#whats 44 times 5? 220?
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I finally looked up what the actual damage bonus of fury cutter and metronome is and this is. Stupid. Together they're an additional 220% damage. Fury cutter only doubles twice maxing out at 160 damage (it's base is 40) but the metronome keeps adding 20% until the 5th round.
Round 5 you are working with an additional 500% damage. Good lord
#gamer txt.#fury cutter goes from 40 to 200#not including stab#my g-d#stabs like 10% right?#whats 44 times 5? 220?#and thsts still not including the attack stat#this is just what im doing to people eith my ninjask. like casually. my g-d
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What In “Hell” Is Bad - Limited L-Grade Banner “Guide”
Note: Now available on android as well! Unsure of any differences. I may go through and update this later with images from my phone rather than my iPad.
Looking for other guides? Check out my WHB Guide List!
Okay… not sure where to start with this one other than it’ll be nice and short. However, this is the first guide I’ve made that I hope I get to change quickly.
To start though; new L-Grade Devils to pull, and pretty, blood-covered versions of Leviathan and Beelzebub. I currently do not have them, however, so I will be unable to show their skill/ultimates at all. I’m not willing to pay for it, though, despite that I do spend money on this game… but yeah.
What’s this all about?
PrettyBusy has given us a brand new temporary banner to showcase their new devils and artifacts, basically. (With some added drama, but we’ll get to that.)
Get Leviathan (Bloodshed) or Beelzebub (Bloodshed) guaranteed within 220 pulls.
Use the new item “Solomon’s Seal” to pull (50 Rings for 1 Pull, 500 for 10 pulls)
DO NOT pull on the standard banners for these devils! Right now they’re only available on this one
The pity (220) is absurdly high, and I’ll get to why soon
You can also get two new artifacts from this new banner.
Wing-ripping Sword
“The wearer’s HP and ATK SPD increases by 20%. If equipped on Leviathan (Bloodshed), has a 30.00% chance of immediately killing the enemy with under 15% HP he hits with a normal attack.”
Cracked Sunglasses
“Upon an accurate hitting of a normal attack, recovers as much HP as 4.00% of HP of the wearer. If equipped on Beelzebub (Bloodshed), recovers 100% HP upon using skill.”
Both really good artifacts! Especially for the new devils. If you have the seals for it all.
What? What’s Solomon’s Seal?
This is the unfortunate part— and it wasn’t properly communicated from PrettyBusy. We knew the new currency was coming, but not the means to get it.
This is only purchasable with real money.
There is four purchasing options, and none of them seem overly well priced? Let’s go over that though. We get 50 Seals for the update (1 Pull).
Prices for Solomon’s Seal Packages:
241 Seals - $11.99 (4 Pulls)
717 Seals - $49.95 (14 Pulls)
1,312 Seals -$59.99 (26 Pulls)
2,200 Seals - $99.90 (44 Pulls)
Just looking at them, it’s like… okay? But thinking about the pity, and the 0.63% chance to draw an L-Grade from the temporary banner, it’s not great.
Assuming you don’t get lucky, and you go all the way to 220?
You would need to buy the $99.90 package around 5 times. Which is ~$500. Being real, you’ll usually get them before pity, but there’s four things to get through this banner if you want everything. That’s a lot of chance.
Why is this not good, though?
Because there is no free-to-play alternative.
These seals are only obtainable in the shop, as I said before. It’s not the first game to do this, and won’t be the last. It’s not the end of the world, either. But it’s not great or motivating to the ftp players or community. I’m not going to keep ragging on this, though.
If you have an issue with this, contact PrettyBusy POLITELY. Not with anger, or profanity. Be nice.
So… I can’t get them?
You can!
Just not now, unless they change how this works. When this banner is over (Nov 14, 2023) they’ll be added to the Standard Banner to pull like all the rest.
Oh! There is one more thing to add!
Story Prologues
On the bottom left of the banners you’ll find story prologues you can read to get an idea of why the boys are bloodied up. Just click the circular icon of the one you want to read!
#whb#what in hell is bad#whb prettybusy#prettybusy what in “hell” is bad?#whb Beelzebub#whb leviathan#~Astro Guides#Seriously do not send hate to prettybusy#be nice everyone#even if they don’t change it it’s not the end of the world#they’re going to standard
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my spreadsheet (public version)
so i have this spreadsheet that i use for prompts for this fandom, comprised of several prompt lists and the exact order of which is not easily publicly available. if you want to send me a prompt, send me a ship and a number between 1-725 (subject to change) and receive a sort of mystery box surprise of a fic. through the use of this list, you can see what prompts have already been done. if it’s for another ship, you can certainly send me the same prompt that was already used in another fic. if a prompt has been used three times, that prompt will be closed. thank you for your cooperation <3
listing under the cut!
possible progress statuses: prompted, in progress, editing, posted. if a prompt does not have one of these statuses, it has not been sent in thus far.
1.
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in progress || shaymien
14.
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prompted || amangela
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prompted || nintendogs
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in progress || spommy
56.
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60.
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66. drawing circles and patterns on their chest
posted || shaymien || 6.3k, rated E
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117. they have never raised their voice around you, always talks softly
posted || nintendogs || 28k, rated T
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prompted || nintendogs
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in progress || shaymien
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251. kisses to calm the other down
posted || tommien || 3.6k, rated T
252.
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274. "you're my everything."
posted || shayncer || 10.6k, rated E
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prompted || shaymien
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362. hesitantly tugging the other's fabric of their shirt or sleeve, testing the waters
posted || spommy || 4.4k, rated T
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367. wearing the others’ clothes so that it can at least feel like they’re hugging them, even for just a moment
posted || jackmien || 1.8k, rated G
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prompted || spommy
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401. “Stop saying sorry! It’s always ‘I’m sorry’. When you really aren’t”
posted || nintendogs || 12.3k, rated E
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prompted || nintendogs
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prompted || shaymien
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prompted || nintendogs
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prompted || spommy
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prompted || shaymien
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704. washing the other’s body
posted || tommien || 3.1k, rated T
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prompt sources: one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen
#yeah i decided to make this post anyway sorry if it's pretentious but i'm pretentious so who is surprised#spreadsheet posting#mer rambles#also i guess? fine to reblog? i don't know why you would but it's cool
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Almost 100 direct instructions given by Allah in the Holy Quran for mankind ☪️
1. Do not be rude in speech (3:159)
2. Restrain Anger (3:134)
3. Be good to others (4:36)
4. Do not be arrogant (7:13)
5. Forgive others for their mistakes (7:199)
6. Speak to people mildly (20:44)
7. Lower your voice (31:19)
8. Do not ridicule others (49:11)
9. Be dutiful to parents(17:23)
10. Do not say a word of disrespect to parents (17:23)
11. Do not enter parents’ private room without asking permission (24:58)
12. Write down the debt (2:282)
13. Do not follow anyone blindly (2:170)
14. Grant more time to repay if the debtor is in hard time (2:280)
15. Don’t consume interest (2:275)
16. Do not engage in bribery (2:188)
17. Do not break the promise (2:177)
18. Keep the trust (2:283)
19. Do not mix the truth with falsehood (2:42)
20. Judge with justice between people (4:58)
21. Stand out firmly for justice (4:135)
22. Wealth of the dead should be distributed among his family members (4:7)
23. Women also have the right for inheritance (4:7)
24. Do not devour the property of orphans (4:10)
25. Protect orphans (2:220)
26. Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly (4:29)
27. Try for settlement between people (49:9)
28. Avoid suspicion (49:12)
29. Do not spy and backbite (2:283)
30. Do not spy or backbite (49:12)
31. Spend wealth in charity (57:7)
32. Encourage feeding poor (107:3)
33. Help those in need
by finding them (2:273)
34. Do not spend money extravagantly (17:29)
35. Do not invalidate charity with reminders (2:264)
36. Honor guests (51:26)
37. Order righteousness to people only after practicing it yourself(2:44)
38. Do not commit abuse on the earth (2:60)
39. Do not prevent people from mosques (2:114)
40. Fight only with those who fight you (2:190)
41. Keep the etiquettes of war (2:191)
42. Do not turn back in battle (8:15)
43. No compulsion in religion (2:256)
44. Believe in all prophets (2:285)
45. Do not have sexual intercourse during menstrual period (2:222)
46. Breast feed your children for two complete years (2:233)
47. Do not even approach unlawful sexual intercourse (17:32)
48. Choose rulers by their merit (2:247)
49. Do not burden a person beyond his scope (2:286)
50. Do not become divided (3:103)
51. Think deeply about the wonders and creation of this universe (3:191)
52. Men and Women have equal rewards for their deeds (3:195)
53. Do not marry those in your blood relation (4:23)
54. Family should be led by men (4:34)
55. Do not be miserly (4:37)
56. Do not keep envy (4:54)
57. Do not kill each other (4:92)
58. Do not be an advocate for deceit (4:105)
59. Do not cooperate in sin and aggression (5:2)
60. Cooperate in righteousness (5:2)
61. ’Having majority’ is not a criterion of truth (6:116)
62. Be just (5:8)
63. Punish for crimes in an exemplary way (5:38)
64. Strive against sinful and unlawful acts (5:63)
65. Dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine are prohibited (5:3)
66. Avoid intoxicants and alcohol (5:90)
67. Do not gamble (5:90)
68. Do not insult others’ deities (6:108)
69. Don’t reduce weight or measure to cheat people (6:152)
70. Eat and Drink, But Be Not Excessive (7:31)
71. Wear good cloths during prayer times (7:31)
72. protect and help those who seek protection (9:6)
73. Keep Purity (9:108)
74. Never give up hope of Allah’s Mercy (12:87)
75. Allah will forgive those who have done wrong out of ignorance (16:119)
76. Invitation to God should be with wisdom and good instruction (16:125)
77. No one will bear others’ sins (17:15)
78. Do not kill your children for fear of poverty (17:31)
79. Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge (17:36)
80. Keep aloof from what is vain (23:3)
81. Do not enter others’ houses without seeking permission (24:27)
82. Allah will provide security for those who believe only in Allah (24:55)
83. Walk on earth in humility (25:63)
84. Do not neglect your portion of this world (28:77)
85. Invoke not any other god along with Allah (28:88)
86. Do not engage in homosexuality (29:29)
87. Enjoin right, forbid wrong (31:17)
88. Do not walk in insolence through the earth (31:18)
89. Women should not display their finery (33:33)
90. Allah forgives all sins (39:53)
91. Do not despair of the mercy of Allah (39:53)
92. Repel evil by good (41:34)
93. Decide on affairs by consultation (42:38)
94. Most noble of you is the most righteous (49:13)
95. No Monasticism in religion (57:27)
96. Those who have knowledge will be given a higher degree by Allah (58:11)
97. Treat non-Muslims in a kind and fair manner (60:8)
98. Save yourself from covetousness (64:16)
99. Seek forgiveness of Allah. He is Forgiving and Merciful (73:20)
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request a fic (open)
Under the cut is over 200 prompts compiled from the following: 1-100, 101-140, 141-220
ᕯno social media aus at this time
ᕯYou can request "xreader," second person pov, or third person pov. If you are requesting a fic from the given prompts, don't forget to send in the prompt number with your request.
themes I write:
☞fluff: dating, going on dates, falling in love, proclamations of love, etc.
☞domesticity: married life, families, children, proposals, caring for one another, home activities, etc.
☞angst: hurt/comfort (driver or reader being hurt), relationships falling apart, emotional characters, etc.
☞smut: most kinks (I will let you know privately if your request includes a kink I can't write), for the most part, will write pics with drivers or readers interchanged in these roles: d/s, daddy/mommy kinks, toys, overstimulation, dacryphilia, begging, delayed orgasms/edging, etc. (no bodily fluids, pegging, m/m, non-con).
who I write for:
☞Charles Leclerc
☞Lando Norris
☞Carlos Sainz
☞Mick Schumacher
☞Max Verstappen
☞Logan Sargeant
prompts:
1. “Do you want me to leave?”
2. “I swear it won’t happen again.”
3. “I’m not jealous.”
4. “You can’t keep doing this.”
5. “I’m going to take care of you, okay?”
6. “You can’t die. Please don’t die.”
7. “You did what?!”
8. “Were you ever going to tell me?”
9. “Don’t ask me that.”
10. “I might have had a few shots.”
11. “What’s with the box?”
12. “Say it!”
13. “I could kiss you right now!”
14. “Are you done with that?”
15. “Are you still awake…?”
16. “Excuse you?”
17. “This is all your fault!”
18. “I shouldn’t be in love with you.”
19. “I could kill you right now!”
20. “Just admit I’m right.”
21. “That doesn’t even make sense.”
22. “That’s irrational.”
23. “Just pretend to be my date.”
24. “Are you really going to leave without asking me the question you’ve been dying to ask me?”
