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A quick Google search will show you that the existence of the cover letter or not is constantly put into question. Are cover notes still relevant? Do employers even care about them? In this article we explain why they are still relevant, although at Movemeon we prefer to speak of an elevator pitch, but how you can write an efficient and modern elevator pitch to secure your dream job. We also share some tips to write a perfect CV using consulting skills.

The importance of a cover note

Cover notes are sometimes considered optional. At Movemeon, we don’t think they are - but neither do we like the traditional cover note approach, that's why we speak of elevator pitch rather.

Your elevator pitch is what separates you and your skills from other candidates with basically the same CV. It’s a chance for you to show and tell where you have delivered. For instance, if you have worked on an interim project with a major client, your elevator pitch gives you the space to flesh out your achievements, and why they are relevant for this application.

The cover note is the main way of separating out the strengths of two people’s candidacy – you can use your elevator pitch to show exactly why this experience makes you the best for the role.

It is important to remember that Movemeon is a network of candidates with excellent skills and experience. As one of our members, you have a really strong professional and academic background. It’s also very likely that you have been through some form of consulting experience in your career – maybe you’re still working as a consultant as you read this. You belong to a great community of extremely skilled professionals on Movemeon, but this can also mean that your profile might be similar to other candidates’. The elevator pitch is the main way of separating out the strengths of two people’s candidacy – you can use your elevator pitch to show exactly why this experience makes you the best for the role.

How the Movemeon Client Success Team uses the elevator pitch

Cover notes help the Movemeon Client Success team to do two things. First of all, we can write a clear summary of your approach in your own words. If we only have a CV to look at, this is more difficult to do because we don’t have your experience, and don’t know how you would describe it and what else you would say about it. An elevator pitch really helps us to come with an initial shortlist of candidates to present to employers.

Second of all, your elevator pitch makes it much easier for us to get you, as a candidate, into the interview process. Think of the elevator pitch as a sales crib sheet, or a selling aid to the client. If a candidate has gone the extra mile for us as a Client Success team to help themselves to really stand out, then it makes our job of presenting that candidate to an employer a lot easier.

What you should put in your elevator pitch

• A CV can be a very limiting document because it is essentially a list of skills and achievements, your cover note gives you the opportunity to explain why you are applying to this specific role and what motivates you to get this job as an individual.
• You need to choose what you include carefully to fit with the role’s requirements and with your personal goals – this is the best way to show your own personal motivation for a job.

A CV can be a very limiting document because it is essentially a list of skills and achievements, so it can be difficult to build a bridge between this document and somebody’s personality.

• The elevator pitch is not about bringing your CV to life, but rather bringing your experience vis-à-vis the job requirements to life.
• Consulting is very impressive experience in and of itself, but it might not necessarily be particularly relevant for the position you’re applying for – focusing on a couple of missions in your elevator pitch can bring more relevance to your experience.
• Focus your experience on what the company has asked for and keep to the point so that you can communicate your motivation efficiently.
• If it helps, you can think of your elevator pitch as your own personal sales pitch.

Some methodology points

• Presentation has far less importance than the actual content. We often see that the best elevator pitches are the ones written in bullet points.
• Ask yourself why and how are you the best for this specific role in this particular company?
• There isn't a length guide, but the best ones our Client Success team has seen were about 150-200 words.

It really doesn’t need to be a long document for it to be great.

• The content of the pitch needs to be presenting your strengths in the most relevant manner.
• Always think of the reader as you write your elevator pitch. You need to present yourself in the best light possible, and ensure that your candidacy is very strong.
• As you write, take into account that you will be read by a hiring manager and the Movemeon Client Success team who will receive many more applications.

In summary, keep it concise, keep it to the point, keep it lively. And make sure that it's really accurately answering the question. We tend to recommend going for a bullet point model, but there’s nothing wrong with injecting a bit of flair into your writing. 

Mistakes to avoid

• Avoid classic copy paste errors. We've seen quite a few copy errors where people have mentioned the wrong company or forgot to remove their placeholders. This is the sort of thing that definitely needs to be avoided because it doesn't look like a particular level of care has been taken over applying to a specific brand or job.
• Just make sure that the covering note shows that you've invested in yourself and invested in the brand that you're potentially going to be working for.

In case of doubt, just focus on what the job wants and what you can bring to it and who you are.

• It’s really good to make sure to keep it grammatically tidy and run spell check through it. Good proofreading is essential.
• Avoid mis-researching what you're going to be writing. There's been a few cases where we’ve seen people present addressing the wrong stakeholder, the wrong hiring manager, or the wrong company. The advantage of the Movemeon elevator pitch is that it's a box that you fill, so it’s a very simple format which does not call for the traditional letter format. In case of doubt, just focus on what the job wants and what you can bring to it and who you are. You need to be absolutely sure of the facts you mention, and make sure that you've got a hundred percent confidence in that information.

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Tell us a little about your early career.

After completing my Bachelor degree in manufacturing engineering, I joined Hershey’s in India, who were also just setting up operations in the sub-continent. I started in candy manufacturing, moved to trade sales and distribution, and then stepped up to manage primary logistics and planning for multiple product categories. Given the early stage of the business, I was exposed to a number of different functions and was able to really get under the skin of the business.

I then pursued a two-year MBA degree at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), which included a summer internship with Amazon in their customer experience and analytics team for North American markets. 

After my MBA, management consulting appealed to me as the next career move. I had developed a strong understanding of the FMCG sector, but I was keen to broaden my skills and experience. I joined Deloitte Consulting in their strategy and operations practice in India. The role was truly global, with consultants jetting off to every part of the globe - supporting US-based clients in their local and international operations (air miles and points galore!!).

I spent my first 2.5 years with Deloitte in the US, where I worked across multiple verticals in strategy, M&A and change management. I then spent another 3 years between Japan, Taiwan and India, with retail and consumer product clients. 

