プロジェクトの進捗についての状況をアップデートするために必要な質問、または回答についてのレッスンです。マイルストーンに沿ってプロジェクトの進捗をコントロールすることは必要不可欠ですが、自信を持って且つ的確な言語で進捗状況を確認する会話を行います。
Some say effective task management is the most fundamental aspect of being a consultant. What do you think?
The most core skill is controversial, your student may disagree.
You can ask about this info to make you seem smart:
- The more senior the consultant, the more their time is worth, so they are scheduled down to the minute. A 10-minute meeting will take precisely 10 minutes. Even a short taxi ride is a perfect time to schedule a telephone meeting.
- Tasks are measured by the time it takes to do them, and tasks rarely, if ever, take longer.
- Eg: if the analysis is supposed to be finished by EOD (End Of Day), then that consultant has to finish by the next morning, even if it means pulling an all-nighter.
Note: Tasks vary greatly from project to project and from company to company.
Imagine you are starting a new strategy project (or think back to a project you did recently.) It's Monday morning. What key tasks do you have to complete this week?
This can be a vague question, but the idea is for the student to fill in the blanks. Don't get into the nitty-gritty, just for on key tasks.
If your student is struggling, then ask, "what happened in the first few days of your last project?" Some ideas are:
- Start a dialog with the client and start refining the project
- (The project has already been sold at this point, so at least the goal is pretty clear.)
- Meet the clients and build rapport.
- Schedule expert interviews.
- Start gathering data.
- Start planning for the first presentation. Build the deck, create the message, check with an overseeing partner to confirm.
1. You can also ask, "When you are beginning a project, what aspect is most important to the success of it?"
- Many say beginning being super important, during staffing and delivery, when you set the scope of a project.
2. Or, you can ask:
- When is your next client meeting?
- What do you have to finish before that meeting?
Note: They should not tell you any specifics, as that's highly confidential. The broad strokes, however, are not confidential—you are allowed to say vague things. Some students may be totally uncomfortable saying anything. In that case, you can ask, "What's your dream project?"
Different types of projects will have different milestones:
- Due diligence - short
- Making a strategy project
- Alliance supporting project
- Portfolio strategy project
- Macro-trend/long term strategy project
- Operational improvement project -> cost reduction
- Organization planning project
- PMO project —consultant is client-side and there's daily communication. This takes the longest typically because it's on the client's timeline (up to 2 or 3 years!)
- Digital-specific—develop the software (collaborate with a digital branch of the company)
A. Match the tasks to the stages. First, read through the stages on the left. Do you agree with the order? Next, match the task on the right with one or more stages.
E.g. "Well, for task A, we really need to crystallize our analysis before every presentation in the feedback and recommendation phases, but honestly I start refining and crystallizing from the moment the analysis starts."
Stage
Task (not in order)
1. Staffing, entry, and/or on-boarding
A. Crystallize the analysis
2. Discovery, dialogue and feedback
B. Presentation to the steering committee
3. Analysis
C. Build our hypothesis
4. Solution
D. Manage the scope
5. Recommendation
E. Build rapport with the client
6. Feedback and decision to act
F. Gather data
7. Implementation and expanding the client account
G. Prepare a presentation deck
B. There are a variety of ways to explain progress. Take a look at the visual:
Now, decide which phrase matches with which approximate number:
- I haven't started it yet.
- I'm just about to finish.
- I'm right in the middle of it.
- I'm nearly there.
- I've already finished.
- I've just finished it.
- I'm about 4 hours away from finishing it.
- I'll be finished by tomorrow morning.
Can you think of any other language to use?
Now, describe some general things you've finished, are in the middle of doing, and have yet to do.
C. The following questions are for asking about progress.
First, imagine a context for each one: are you asking a team member, or a subordinate? Next, decide if you would use it at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the allotted time for the task?
- Have we gotten started with ---?
- How are you doing with ---?
- How’s the --- coming along?
- Where are we at with ---?
- Can I get an update on ---?
- When do you expect to be finished?
Now, try asking about your colleague's upcoming strategy meeting. They need to finish analyzing the data, meet privately with the team leader to confirm their findings, then put together some documents.
A. Different firms or practice areas have different names for the stages. Also, different types of projects have different stages.
Stages 1-7 are reasonably typical for a strategy project. However, your student is welcome to bring different ideas.
- There's a phase before this involving selling the project —a lot of the scope is decided by partners and the scope is set.
- Staffing, entry, and/or on-boarding—building the team with different staff.
- Discovery and dialogue—talk with the team or some industry experts.
- Analysis and solution—crunch numbers, make sure the data backs up your hypothesis.
- Feedback and decision to act—the feedback can come from the client, or from the consultant to the client, or even within the consulting firm
- Recommendation—the consultant makes a recommendation to the client
- Implementation and expanding the client account—selling a new project to the client
The tasks are listed below with an example of what stage they apply to:
A. Crystallize the analysis—Probably before 6. Recommendation stage, but it starts as early as possible (see example in the student-facing lesson material).
B. Presentation to the steering committee—Probably at 6. Recommendation stage, as well as the 3 and 4 solution/feedback stages, depending on the project. (This is when consultants talk about their progress in front of all the executives.)
C. Build our hypothesis—Starts in 2. Discovery, but is mainly in 3. Analysis. Sometimes consultants may need to go back and refine or change the hypothesis.
D. Manage the scope—Starts in 2. Discovery and continues all the way to 7! Perhaps the key part is in part 5 Feedback though. Also, this tends to be the responsibility of the team leader and above.
E. Build rapport with the client—Build rapport /ra-POR/ is when you first meet the client. Sometimes, if a new project has been sold to an existing client, then it's already been done.
F. Gather data—in 2. Discovery and 3. Analysis.
G. Prepare a presentation deck—Pretty much every stage, from beginning to end!
B. Some students may find this easy, so just breeze through it. Also, consultants may prefer hard numbers as estimates, in which case:
- I haven't started it yet.—1
- I'm just about to finish.—Between 5 and 6
- I'm right in the middle of it.—Probably 4
- I'm nearly there.—Probably 5, or 5.5
- I've already finished.—7 or beyond
- Say it with a nuance of slight surprise if the information is unexpected for the listener.
- If it's expected that you should have finished then just say, "I'm finished."
- I've just finished it.—6 or just after, possibly 6.1
- I'm about 4 hours away from finishing it.—This depends on the length of the task.
- I'll be finished by tomorrow morning.—Highly dependent on the task. Will you work all night? This is a good discussion point for consultants.
Can you think of any other ways to describe progress?
You can change any of the above phrases; for instance:
- I haven't started it yet/I haven't finished yet.
- I'm just about to finish/start.
- I'll be finished by 1 PM/ lunchtime/ Monday morning.
Idioms!
- home stretch! = almost at the end (from Baseball, between 3rd and home base)
- to stick the landing = to finish without any mistakes
- I can see the light at the end of tunnel/I can see the light. = I was struggling in the dark, but finally, finally, I can see the goal
You can add—[least certain] should < probably < almost certainly < definitely [most certain]—to any future assertions:
- I should be about 4 hours from finishing it.
- I'll almost certainly be finished by tomorrow morning.
- I've had some trouble, but I'll definitely be finished by Monday.
C. There are two steps:
1. Ask about the formality of the language. How casual or formal?
2. Is it at the beginning, middle or end?
- Have we gotten started with ---? ➝Casual or neutral, asked before something is expected to be started.
- How are you doing with ---? / How are things going with ---? ➝Casual, asked in the middle.
- How’s the --- coming along?/How are things coming along with ---? ➝Casual but positive, asked in the middle or towards the end.
- Where are we at with ---? ➝Neutral, asked in the middle or towards the end.
- Could I get an update on ---? ➝Formal, asked at any time.
- When do you expect to be finished? ➝Neutral, asked at any time.
Note that "how" questions should typically get an adverb as a response (though in casual speech, they're often answered with an adjective, e.g., "Good", rather than "Well"). So,
Q: How are things going with the interviews?
A: Good! I've just started, so I should be finished by this afternoon.
A: You are the team leader. Ben, a new recruit on your team, needs to analyze some client data that your team just gathered. You estimate that it would likely take you half a day to analyze it, and Ben started this morning. After that, he has to have the analysis checked and then put that data into a few slides in the deck for the next client presentation. Check on Ben's progress.
B. Your team leader is worried about Ben and asks you about his progress.
C. Your teacher has a few tasks to do. Discuss them and then ask about them.
D. Now think of your own tasks and give an update about what you've finished and have yet to finish. Try to mention at least three tasks within about 20 seconds.