What skills do management consultants need to be effective in digital transformation projects?

1. Practical business experience 2. Solid technical experience in multiple areas 3. Be a good listener and look for the right solutions. Follow the people, then process and then technology approach.

1. Be a critical thinker - digital transformation is a buzz word - challenge the 'ask' and get to the root of the change the client really needs/wants, and what it looks like 2. Listening Skills - to the spoken and unspoken. Congruency of words and actions are key 3. Outcome focussed - Ask the people, check the data incrementally - hitting a project implementation milestone is not enough! 4. Pragmatic - Understand all the transformation levers. The answer isn't always a major technology change; it's the enabler not the primary outcome. 'Right-fit' the approach to your client 5. Transformation is a collaborated outcome ; work WITH your client and help them galvanise their organisational resources to drive transformational outcomes

The most important skills are business acumen, industry awareness, and knowledge of the client. This allows reimagining the future of the business to solve a problem or create an advantage. These process changes are generally enabled digitally. Let me share an example: reimagining operations at hazardous sites in industries such as mining, or oil & gas. It is expensive, difficult, and risky to bring people of multiple skill types to these remote locations. Remote operations with real-time and autonomous techniques allow redesigning job roles at well sites or mines. Hazard exposure, and human error can be minimized by allowing jobs to be remote. Early warning for risks can also be identified through data making operations much safer.

The most impactful business consultants are the ones that have been on the business side before they became consultants. I experience this every day as a principal business consultant after spending roughly 20 years in the manufacturing industry doing various roles. All of that experience leads to a credible usage of business acumen and increases the likelihood of acceptance by the customer.

We must never forget that digital transformation is not an end in itself but that it remains the digital transformation of one or more activities. We must therefore avoid focusing on technology to the detriment of the company's main business. Unfortunately, many digital transformation consultants simply try to replicate technologies without measuring whether this technology provides added value in terms of productivity, cost reduction or fluidity.

Nesse tipo de trabalho, um consultor precisa, muito, entender os vários problemas que empresas tem e indicar quais tecnologias se encaixam em cada um desses problemas e nesses contextos. A ideia não é ser especialista em todas as tecnologias, pelo contrário… seria ideal ser especialista nas ferramentas e tecnologias para os problemas comuns, e aconselhar melhor em outros contextos.

Jack of all trades, master of none. They need to know the art of the possible, without being mugged off by people. The ability to research and grasp a level of understanding that can force the desired outcomes is key. The translation of technical and non-technical language is very useful to mediate between stakeholders across the organisation.

Most large organizations have been pitched so many wild implementation ideas from big consulting, and often the playbook is pretty basic for most architecture stacks. Every leader brings in a technical bias based on previous work, so the real stewards of a transformation that succeeds are those willing to pivot and boldly try something new. Preferably much leaner, too.

Technical expertise empowers management consultants to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of digital technologies. Whether it's understanding the intricacies of cloud computing, data analytics, or artificial intelligence, consultants with technical proficiency can assess the feasibility and impact of various solutions. This expertise enables them to guide organizations in adopting technologies that align with their goals, enhance efficiency, and stay ahead in the digital era.

Es vital tener un conocimiento técnico porque eso quiere decir que saber manejar un ruta está experiencia te ha permitido probar y resolver problemásticas en otros proyectos. Esto te permite trazar que herramientas te hacen falta y que no es necesari en ese momento. Ya que a veces la emoción nos gana de llevar todas las herramientas posibles. Pero no sabemos si la empres cuenta con un presupuesto para poder solventarla o cómo ellos ven es tipo de gastos fijos.

In my experience, the number one realization that business consultants doing digital transformation need to have is that it is not a pure play digital transformation, but always also a business transformation. The change management needed to support a digital transformation takes place predominantly on the human behavior aspect of the transformation, not on the technical side of the transformation.