Then the final piece of the puzzle - moving to Australia! My wife wanted to do an MBA, and decided to study in Sydney at AGSM (UNSW). Again Deloitte supported my move and I worked in Australia on some great projects. 
After close to 7 years with Deloitte, I began to think about what my next career step would be. A client-side opportunity with a business in the consumer goods space felt ideal, considering my interest and experience… which is why the opportunity with Endeavour Group on Movemeon was definitely one to explore!

How have you enjoyed the first few weeks of your new role?

It’s been an incredibly busy time at the Group, but it’s been really enjoyable so far. Not only is the time of year busy, being in the middle of strategy formulation and cascades throughout the business, but we’re getting to the final stages for separation from Woolworths. The team is great, a mixture of ex-consultants and investment bankers, and I am very excited about the next few months, as we establish ourselves as a new entity. 

[Endeavour will officially separate from its parent Woolworths Group in July 2021, when it will be Australia's leading retail drinks and hospitality business and an ASX50 company.]

What’s your best piece of advice for consultants looking to move into client-side roles?

Ideally 3-4 years into consulting, and once you have fine-tuned your consulting 101 skills, it may be worth aligning to a smaller number of industries that you are most passionate about. In my personal experience, potential employers resonated more with experience in a similar industry, rather than functional expertise across multiple industries.

What’s your best piece of interview advice?

Make sure you work on your own personal “sell story” as part of the application process. Why are you a great fit, based on your skills and experience? Also give the interviewer the confidence that you can jump in and add value straight away. This can be anchored on your familiarity and past experience in a similar industry.

How did you find out about Movemeon?

Pete [Asia-Pacific General Manager at Movemeon] invited me to join - I’m glad he did!

Would you recommend looking for opportunities through Movemeon? Why or why not?

Yes. The key is that Movemeon offers a curated experience. The roles are so much more focused and relevant, you know you won’t be wasting time scrolling through a bunch of irrelevant opportunities. 

Also you can be confident that the Movemeon team will be supportive throughout the process, compared to a job board where you could apply and then never hear anything again...

At Movemeon, we connect (ex)consultants and freelancers with job opportunities, advice & events. Register now to view and apply to jobs, for insider advice & networking/industry events.

You’re coming to the end of a freelance consulting project, it’s been fun – great team, challenging work, key milestones reached. You found the project through a recruitment agency. The client pulls you aside one day and asks if you’d be willing to lower your day rate and extend for some follow-on work. You take a minute, consider the request and push back to say that you’re working at the lowest possible rate…

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You’re crunching the numbers in your head, trying to rationalize the request. Realizing the conversation has taken a slightly awkward turn – to date, it’s only been about project success and Friday beers; not about the money – you muster up the courage and ask the client why you can’t continue at your current day rate. After a brief pause, they say, ‘because every day I keep you on site it’s costing me X, you certainly don’t come cheap!’.

You’re now slightly embarrassed and taken aback by the figure and you suddenly realize what your total cost to the client really is. After a moment to collect your thoughts, you work out that a large portion of that total cost is going to the recruitment agency that placed you. Frankly, you feel a bit robbed.

What is the mark-up a recruitment agency is charging on me?

Unfortunately, the conversation above happens far too often too many of the freelancers I speak to. They often overlook one of the key questions that should be in every freelancer’s arsenal when negotiating day rate – ‘what is the mark-up a recruitment agency is charging on me’? The answer is often a surprise and a shock too many – to hear that a recruitment agency is taking anywhere up to 100% of the value of your day rate for each day you work is not only unfair, but it’s also plain wrong.

Naturally, there is an ongoing facilitation fee for the service a recruitment agent has provided – but, like with so many other areas of recruitment today, the lack of transparency around the total mark-up simply enhances the unease many candidates feel when working through an agency.

Transparency first

That’s why, here at Movemeon, we are insistent on providing full transparency around what our fees are, helping you avoid awkward conversations like the one above! Firstly, through Movemeon, you will negotiate and agree your day rate directly with the client.

There is no middle man involved and Movemeon has no influence. Movemeon then charges a commission which is paid by the employer, rather than being taken off the rate you agreed. So, you get a day rate you’ve negotiated and are happy with.

Everyone knows what’s going on. And the client saves up to 75% compared to the commission paid to recruitment agencies.

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Economically, a Movemeon subscription makes complete sense.

WHAT HAVE YOU LIKED ABOUT HIRING THROUGH MOVEMEON?

Working with Movemeon has further educated us on recruiting for the ex-consulting experience. They have helped refine our selection criteria and the consultancies or projects we should be looking for. We still have a lot of learning to do, but now we have learnt a lot more about what we are looking for and how to attract that skillset.

I give the support received from Movemeon 10/10 - there is nothing else I could have asked for or wanted.

Every CV on Movemeon has something to offer

Email us at info@movemeon.com if you'd like to find out more about our subscriptions

WHAT MAKES US DISTINCTIVE / STAND OUT FROM OTHERS?

The quality of candidates has been so much higher than we’ve seen after a general push into the market using something like LinkedIn. Movemeon has a bigger pool of relevant candidates; every CV on Movemeon has something to offer.

Also, working with Movemeon is not a selling-type relationship. Because we have an annual subscription, the financial discussion is out of the way. It’s now more about collaboration. Gaby (Client Success Manager for Liberty Global) especially has been incredible - she’s really proactive and always really quick to reply. I had some early trouble with the system, and she was really patient talking through it. Really appreciated!

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE OUR SUBSCRIPTION PRODUCT?

It’s a product that makes sense to companies that have hiring teams internally. 

We looked at what we would pay a recruitment consultant and reckoned if we filled 2-3 roles in 12 months, it’d already paid for itself. So economically, a Movemeon subscription makes complete sense.

OPERATIONALLY, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HELPFUL?

When briefing on roles, there was a great blend of listening and asking relevant questions. Recruitment consultants usually either bombard you with yes/no questions or you can tell they aren’t listening because they already have candidates in mind. That doesn’t happen with Movemeon.

INTERESTED IN A MOVEMEON SUBSCRIPTION? CONTACT US TO FIND OUT MORE

Jumia ($824m), Monzo (£325m), Transferwise ($773m), Funding Circle ($746m), Zopa (£360m), Qonto ($151m), Gocardless (£95m), Jobteaser ($75m), Innovafeed (€55m). Just some of the most well-known and celebrated start-ups. Four have reached unicorn status; the others are hoping to. And they were all founded or co-founded by ex-consultants. 

In this article series, we look at why there are so many consultants founding successful businesses. We’d like to start by thanking the following for their time and great insights: Alexandre Prot (Ex-Mckinsey & Qonto founder), Aude Guo (Ex-Mckinsey & Innovafeed founder), Antoine Loron (Ex-Roland Berger & Hublo founder), Martin Pellet (ex-Kearney & LBF founder), Grégoire Schiller (ex-Roland Berger & Simundia founder), and Nick Patterson (ex-McKinsey & Movemeon co-founder).

The “consulting profile” and why some are driven to start companies

“Consultants that started with me at McKinsey had two things in common: firstly, they were some of the highest achievers I’ve met; secondly, they didn’t know what they wanted to do.” (Nick)

Consulting attracts high achievers as it is one of the most prestigious careers post-university. This is partly because the brands are so well-known across industries, but also because it is recognised as a career that opens doors.  

The combination of high achievement motive, and uncertainty around what you’re looking to do - not a single founder interviewed had entrepreneurship in mind when they joined consulting - means there are a lot of consultants who look to leave after a few years.

Turnover is extremely high in consulting, and whilst some of that is driven by “up or out” policies, the majority of the people leaving do so because they didn’t want to follow the track to Partner. And this is commonly accepted within the business. People can therefore talk openly about leaving, and in return receive great advice that gives you the confidence to launch businesses. Interestingly, both Nick and Alexandre mentioned that consulting gave them the confidence to launch businesses.

Finally, and that’s more an explanation of numbers rather than success, consultants know they have a strong employer brand to fall back on in case it goes wrong. This also means you have some very marketable short-terms skills - the option of  freelancing to supplement your income from a new business gives you more liberty to try and start something.

Consultants are great do-ers, despite what you may have heard!

The myth that consultants aren’t do-ers is regularly parroted. However, from what we’ve seen of peers and the consulting alumni community, quite the opposite is true.

In the early days of setting-up Movemeon, the most common challenge we’d hear from potential employers was that they didn’t want to hire consultants. They were concerned that, whilst they were very good at advising, they weren’t good at executing.

We couldn’t agree more on the importance of execution, but the common misconception about consultants not being good at delivery is just that - a misconception. Martin said that the high day rates charged by consultancies (especially strategy houses), and the high standards demanded by boards of large businesses, mean consultants have an obligation to deliver results and have to learn to deliver at pace.

On top of being good do-ers and dealing well with time pressure, consultants are also particularly good at multitasking. Alexandre, in the early days of Qonto, was able to work on strategy, finance, management, marketing and even office management. Antoine also highlighted that in a similar way to consulting, when you’re an early-stage founder you learn by doing.

Being good at multitasking, being good “do-ers”, and working with tight deadlines, it looks like early-stage start-ups have more in common with consulting than what we would have expected.

In the second part of this article - to be released in two weeks - we'll look at the key skills developed in consulting that help you launch and grow a start-up.

We’ve also published an in-depth interview with Innovafeed founder Aude Guo here.

At Movemeon, we connect (ex) consultants and freelancers with job opportunities, advice & events. Register now to view and apply to jobs, for insider advice & networking/industry events.

Jumia ($824m), Monzo (£325m), Transferwise ($773m), Funding Circle ($746m), Zopa (£360m), Qonto ($151m), Gocardless (£95m), Jobteaser ($75m), Innovafeed (€55m. Just some of the most well-known and celebrated start-ups. Four have reached unicorn status; the others are hoping to. And they were all founded or co-founded by ex-consultants. 

In part 2 of our article series, we look at the way some of the key skills developed as a consultants help with founding successful businesses. We’d like to start by thanking the following for their time and great insights: Alexandre Prot (Ex-Mckinsey & Qonto founder), Aude Guo (Ex-Mckinsey & Innovafeed founder), Antoine Loron (Ex-Roland Berger & Hublo founder), Martin Pellet (ex-Kearney & LBF founder), Grégoire Schiller (ex-Roland Berger & Simundia founder), and Nick Patterson (ex-McKinsey & Movemeon co-founder).

Problem solving and prioritization: key skills for founders

Movemeon was founded by two Mckinsey consultants, and therefore our work as a team has been influenced by strategy consulting. Problem solving and prioritisation are omnipresent in our day-to-day.

Those two skills are central to consulting work. Diagnosing issues (issue trees, driver trees) and using data to prioritise execution are the central aims of any consulting project.

Alexandre said that his consultant background helped him to structure his reasoning to tackle any complex problem. Aude and Martin agreed on this point: in an early-stage start-up you keep resolving problems, such as how am I gonna finance this project? What type of offices should we choose? More generally, how do you do things efficiently?

Grégoire highlighted that consulting gives you the structure to effectively prioritise using concepts like 80/20. Aude defined the ability to prioritise as hugely important. She said “It’s mostly about what you don’t do, not what you do. You need clear criteria to make decisions (not only for yourself but also understandable and acceptable to others; and something that is engaging).”

Networking and communication

If the network is a pretty obvious benefit of consulting, it's surprising how often effective communication has been described as a key skill learnt from consulting.

Consultancies have unparalleled alumni networks. There is a shared brand that means people are prepared to not only meet, but give you advice, too. This is invaluable in the early days, as you look to further develop your idea and, perhaps more importantly, make your first few sales (if your product is B2B). Grégoire remembers using Roland Berger’s network for closing first clients. Unlike business schools, consulting networks are usually more senior than you and therefore unlock way more opportunities when you’re an early-stage founder.

