear questions that the senior management can't hear and get opinions that the senior management can't contact.
Imagination is more important than experience. Adopting the way of thinking when problems arise cannot provide creative solutions. Marvin believes that people with good analytical skills and imagination can learn the specific content of work in practical work and create higher value for customers as long as they master the standards for solving problems.
4. Determine the order of problem solving. There are three levels here: first, find the right question, and the question is the answer. Asking the wrong question but giving the right answer will only make the mistake more and more outrageous. Secondly, judge whether the problem needs to be solved. Not all problems should be solved, but we should learn to live with them and find out the key problems. Finally, determine the order of solving problems, arrange the order of solving problems according to priorities, and try to persuade customers to solve them in turn.
5. Dare to make professional judgments. In the professional field, consultants should dare to make judgments and stick to their own judgments. Customer recognition is also this scheme; The customer does not approve, and it is also this plan. Don't lose your professional independence because of customers' preferences.
6. Action-oriented. No matter how good the plan is, if the customer doesn't implement it, it is no different from waste paper. How to promote the effective implementation of the program? The principle of follow-up action is reversed, which is very similar to Toyota's production mode. The process of making a plan is the process of paving the way for the implementation of the action. As soon as the action plan comes out, you can act on your own.
7. Always put the interests of customers first and have the ability to let customers know. Exert influence in communication to make customers understand and be willing to accept your proposal.
Anyone who has consulted knows that each of these seven points is difficult. Every point is worth 1 million, and the value will be lower if you do less. If everything can't be done, then the maximum value of this scheme is100000.
Fourth, without professionalism, there is no professional plan.
That's not enough. Not professional enough. What is professionalism? It's just a look that makes people think you know what to do. Two fitness instructors are standing in front of you, one with a big belly and the other with a six-pack abdominal trainer. You will be more willing to believe that Liukuai abdominal muscle training Division is a professional trainer.
Consulting service is very special: you can get nothing without spending money; After spending money, you may still get nothing. Then why do customers still need consulting services?
Consulting services sell the expectation of solving problems, not the curative effect. This is very similar to a doctor. When you go to see a doctor, the doctor will tell you four things: you are ill. Very disgusting. There is an antidote. Medicine is expensive.
So are you going to see a doctor or a doctor? Even if it can't be cured, you will see a doctor, but choose a hospital that looks more formal and better.
Mckinsey made the company look professional earlier and more consciously than any consulting firm. Profession doesn't mean mastery, just as a doctor in a top-three hospital is no better than a quack. But you are more willing to pay a high price for doctors in top three hospitals.
Marvin said: "Compared with letting idle people at home and retired sales managers do it, consulting is not a part-time job. On the contrary, it should be regarded as a valuable professional service enterprise. Consulting is a profession, not a business that only makes money. "
Since you are selling the expectation of solving problems, you must first make sure that customers have the ability to solve problems at a glance. So how did McKinsey do it?
Same taste as the boss. Since you only serve the boss, your taste must be on the same level as the boss, or even higher. Dialogue also pays attention to paragraph matching. The Buddha looks at the golden clothes, while the man looks at the clothes. At least dress close to the boss. If the boss likes to wear hats, you'd better wear them, too. If the boss wears a suit and tie, then you can't wear sneakers and a T-shirt.
The product image should be unified. If a client receives many reports, he should know which one is McKinsey's just by looking at the cover. Although the content of each work product is very different, everything written to customers, whether it is letters, reports or memos, should have the same appearance regardless of the author.
Self-contained methodology. McKinsey is very good at this. The methodology system developed by it has now become everyone's daily work methods, such as pyramid writing principle and MECE analysis method. As long as we analyze the organizational structure and strategy, we will use McKinsey's 7S model. When McKinsey's methodology system, from the company to the public, he became synonymous with authority.
Get ready to say no. McKinsey won't do it without telling the boss. The problem is not big, McKinsey will not do it; This is not business. McKinsey won't do it. Only by refusing temptation can we be more professional in the field of concentration. A consulting company that accepts everything is no different from a fortune teller.
The above is what customers can feel when they contact McKinsey, and he will show his professional sense to customers all the time. But as for whether it is so professional, it depends on who uses it.