25. “When you love someone, you don’t just stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes or call you crazy… even then. Especially then!”
26. “I think I’ve been holding myself from falling in love with you all over again.”
27. “I’m not going to apologise for this. Not anymore.”
28. “That’s almost exactly the opposite of what I meant.”
29. “It must be hard with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line.”
30. “Can I sit here? The other tables are full.”
31. “You weren’t supposed to laugh!”
32. “This is, by far, the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”
33. “I’m not going to stop poking you until you give me some attention.”
34. “These stars are nothing compared to the ones I’ve seen in your eyes.”
35. “Before I do this, I need you to know that I have always loved you.”
36. “Did I say that out loud?”
37. “Do you think they could have loved me?”
38. “Everyone keeps telling me you’re the bad guy.”
39. “How long have you been standing there?”
40. “Have I ever lied to you?”
41. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
42. “His ego is so visible; I can almost watch it grow.”
43. “I am not losing you again!”
44. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”
45. “I had a nightmare about you and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
46. “I just need to be alone right now.”
47. “When I picture myself happy… It’s with you.”
48. “I made a mistake.”
49. “I may be an idiot, but I’m your idiot.”
50. “I need you to forgive me.”
51. “I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking.”
52. “I think I’m in love with you and that scares me half to death.”
53. “I’m flirting with you.”
54. “I’m not good enough for you.”
55. “I fell in love with my best friend.”
56. “I’m sorry, what? I keep getting lost in your eyes.”
57. “I’m up to the challenge.”
58. “I’ve been in love with you my entire life. Ever since the day I first met you.”
59. “I’m yours.”
60. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to seduce me.”
61. “If you go anywhere near them, you’ll have to deal with me!”
62. “It’s okay to cry…”
63. “What do you mean? It’s exciting!”
64. “Talk to me.”
65. “Look at me—just breathe, okay?”
66. “Look, I don’t have much time, but I wanted to say I love you.”
67. “Oh my god! You’re in love with them!”
68. “Well, this is where I live.”
69. “We finish it the same way we started—together.”
70. “What are you afraid of?”
71. “You are the single best thing that has ever happened to me.”
72. “You deserve so much better.”
73. “You don’t have to stay.”
74. “You don’t know you the way I do.”
75. “You fainted, straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention, you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”
76. “You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you.”
77. “You shouldn’t have even been there!”
78. “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”
79. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
80. “Teach me?”
81. “We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you want to stop and feel the rain?”
82. “Looks like we’ll be stuck here for a while.”
83. “Just once.”
84. “I can’t believe you talked me into this.”
85. “It’s not what it looks like.”
86. “I got you a present.”
87. “Hey! I was gonna eat that!”
88. “See, now, what that so bad?”.”
89. “You’re the best part of me.”
#formula one fanfiction#formula one fic#lando norris fanfic#lando norris x reader#charles leclerc x reader#charles leclerc fanfic#carlos sainz x reader#carlos sainz fanfic#max verstappen x reader#max verstappen fanfic#mick schumacher fanfic#mick schumacher x reader#Logan sergeant fanfic#Logan sergeant x reader
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February 9, 2024
About the boarding and delay, I was not sure if the plane was boarding late and/or being delayed because of time zone. The difference was one hour. But I know the waiting was taking forever. I was very inpatient because my layover was long. But I was happy to get on the plate and sat with no one.
This time, the leg room was more spacious however there was no screen in front of me. That means I would have to watch Netflix on my iPad. And the battery went down to like 30 percent. I lost track on how many episodes I had watched since I traveled to Africa.
I knew I needed a break from watching on screen, so I decided to read a book- a graphic novel about ADHD and other neurodivergent disorders. As much I tried to read, I lost motivation to keep reading because it’s manga- reading from right to left and it became confusing to read. My eyes were tired.
There were two seats on each side and four seats in the middle. Mine was two seats by the window. Even though I am a small person but still it was very difficult for me to lay down and sleep. How uncomfortable. I managed to sleep for an hour or so. I felt better afterward. I knew I needed some sleep because I would be seeing my two sisters, brother in law and five nieces. Hoping I will be able to have some decent sleeps during my stay in Nigeria. I often have hard time to sleep longer and end up being sleep deprived.
My lunch/dinner meal was all right. Just one main entree, side salad, small dessert and bread with spreads (butter or cheese). Earlier, I was very hungry, I was handed out a slice of bread and it was not any good. I threw it away and ate snacks (apple
Or is that a slice of pound cake? Have no absolutely idea what that is.
Cinnamon rice cakes and apple oatmeal crumble) that I brought with me. My stomach acted funny lately but I was able to drink a lot of water to give it a good cleansing and relief.
Let’s learn a bit more about Nigeria before my arrival in Nigeria where I was born and raised until age 5.
Did you know…?
Source:
https://www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/nigeria-facts.html
As of 2023, there are over 220 million people living in Nigeria and 3.8 million people living in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. Lagos was the original capital city of Nigeria.
Nigeria’s motto is unity and faith, peace and progress. 53 % Muslims and 44 % Christians
Nigerians are known for being the most happiest people in the world.
Official Language: English
About 65 percent Nigerians age 15 and over can read and write.
Nigeria is the largest country in the Western Africa, the most popular country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Go Eagle Go!
Flag colors: Green and White.
Nigeria is about twice the size of California or slightly bigger in size than Venezuela. You can’t miss Nigeria on map.
Nigeria is not only an oil-rich country, but also mainly exports petroleum, petroleum products, smaller amount of cacao, rubber products, cotton and palm oil.
Nigeria’s nuts may be the only one peanuts that I love eating and can’t stop eating them!
That’s all for fun and interesting facts about Nigeria.
What I have to prepare myself before landing in Lagos is that the weather will be very unbearable. Very hot in high 90-100 degrees with humidity. Hoping that will help me lose some weights ha!
Good thing I bring my sun hat and deodorant to maintain good hygiene. I definitely would have to drink a lot of water otherwise I would be fatigue. I also have to take malaria pills and sleep under the mosquito nets. I wouldn’t be surprised if I have a lot of bug bites due to my sweet blood.
Foods here are what I look forward to the most. I am a foodie and like to eat. I have to be careful with foods because I can end up become sick due to bacterial infection from raw/uncooked food. Foods are often made fresh, from scratch and are plant-based and/or naturally processed (no/less chemical additive or artificials).
About one hour left to land down… finally after nearly 24 hours of traveling from DC to Lagos. Hoping customs wouldn’t take a lot of my time to be allowed entering Nigeria. To enter Nigeria, you must have either visa or valid Nigeria passport.
I was not able to renew my Nigeria passport in time before my departure for Nigeria. So , I applied for a visa instead. The cost for visa and passport application and process is about the same. Visa is usually good for single or multiple visit up to 6 months. But I am granted for a five year visa because I was born in Nigeria. I hope I will take my family back to Nigeria again before my visa expires. My daughters and Harish had visited Nigeria before but not my sons. My daughters don’t remember their visit in Nigeria and would love to visit there again. Gotta save up $$$. Roughly, $8,000-$10,000 flight tickets for a family of six.
Wow I can’t believe I will be in Nigeria less than an hour. What a surreal feeling. I will be very overwhelmed and in awe for sure.
Just landed in Lagos!!!! Finally after 24 hours of waiting and traveling!
Talk later. Oxox
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Some of the lessons from Qur'an that apply to our general living!
From Surat Al-Baqarah:
1. Do not mix the truth with falsehood (2:42)
2. Order righteousness to people only after practicing it yourself (2:44)
3. Do not commit abuse on the earth (2:60)
4. Do not prevent people from mosques (2:114)
5. Do not follow anyone blindly (2:170)
6. Do not break the promise (2:177)
7. Do not engage in bribery (2:188)
8. Fight only with those who fight you (2:190)
9. Keep the etiquette of war (2:191)
10. Protect orphans (2:220)
11. Do not have sexual intercourse during menstrual period (2:222)
12. Breast feed your children for two complete years (2:233)
13. Choose rulers by their merit (2:247)
14. No compulsion in religion (2:256)
15. Do not invalidate charity with reminders (2:264)
16. Help those in need by finding them (2:273)
17. Don’t consume interest (2:275)
18. Grant more time to repay if the debtor is in hard time (2:280)
19. Write down the debt (2:282)
20. Keep the trust (2:283)
21. Do not spy and backbite (2:283)
22. Believe in all prophets (2:285)
23. Do not burden a person beyond his scope (2:286)
------
From Surat 'Āli `Imrān:
24. Do not become divided (3:103)
25. Restrain Anger (3:134)
26. Do not be rude in speech (3:159)
27. Think deeply about the wonders and creation of this universe (3:191)
28. Men and Women have equal rewards for their deeds (3:195)
-----
From Surat An-Nisā':
29. Wealth of the dead should be distributed among his family members (4:7)
30. Women also have the right for inheritance (4:7)
31. Do not devour the property of orphans (4:10)
32. Do not marry those in your blood relation (4:23)
33. Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly (4:29)
34. Family should be lead by men (4:34)
35. Be good to others (4:36)
36. Do not be miserly (4:37)
37. Do not keep envy (4:54)
38. Judge with justice between people (4:58)
39. Do not kill each other (4:92)
40. Do not be an advocate for deceitful (4:105)
41. Standout firmly for justice (4:135)
-----
From Surat Al-Mā'idah:
42. Cooperate in righteousness (5:2)
43. Do not cooperate in sin and aggression (5:2)
44. Dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine are prohibited (5:3)
45. Be just (5:8)
46. Punish for crimes in an exemplary way (5:38)
47. Strive against sinful and unlawful (5:63)
48. Avoid intoxicants and alcohol (5:90)
49. Do not gamble (5:90)
-----
From Surat Al-'An`ām:
50. Do not insult others’ deities (6:108)
51. ’Having majority’ is not a criterion of truth (6:116)
52. Don’t reduce weight or measure to cheat people (6:152)
-----
From Surat Al-'A`rāf:
53. Do not be arrogant (7:13)
54. Eat and Drink, But Be Not Excessive (7:31)
55. Wear good cloths during prayer times (7:31)
56. Forgive others for their mistakes (7:199)
-----
From Surat Al-'Anfāl:
57. Do not turn back in battle (8:15)
-----
From Surat At-Tawbah:
58. Protect and help those who seek protection (9:6)
59. Keep Purity (9:108)
----
From Surat Yūsuf:
60. Never give up hope of Allah’s Mercy (12:87)
-----
From Surat An-Naĥl:
61. Allah will forgive to those who have done wrong out of ignorance (16:119)
62. Invitation to God should be with wisdom and good instruction (16:125)
-----
From Surat Al-'Isrā':
63. No one will bear others’ sins (17:15)
64. Be dutiful to parents (17:23)
65. Do not say a word of disrespect to parents (17:23)
66. Do not spent money extravagantly (17:29)
67. Do not kill your children for fear of poverty (17:31)
68. Do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse (17:32)
69. Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge (17:36)
------
From Surat Ţāhā:
70. Speak to people mildly (20:44)
------
From Surat Al-Mu'minūn:
71. Keep aloof from what is vain (23:3)
-----
From Surat An-Nūr :
72. Do not enter others’ house without seeking permission (24:27)
73. Allah will provide security for those who believe only in Allah (24:55)
74. Do not enter parents’ private room without asking permission (24:58)
-----
From Surat Al-Furqān:
75. Walk on earth in humility (25:63)
-----
From Surat Al-Qaşaş:
76. Do not neglect your portion of this world (28:77)
77. Invoke not any other god along with Allah (28:88)
-----
From Surat Al-`Ankabūt:
78. Do not engage in homosexuality (29:29)
-----
From Surat Luqmān :
79. Enjoin right, forbid wrong (31:17)
80. Do not walk in insolence through the earth (31:18)
81. Lower your voice (31:19)
-----
From Surat Al-'Aĥzāb:
82. Women should not display their finery (33:33)
----
From Surat Az-Zumar:
83. Allah forgives all sins (39:53)
84. Do not be despair of the mercy of Allah (39:53)
-----
From Surat Fuşşilat:
85. Repel evil by good (41:34)
86. Decide on affairs by consultation (42:38)
-----
From Surat Al-Ĥujurāt:
87. Try for settlement between people (49:9)
88. Do not ridicule others (49:11)
89. Avoid suspicion (49:12)
90. Do not spy or backbite (49:12)
91. Most noble of you is the most righteous (49:13)
92. Honor guests (51:26)
93. Spent wealth in charity (57:7)
94. No Monasticism in religion (57:27)
95. Those who have knowledge will be given a higher degree by Allah (58:11)
96. Treat non-Muslims in a kind and fair manner (60:8)
97. Save yourself from covetousness (64:16)
98. Seek forgiveness of Allah. He is Forgiving and Merciful (73:20)
99. Do not repel one who asks (93:10)
100. Encourage feeding poor (107:3)
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Thanksgiving Day request event
Gobble gobble that's right this is the month of feast in the middle of the cozy autumn and this year is something special for the middle of November welcome to the Thanksgiving request event everything evolving around food and all kinds of crazy things that go bumping in the middle of fall.