Working with senior people in consulting trains you in effective communication. Aude said “communication is key, as 80-90% of the time being a founder is about aligning people and getting to the point quickly. Our business has people of very different professional backgrounds and needs; you need to quickly understand and address what is important for each person in a way that is relevant for them to get them on board: how do you convey the real message (get to the point)? It’s about not spending one hour on a topic if it can require only 3 minutes.“

Related to communication, stakeholders management is a key skill developed in consulting. You need to be able to communicate in the right way with everyone: investors, clients, suppliers.

Consulting and entrepreneurship are still obviously two really different worlds. Grégoire empahsised that you have to unlearn consulting to do entrepreneurship as the way you make decisions can be very different. Nevertheless, consulting is undoubtedly a great training ground for entrepreneurship.

It trains you in many key skills needed by early-stage founders: communication, stakeholder management, prioritisation & problem solving. Having worked with 100+ start-ups, mostly founded by ex-consultant, in the last 2 years, and helping to fill roles like Director of Sales Operations for 360Learning, Country Manager for Hublo, Head of Partnerships for Luko, it's clear that consultants are a great fit for start-ups. Speaking to Alexandre, Aude, Antoine, Grégoire and Nick only reinforced that the transferable skills you get from consulting are essential for start-up success.

How does being a consultant naturally lead many to founding their own start-ups? We looked at this question in Part 1 of this series

We've also published an in-depth interview with Innovafeed founder Aude Guo here

Qonto founder Alexandre Prot spoke to us about Qonto & how he uses his consulting experience here

At Movemeon, we connect (ex) consultants and freelancers with job opportunities, advice & events. Register now to view and apply to jobs, for insider advice & networking/industry events.

Qonto offers the best current account for businesses, available online and on mobile with an appealing modern interface, a very responsive customer service and simple and transparent pricing.

Founded by Alexandre Prot and Steve Anavi, Qonto has raised €136m with Tencent, DST Global, Valar Ventures (launched by PayPal founder Peter Thiel), Alven (investor in Stripe, Algolia, Birchbox, Drivy) as well as the European Investment Bank.

Qonto are currently hiring for a Product Manager and a Head of Revenue Growth through Movemeon.

In your own words, please describe why you set up Qonto and what the business does

We created a first company with my business partner Steve Anavi, and we were very frustrated with our own banking experience. It was not only time-consuming and complex but also didn't include modern tools to suit modern companies. We decided to tackle these frustrations and to create the service we would have loved to use as entrepreneurs.

We offer a full-featured business finance management solution so SMEs can focus on what really matters.

Where do you see Qonto going over the next year? And over the next 5 years?

Next year, Qonto should get its own credit institution licence and become a bank in order to offer new services to its clients. 

In the next 5 years, our ambition is to be the leading Business Finance Management solution to allow all SMEs to focus on what truly matters.

Back in the early days of Qonto, how did your previous experience at McKinsey help you?

My consulting background helped me to structure my reasoning to tackle any complex problem.

What also really helped me was the multi-disciplinary experience that I acquired at McKinsey. I was able to work on strategy, finance, management and marketing for Qonto. And at the beginning, you really need to be a "multi-tasker" (I was even in charge of office management, and was actually enjoying it).

You went to McKinsey directly after school; did you already have entrepreneurship in mind at this time?

I was not really thinking of founding my company at the time, and thought I wanted to learn and discover lots of things in a "structured" world where you learn from your peers and managers.

My years in consulting definitely helped me acquire some skills and maybe most importantly the confidence to found a company myself. I also really used my MBA year at INSEAD to think about my "next step". I met with a few inspiring entrepreneurs and this also convinced me not to go back to consulting.

What is your day-to-day job like now, and is your McKinsey experience / network still helping?

When you are the CEO of a fast-growing company, no two days are the same!

I spend a lot of time with my team on different operational topics: sales and marketing, finance and compliance, international expansion. 

One of my top priorities is also hiring, so I meet a lot of candidates as we are planning to hire 100+ people in 2020, and having the right people is key. 

I'm also one of the spokespersons of the company, which means that I also spend a lot of time representing Qonto in events or interviews.

As an ex-McKinsey founder, do you like hiring the ex-consulting profile at Qonto, and why?

We do indeed like to hire ex-consultants because they tend to have transferable skills. They can structure / analyse a problem, and do a great project management job.

We have several consultants (from McKinsey and other firms) on the team. But the most important thing is really the fit in with our values (Ambition, Teamwork, Mastery, Integrity), and the energy to build an amazing service and team together, not necessarily the CV.

What would be your advice for a consultant looking to found their own start-up, or to transition into a start-up job?

Don't be afraid, if you have the right idea addressing the right problem, you have everything you need to make it a success! And do not feel like you have to wait a lot to "gain experience" - the sooner you get started, the better.

At Movemeon, we connect (ex) consultants and freelancers with job opportunities, advice & events. Register now to view and apply to jobs, for insider advice & networking/industry events.

In this article, we look through four trends that we’ve seen over the past few years:

- The changing needs of clients
- Increased hiring of consultants in-house
- The growth of large “one-stop-shop players”
- The rise of smaller, more flexible consulting boutiques.

Finally, we look at the immediate reactions from strategy firms, as well as what we think is going to be required for the industry to avoid Levitt’s “Marketing Myopia”. Strategy firms have clearly started to adapt, but in an increasingly digital world, they need to think of delivery models beyond just throwing smart people and industry experience at the problem. To do this, they must fully embrace technology.

Finally, we look at the immediate reactions from strategy firms, as well as what we think is going to be required for the industry to avoid Levitt’s “Marketing Myopia”. Strategy firms have clearly started to adapt, but in an increasingly digital world, they need to think of delivery models beyond just throwing smart people and industry experience at the problem. To do this, they must fully embrace technology.

“MARKETING MYOPIA”

On the first day of our consulting “mini-MBA”, we were taught about marketing myopia – a term coined by Theodore Levitt. It explains the pitfalls of focusing on marketing strictly from the standpoint of selling a specific product rather than from the standpoint of fulfilling customer needs.

At some point in its development, every industry can be considered a growth industry, based on the apparent superiority of its product. But in case after case, industries have fallen under the shadow of mismanagement. What usually gets emphasized is selling, not marketing. This is a mistake, since selling focuses on the needs of the seller, while marketing concentrates on the needs of the buyer.

As I re-read this paragraph now, I can’t help but feel it’s a message to be heeded by strategy consulting firms. Having helped their clients to overcome marketing myopia for years, there are some strong indicators that the early “disruption” we’ve seen in consulting, has only just begun.

THE CHANGING CLIENT NEEDS

As the world’s online interactions continue to grow, the needs of a large proportion of clients have changed.

• Firstly, the prevalence of data has changed clients’ needs. Previously, strategy consultancies were able to bring data from a market to a client. Insightful analysis of this would help identify trends and potential drivers of future change. Now, this data is not only far more readily available, but there are also far more internal data, which is often even more pertinent.

• Secondly, companies have built up more in-house skills and tools. They are becoming more effective in using their data. Products are now built around data, rather than seeing what data comes out as they sell their products/ services. This helps companies to constantly iterate and evolve. Fast-growing tech corporates are constantly iterating strategies, at all levels in the business, directly as a consequence of better data and insight.

• Thirdly, companies with a large online presence face very different challenges to more traditional industries. New worlds of UX, product management and Big Data are suddenly of critical focus.

• Finally, with the constant threat of recession and low levels of GDP growth, clients are more budget constrained than previously. In years gone by, the promise of 10x Return on Investment was sufficient to defend the large up-front fees. However, with more constraints, clients are starting to look for more flexible models that can be delivered at a lower price.

INCREASED HIRING OF CONSULTANTS IN-HOUSE

There’s always been a steady flow of consultants into the “strategy” teams of corporates. In fact, most graduates choose consultancy to “open doors” in industry. Traditionally, consultants would make their first step into a strategic role, and then look to move into a commercial role when they understand the business fully and had built up the necessary stakeholder network.

However, what’s starting to change is consultants are being hired into non-strategy roles. As the skills of consultants (analytics; insight; communication to senior-level stakeholders) become required in more areas of the business, consultants are increasingly being hired into commercial/ operational roles straight out of consulting. Equally, as consultancy becomes more functionally specialized (i.e., supply chain consultants; tech strategy consultants), there are more obvious entry points.

This is a self-fulfilling prophecy: as more consultants are in these teams, they look to hire “what they know” (i.e., more consultants). As numbers increase, not only is there less “need” for external consultants, there is also more competition for this talent.

THE GROWTH OF LARGE ONE-STOP-SHOP ADVISORS

The largest growing strategy firms over the past few years have been at the Big 4. Through the acquisition, and hiring senior partners, they are building strategy teams out of alumni from the familiar strategy brands (i.e., hiring from McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Oliver Wyman, LEK; acquisitions of Booz and Company (PWC) and Monitor (Deloitte)).

The Big Four are able to boast an impressive point of difference: these strong strategic minds are backed up with scale. On the functional side, they become a one-stop-shop: use them as a trusted advisor across accounting, tax, legal, strategy and operations/ implementation consulting. This scale is positioned as not only offering a more connected, end-to-end solution but also as providing large savings in cost.

On the people side, their immense size means they have more flexibility. They can offer smaller projects, and more flexible models – as capacity can be more easily managed.

THE SMALLER, MORE FLEXIBLE BOUTIQUES AND FREELANCERS

The other exciting development is the rise of freelancers and small two to three-person boutiques. This has become a popular career choice, offering more flexibility and independence. At one end you have boutiques, who staff whole teams and are positioned as direct competitors of the strategy firms. What’s less publicized is the smaller boutiques and freelancers.

At Movemeon, we are seeing a lot of interest in either a junior manager resource (stand-alone; good stakeholder management skills) or putting together small teams (manager and two analysts) to deliver strategic projects. Whilst the cost of these projects might appear very different to a traditional strategy consulting project, the set-up and delivery might not be all that different. While it’s unlikely these small boutiques/ freelancers will attack the core of strategy consulting work (i.e., critical Board decisions), the periphery of work that has slowly built up over the years is very much in danger from this more flexible, cost-effective model.

HOW ARE STRATEGY FIRMS ADAPTING

There are some notable reactions to the changes in the market. Not only are we seeing a new series of business innovation models, but consulting firms are also looking at new ways to have access to a larger, more flexible workforce.

The new innovation business models were well documented in the HBR article “Consulting on the cusp of disruption” in October 2013. This trend has continued, with new implementation, operations, analytics, benchmarking “arms” to the top strategy firms. Typically these are operating under the strategy brand name (i.e., McKinsey Solutions; McKinsey Implementation), but there are a few subsidiaries (i.e., Finalta is a subsidiary of McKinsey focused on benchmarking in FS). These are going to continue to develop, and am sure are a large part of the disruption we are going to see.

However more recently, another interesting trend has occurred. Consultancies are starting to respond to the requirement for more flexible delivery models. No longer is the “manager plus 2” model as relevant to some situations. Clients need longer-term engagements, typically for less intense periods. As the work becomes more functionally based, it also becomes more entrenched with the business. As such, things will move more slowly. No longer is delivery seen as buy-in from the excess – it’s delivering change to these functional areas, which will always take longer to embed.

We’ve noticed two interesting trends in consultancies looking to offer more flexibility:

• More flexible employment. The top-tier strategy firms are looking for innovative ways to keep talent. We’ve had a number of very interesting discussions around how consulting can become more flexible – this is to counteract losing great talent as a result of the lifestyle. Whether the 3-day working weeks or 7 months on 5 months off type models have more traction, will be interesting to see.

• Freelancer pools. We’ve seen the strategy firms look to introduce “surge capacity”. At Movemeon we are currently working with 7 strategy firms to help them build “freelance pools”. These are pools of strategy consulting alumni, who are now freelance. This not only allows these firms to better manage utilization, but it also allows them to provide more flexible models of delivery to clients (i.e., longer-term; lower touch). This has traditionally been very hard to offer unless you have the scale of the Big 4.

CUSP OF DISRUPTION – WHAT DOES THE FUTURE FOR STRATEGY CONSULTANCIES HOLD?

Consultancies grew rapidly over the past two decades. As a result, the share of work that is classic strategy has been steadily decreasing and is now about 20%, down from 60% to 70% some 30 years ago, according to Tom Rodenhauser, the managing director of advisory services at Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory (Consulting on Cusp of Disruption, HBR). If strategy consultancies are going to keep their current scale, they need to innovate to keep this non “classic-strategy” periphery.

Consulting has been on the cusp of disruption for two years now. Whilst there are clearly changes afoot, we think this is just the beginning. We expect to see further hollowing of the centre, with more specialized firms/ freelancers and continued consolidation of larger firms. We are also expecting freelance to continue its growth, and will increasingly take the more peripheral work from the larger consultancies.

However, for us, the most important change that needs to happen is more flexibility in delivery. Clients needs have changed. Whilst steps are being made to offer more than just traditional consulting teams – there needs to be more innovation. Consulting needs to move away from smart people helping to solve problems and embrace more technology – the ability to provide products for their clients to provide them with solutions to their problems.

Strategy consultancies can keep the “periphery” (non-classic strategy work) they have grown over the past few decades, by providing “products” that serve their clients over the long-term. Strategic advice can then take the form of shorter projects focused on solving particularly thorny issues. Given the exciting innovation and number of startups in the space, expect some acquisitions in the not too far future. Consultancies will start to see innovative products not only as high-margin delivery lines but as critical to continuing to provide their high-end advice.

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Former management consultants can make great CEOs and senior leaders. But success isn’t guaranteed and some mistakes must be avoided. Claire Harbour-Lyell and Antoine Tirard have collected a selection of cases studies to illustrate the challenges faced by management consultants. In another article, we also discuss what happens to your salary if you decide to stay or leave in consulting. Are you looking for a senior position?Click here to browse all our live jobsWhile former management consultants represent only 5% or so of CEO transitions over the past ten years across the world, evidence from a recent study by Spencer Stuart would suggest that consultants are more than worthy of consideration for a role at the top. It would seem that, once at the helm of an organization, they tend to improve the condition between twenty to thirty percentage points better than their non-consultant counterparts, whether the company was in crisis previously or not. This does not necessarily indicate that all consultants should transition to CEO, but it certainly makes it worth examining a variety of stories, to explore the characteristics that lead to this kind of shift, and to discover the factors for success or failure. In this article, we do exactly that, looking at the story of four very different characters, all of whom have been successful consultants, as well as highly effective leaders.Little had prepared Thomas Bittner for his transition into consulting, where he found himself a junior consultant at McKinsey, aged 30, having already operated as Sales Director, Finance Director and even member of the Executive Committee, in a French steel company for Northern Europe. This was a time when McKinsey was moving towards more work in implementationof strategy, and so Thomas was of great interest to them, having a strategic brain and a top MBA, as well as deepexperience of a significant industry. Thomas asked himself repeatedly in the early months, “what on earth am I doing here?”, as he crunched numbers and carried out market analyses.However, as clients got to know of his existence, they started demanding to work with him, as he was the one who had real experience, as opposed to most of the other career consultants. The enjoyment he derived from challenging thinking and improving a lotof some of Europe’s and America’s greatest CEOs was tremendous, and he found it intellectually highly stimulating. However, he realizedthat it is easy to tell such leaders what to do, but far harder to make it happen. He was missing the implementation!Last year we held an event with Pizza Hut’s and Charles Taylor CEO’s discussing their paths to leadership. Have read of our takeaways here 

Come and Implement this Strategy

So, influenced by the frequent calls of headhunters, who pointed out that five years of operations and five years of consulting was the “perfect storm” for another powerful change, Thomas decided to take up the challenge offered to him by one of his clients, Polychrome Corporation, whose CEO offered him the following comment for a month’s consideration: “If you are so damn smart, come and implement this strategy for me!” It took less than that time for Thomas to decide to accept the challenge, and he was delighted to return to a world of operations and implementation, as the VP for Europe of the company. He had also calculated that if you leave consulting before you have made it to Partner, you can be hired as a VP, but if you wait to leave until you have reached Partner status, you can only become a CEO, and there are far fewer opportunities for CEO roles floating around. Thomas wanted to become a CEO, and after effecting a total turnaround of the European operation over five years, his ambition became a reality, and he was appointed CEO, with a move to New York.The power relationships Thomas enjoyed in this role were of great excitement. Knowing that he could get the head of any significant investment bank to take his calls, or that he could chat with and influence a board member of any Fortune 100 company, was something he took great pride in, even though he recognizes that he missed the pure intellectual stimulation of consulting. He talks a great deal about how important it was to learn change management, and to deal with people, building coalitions, empowering individuals, leading by example, and communicating effectively. This challenge no doubt became the substitute for the missing intellectual side of things.After five years in New York, as CEO, Thomas and his family wished to return to Europe, having had a “great ride” across the Atlantic. It was relatively easy for him to find a new role as CEO, and he had a brush with posts at Arjo Wiggins and others, before accepting a place at one of the companies that eventually merged into steel giant ArcelorMittal in the early 2000s. This return to his first sector was a logical one, and he was able to combine the strategic vision with his leadership abilities, to aid a company in huge flux to remain at the top of its performance.At this point in his career, Thomas has chosen to live with a portfolio of activities. Upon “retiring” from CEO life a few years ago, he had the freedom, financially, to slip into golf and travel, but has instead chosen to combine teaching a self-crafted strategy course at business schools and inside corporations, with running an olive plantation, and acting as advisor to the Ashoka social entrepreneur network. He is firm in his belief that in this epoch, “there is no more retirement”, and continues to use his unique combination of skills to add value across the board. He describes his activity today as “tremendously exciting”, and perhaps sees a parallel between the change he has brought about in his own professional activity, and the change he managed in his earlier roles.While he recognizesthat consulting taught him a sense of urgency, he knows very well that he needed to learn about how to enforce change on those who (typically) do not want it, and this was something he could only develop by the doing. His portfolio career allows many still to benefit from this balanced view, and we hope to continue to read and learn from him for many more years!Rupert Warburton’s transition out of consulting was an easy one. An Australian, in consulting “for the usual reasons, of variety, experience and interesting colleagues”, he had always wanted to make something for himself. The thrill of creating was very attractive to him, and he took the time he spent doing his MBA at INSEAD to reflect on his wish to create capital value.After a few more years of consulting in London, Rupert had become highly aware of the damaging lifestyle involved in his profession, and talks with lucidity about those colleagues “on their third wives, and travelling endlessly”.With ten years of consulting behind him, he decided to buy some time and money by accepting a role at HSBC, so as to be able to create a company of his own within a few years. He had become disenfranchised and bored with consulting and felt motivated by the possibility of controlling his own destiny while creating value. The difficulty for Rupert lay in actually realizingthat he had made the decision and not yet acknowledging it. Once he did see it, however, it was “blindingly obvious”, and the only option was action.

Paycheck, Power and Brains

By the late 1990s, Rupert had started his first company, based around coffee. He has tirelessly reworked his business model and honed an organizationwith a turnover of several million, that serves and has served coffee, variously, to corporate employees, to passengers on BritishAirways, and to millions of others.What did he miss when he first left the consulting and finance world? “The regular paycheck, of course! But more significantly, the power and brains of a team.” Rupert now sees and admits that in those early years of entrepreneurial activity, he wasted a lot of time. He was indulging his desire for the freedom he had so sorely missed and could have done things faster and better if he had chosen to. The realizationthat time is money hit him later than it might have!Consulting methodology has helped Rupert in his “modellingup” of the coffee industry and his creation of a whole new metric, not frequently used in the industry. He has used sophisticated techniques to become a “big player”, and to approach both clients and suppliers with increased confidence and credibility: “My clients are serious board members of large corporations, who are blown away by my stakeholder analysis of their situations. The faith they have in my professionalism derives directly from my consulting work. I am absolutely rigorous with regard to transparency on both performance and metrics, and I could not be that way without having done so much this way in my previous work.”Reflecting on the differences between the two worlds, Rupert is eloquent. He talks about how he hopes one day to hire more consultant types but sees the financial constraints of a medium-sized business as being good for identifying capabilities differently. He is immensely proud of his people and enjoys developing the best in every one of them. He has had to “unlearn” consulting jargon, of which he admits he was the king! After a period of frequent quizzical looks, he realizedthat simple terms, explained clearly, would work better in the café industry! These days, he is more often discussing “like for like” performance, than “NPV”, “CAGR” or a “deep dive”!Enjoyment and gratitude play a role in Rupert’s life now. While he admits that his business does take up more than the “one day a week” he likes to pretend, he feels tied to his business and states that his mood and outlook are necessarily linked to the fortunes of Caffe Kix. When asked whether he would return to consulting, his position is unequivocal: while he is happy to share his experience for the benefit of others, through boardand advisory roles, he has no interest in going back to the executive world. He has developed great resilience and is clear that the journey of an entrepreneur is one that takes longer than expected, can be lonely, and will not be what you imagined at the outset.A big shift in mindset has helped, letting go of a typical consultant’s tendency towards OCD, by “getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, letting go of some things I would have liked to control, and accepting that a day has been ‘good enough’”. Rupert has clearly engaged fully in his life as an entrepreneur, and if it were not for his sharp intellect, and crystal clear thinking about his industry and position, it would be difficult to imagine that he was ever a part of the corporate world, let alone consulting.

CEOs and Chairmen on Speed Dial

Christina Gutenberg also underwent a huge shift in mindset, as she joined one of the largest family-owned companies in Europe, though this was not a change she had particularly expected to make, as her vision of professional life had definitely been one of loyalty to BCG, her firm for the twenty-twoyears since she first started out in consulting. As a partner, with many high-powered clients, and some fascinating internal roles, Christina was not a likely candidate for excitingconsulting, though she had occasionally considered the optionbut never found a role that was sufficiently attractive to make her consider the jump. She enjoyed the intellectual stimulation and rarefied atmosphere, and the flexible working conditions as well as the interaction with significant leaders across industries and cultures.After a chance encounter with the chairman of this company, she was flattered and surprised to find how attractive it was to be desired for her own unique combination of skills and abilities and to be offered a C-level position. She was also given the chance to make a choice between two different business units and decided to take the more challenging one, in the automobile business, about which she knew little. And thus began a lengthy and admirably complete transition period! Christina read more than thirty books on the industry and quizzed all her former colleagues who had made similar moves out. She took the time to get coaching on both the industry and leadership angles of her new role and ensured that her family and herself were able to settle well in the new location, far from where, or how, they had previously been living.While Christina had had a high-levelinteraction on exchanging with the company, she did make a common mistake once inside, of assuming that she would continue her privileged relationship with the Chairman. Partners at consulting firms become accustomed to having CEOs and Chairmen on speed dial, and this assumption was embarrassing to Christinawhen she wrote to the Chairman for advice and guidance, and he very firmly steered her towards her immediate boss! She has quickly learned that as a sector non-expert and an outsider, managing by frequently keeping your mouth shut, and being modest, is a good way to survive.Being an outsider is something Christina has had to get used to, as she is very different in background and makeup to her new colleagues. While this felt uncomfortable at the outset, she now realisesthat it is an asset, and she can use her difference to get things done, in an environment where speed and dynamism are not what she was used to. The other main challenge Christina has faced is that of entering a company that was actually doing rather well, and did not need “fixing”. Figuring out what she actually can change is an ongoing challenge and one she struggles with occasionally. She has learned to have a short term and long term view of what and how to change, with very different rationales behind them!Although it was difficult to leave BCG after almost a quarter of a century, Christina says that once she had “smelt” the opportunity, she knew there was no way she could stay. However, she did use the BCG philosophy about its alumni to her advantage. “Once a BCG-er, always a BCG-er” is their device, and this has certainly helped her both during her transition out and since she has been in her new operational world. Coaching, references and other information and opinion have been of great value to her all along the way. Her old (and still valid) networks can never be matched by what she builds from here on in, but they are still useful, so she takes advantage of that, however she can.

Would she go back?

Christina does seek ever-greater opportunities to learn and develop, so while she finds her current challenge sufficiently complex for now, she may well be tempted in other directions subsequently. At this point, she is learning to identify and integrate into the “soul” of her new company and using her difference to affect whatever appropriate change she can.Unlike our previous three subjects, Graham Rich, a British former general practitioner, turned influential change guru in the UK’s health policy, fell into consulting by accident!Although he had done an MBA, incidentally in the same class as Rupert, he had done so in search of self-development and happiness, and not looked with any seriousness at the possibility of becoming a strategy consultant, as so many of his friends at INSEAD had. After a short period managing a team in a healthcare reform think tank in the US during the Clinton administration, and where he got his early experience of significant research and paper-writing, Graham followed his wife to Boston, where she was to study, and he wished to find work. What better employer than the Boston Consulting Group?

From Flying to Swimming in Treacle

A self-confessed “non-Dean’s List” character, Graham had not envisaged this possibility, but was encouraged to join by an enthusiastic and supportive senior partner, and was immediately heartened to find himself in the healthcare practice, surrounded by driven, energetic and international colleagues, all doing interesting things. What was harder for him was to find himself back at the bottom of the pile, carrying out analyst tasks, when he actually knew and had good relationships with many of the CEOs in US healthcare, both current and non-clients! He found himself on a variety of projects, many of global scale, and fell quickly into a frenzied routine of travel all week, every week.As he describes it, there was one weekend in which all of Graham’s ideas crystallized.He and Sarah, his wife, had travelled from East to West Coast for a two-dayBCG healthcare conference, from which they got home at 1 amon Monday morning. Four hours later, Graham was on the way to the airport, to attend client meetings in Germany. When he returned two days later, and his wife, who was pregnant at the time, told him that she still felt tired from the weekend, he realizedwhat an absurd feat he had just accomplished and seriously questioned his sanity! With this uppermost in his mind, he realizedthat he wanted a “proper” job again, with a more reasonable lifestyle, but also budgets, staff and implementation!A return to the UK seemed logical, at this point, and into a role in the National Health Service which came up, as CEO of a region of the country. The change was, as Graham describes it, “like going from flying to landing in treacle, and then learning to swim!” Nevertheless, he got a great deal done, and moved on to a second role, as COO and then CEO of a large teaching hospital.Once again, the alumni network management of these consulting giants came into play, and his former colleagues at BCG invited Graham to rejoin, to co-lead a new initiative, fourteen years after he had first joined! At that point, he refused, saying he was still very happy introducing all kinds of new policies and actions and living a manageable lifestyle to boot! However, six months later, he had fallen out with his Chairman and tentatively asked if the offer might still be open… BCG welcomed Graham with open arms and allowed him to negotiate his own terms. He is no longer part of the consulting hierarchy, and acts, in his words, “as a partner-like buddy”. He does not work more than half-time for BCG and has just recently shifted his status to self-employed. In this way, Graham manages to keep the aspects that are important to him, such as business building and “seeing things through”.Graham has entered, as he puts it, “serious portfolio career territory”, now holding several non-executive directorships, and has learnt to be happy with whatever he is doing at the current moment. Unlike some of our other subjects, he has no clearly mapped out a planfor the future but feels confident it will be a good one. He has a clear set of criteria for new opportunities, which he shamelessly imposes on whatever might come up, so he knows that he can make good choices from now on. He also has a simple attitude to the less attractive aspects of his past career, and a strategy about how to avoid these in the future. Suffice to say he will be spending more time with his family and on good health, and less on impressing others and being overly competitive!

Significant and Painful Failures

While we have talked about four successful and happy “former” consultants, it is worth noting that many consultants never make the transition, and in some cases, the failures have been significant and painful.We know of an example, whereby a senior partner from a very prominent strategy consultancy joined a large pharmaceutical company, as Head of Strategic Planning, reporting directly to the CEO. Within a short time after joining, he had launched a series of initiatives, creating confusion and chaos in an organizationthat was already riddled with complexity. He demonstrated very few skills in communication or empathy, and thus alienated the majority of his team and peers, and did not endear himself to the CEO either. To top it all, ironically, he ended up dramatically increasing the spending on external consulting, which was, of course, the opposite of the intended effect. By this time, the CEO had lost patience and asked him to leave. He has since returned to the world of consulting, but this time on his own. His debacle is still remembered vividly, fifteen years later, with a mix of horror and humor, by those inside the healthcare company and we can only imagine that the episode does not figure in the most glorious moments of the consultant’s life either. Not all of those cut out for great careers in consulting are destined for equal success out in the “real world”!Our four main stories amply demonstrate success in this kind of consultant to C-level executive transition. We have shown you four very different individuals, navigating in and out with confidence, and very clear ideas of what their future looks like, however, defined it might or might not be in the detail. There is not enough science in this area for muchabsolute conclusion… However, what we do know is that a certain proportion of former consultants positively thrive on this kind of liberating transition out, and some of them even manage to re-create that kind of freedom when re-entering the world of consulting. What we know less about is the kind of character that will or will not succeed in this area. It is too early to tell on this front. There are many mistakes that a high-level consultant can make on transitioning into operational roles, and the more these can be understood and anticipated before making the transition, the more likely it will be a success.Claire Harbour-Lyell is a global talent expert and coach, who supports those planning or undergoing significant career transitions. She loves to help consultants to make their move “out”, and to support them as they plan, implement and settle into their next move.She can be reached here, and you can find out more about her work onwww.culturepearl.biz Antoine Tirard is a talent management advisor and the founder of NexTalent. He is the former head of talent management of Novartis and LVMH.This article was also published on INSEAD Knowledge.