IT consulting in tough times

R R Dasgupta

IT Consulting in Tough Times: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice Sanjiv Purba & Bob Delaney Wiley-Dreamtech, 2003 Rs 249 Pages 441

The book IT Consulting in Tough Times is both pragmatic and refreshing from a practitioner’s point of view. The 12 keys to a thriving practice, presented by the authors, are indeed the cornerstones of any successful IT consulting practice. There are several templates provided by the authors that are adaptable to a professional consulting practice, which makes this a ‘do-how’ book as against the ‘know-how’ books that one generally comes across.

One of the key challenges facing a consulting practice (especially in ‘tough times’, to use the author’s own words) is evaluating the health of the practice, which is effectively captured by the authors in the relevant chapter. Another highlight is the elegantly written chapter on implementing a marketing strategy, especially the business of prospecting for customers. The discussion on account development strategy provides a good framework, especially the need to meet on common ground. In my words, this is the win-win process of "I know your pains and here’s what I can bring to the table"(Consultant) and "You understand me and here’s how we can move forward" (Client)—common wisdom which seems to be uncommon nowadays, especially in the
race for outclassing your competition.

Understanding the client decision-making process is a tough cookie, and the authors offer some very valid insights, especially the different roles people play within the client organisation viz. user, influencer, decision-maker and of course the all-important gatekeeper. Additionally, the inputs on measuring RoI—something most often preached, but rarely practiced—are highly recommended, especially in the context of today’s market environment. Delivering client engagements successfully is perhaps the lynchpin of this book as it covers almost all the important stages from pre-engagement planning to delivering the solution. The chapter on risk mitigation is one that catches the eye, as once again, although the practitioner’s wisdom says it ‘must be done’, there are several instances when it deteriorates to ‘nice to have’ in the common instinct to "Let’s get the proposal out to the client yesterday!" This is also echoed in the chapters on legal and quality considerations. Once again, all the insights and advice are highly doable. The section on running the practice is extremely illuminating and covers the most critical aspects of setting the roadmap, financial management, day-to-day management and, very importantly, human resources and career management.

What would one like to see in the next edition? A section on managing intellectual property within the consulting practice—not only the necessity of it or legal considerations such as trademarks or service marks, but also how it ties into the ‘way of life’ in consulting and gets linked to the performance management system. Building, reusing and adapting intellectual capital is probably the thirteenth key to success. A section on creation of proposals and presentations would also be welcome, especially as guidelines to new hires.

There is a lot of value in this book for the IT consultant, and I have no hesitation in recommending this book as a must-have for every IT consulting professional and organisation. It’s also a must-read for CEOs of IT firms who want to move up the value chain by building a consulting practice and for those who already have it. Moreover, this comes straight from the heart of a practitioner who been there and done that for the last 11 years.

R R Dasgupta is general manager for consulting at Zensar Technologies