Step right up and don't be shy but most importantly watch out for the Black Friday apocalypse and here is today's menu for a special month of the turkey.
1. Shopping for ingredients
2. Black Friday chaos
3. Cozy nights
4. Turkey day
5. Hunting for turkeys
6. Your ocs (Thanksgiving theme or your choice of picking)
7. Arts n crafts
8. Cooking for dinner
9. Cookbook
10. Thanksgiving Massacre
11. Leftovers
12. Thanksgiving specials
13. Clean up party
14. Animal Crossing
15. Horror themes
16. Decorations party
17. Room for dessert
18. Charlie Brown
19. A new day A New Hope
20. Day off from work
21. Food fight
22. Hungry night
23. Babysitting kids
24. A special toast
25. Raking up leaves
26. Wholesome love
27. Commercials (fan made or references as long if it's good)
28. Parodies of laughing
29. Mischievous Pranksters
30. Sweet as honey
31. To do list
32. Pumpkin harvesting
33. Getting ready for Christmas
34. Order up
35. A day with family
36. Freebirds
37. Break from school
38. Day of madness
39. Japan Thanksgiving theme
40. Delicious goodies
41. Crazy cinnamon day
42. Yuffie's birthday
43. Baking bread for days
44. Jammed up
45. Rosalina's birthday
46. Any type of Thanksgiving theme
47. Thanksgiving prompts
48. Bakery fun time
49. Brightful smile
50. Lovely picnic
51. Sandwich crazy
52. National Men's Day
53. Deep fried days
54. Redraws
55. Nostalgic November
56. Good old times along with old days
57. Delicious evening
58. DIYs
59. Pie of your choice
60. Chilling in cabins
61. Sleepy hibernation
62. Lazy days
63. Aesthetics of choice
64. Craving for tea
65. Dancing dinner table
66. Lame rainy days
67. Fairy tale story time
68. Doodle skits
69. Making scarecrows
70. Playing with board games
71. Biking in forest
72. Hiking through nature
73. Magical Library
74. Ready for vacation
75. Turkey chasing
76. Egg Fest
77. Feeling dozy
78. AUs
79. Parade or Festival
80. Overcooked burnt
81. Busy Chef's Kitchen
82. Love for autumn
83. Retro style of dinner
84. thickgiving
85. Going nuts
86. Writing a wish list
87. Don't beef with me
88. Disney themed of Wonder
89. Are we there yet
90. Sneaking in the kitchen
91. Nostalgic wave of feeling
92. Non-stop Marathon
93. Teamwork friendship
94. What can possibly go wrong
95. Chores of pain
96. Creative mind of Art
97. Starbucks yummy
98. Where's the turkey
99. Hungry appetite
100. Dinner is served
101. Early bird gets the worm
102. Some Creepypastas
103. Wishing for December
104. Wishing on a shooting star
105. Some errands to do
106. Hellish consumers
107. Butter up too exotic
108. Cranberry Harvest
109. Cheesy macaroni
110. Vegan options / alternatives
112. Satire / joke arts
113. Mustard or ketchup
114. Mashy potatoes
115. Too much stuffing
116. pumpkin pie crazy
117. Setting up the table
118. Stayed in bed
119. Too big of sweet
200. Eating up a feast
201. Crazy competition
202. Kawaii seasoning
203. Leafy collection
204. 1950s style
205. Thankful in grace
206. Lumberjack season
207. Jocks around
208. Spicy Danger
209. Exploring the abandon
210. Determination of heart
211. Bacon alive
212. Wildest imaginations
213. Horrific pilgrims
214. Hunting for shinies
215. Best of variety
216. Apple cider bar
217. Enjoying the sunrise
218. Creamy peaches
219. Dead plate
220. Juicy apples
221. Apple cider day
222. Marmalade sky
223. Food wars
224. Mai Valentine's birthday
225. Mai Valentine dressed in lingerie
226. Cake for my Minnie Mouse
227. Minnie Mouse’s Birthday
228. Gifts for my Mickey
229. Mickey Mouse day
230. American Thanksgiving
231. Cozy childhood hideaway
232. Diner aesthetic
233. Goblincore
234. Golden hour / hours
235. Korean cozy beige
Disclaimer: unlike normal requests you have to request on November theme / Thanksgiving theme also if you prefer something Halloweenish feel free to go to the Halloween request event.
Note: I'll be adding and updating the list if I come up with something creative be on the lookout for that also be sure to read the rules before sending me requests please be understandable and thank you and have a great Thanksgiving one more thing have fun~🍗🍖🍳🍽
If you like feel free to send me a suggestion to add on the list of the prompts list I am now opening to suggestions to what to add on the list that is considered match to the theme leave them down in the comments below if you got a very good idea or possibly for a future adding to a different one.
#thanksgiving#art blog#artists on tumblr#art prompts#taking requests#animal crossing#cozy aesthetic#pumpkin spice#hello november#autumn leaves#fall leaves#send asks#reblog the shit out of this#reblog this#ask anything#send me asks#taking suggestions#video games#desserts#holiday themed#festive#menu#prompt list#fandoms#crossover#pie#thanksgiving day#thanksgiving 2023#thanksgiving dinner#sure why not
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100 LIFE INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE QURAN
1. Do not be rude in speech (3:159)
2. Restrain Anger (3:134)
3. Be good to others (4:36)
4. Do not be arrogant (7:13)
5. Forgive others for their mistakes (7:199)
6. Speak to people mildly (20:44)
7. Lower your voice (31:19)
8. Do not ridicule others (49:11)
9. Be dutiful to parents(17:23)
10. Do not say a word of disrespect to parents (17:23)
11. Do not enter parents’ private room without asking permission (24:58)
12. Write down the debt (2:282)
13. Do not follow anyone blindly (2:170)
14. Grant more time to repay if the debtor is in hard time (2:280)
15. Don’t consume interest (2:275)
16. Do not engage in bribery (2:188)
17. Do not break the promise (2:177)
18. Keep the trust (2:283)
19. Do not mix the truth with falsehood (2:42)
20. Judge with justice between people (4:58)
21. Stand out firmly for justice (4:135)
22. Wealth of the dead should be distributed among his family members (4:7)
23. Women also have the right for inheritance (4:7)
24. Do not devour the property of orphans (4:10)
25. Protect orphans (2:220)
26. Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly (4:29)
27. Try for settlement between people (49:9)
28. Avoid suspicion (49:12)
29. Do not spy and backbite (2:283)
30. Do not spy or backbite (49:12)
31. Spend wealth in charity (57:7)
32. Encourage feeding the poor (107:3)
33. Help those in need by finding them (2:273)
34. Do not spend money extravagantly (17:29)
35. Do not invalidate charity with reminders (2:264)
36. Honor guests (51:26)
37. Order righteousness to people only after practicing it yourself(2:44)
38. Do not commit abuse on the earth (2:60)
39. Do not prevent people from houses of God (2:114)
40. Fight only with those who fight you (2:190)
41. Keep the etiquettes of war (2:191)
42. Do not turn back in front of an invading army (8:15)
43. No compulsion in religion (2:256)
44. Believe in all prophets (2:285)
45. Do not have sexual intercourse during menstrual period (2:222)
46. Breast feed your children for two complete years (2:233)
47. Do not even approach unlawful sexual intercourse (17:32)
48. Choose rulers by their merit (2:247)
49. Do not burden a person beyond his scope (2:286)
50. Do not become divided (3:103)
51. Think deeply about the wonders and creation of this universe (3:191)
52. Men and Women have equal rewards for their deeds (3:195)
53. Do not marry those in your blood relation (4:23)
54. Family should be led by men based on their merits and what they spend to provide for their families (4:34)
55. Do not be miserly (4:37)
56. Do not keep envy (4:54)
57. Do not kill each other (4:92)
58. Do not be an advocate for deceit (4:105)
59. Do not cooperate in sin and aggression (5:2)
60. Cooperate in righteousness (5:2)
61. ’Having majority’ is not a criterion of truth (6:116)
62. Be just (5:8)
63. Punish for crimes in an exemplary way (5:38)
64. Strive against sinful and unlawful acts (5:63)
65. Dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine are prohibited (5:3)
66. Avoid intoxicants and alcohol (5:90)
67. Do not gamble (5:90)
68. Do not insult others’ deities (6:108)
69. Don’t reduce weight or measure to cheat people (6:152)
70. Eat and Drink, But Be Not Excessive (7:31)
71. Wear good cloths during prayer times (7:31)
72. protect and help those who seek protection (9:6)
73. Keep Purity (9:108)
74. Never give up hope of Allah’s Mercy (12:87)
75. Allah will forgive those who have done wrong out of ignorance (16:119)
76. Invitation to God should be with wisdom and good instruction (16:125)
77. No one will bear others’ sins (17:15)
78. Do not kill your children for fear of poverty (17:31)
79. Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge (17:36)
80. Keep aloof from what is vain (23:3)
81. Do not enter others’ houses without seeking permission (24:27)
82. Allah will provide security for those who believe only in Allah (24:55)
83. Walk on earth in humility (25:63)
84. Do not neglect your portion of this world (28:77)
85. Invoke not any other god along with Allah (28:88)
86. Do not engage in homosexuality (29:29)
87. Enjoin right, forbid wrong (31:17)
88. Do not walk in insolence through the earth (31:18)
89. Women should not display their finery (33:33)
90. Allah forgives all sins (39:53)
91. Do not despair of the mercy of Allah (39:53)
92. Repel evil by good (41:34)
93. Decide on affairs by consultation (42:38)
94. Most noble of you is the most righteous (49:13)
95. No Monasticism in religion (57:27)
96. Those who have knowledge will be given a higher degree by Allah (58:11)
97. Treat non-Muslims in a kind and fair manner (60:8)
98. Save yourself from covetousness (64:16)
99. Seek forgiveness of Allah. He is Forgiving and Merciful (73:20)
100. Do not repel the petitioner/beggar (93:10)
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I posted 3,098 times in 2022
214 posts created (7%)
2,884 posts reblogged (93%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@heywizards
@redmoondreams
@calamitaswrath
@iavenjqasdf
@kibibarel
I tagged 3,071 of my posts in 2022
Only 1% of my posts had no tags
#pokémon - 849 posts
#bayonetta - 152 posts
#tloz - 152 posts
#pokémon legends arceus - 145 posts
#monster hunter - 87 posts
#animal crossing - 50 posts
#fave - 46 posts
#dark souls - 46 posts
#mm - 45 posts
#personal - 44 posts
Longest Tag: 118 characters
#my only nitpick was using gen vi as a backdrop for the mewtwo fight like anyone associated it with that? flop behavior
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Ohhhh my god they are friends 😭
95 notes - Posted November 28, 2022
#4
See the full post
141 notes - Posted November 28, 2022
#3
Live Slug Reaction is my favorite Bloodborne ending
196 notes - Posted March 21, 2022
#2
Jeanne is such a fucking dork lmfao
220 notes - Posted October 30, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
I feel like any read of NitW that concludes that you're meant to dislike Mae because "she is a horrible person," which there are many of, is a reading that fundamentally misunderstands the game and how it forces you to key in to her humanity and hopes you empathize with her.
I think my favorite moment like that is at lategame in an optional conversation with Pastor K where Mae ends up upset at how the pastor said she also has difficulty believing in god sometimes.
Of course even Mae realizes she just behaved like a dick to Kate by asking her what the point of her job is if she can't definitively tell people that a higher power is real... and Kate is 100% correct in saying that it wouldn't actually do any good for her to get up in church and tally how many times she believed during that week. It's a discussion about Faith.
But it's important to see that interaction in concert with what's happening in Mae's life: not just the mental illness she's dealing with, but also that time she met who she believed to be God... and it pretty much told her it doesn't really care.
Mae's young adult alienation is a key theme of the game and at that moment, all she wanted was to have someone tell her there is an easy answer to everything, but once again, Pastor K correctly tells her there isn't one... which ties back into what the cat god said... and once again makes Mae feel lost, directionless and adrift in life.
You can understand why, even though she messes up a lot, sometimes on purpose, sonetimes not, she would feel the way she does - and making the climax of the plot heavily tied into her emotional journey is cogent with a narrative that wants people to get better, even if it may not happen all at once.
416 notes - Posted May 26, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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Sunday, 10 March, 2024.
I hope you sprang your clock forward 1 hour overnight like you were supposed to do for Daylight Savings Time. The 3 Barn digital clocks needed advancing but Tim refused saying "I don't do anything that's not on the white board". So Robert expertly took care of the digital clocks. I was the only one capable of fixing the analog clock.
It was a lovely sun-shiny day with temps in the mid 50"s.
Warmup
Tabata's
Led by Miss Dana Rebecca
4 Rounds
Glute Bridge (Heels up)
Plank Shoulder Taps
Strength
Deadlifts: 5 / 5 / 5 / 5 / 5 (All 70 to 80%)
Nathan/Shane/Armando=315 Bernie/Robert=275 Coach=235 Timmy=225 Herb/Paul=220 Dana=195 Warren A=145 Average Dave=135 Cheri=125 Shannon=95 Linda/Tom/Lew/Angel/Alicia=don't like to post
WOD
5 Rounds
Run 400 / Row-Ski 500 / Bike 1000m
20 Ab-Mat Sit-Ups (GHD)
15 Ring-Rows
10 Slam-Balls (50/40/30)
Robert=19:44* Shane=19:45* Bernie=22:00* Cheri=22:07 Average Dave=22:12** Armando=25:05 Linda=25:30 Nathan=26:00 Dana=26:05** Herb=26:35* Shannon=29:00 Paul=31:40 Coach=Infinity Tom/Lew/Warren A/Timmy/Angel/Alicia=forgot to post
Cool-Down
Standing Triceps Extensions
10/10/10/10/10
Use The Heaviest Single Dumb-Bell Possible
4 people at the early class were seen doing this, but no more.
Notes
Tim signs the white board alternatively post "Tim or Timmy". I only blog what is on the whiteboard. Today was "Timmy". That is unusual.
Shane made an appearance. Other than hugs all around, we tried to keep this event low-key. We didn't even require Shane to re-do the waiver. Shane and Robert glommed on to each other which is to be expected, and then Shane allowed Robert to beat him by 1 second in the WOD, which is expected the first time back ONLY.
Today, Kayla was supposed to be back from her long weekend trip to her Alabama home. She didn't appear. That suggests many and several alternative reasons. The foremost likely of these is that she finally met the man of her dreams and eloped with a handsome serial wife killer and father of 6 that she met on TINDER when he was out on bail. She would have been at the barn today but his GPS ankle tracker kept delivering stunning shocks every time they tried to cross the state line back into Tennessee. They are celebrating their nuptials at a resort in Muscle Shoals. It will all be on INSTAGRAM.
Tuesday at 4 PM. The prognosticators (IPCC-6) of a catastrophic climate crisis tipping point by 2030 assuredly predict we will have 5 days of perfect warm weather at the barn.
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Antenne Vorarlberg Chillout Lounge (July 16, 2023)
23:59 Robin Schulz - Above The Clouds
23:57 Nathan Evans - Wellerman (220 Kid X Billen Ted Remix)
23:51 Deep Dive Corp. - Guitaria
23:47 Cats On Bricks Feat. Zach Alwin - Planes Over Ushuaia
23:45 Mellowdy - Rise Up
23:38 Chuva Speaks Arab - Reckless Girl
23:35 Portishead - Revenge Of The Number
23:31 Sons Of Maria - Elevate
23:27 York - I Need You
23:24 Alle Farben & Flynn - I Need To Know
23:21 Nora En Pure - Stop Wasting Time
23:16 Tosca - Gute Laune
23:10 Hakan Kayis, Furkan Sarikas, Cinar Gedizlioglu - A Night In Alacati (Original Mix)
23:06 Hakan Lidbo Feat. Emma - What Is Love
23:02 Clément Leroux - Memories
22:59 Fedde Le Grand Feat. Vince Freeman - Devils
22:56 Blank & Jones Feat. Coralie Clément - Jardin D'hiver
22:51 Tinlicker Feat. Roos Jonker - Come Back Home
22:47 Jean-michel Jarre - Oxygene, Pt. 4
22:41 Schiller Feat. Maya Saban - I Miss You
22:38 Avian Grays & Azteck - Endlessly
22:34 Blank & Jones - Into The Sun
22:28 Simple Minds - Mandela Day
22:26 Lunax - I Like
22:22 Monoir, Eneli - 3 To 1
22:19 The Alan Parsons Projekt - Eye In The Sky
22:16 Iossa, Ken Holland - The Seed Feat. Iossa (Original Mix)
22:11 James Bright - Sarabande
22:08 Robin Schulz & David Guetta - On Repeat
22:01 Hraach - After Dark
21:57 The Chainsmokers Feat. Daya - Don't Let Me Down
21:55 Yves V X Bashkar - Halfway (Feat. Twan Ray)
21:51 Nore En Pure - In Your Eyes
21:47 Smoke City - Underwater Love
21:40 True & Berger - Imprint Of Pleasure
21:37 Felix Jaehn Feat. Zoe Wees - Do It Better
21:34 Blank & Jones - Love From The Start (Original Mix)
21:25 Moby - Too Much Change
21:22 Valerie Dore - The Night (Zyx Edit Remastered 2021)
21:16 Aim - Cold Water Music
21:14 Felix Jaehn & The Stickmen Project Feat. Calum Scott - Rain In Ibiza
21:10 Schiller X Ro Nova X Tricia Mcteague - Illuminate
21:07 Ck West & Sassi K - C Song
21:03 Armin Van Buuren & Avira - Illusion (Mixed)
21:00 Jones & Brock Feat. Anica - Join Me
20:56 Above & Beyond - The Inconsistency Principle
20:52 Arden - Open
20:47 Monolink - Swallow
20:42 Airstream - Your Tears (Del Mar Mix)
20:38 Eelke Kleijn - Midnight Affair (Samaha Slow Edit)
20:34 Pang! - Walking In The Sun
20:30 Blank & Jones - Sunny (Summer Vibe Mix)
20:26 Claptone Feat. Dizzy - Queen Of Ice Queen Of Ice
20:23 Julian Perretta - Miracle
20:20 Paratone - Time After Time
20:13 Tom Novy Feat. Amadeas - Dancing In The Sun Feat. Amadeas (Tapesh & Dayne S Remix)
20:09 Robin Schulz - Moonlit Sky (With The Void Pacific Choir)
20:06 Moli - Cloud No9 (Montmartre Remix)
20:01 Jasmine Thompson - Adore (Teemid Remix)
19:59 Reece Lemonius, Munich Monstrs - Miss You
19:57 Srtw & Mave Feat. Sønlille - Last Train Home
19:53 Hearts & Colors - Lighthouse (Andrelli Remix)
19:50 Kryder & Natalie Shay - Rapture
19:44 The Last Atlant - Twin Of The Sun
19:37 Francesco Rossi - Paper Aeroplane
19:32 Above & Beyond - Out Of Time (Original Mix)
19:29 Maxim Lany Feat. Freya Alley - Anymore
19:25 The Chainsmokers Feat. Kelsea Ballerini - This Feeling
19:22 Undressd - Forever Young
19:20 Suduaya - Flow
19:17 Dj Antoine Feat. Craig Smart - Good Vibes (Good Feeling) (Dj Antoine Vs Mad Mark 2k19 Mix)
19:10 Blond:ish Feat. Shawni - Wizard Of Love
19:06 Lenny Ibizarre - Pretty As You Feel
19:03 Lstn - Sïstër
18:59 Nora En Pure - Dry Sobbing
18:54 Rue Du Soleil - La Francaise
18:51 Shapov & Avian Grays Feat. Kifi - Light Up The World
18:48 Shouse - Won't Forget You
18:41 Parra For Cuva, Anna Naklab - True Thoughts (Original Mix)
18:39 Sons Of Maria - A Kiss Like This
18:36 Paul Oakenfold, Bolier, Luis Fonsi - The World Can Wait (Bolier Remix)
18:30 Ingo Herrmann - Sundown
18:27 Pascal Letoublon - Feelings Undercover
18:22 Groovecatcher - Neonstrasse
18:18 Jean-michel Jarre - Equinoxe, Pt. 5
18:16 Buchs Feat. Nokyo - Cheverolet
18:12 Sway Gray Vs. Sal De Sol - Crosses
18:08 Three Drives On A Vinyl - Greece 2000 (Sebastian Davidson & Melosense Remix)
18:04 Mike Candys & Jack Holiday - Saltwater (Rework)
17:59 Naomi - Avenue L'amour (Lemongrass Remix)
17:56 Nora En Pure - Sign Of The Times
17:53 Robin Schulz & Felix Jaehn - One More Time
17:47 Tosca - No More Olives
17:41 Armen Miran & Hraach - Gravitation
17:36 Monolink - Harlem River
17:33 Major Lazer Feat. Dj Snake & Mø - Lean On
17:30 Alok & Timmy Trumpet - Underwater Love (La Vision Remix)
17:26 Five Seasons - Her Almond Eyes
17:23 Daniel Portman - Vulnerable
17:20 Riva Starr Feat. Imaginary - Ride This Sound
17:16 Klangfeld Feat. Tillmann Uhrmacher - Free 2018
17:12 Kid Massive, Yuji Ono, Dtale - Pray (Wolf Krew Remix)
17:09 Brando - Don't Call Me (Galantis Remix)
17:04 Chromatics - Lady
16:58 Tebra - Istok
16:55 Nora En Pure - Branches
16:52 Robert Manos - With No End
16:48 Kyla La Grange - Cut Your Teeth
16:45 Hallmann - Always Be
16:40 Kosheen - Hungry
16:37 Mila Feat. Uwe Worlitzer - Teil Von Mir
16:31 H. Garden Feat. Joi - Gentle Rain
16:26 Blank & Jones Feat. Zoe Durrant - One Evening (Lofi Selection)
16:23 Agatino Romero - I'm Feeling For You
16:17 Hazy J - Silver
16:15 Munich Monstrs - Shine
16:03 Monkey Safari - Hi Life (Cheeky Bold Cover)
15:59 Kygo Feat. Maty Noyes - Stay
15:56 Loud Luxury - Cold Feet
15:51 Thomas Lemmer & Andreas Bach - Embracing Love
15:45 Fous De La Mer - Clairs De Lune
15:41 Hein Klein & Cheyenne - Every Breath You Take
15:36 Nora En Pure - Trailblazer (Club Mix)
15:28 The Normalites - The Sun Rising (Shur-i-kan Vocal)
15:25 2raumwohnung - Wir Werden Sehen (Paul Kalkbrenner Remix)
15:17 Tom Novy & Milkwish - Dream Catcher (Extended Mix)
15:10 Doyeq & Jay Medvedeva - Break Into My Walls (Armen Miran & Hraach Remix)
15:07 Pretty Pink Feat. Mark V - Don't Dance
15:04 Mahmut Orhan - Schhh (Feat. Irina Rimes)
15:01 Topic, Robin Schulz, Nico Santos, Paul Van Dyk - In Your Arms (For An Angel)
14:57 Sum Wave - Malin's Song
14:52 Stone Van Brooken, Henri Pfr - Tarida (Original Mix)
14:47 Schiller X Tricia Mcteague - Miracle
14:44 Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano - Let It Lie
14:41 Robin Schulz Feat. James Blunt - Ok
14:38 Trinix - Soweto
14:36 Sanah - Invisible Dress (Maro Music X Skytech Remix)
14:31 Schiller & Jan Blomqvist - In Between
14:26 Schiller - Free The Dragon
14:23 Patchy - Friend (Original Mix)
14:17 Shkoon Feat. Fruiterama - Napauken
14:13 Shallour & Riah - Lie
14:10 Lost Frequencies Feat. Harold Van Lenne - Are You With Me (Lounge)
14:07 Daniel Steidtmann - Pigeon Lake
14:02 Blank & Jones Feat. Zoe Durrant - Adios Ayer
13:59 Dash Berlin Feat. Roxanne Emery - Shelter
13:53 Beyhude - Terso
13:50 Hypnosis - Pulstar
13:45 Lenny Mac Dowell - Summertime
13:42 Tinlicker Feat. Nathan Nicholson - Be Here And Now
13:38 Jako Diaz & Margret - Mirror
13:33 Rameses B - Never Forget (Original Mix)
13:30 Tomas Skyldeberg - Chillin With You
13:23 Chris Zippel - Mirror Dawn
13:18 Pete Tong & Tale Of Us Feat. Jules Buckley - Time
13:15 Lost Frequencies & Elley Duhé - Back To You
13:12 Burak Yeter Feat. Danelle Sandova - Tuesday
13:05 Colyn - Unstable Gravity Alert
13:02 Minelli, Filatov & Karas Remi - Rampampam
12:58 Sting - Mad About You
12:56 Max Johann & Layrz - Tell It To My Heart
12:53 Pulsedriver & Tiscore Feat. Anna Grey - We Are
12:49 Melounge - Too Much Sugar
12:43 Goa Foundation - (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight
12:38 Mr.da-nos - San Francisco 2k20
12:34 Rag'n'bone Man - Human
12:27 David Hohme - Fear Less (Hraach Remix)
12:23 Faberge - Close Your Eyes
12:18 Goldfish - Love Everlasting (Extended Mix)
12:11 Nora En Pure - Oblivion (Extended Mix)
12:05 Laila (Feat. Tiefblau) - Yin And Yang
12:00 Shakedown - At Night (Afterlife Remix)
11:57 The Hitmen - Turn Off The Lights
11:50 Plus Minus - Meeting Of The Worlds
11:46 Melokind - Tiefgang
11:41 Fous De La Mer - Luces
11:37 Sting - Cool Breeze
11:34 Robin Schulz & Alle Farben & Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World
11:31 Chris Avedon - The Letter
11:28 Deepend - Only Love
11:26 Above & Beyond - Quieter Is Louder (Original Mix)
11:23 Lost Frequencies Feat. Sandro Cavazza - Beautiful Life
11:21 Rita Ora - You Only Love Me
11:18 Dj Antoine & Flip Capella Feat. Evelyn - Dark Love
11:13 Owen Ear, Stereoteric - Screaming Heart (Original Mix)
11:07 Bay Area - Dolphin Rider (Pianodreamsession)
11:00 Beyhude - Alabora
10:56 James Newton Howard Feat. Jennifer Lawrence - The Hanging Tree
10:53 The Alan Parsons Project - The Turn Of A Friendly Card
10:51 Carstn & Ten Tonne Skeleton - Safety Dance
10:47 Avicii - For A Better Day
10:44 Robin Schulz - Never Know Me (Radio Mix)
10:41 Kygo With Avicii & Sandro Cavazza - Forever Yours (Tribute)
10:36 Alex Christensen & The Berlin Orchestra - Infinity
10:33 Edx - Neptune
10:29 Schiller & Giorgio Moroder - Lichtjahre
10:25 Kygo & Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It
10:17 Martin Roth - An Analog Guy In A Digital World
10:12 A.r. Rahman - Mumbai Theme Tune
10:08 Golden Tone Radio - Glück
10:03 Blank & Jones - Twilight Moon
09:57 Mathieu & Florzinho - Maha - Amba
09:55 Carstn, Jason Walker - Could You Love Me (Munich Monstrs Remix)
09:53 Steve Forest, Te Pai - Never Gonna Give You Up
09:49 Armin Van Buuren Feat. Josh Cumbee - Sunny Days (Original Mix)
09:45 The Alan Parsons Project - Old And Wise
09:42 Alex Breitling - Faith
09:38 Gabriel & Castellon - Es Vedra (Touch & Go Radio Mix)
09:35 Atb & Topic - Your Love (9pm)
09:28 Edx - We Can't Give Up
09:24 Brendon Moeller - Emerging
09:19 Schiller - Der Goldene Engel
09:15 Spanish Armada Movement - Margarita
09:09 Deep Dive Corp. & Setsuna - Transatlantic
09:07 Lost Frequencies, Zonderling & Kelvin Jones - Love To Go
09:00 Fac15 & Jay C - By The Pool (Jay C's Classic Mix)
08:54 Beyhude - Rüzgar
08:50 Blank & Jones Feat. Kyle Pearce - All Of Me
08:45 Amirali - My Way
08:42 Tinlicker & Helsloot - Because You Move Me
08:34 Armin Van Buuren & Avira Feat. Sam Martin - Mask
08:27 Adana Twins - Strange
08:24 Mike Candys - Sky (Club Mix)
08:20 Patrick Baker - Call Me Up (Original Mix)
08:17 Topic Feat. Nico Santos) - Home (Alle Farben Remix)
08:11 Sans Souci - Venice
08:05 Geonis & Wallmers - Stand On Our Own (Mier Remix)
08:02 Bolier & Arman Cekin - Fade Away (Feat. Rhi'n'b)
07:58 Fritz Kalkbrenner - Kings & Queens
07:55 Chymera - Umbrella (Beatless Mix)
07:52 Lizot - Daddy Cool
07:48 Bolier & Leandro Da Silva - Floripa (Extended)
07:43 Twocolors & Anna Naklab - Dust (Extended Mix)
07:40 Gamper & Dadoni - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!
07:32 Kygo - Freeze
07:26 Cell - Under Your Mind (Live Version)
07:23 Raffa Fi - Ritmo
07:18 Minus Blue - You're Not Alone
07:14 Lstn - Sky & Sand
07:12 Gil Glaze Feat. Dante Thomas - West La
07:07 Afterlife - Espalmador
07:01 Monolink - Otherside (Club Mix)
06:58 Kush Kush & Sickmellow Feat. Kazhi - Blacklight
06:55 Blank & Jones - Grown Minds
06:52 Blank & Jones Feat. Jan Loechel - Beautiful Life
06:45 Nora En Pure - Cognitive Fadings (Club Mix)
06:39 Max Denoise Feat Claire Willis - Bring To Me Life (Original Mix)
06:36 Loud Luxury Feat. Morgan St. Jean - Aftertaste
06:32 Nihoni - After Sun
06:29 Klingande Feat. Broken Back - Riva (Restart The Game)
06:25 Dvine - Unknown Reality
06:22 Schiller Mit Heppner - Dream Of You
06:14 Jan Blomqvist - Empty Floor
06:11 Edx - Ecletric (Mixed)
06:08 The Alan Parsons Projekt - Mammagamma (Instrumental)
06:04 Milk & Sugar Feat. John Paul Young - Love Is In The Air
06:01 Kungs Feat. Jhart - Dopamine
05:56 Channel 2 Feat. Tanya - Space Cowboy
05:53 Daniel Portman - Sensual Desires
05:48 Thomas Lemmer & Andreas Bach - Sweet Lullaby
05:45 Blank & Jones - Flaming June
05:41 Klangkarussell And Givven - Follow
05:38 Blank & Jones Feat. Zoe Durrant - Erase Rewind
05:34 Mike Posner - I Took A Pill In Ibiza (Seeb Remix)
05:31 Glockenbach Ft. Clockclock - Brooklyn
05:27 The Presets - Promises (Nils Frahm Version)
05:20 Atb - No Fate
05:17 Alok Feat. Alida - Love Again
05:13 Blank & Jones Feat. Cathy Battistessa - Happiness (Milchbar Terrace Mix)
05:11 Hbz, Anna Grey & Agent Zed - Aloha Hey
05:03 John Kah - Carina (Enui Remix)
05:00 Regard & Raye - Secrets
04:58 Wave Wave Feat. Lena Sue - Repeating
04:55 Armin Van Buuren Feat. Rbvln - Weight Of The World (Feat. Rbvln)
04:50 De-phazz - Anchorless
04:46 Blank & Jones - Alone In This Rhythm
04:42 Glide - Y Môr
04:38 Light Of Aidan Feat. Note For A Child - Loving You
04:35 Nora Van Elken - Mount Fuji
04:32 Thievery Corporation Feat. Shana Halligan - Depth Of My Soul
04:27 Anrey - Lost Lands (Extended Mix)
04:24 Gamper & Dadoni - My Lovin'
04:20 Tania Zygar, Sofia Zlatko, Vijay - Wildest Dreams (Extended Mix)
04:16 Joachim Pastor Feat. Nathan Nicholson - Saint Louis
04:12 Arty Feat. Cimo Fränkel - Daydreams (Sultan Shepard Echoes)
04:06 Tosca - Dave Dudley
04:02 Nora En Pure - Enchantment
03:56 Christopher Von Deylen - Free
03:52 Bob Marley - Is This Love (Montmartre Remix)
03:44 Maxim Lany - Riding The Wave (Extended Mix)
03:41 Loud Luxury And Frank Walker Feat. Stephen Puth - Like Gold
03:36 Blank & Jones - 10.000 Emerald Pools
03:33 Nightcall X Henri Purnell Feat. Eke - When The Morning Breaks
03:28 Consoul Trainin & Pink Noisy Feat. Anastasia Zannis - Tango To Evora
03:24 Younotus Feat. Chris Gelbuda - When I Think About You
03:22 Nora Van Elken - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
03:18 Nightmares On Wax - Passion
03:16 Leony - Faded Love (Noøn Remix)
03:12 Schiller & Peter Heppner - Leben... I Feel You
03:08 Kabanjak - The Rain
03:01 Monolink & Zigan Aldi - Fidale (I Feel) Vocal Version
02:57 Sofi Tukker X Mahmut Orhan - Forgive Me
02:53 Atb With Enigma - Enigmatic Encounter
02:48 Schiller & Tricia Mcteague - Guardian Angel
02:40 Blank & Jones - California Sunset
02:33 Deep-dive-corp. - Lucsus
02:29 Lstn - Thoughts
02:25 Jazzamor - Song For Maggie
02:20 Rìfìs Du Sol - Next To Me
02:18 R3hab X Lukas Graham - Most People
02:15 Ofenbach - Be Mine
02:11 Klangperlenspiel & Puzzls - Kyoto (Wish You'd Move On)
02:08 Lucas Estrada & Henri Purnell & Neimy - In My Fantasy
02:05 Hamlet - Der Mückenschwarm
02:01 Christopher Von Deylen - Infinity
01:55 Nora En Pure - Thermal (Extended Mix)
01:51 Be Svendsen - Drop The Gun
01:49 Vize & Tom Gregory - Never Let Me Down
01:45 Above & Beyond - Is It Love? (1001) (Original Mix)
01:40 Agron - Love My Soul
01:35 Tinlicker Feat. Nathan Nicholson - Always Will
01:32 Sam Feldt X Lush & Simon Feat. Inna - Fade Away
01:29 Neptune & Moonnight - I Need A New Love (Original Mix)
01:24 Deep Dive Corp. Feat. Dennis Le Gree - Water
01:20 Jelly & Fish Feat. Amiaz & Tina Welzel - Appreciation (Radio Mix)
01:16 Kidsø - Fir
01:13 Nora Van Elken - Heaven Is A Place On Earth
01:05 Royksopp - Sordid Affair (Maceo Plex Mix)
01:02 York - On The Beach (Kryder & Jenjammin Sax Edit)
00:59 Basixx - Stay In Your Sunlight
00:53 Kruder & Dorfmeister - High Noon
00:49 Christopher Von Deylen - Heliotrope
00:46 Kai Schwarz, Cayus & Yass - My Love Is Your Love
00:42 Alan Walker - Alone (Restrung)
00:39 Gestört Aber Geil & Anna Grey - Thank You
00:34 Naomi - Anybody Here?
00:31 Klingande, Wrabel - Big Love
00:28 Robin Schulz Feat. Alida - In Your Eyes
00:23 Lux - Northern Lights
00:19 Duboss - Losing My Religion
00:12 Miyagi, Sascha Braemer, Dan Caster, Jan Blomqvist - Woodpeckers Love Affair
00:09 Lost Frequencies & Zonderling - Crazy
00:02 Julian Wassermann - People
#Antenne Vorarlberg Chillout Lounge#Chillout#Lounge#Downtempo#Ambient#Trance#Deep House#2023#July 2023
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#Uncool500 - the big list (middle bit)
Follow-up to (the bottom bit) and before (the top end)
This is from the #Uncool50 music biography I did in October and November. Contest sponsor @[email protected] has compiled a full #Uncool500 from our nominations.
Each nomination was worth 10 points, but we could each nominate four singles for 11 points, and one song for 12 points. (“Since yesterday” was my 12-pointer, the 11s went to “Constant craving”, “You oughta know”, “The middle”, “Bulletproof”.)
Ties are broken in a lot of ways. It’s all inspired by “This is Uncool”, a handbook of great singles from the last quarter of the 20th century. Anything in that book gravitated to the top of the tie; anything from this century followed, and songs from the 20th century and not in the book came further down.
Acts that had a lot of songs nominated went ahead of acts with just the one big hit. Where a player had nominated the same act three or more times, the singles they'd nominated got relegated to the bottom of the tie - this happened to REM and Duran Duran.
This section covers songs with 4 or 5 nominations, positions 226 to 109.
40 points
226 Dr. Mabuse - Propaganda
225 Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
224 Let the music play - Shannon
223 Pacific - 808 State
222 Kids in America - Kim Wilde
221 Automatic - The Pointer Sisters
220 Spacer - Sheila & B Devotion
219 Hurt - Johnny Cash
218 World in motion... - Englandneworder
217 Let's dance - David Bowie
216 Sowing the seeds of love - Tears For Fears
215 Under pressure - Queen
214 Running up that hill - Kate Bush
213 3am eternal (live at the SSL) - The KLF
212 Living in another world - Talk Talk
211 Pale shelter - Tears For Fears
210 A town called Malice / Precious - The Jam
209 It's my life - Talk Talk
208 This must be the place (naive melody) - Talking Heads
207 Shout - Tears For Fears
206 Big Decision - That Petrol Emotion
205 World shut your mouth - Julian Cope
204 Everlong - Foo Fighters
203 Uptown funk - Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars
202 Connection - Elastica
201 Fell in love with a girl - White Stripes
200 All my friends - LCD Soundsystem
199 Tender - Blur
198 I travel - Simple Minds
197 Got to give it up - Marvin Gaye
196 Insomina - Faithless
195 Spellbound - Siouxsie and the Banshees
194 Stan - Eminem
193 Hounds of love - Kate Bush
192 It's a sin - Pet Shop Boys
191 What difference does it make? - The Smiths
190 Kiss - Prince and the Revolution
189 White lines (don't don't do it) - Grandmaster and Melle Mel
188 Don't you want me - Human League
187 Regulate - Warren G ft Nate Dogg
186 Rapper's delight - Sugarhill Gang
185 Push it - Salt n Pepa
184 September - Earth, Wind and Fire
183 WFL (Wrote for luck) - Happy Mondays
182 Live forever - Oasis
181 Step on - Happy Mondays
180 Gigantic - Pixies
179 Losing my religion - REM
41 pts
178 Wonderful life - Black
177 Song to the siren - This Mortal Coil
176 Faster / PCP - Manic Street Preachers
175 All of my heart - ABC
174 The wild ones - Suede
173 You get what you give - New Radicals
172 Forbidden colours - Sylvian and Sakamoto
171 Good life - Inner City
170 Take me out - Franz Ferdinand
169 Since I left you - Avalanches
168 Come on let's go - Broadcast
167 Up the junction - Squeeze
166 Enola Gay - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
165 Save a prayer - Duran Duran
164 True faith - New Order
163 Rock lobster - B52s
162 Procession / Everything's gone green - New Order
161 You made me realise - My Bloody Valentine
160 Pull up to the bumper - Grace Jones
42 pts
159 Brilliant mind - Furniture
158 Since yesterday - Strawberry Switchblade
157 Back to black - Amy Winehouse
156 French disco - Stereolab
155 Uncertain smile - The The
154 Avenue - Saint Etienne
153 My lovin' (you're never gonna get it) - En Vogue
152 Ain't nobody - Rufus and Chaka Khan
151 That's entertainment - The Jam
44 pts
150 The perfect kiss - New Order
149 Voodoo ray - A Guy Called Gerald
148 Say hello wave goodbye - Soft Cell
50 pts
147 Just like heaven - The Cure
146 Close to me - The Cure
145 Echo beach - Martha and the Muffins
144 The man with the child in his eyes - Kate Bush
143 Out of space - The Prodigy
142 With every heartbeat - Robyn with Kleerup
141 Tinseltown in the rain - The Blue Nile
140 Fast car - Tracy Chapman
139 Killing in the name - Rage Against the Machine
138 Love like blood - Killing Joke
137 Leave them all behind - Ride
136 Stand and deliver - Adam and the Ants
135 Everybody wants to rule the world - Tears For Fears
134 Crazy in love - Beyoncé
133 Left to my own devices - Pet Shop Boys
132 A design for life - Manic Street Preachers
131 Holiday in Cambodia - Dead Kennedys
130 Reward - Teardrop Explodes
129 Oliver's army - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
128 Knowing me knowing you - ABBA
127 Never understand - The Jesus and Mary Chain
51 pts
126 Regret - New Order
125 One more time - Daft Punk
124 I bet you look good on the dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys
123 Last nite - The Strokes
122 Dancing on my own - Robyn
121 Get ur freak on - Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott
120 Animal nitrate - Suede
119 Inner city life - Goldie
118 Shipbuilding - Robert Wyatt
117 Nothing compares 2 u - Sinéad O'Connor
116 The look of love - ABC
115 Good times - Chic
114 Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
52 pts
113 The whole of the moon - The Waterboys
112 This corrosion - Sisters of Mercy
111 Golden Brown - The Stranglers
110 Going underground - The Jam
53 pts
109 Justified and ancient - KLF ft Tammy Wynette
Footnotes
162 - 20 specifically to the “Everything's Gone Green” 12" mix, 10 to "Everything’s gone green” in general, and 11 to Procession
135 - No nominations for "Everybody wants to run the world", an official remake.
The final part of the countdown - positions 108-1, six and more nominations, will come after Christmas.
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SOLUTION AT Academic Writers Bay The Management Consultant The Management Consultant Mastering the art of consultancy Richard Newton PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED Edinburgh Gate Harlow CM20 2JE Tel: +44 (0)1279 623623 Fax: +44 (0)1279 431059 Website: www.pearsoned.co.uk First published in Great Britain in 2010 © Richard Newton 2010 The right of Richard Newton to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. ISBN: 978-0-273-73087-3 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Newton, Richard, 1964The management consultant : mastering the art of consultancy / Richard Newton. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-273-73087-3 (pbk.) 1. Business consultants. I. Title. HD69.C6N495 2010 001–dc22 2009050850 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, without the prior consent of the Publishers. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 14 13 12 11 10 Typeset in 9/13pt Stone Serif by 30 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport The Publisher’s policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests. Contents Acknowledgements / vii Preface / ix Introduction / xi part 1 Understanding consultants and consultancy 1 Consultants and consultancy / 3 2 Why does anyone buy consultancy? / 23 3 Your consulting service / 41 4 The three core processes of client-centric consulting / 58 part 2 Consulting engagements 5 Finding and winning work / 77 6 Delivering consulting engagements and satisfying clients / 108 7 The alternative approach – process consulting and facilitation / 132 8 Closing engagements and sustaining results / 147 part 3 9 High-performance consulting Developing long-term client relationships / 169 10 The ethical dimension / 181 11 The language of consulting / 199 12 Knowing when to say no / 220 13 Key consulting tips / 234 14 The client’s perspective – buying consultancy / 251 Conclusion / 269 vi Contents part 4 Additional resources for consultants A The tools, processes and materials of a consultancy business / 275 B References / 279 C Sample proposal letter / 281 Index / 285 Acknowledgements I would like to thank five consulting colleagues who I started working with years ago in Coopers & Lybrand. Although our careers have moved on in different ways, we still work together from time to time. More often we meet up, share stories and enjoy laughing about the occasionally pretentious side of the profession. They are: Graham Jump, Peter Meredith, Perry Childs, Richard Ellis and Andy Macey. Dedication This book is dedicated to my son Konrad for inspiring me to write the book, when he admitted that he really did not have the faintest idea what I did. Preface This book is a personal guide to the art of management consulting. It sets out to help new and experienced consultants to do one thing: to become better consultants. In simple terms, better means providing help that is of the most long-term value to your clients. The approach is also simple: to identify what it is that the best consultants do that their less effective colleagues do not – and how you can do it, too. Underlying this is my belief in client-centric consulting. The contents are derived from three sources. The first source is my experience as a consultant (working for Coopers & Lybrand, A.T Kearney, Ernst & Young and my own company Enixus).
Secondly, my experiences in industry as a client – negotiating, buying and managing consultants. Finally and most importantly, I have a network of trusted consulting colleagues whose ideas have flavoured the book. Like a magpie I have picked up ideas and concepts throughout my career. I have shifted through them, throwing away most, keeping hold of the ones I like and think are precious. Many ideas in this book are my own, but of course I have learnt from others. I can’t remember the sources of all of these, so I am sure more credit is deserved than I have given. There were several reasons for writing this book, but two of them stand out. Firstly, there are comparatively few books on consulting, unlike many other management disciplines. Look at the business book selection in a good bookshop or online, and you will find many on strategy, leadership, marketing, delivering change and project management, to name a few areas. But consulting books are relatively scarce, scarcer than an industry of its size justifies. There are a few good books on consulting, but they do not approach the audience in the way I want to. x Preface The second reason comes down to my frequent frustration when I work with or engage other consultants. The simple truth is that the profession often does not live up to its own hype. This is not to deny that there are many brilliant consultants out there, and I have been lucky enough to work with and learn from a few of them. But there are many consultants who know they should be better to justify their fees. Worse, there are some very mediocre consultants who mistake being paid a lot with being good. As supposed experts in business, it is amazing how often consultants provide inadequate value to their clients. Management consulting is a large and very varied industry. The range of skills and services that fall under this title are huge. The difference in the type of work of the most expensive strategy houses compared to a project management consultant is so great that they may not even recognise each other as being in the same profession. There are some books that set out to address components of this industry. They tend to describe various tools and techniques of consulting. The best tools and techniques are only applicable in some situations and even if you know them it does not make you necessarily an effective consultant. I wanted to write a book for all management consultants. The book contains tools and techniques, but it is also intended to make you think like a consultant: how do effective consultants think about their work and their clients? Consulting experiences are varied, and each is unique. By thinking like a consultant, irrespective of the situation you are in, you will be able to deal with any situation in the most effective way. Introduction Ask someone in business to define the title ‘management consultant’, and you will get a wide variety of responses, not all of them complimentary! The title covers an extensive range of roles providing a variety of services. There are no universally recognised standards for being a management consultant and as a result there are very varying levels of quality. In addition, many people want to be management consultants but do not know what it entails. There are many consulting success stories, and numerous people have become comfortably well off as consultants. Given this success, it might be thought that the world was full of praise for management consultants. Yet, if you ask many customers in the private and public sector about their feelings and experiences of consultants, you will often be met with sceptical and even highly negative comments. There are numerous causes for these responses, but they can be summarised into three major categories. Firstly, too many consultants simply do not provide sufficient value to their customers and rely on churning out the same old work time and time again. Secondly, even good consultants with valuable knowledge often fail to understand true client needs.
Thirdly, it is unfortunate to say, but there seems to be a number of very poor management consultants. This problem is compounded by the already mentioned lack of widely recognised standards for consultancy which can be used to judge or benchmark consultants against. A key reason for the negative perception of consulting is the fact that too many consultants are focused on what they have to offer and how they make money, rather than what clients need. Too many consultants provide context-free and generic advice, whereas what clients need is advice that is tailored to their specific culture and context. Overall, too many consultants spend too much time trying to be clever, rather than asking themselves what actually makes a good consultant? xii Introduction This book will describe those factors that make good consultants and how consultants can go about providing client-centric consulting. It describes consulting from the viewpoint of the client, and so will help consultants understand what will make them successful. The book will help in deciding on how to provide the most the book focuses appropriate services and advice to clients. Rather on the skills of success- than considering the tools and processes of consulting, as most other consulting books do, it ful consultants focuses on the skills of successful consultants – what they do that makes them successful, success in this context being defined as client results, not only in terms of financial returns for the consultant. Finally, the book contains many tips from the author’s and his colleagues’ years of experience in consulting. “ ” There is a huge number of management consultants and business advisors of one form or another. Management consultancies have been one of the great business success stories of the past 40 years, with some now employing tens of thousands of people in worldwide businesses, delivering significant profits to shareholders and partners. At the other end of the scale there are thousands of small consultancies and independent consultants. As employment patterns change, more and more people are choosing to work as consultants. There are many attractions to a career in consulting. For some, consulting may seem the only choice following redundancy from a senior position. There are many examples of initially despondent redundant managers finding not only a better income, but more enjoyable work in consultancy. For others, it is a lifetime career choice that starts from university, even though few students have any real concept of what being a consultant entails. Many people enter the consulting profession for a more flexible lifestyle, although this is harder to achieve in practice than it might seem. Whatever the reasons for considering it, consultancy is a great opportunity. Companies appear to have an increasing and insatiable demand for advisors and interim managers. Providing services can be very profitable and give consultants a high standard of living. But consulting also has risks. It’s an increasingly competitive environment as more people are drawn to the profession. Select the wrong services or sales approach, and consulting will be a stressful profession. There is also the constant uncertainty about what happens when the current engagement is complete. Many people assume that simply because they have some specialist expertise, they can be a good consultant. Certainly, expertise is an Introduction essential foundation. This book assumes you have an area of specialist knowledge and can competently apply the techniques and tools of your specialisation. But specialist knowledge is not enough. It is not intended as a tautology when I say that the core competency of a successful consultant is the skill of being a consultant. It is not a profession for everyone – there is a specific art to being a consultant. Although the consulting industry is successful, that success is in jeopardy. Fee rates for many organisations, including some of the largest firms, are lower in real terms than they were previously.
Clients are becoming more adept at controlling consultants and extracting the best value from them. More and more people are entering the consulting industry, meaning that to excel the standards are rising all the time. Consultants need to raise their game. This book sets out to provide you with guidance to what makes a great consultant, irrespective of where you fit amongst the incredible variety of management consultants. It avoids the constraints of focusing on specific elements of consulting or approaches to consultancy, and instead takes a client-centric view of what is needed to provide expert consulting. Although this book contains approaches, the fundamental questions it seeks to answer are what makes a great consultant and building on that, how do you achieve this? Contents and structure There are 14 chapters and two short additional reference lists in the book. The book is broken into three main parts. In the first part (Chapters 1–4), I explore what it means to be a management consultant and how to go about setting yourself up as one. In the second part (Chapters 5–8), I discuss how to go about winning work and delivering value to clients. In the third part (Chapters 9–14), I discuss a range of broader issues which set the context for consulting and will give you some additional tips and techniques to being a successful consultant. The book has been designed to be read from cover to cover, but you can dip into it as you require. If you want to reference parts individually, the detailed contents of each chapter are described in the following table: xiii xiv Introduction Chapter title Chapter summary 1 Consultants and consultancy Introduces the key terminology and concepts used in the book and provides an overview of what being a consultant means. 2 Why does anyone buy consultancy? Explores how successful consulting starts by understanding the reasons clients have for buying consultancy. This is essential knowledge for anyone wanting to provide client-centric consulting. 3 Your consulting service Looks at the range of services you can offer as a consultant and how to position your skills and experience as a saleable client service. 4 The three core processes of client-centric consulting Discusses the core engagement process and then puts it in context with the client’s change process, and the client’s operational process. Understanding this relationship is at the heart of client-centric consulting. 5 Finding and winning work As a commercial business, consultants must find opportunities and sell their services to clients. This chapter discusses the processes and approach to winning work. 6 Delivering consulting engagements and satisfying clients Investigates the central work of a consultant – delivering consulting engagements which add value to the clients. 7 The alternative approach – Describes an alternative approach to expert process consulting and facilitation consulting – process consulting – which can be used to deliver entire consulting engagements or as a tool on an engagement. 8 Closing engagements and sustaining results All consulting should result in some change in a client, otherwise it delivers no value. Often the change takes place and must continue after the consultant has finished their work. This chapter considers how to achieve change, and how to sustain it after a consulting engagement is complete. 9 Developing long-term client relationships Describes the advantages of having long-term client relationships and how to develop them. 10 The ethical dimension Considers the ethics of consulting, and the potential ethical dilemmas that regularly face consultants and ways to deal with them. Introduction Chapter title Chapter summary 11 The language of consulting The central tool of the consultant is language. This chapter describes some approaches to communications and explores the topic of consulting jargon. 12 Knowing when to say no Not all consulting opportunities are worth pursuing. This chapter describes the characteristics of engagements which consultants should avoid if possible.
13 Key consulting tips A summary of useful key tips from experience. 14 The client’s perspective – buying consultancy A short review from a client’s perspective of issues to consider when purchasing consultancy. Conclusion A brief summary of the role of the management consultant and topics covered in this book. A The tools and processes of a consultancy business A summary of the key processes and tools any consulting business requires. B References A short list of references that have influenced the author’s thinking, and may be useful to readers. C Sample proposal letter A sample proposal letter for readers to adapt. xv part one Understanding consultants and consultancy chapter 1 Consultants and consultancy T his chapter answers the questions: what is a management consultant and what is management consultancy? You may be an experienced consultant who wants to pick up a few new tricks. On the other hand, maybe you are new to consulting and want to gain a better understanding of what it is all about. This chapter is aimed primarily at the novice consultant, whether you are considering joining a major consultancy, are starting out as an independent consultant, or have been recruited as an internal consultant. It provides an overview of some of the fundamental concepts in consulting. Most of the book is about how to be a consultant. As an opening to the subject this chapter answers what being a consultant means. To gain the most from this book it is important to understand what a management consultant is, to be familiar with some common consulting terminology, and to appreciate the difference between being a consultant and other roles. If you want to be a management consultant, it is helpful to recognise why you want to be a consultant and to think through whether or not it is a profession that can meet your desires. To achieve this it is useful to have at least a basic grasp of the economics of a consulting business. This chapter sets out to do all of this. There is nothing complex here, but it is important as it provides the foundations for the rest of the book. This chapter covers a disparate range of topics that combined give a basic, but essential, picture of consulting. 4 Understanding consultants and consultancy One small, but noteworthy point: rather than write the phrases ‘management consultant’ and ‘management consultancy’ repeatedly, I shorten these to ‘consultant’ and ‘consultancy’. There are other types of consultants and consultancy, and many of them could find something useful in this book, but the focus is on the management variety. What is a management consultant? There is a large and growing band of people who call themselves management consultants. Some people are management consultants but do not use this title, preferring labels such as business advisor, strategy consultant, operational consultant or even leadership consultant. These and related job titles encompass a divergent and eclectic group of individuals. The work such people do varies enormously. The fee rates range from low to very high, and the length a consulting project may vary from hours to years. Clients who use consultants can be the owners of firms, managers of one level of seniority or another, or the main board directors of major corporations. Clients can also be staff in the public sector and not-forprofit organisations. Some consultants are employees of the firms the consulting takes place in, others are external but it is not easy to regular faces within an organisation, while many come up with a concise are individuals who appear in a client organisation for a short time and never reappear again. definition Their areas of specialist expertise go from obscure pieces of business to generalist management advice. Given this huge variety, what is it that is similar that enables them to be bundled together as management consultants? It is not easy to come up with a concise definition that covers this assortment of roles. “ ” The problem with
describing the role of a management consultant is compounded by the fact that some existing definitions have been written by people who are not consultants, and who do not understand fully what consultants do. But listening to professional consultants can equally be misleading. Those who are consultants have a vested interest in making the role sound majestic and magical, and to bias any description towards the type of work they specifically do. I have read definitions of management consultancy in sales brochures, books, dictionaries and various online encyclopaedias. A few definitions are the hopeless summarisations of people without any real understanding, some are correct but focus on irrelevant aspects of the role, many are good, but do not quite manage to encapsulate the role and its variations. 1 I Consultants and consultancy Given the wide variety of consultants, rather than starting with a definition, I will list characteristics to provide an appreciation of the role of a consultant. As little in this world is absolutely black and white there are caveats with each one of these characteristics. Consultants do the following seven things: 1 They provide advice and recommendations to managers, and may provide assistance with the implementation of the recommendations. Caveat: Consulting companies may provide a whole range of services, from pure consulting to training and outsourcing. Not all of this is consulting. Consulting is about providing useful advice, and helping managers to implement the advice. 2 They base their advice and recommendation on a set of skills and expertise, or intellectual property they have available to them. Caveat: This is what should happen. However, ask any experienced manager and they can probably tell you of the time they spoke to or even engaged someone who purported to be a consultant but who had very limited skills, experience or intellectual property. 3 They consult. This may sound obvious given the name, but it is often forgotten. What I mean by this is that consultants engage in dialogue with an organisation and its staff, and apply their expertise to develop recommendations, taking account of the specific needs and context of that organisation. Caveat: Some firms called consultancies do not consult. Such firms may be very successful in selling research, benchmarking data or other types of information. Consultants do not sell products or give the same advice to everyone. There is nothing wrong with selling a product, but irrespective of how it is branded, it is not management consulting. 4 They are involved with a given client on a temporary basis. Caveat: The length of a consulting project may be anything from hours to months. Occasionally, it may be years, although it is difficult to argue that someone who has worked continuously in one organisation for years is still working as a consultant. (Internal consultants work for one organisation, but they will be working on different projects across a range of departments or divisions.) It is not unusual for a consultant to work regularly for the same client, but each piece of work is of a limited duration. 5 They are independent. A consultant should be providing advice or recommendations irrespective of the internal politics and vested interests of an organisation or the managers who are their client. 5 6 Understanding consultants and consultancy Caveat: Consultants are human, have their own business interest to consider, and naturally have their own biases. But a consultant’s biases should be independent of a client’s biases. 6 They are not paid for from an organisation’s normal staff budgets. Caveat: A manager who wants to employ a consultant needs a budget for it. This is often true even for internal consultants who charge back their time, and if they do not, they remain an overhead to the rest of the business. 7 They add value to a manager and the client organisation by helping them to change. Value can take many forms, such as improved decision making, faster change implementation, reduced business risk and so on.
Caveat: At least they should do! Reality is not always so clear cut. If we take these seven characteristics of a consultant and take the most pertinent points it is possible to develop a definition of a consultant that is true in most situations: Definition A consultant is an independent advisor who adds value by helping managers to identify and achieve beneficial change appropriate to their situation. Essential consulting jargon To get the most from this book it is important that we start with a common understanding of the basic terminology surrounding management consultancy. Some words, or pieces of consulting jargon, will be used repeatedly through the book, and if you are new to the industry then it’s important you become familiar with these concepts. I am not generally a big advocate of jargon (see Chapter 11), but there are words and phrases that are continuously used by consultants. Most of these may be obvious and intuitively understandable, some are not specific to the consulting industry, but they are essential to know. Consultants tend to talk about clients, rather than customers. The concept of a client is explored in the next chapter. In general terms, the word is used both to refer to a specific manager who gives the consultant direction on a consulting project, and the organisation in which that manager works. Hence a consultant may think of the client as Mr Peter Smith of the XYZ Company, or may consider it to be the XYZ Company. To 1 I Consultants and consultancy differentiate, when I refer to a client I am talking about a person (or group of people), when I am talking about the organisation the client works for I use the term client organisation. Once employed by a client, the specific consulting project being undertaken is usually referred to as an engagement or sometimes a live engagement. A client is one of a larger group of stakeholders a consultant must deal with. Stakeholders form a set of individuals who consultants must take into consideration when delivering an engagement. To win some work consultants engage in business development. Business development relates to time that is not (usually) chargeable to a client, and includes activities that are associated with marketing a business and pursing specific sales. The aim of business develconsultants must opment is to identify opportunities, and then normally write a convert these opportunities into live engagements description of the and hence have some chargeable time. An opportunity is the situation in which a client has a need service they will for some consulting support. To convert an opporprovide tunity into an engagement and hence be able to charge fees, consultants must normally write a description of the service they will provide to the client. This description is called a proposal. Chargeable time is the time when a consultant is billing fees to the client. Once an engagement is complete, consultants often seek to sell on, that is to sell a subsequent consulting engagement to the client so the consultant can remain chargeable. “ ” In order to sell regularly, and for proposals to be successful, consultants may have service lines. A service line is a specific area of expertise that a consultant or a consultancy company invests in (see Chapter 3). For instance, one consultancy may have a service line in improving the management of IT departments, and another may have a service line to increase innovation in business. Service lines may be the informal labelling of expertise of individual consultants, but they can also be the formal documentation of processes and approaches to consulting by larger consulting companies. Service lines and any other knowledge or approaches are often called intellectual property or intellectual capital by consultants. Intellectual property has a specific legal meaning, but many consultants use this phrase in a looser fashion than the legal definition requires (see Chapter 3). One of the most important measures of a consulting business is utilisation or chargeable utilisation.
Utilisation is a measure of the proportion 7 8 Understanding consultants and consultancy of time a consultant is working on fee-paying work on a client site. Hence, a consultant who is billing three days a week is 60 per cent utilised. It is normally not possible for a consultant to be 100 per cent utilised because some time must be spent on business development, the creation and maintenance of service lines, and holiday. How does consulting differ from other roles? Developing a full understanding of the role of the consultant is helped by understanding the difference between a consultant and an employee, a manager or a business leader. The boundaries between being a consultant and, for example a manager, are grey, but there are important and definite differences. Let’s start by considering the role of a consultant versus an employee in the organisation using consultants. The obvious point is that a consultant is not an employee of the organisation they are helping, but an employee of a consulting business. Why does this matter? Most consultants want to do a good job that satisfies a client, but their performance assessments, pay increases, promotions, ongoing praise and criticism are not done by the client organisation. All these are influenced by their performance with clients, but consultants have different motivations from client staff. Consultants are never fully part of a client organisation’s team. For example, a client may regard a consultant as having done a brilliant job by providing fantastic advice. A consulting company may judge the same consultant to have only done an average job because he did not manage to make any additional consulting sales. A consultant can be part of a client organisation’s project team, and in doing this share some goals with other client staff, but consultants are always to some extent independent from the client organisation. Their incentives and performance drivers are different. This is true even for an internal consultant. Obviously, an internal consultant is employed by the same company as their clients, but is not employed by the same department or part of the same management hierarchy. This is not necessarily a bad thing – a consultant who is as much part of your team as any other employee will struggle to give truly independent advice. What about the difference between being a consultant and a line manager? Like managers, consultants often are hard working and want to produce a quality result, but this is relative to the scope of a consulting engagement. They do not and arguably cannot deliver an end result in a 1 I Consultants and consultancy client organisation, and do not live with the outcomes of their recommendations. If a consultant is providing advice, then, if the advice is accepted, a line manager has to implement this advice somehow. Even if consultants help with implementation planning or a change implementation project, they do not end up working with the results following the implementation. Consultants are temporary visitors to an organisation – it is line managers who must live with the results of any consulting engagement. There is another point about consultants compared to managers. Many consultants are ex-senior managers with a good understanding of the challenge of managing a department. On the other hand, whilst all consultants advise, some have never managed anything of any significant complexity. Even relatively senior career consultants, who became consultants from university, may never have managed a team of more than 20 people. For someone in an operational role with several thousand staff and a budget of hundreds of millions, a consultant’s understanding of the reality of dealing with this number of people and scale of budget will appear limited. The consultant’s response to this should not even attempt to be an expert line manager, but to provide focused specialist expertise beyond that of a normal manager. Finally, what about a consultant compared to a
business leader? Many consultants fancy themselves to be great leaders, and some have the potential. There are well regarded business gurus who have come from a consulting background, but a guru is not a leader – a guru is an influencer and a shaper of opinions. Sometimes you you can be a very see a successful chief executive with a background good consultant in consulting, and they are probably a great without having the leader. But on the whole I am sceptical about professional consultants as leaders. The consultancy ability to lead or profession encourages the development of a range inspire of skills which sometimes can be mistaken for leadership, such as strong communication and influencing skills. Normally though, consulting does not require significant leadership skills. You can be a very good consultant without having the ability to lead or inspire. “ ” The fact that consultants are different from employees, managers and business leaders should not be taken as a criticism of consultants. Consultants are not employees, managers or leaders – because that is not what the role entails or requires. Consulting is a very different role from 9 10 Understanding consultants and consultancy being an employee, manager or leader. Consultants must appreciate these roles, be able to work with them and be able to influence them. Some consultants may have a background in organisations which required them to manage or to lead, but this is not universally true. Consultants should not forget that the role of the consultant is to consult, not to manage or to lead. Now, having said all this, comparing consulting to other roles does to some extent depend on the type of consultant being talked about. There are two dimensions of consulting we should be aware of and differentiate: 1 Internal or external consultants: An internal consultant is a full-time employee of an organisation who has a role as a consultant to the business. Typical examples include human resources (HR) or internal change management specialists. An external consultant is someone who is engaged for a specific consulting project, but otherwise is independent of an organisation. Internal consultants tend to have a greater understanding of an organisation’s culture and are familiar with many aspects of a business that an external consultant will take some time to learn or understand. External consultants will typically have a broader range of experience and have done work similar to their current engagement in other organisations. 2 Strategic, operational, implementation or specialist: Many consultants work in a wide range of roles and float between providing strategic advice, helping with implementing it and supporting operational managers. But generally we can differentiate between consultants (and consulting companies) who advise organisations at a strategic level – what direction a business should be taking; at an operational level – how the business should be run on a daily basis efficiently and effectively; or at an implementation level – how to deliver projects and changes (which may be derived from the advice of a strategic or operational consultant). There are also specialist consultants who focus on a particular area of advice. Arguably all consultants should be specialists, but what I mean here are, for example, consultants who focuses on very specific areas such as regulatory compliance advice or on minimising technology costs. Another thing to consider is whether the work being done is consulting or another related profession. There are several job titles in common use which are often employed in relation to consultants, or in relation to people doing work that can seem similar to that of a consultant. The main examples are: 1 I Consultants and consultancy I Contractor: A contractor is a temporary employee who is usually paid a day rate to complete some work which is of a transitory nature, where it is not appropriate or not possible to employ a permanent member of staff.
This covers a wide range of areas – from office cleaners to very short-term senior staff. The overlap with management consultants is that many projects require temporary staff, and these are often contractors. Organisations are often left with a choice of whether to use contractors or consultants. A rough difference is that a consultant is employed to advise or provide skills the client does not have access to, and a contractor is employed as an extra pair of hands to increase the capacity of an organisation beyond that available with existing permanent staff. I Interim manager: An interim manager is a specialised form of senior contractor. An expert manager is engaged to perform a management role for a limited period of time – for example because a senior manager is ill or on maternity leave. Interim managers should be expert managers, who fit quickly into even the most senior management roles. It is really impossible to define hard and fast boundaries with consultants, as many consultancies offer interim management services and some consultants regularly work as interim managers – but when they do they are not working as a consultant. I Coach/mentor: It is common to pay for professional coaching and mentoring, to help individual managers. Such work is normally done on a one-to-one basis. Coaches and mentors are slightly different, but they are both concerned with helping individuals to reach their full potential. A consultant may work as a coach or mentor to individual managers, but there are also professional coaches and mentors, who rightly do not consider themselves consultants. I Facilitator: A facilitator is someone who uses facilitation skills to help a group or team resolve some issue or problem. Facilitation is one of the most misused words in business and is explored further in Chapter 7. Facilitation is often closely associated with workshops, but it is possible to use facilitation in other situations. Facilitators do not advise directly, but help clients to solve their own problems. I regard facilitation skills both as an expert profession in its own right, but to a certain degree also a core skill of all consultants. It is worth understanding the differences in these roles, which can be real, but the boundaries are often exaggerated for commercial or personal 11 12 Understanding consultants and consultancy reasons. Professional interim managers, facilitators and coaches have valid reasons related to the nature of the roles to differentiate themselves from management consultants, but it also makes commercial sense to do so as well. Many consultants have the necessary skills and often work in one or more of these roles, but you should not assume that all consultants can or even need to be able to perform such roles effectively. Put another way, you can be a successful consultant without, for example, having the capability to coach or be an interim manager. Varieties of consulting organisations There are many different organisational structures you can work in as a consultant, and the choice is important as it will affect the type of projects you do, the nature of the day-to-day work, and the level of risk and uncertainty you expose yourself to. There are essentially four ways you can work as a consultant: 1 as a solo or independent consultant working for yourself or your own company 2 as an employee of a major consulting company 3 as part of an organisation offering a portfolio of services of which consulting is only one – the most common is the consulting, IT development and outsourcing company, but there are other variants 4 as part of a small consultancy company. To some extent the choice depends on personal preferences, and what opportunities are open to you. I have worked in organisations in all these models. The independent consultant is usually either someone who has worked in a larger consultancy but wants a more self-sufficient lifestyle, or an exsenior manager who now wants to advise rather than manage. There are many reasons for choosing to become independent.
I now prefer to work for my own company as it enables me to maximise my personal flexibility. The cost is that I am organisations completely dependent on my own ability to find always need help projects and generate an income. However, once you have an established reputation this is not that hard. Organisations always need help. Additionally, as my business costs are comparatively low, and I have other revenues, should I choose not to work for a few months I do not need to generate significant revenues to cover my “ ” 1 I Consultants and consultancy business costs. I have access to a wide variety of work. I even undertake some very large engagements as I have a network of trusted colleagues, and we work together often to deliver larger engagements than a single consultant can manage. At the other extreme are the major consulting companies. If you have little experience, are a recent graduate or like to combine consulting with a corporate culture these are the organisations for you. The big consultancies can be attractive places to work. For example, they tend to give great opportunities for professional development, international working and arguably reduce your personal risk as you have teams of people around you also helping to win and deliver engagements. Additionally, the larger firms often win massive projects which may require leadingedge thinking and techniques, although on the largest projects you can feel like a cog in the machine rather than a real consultant. If you become a senior manager (or partner) in such organisations the rewards can be high. But it does mean all the baggage that comes with corporate life such as annual appraisals, fitting in with company culture and worrying about things like brand risk. Big consultancies are also notoriously political environments. Some are focused on people who fit their specific organisational culture, which can give the consultancy a very defined feeling that will not suit everyone. Companies offering a portfolio of services beyond consultancy provide a large variety of career options. However, if your firm is not purely a consultancy, there is always the tension over how independent the consulting advice is and whether it is really just a sales channel for other services. Some outsourcing firms have very successful consulting divisions, but there is always a doubt in some clients’ minds as to whether the consulting is impartial advice or a funnel to win outsourcing contracts. Whilst I am happy not to work for a large firm any more it is fair to say that I probably could not do what I do now had I not learnt what I did working for the major consultancies I was employed by. It is by no means a bad place to start. There are many smaller consultancies, which offer a compromise between the complete self-sufficiency of the sole trader and the corporate hierarchies of the larger firms. Some of the smaller consultancies are industry leaders in specific consulting niches. For instance you can find consulting firms who specialise solely in financial regulation, telecommunications, customer services or cost control in manufacturing. If you 13 14 Understanding consultants and consultancy have a particularly focused specialisation there may be a firm for whom you are a perfect fit. Why do you want to be a consultant? If you roughly understand what a consultant is, then it is time to reflect on whether and why you want to be one, and if your reasons have a realistic chance of being fulfilled. The best reason for wanting to become a management consultant is simply because you enjoy the process of consulting with clients. Of course, if you have never worked as a consultant what ‘consulting with a client’ means will be unclear. If you do know, and this is the reason for becoming a consultant, then you are well set for a successful career. However, most people have more pragmatic grounds for becoming a consultant. A common reason to join the profession is the potential variety of the work.
Although as a consultant you may work in a specialist area, you will work in many organisations. The context and culture of the organisations and details of the problems will vary significantly. I find consulting work highly varied. I have worked all around the world, for companies in a wide variety of sectors, with clients of differing levels of seniority, to help resolve a divergent range of problems. However, if the service you will provide to organisations is very specialised – for example, helping them to be compliant with a specific piece of industrial regulation – what variety you gain from different clients you may also lose in essentially doing the same piece of work again and again. Some people join consulting for skills development. This typically arises from one of two sources. Development may happen because of the wide variety of challenging work you are involved in. And there is no quicker way of improving your skills than doing a wide variety of challenging work. Alternatively, and this is most true for graduates coming into consulting, it is because you join a company who understands that its key asset is people and hence is willing to invest significantly in their development. Consulting does provide a great way to develop a powerful set of useful skills, such as problem analysis, communication skills and influencing skills. One important exception to this is that if you want to learn how to manage people then you will be better off seeking an operational line management role. However, this brings me to another potential advantage of consulting. If you want to, you can avoid much of the burden of line management that 1 I Consultants and consultancy goes with a corporate role. Some individuals love managing people, some hate it. If you work for a large consultancy you may still have staff whom you have to performance manage and motivate, but the teams tend to be small. As an independent consultant staff management is not something you have to worry about. Graduates often want to join consultancies for the lifestyle and travel. There are a few professions which enable you to travel even more and to wilder places, such as mining and oil exploration, but generally there is a fantastic opportunity to travel as a consultant if you want to – especially if you are multi-lingual. Such travel can be exciting and rewarding. Working in foreign countries gives you a perspective that other travellers never gain, but it is a double-edged sword. working in foreign Travelling all the time can be dull. You have to be countries is a doublea little shallow to be really interested in having edged sword gold frequent flyer cards with several airlines. Often the locations sound exotic, but an office is an office wherever it is in the world. Continuous travel will also play havoc with your social life. “ ” Some people want to enter consulting for the money. The money earned as a consultant can be good, but of course it depends what you are used to. Few consultants achieve the rewards of the chief executive of a major company, unless they happen to become a senior partner in a big firm. On the other hand, most reasonably successful consultants earn more than senior middle managers and junior executives in most other industries. There are much more down-to-earth explanations for becoming a consultant. Some people just fall into it. I was recruited by Coopers & Lybrand out of industry, and frankly I had no idea what consulting was but it was better money, which for a young man with a family seemed an attractive proposition. I was lucky in that it is a career that has suited me immensely. Other people come into consulting because they feel they have no other choice. Perhaps they have been senior managers who find themselves late in their careers having been made redundant and, irrespective of age discrimination laws, cannot find a suitable alternative role. These are not necessarily bad reasons for entering the consulting profession. We
are all, at times, hard-nosed about our careers, and just because you entered the profession as way of overcoming redundancy does not mean it will not be a huge success. On the other hand, simply because you have some business skills does not mean you will thrive as a consultant. 15 16 Understanding consultants and consultancy A phrase that has become common recently is the ‘portfolio career’. This is a career in which you mix various different types of work together. This is definitely possible as a consultant, especially if you are self-employed. Some types of work can complement consulting very well. I know many people who manage to control this mix very successfully. I have several professions: as well as running my consulting business I write, deliver training courses and seminars and take regular time out to study. Whatever your reasons for considering consulting, don’t fool yourself that it is always an easy ride, or that it will give you a completely flexible lifestyle. For example, as a self-employed consultant you may well be able to take more holiday, you may well be able to work part time – but, and it is a big but, within the constraints of your clients’ needs. You may decide to work only nine months a year, but that does not mean you can definitely choose the three months you don’t work to be 1 November to 31 January every year whilst you are in the South Pacific, and expect at the same time to be 100 per cent fee earning until 31 October, and have an immediate start again on 1 February of the following year. Clients won’t usually wait for a particular consultant: if they have a problem they want someone to fix it, and if you are not available they can usually find someone else to do the work just as well. Consulting opportunities cannot simply be turned on and off. They have to be searched out and won. