High-Value IT Consulting: 12 Keys to a Thriving Practice - Hardcover

Purba, Sanjiv; Delaney, Bob

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0072226250 ISBN 13: 9780072226256

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media, 2003

Synopsis

Designed specifically for IT professionals working in any type of consulting organization, here is a practical, real-world guide for delivering successful engagements to clients. Ready-to-use sample forms, tables, checklists, and charts are in the text and available free for download.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"Full of practical tips and best practices, as well as ideas to profitably manage an IT consulting practice." --Akhil Bhandari, Vice President IT & CIO, CCL Industries, Inc.

"Provides excellent insight into the foundation for building a thriving IT consulting practice. A must-read for managers of consulting practices of all sizes." --Chris Jackson, Managing Director, Financial Models Co.

"Skillfully guides you through the metrics and attributes that make for good IT consulting. Furthermore, it emphasizes those attributes that improve customer satisfaction, the key measure for value and future growth in this business." --George Hart, Director, Braxton/Deloitte Consulting

"Provides an insightful structure to consulting services: what to do, in what order, to what degree, and how to measure success." --Wayne Thomas, Vice President, DapaSoft, Inc.

"Exceptional! This book gives you the smart plays to achieve your client's goals." --Katie Comerford, IT Executive

"One of a very few practical reference works that managers of professional IT practices will want to have close at hand." --Ross Roxburgh, Senior Consulting Executive

Invigorate your consulting practice with this series of sharply focused, practical chapters designed to deliver measurable results. Assess the health of your organization using Purba and Delaney's 12 Keys methodology--metrics that track the value of a consulting organization's activities and investments--to measure for positive impact on the client, employee, and profitability. Use these, along with ready-to-use forms and checklists, to effectively analyze your practice in terms of:

• Client Satisfaction
• Resource Utilization
• Employee Health and Morale
• Average Billing Rate
• Accounts Receivable
• Operational Costs
• Average Sales Discounts
• Sales Pipeline
• Engagement Backlog
• Sales Hit Ratio
• Resource Leverage
• Practice Risk and Exposure

Once you've established a benchmark for your current practice, follow practical, tested recommendations to improve overall business performance. Set measurable marketing and sales goals, then focus on productive client engagements. These engagements are the core of your practice, and this invaluable tool provides a thorough overview of how to plan, implement, run, and close them successfully. You'll also tackle the challenges of juggling multiple client engagements, as well as consider legalities, quality control, risk mitigation, and more.

After mastering the details of a sound and profitable client engagement, learn the ins and outs of running a solvent IT consulting practice. Discover internal management techniques designed to increase employee/consultant satisfaction, and learn to efficiently handle business issues such as client A/P and A/R, tax and insurance issues, and more.

This wealth of information and practical advice offers a new way of measuring and improving your skills. Whether you're a frontline consultant, established practice manager, or a client dealing with consultants, improve your business agility and maintain the acumen necessary to ensure profitability and long-term success with High-Value IT Consulting.

Online supplements include customizable forms, surveys, and checklists to help you manage your practice.

About the Author

Sanjiv Purba is an information technology executive with more than 15 years of industry and consulting experience. He has worked for "Big 5" as well as boutique consultancies, and his clients include Deloitte Consulting, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Sun Life, Microsoft, and other Fortune 500 companies. Bob Delaney, MBA, is a marketing, communications and Web development consultant with over 25 years of practical industry insurance. He has managed his own marketing and Web development consultancy since 1990 and is a frequent lecturer at Ryerson University.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0072226250
• ISBN 13: 9780072226256
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432