In my experience, change management needs to be led by the organization changing. Consultants are outsiders, soldiers of fortune brought in to give the organization a boost to help them achieve a specific task or goal. An effective consultant is one who can build up the organization’s leadership capacity and train them to lead their staff through the change. To do this they need to be savvy at building key relationships, and know when to roll up their sleeves and when to hand things over. Change is messy business, especially if it involves organizational culture so the only way to succeed is to build a coalition, led by the organization changing. Few organizations have this capacity available, so it is a good space for consultants!

Change Management is really about helping people connect the dots as it pertains to their individual situation. Change is most effective if the people are involved in designing the change so they can mentally prepare for and plan for the change, and better yet advocate for that change. Management Consultants need to put the people aspect clearly in focus when proposing recommendations or solutions in order to equip clients with the data and tools to navigate the change activities required.

Technology enabled change is an unfortunate moniker as it’s easy to misinterpret. Technology is allowing a specific degree of change to become possible, it is not making that change happen. Technology can produce outputs, and now it can produce outcomes. Whether they are the right outputs or outcomes? That’s the million dollar question today. That level of insight needs to be present in the business users leveraging the technology, and that is the focus of change. Is the business enabled to effectively consume the technology and achieve the change the technology has made possible? You’d be hard pressed as a management consultant to find a situation where it wasn’t a business change masquerading as just tech.

For me, it’s simple, it’s all business change and transformation, separating it from the hype or cool words and why we have so many disparate transformations efforts still in silos, is that it’s been tech driven and bringing people process and tech together, to masters it, has been missing because business don’t want to invest in training, coaching and sustaining shifts/transitions and the lack of connecting the dots end to end is a result of not focusing on operating models, but on silos of tech or methods…this is where value stream management is useful to tie things together to a portfolio and to overall business strategy that is responsive to continuous exponential change and disruption

To be clear - the creativity and innovation is to be focused on the design of the business and end customer outcomes required and not the tech. When buying tech you need to go with solid and proven stuff and do the due diligence that it will deliver the outcomes you need for the business. The very last thing you need is a bunch of tech people designing your go to market processes or your customer experience. In summary. - do the innovation before you commit to the tech. - validate the tech against the outcomes needed before contracting - deliver the outcomes using MVP then agile to refine All tech transformations need to be anchored by the customer or business transformation outcomes that will pay for the investment.

Creativity and innovation is important to discover new opportunities, challenge status quo and explore valuable solutions: 1. Creative Problem-Solving frameworks as ideation techniques and design thinking to understand user needs, redefine problems, and create innovative solutions. 2. Innovation Management skills for developing and implementing strategies that foster a culture of innovation within organizations. 3. Business Acumen and strategic planning for aligning digital transformation initiatives with strategic business goals. 4. Collaboration to foster working effectively in cross-functional teams to drive projects forward. 5. User-Centric Approach to focusing on improving customer experience through digital solutions

In my experience the most valuable tool to drive innovation and future-thinking is story. Management consultants are most susceptible to the binary language of business. Data and logic are essential to rationalising the past. But if you want to (use that to) imagine the future and what you might do to get there (innovation) then, neurologically, the most efficient and effective way to do it is to write a story. Your plot: The world we live in now The inciting incident (our strategic challenge) that demands that we change The mindset that enables us to dig deep The tools and special powers required How we measure our journey forward The final destination - an inspiring but clear and achievable vision of what success looks like.

Entendo que aliado a encontrar e experimentar nossas possibilidades de soluções, seja sincronizar isso com o dia a dia. Não há dia tranquilo quando estamos gerindo produtos ou projetos. Logo, alinhar as expectativas do negócio, com as inovação e evolução do produto é uma arte que poucos conseguem ou até mesmo tem o luxo de presenciar na rotina real de trabalho. Inovar não necessariamente é fazer algo disruptivo (aliás, inovação não é disrupção…. Mas toda disrupção contém inovação) mas resolver um problema existente de uma forma mais eficiente e eficaz.

Be careful with this one. Is it the consultant’s job to be the source of knowledge bringing innovation, or is it the consultant’s role to generate engagement, gather opinions and ideas, provide external challenge, and help our clients make the right decisions on a pragmatic route to a better future?

The best consultants are true learners. Being like a sponge to absorb trends, thought leadership concepts, and new ideas, are all qualities of the future consultant. The growth mindset opens the appetite to intentional learning that is focused on the attributes needed for today's transformation initiatives, such as adapting, resiliency, and the holistic views of a given problem and how to treat it across am entire ecosystem.

You can never know everything, so as a management consultant, certainly in the digital transformation space (where things evolve really quickly nowadays), you need to keep an open mind (growth mindset) and never ever assume you already know all the answers. Every client's situation is both similar to other clients as well as vastly different and more specific. The one thing I always do before engaging with a new client (at least new to me) is to read the first 30-40 pages of their last annual report as it gives me context on the strategic direction they want to go. Then I can start asking loads of questions to fill in the blanks before I even consider to consult them on anything.

Velocidade de aprendizado é importante, mas não mais importante do que aprender certo e aprender o que é certo. Ou seja: não adianta ter uma mentalidade de aprendizado continuo, aprendendo assuntos e contextos que não ajudará a evitar problemas futuros e detectar possíveis riscos. Então, o principal desafio é saber o que aprender e saber o quanto aprender. Esse suficiente é importante saber.

Managing the balance between feelings of optimism and skepticism for the problem at hand is key. If I have too much of one, my guidance won't be grounded and I'll fall on my face. If a consultant can't be both at the same time, they won't last long.

An important skill is the ability to facilitate conversations and workshops to get the relevant stakeholders to co-create ideas and roadmaps for the implementation of digital transformation. As digital transformation is a multi-disciplinary affair, the ability to facilitate the convening of relevant stakeholders to deliver digital transformation in an agile manner is imperative.

Let me add something unconventional here as I'd like to underscore the importance of two somewhat overlooked skills: empathy and patience in successful digital transformation projects. As my esteemed peers have already discussed the major skills required, I believe these qualities could be equally transformative. Empathy plays a pivotal role in understanding client needs, facilitating effective communication, and forging stronger relationships. Meanwhile, patience is a true virtue when dealing with hurdles, delays, and potential setbacks that are a common part of any transformation efforts.

Digital Transformation is not a solution that can be implemented straight out of the box. There is no "One-size-fits-all". One has to be understanding business & prioritizing the business case before designing any digital solution. One needs to reinvent and/or innovate. The word "digital" means automation of process, data and use of digital technology building blocks to devise multiple possible solutions, evaluating them on feasibility, input costs, ROI, Security, Ease of use aspects. Once done, next challenge is of Change Management. Convincing people across hierarchy and the users about accepting the change and to do that people management & OCM skills are required. This is more challenging than the technical solution design.

Cultural differences are pivotal in digital transformation projects within today's global business landscape. Understanding and navigating these disparities is essential for effective collaboration and project success. These differences encompass communication styles, decision-making processes, work attitudes, and perceptions of authority. Consultants must adapt their communication strategies accordingly, fostering an inclusive environment where all stakeholders feel valued. Building cultural intelligence and cross-cultural communication skills is crucial for bridging divides, fostering trust, and achieving project objectives amidst diverse cultural contexts.

It’s important to remember one of the key skills for any management consultant is good, old Stakeholder Management. It may seem basic but along with the other skills listed here in terms of business acumen, technical skills, etc. they are ultimately brought together through effective, consistent & open stakeholder management. People are the key to an organisation’s success - not just the leadership team but colleagues across all levels of seniority. A consultant must be able to work with a variety of stakeholders, understanding the audience and the motivations of those audiences, to tailor the advice & guidance accordingly. Adapting to the needs of the people to drive success through consulting that meets all needs.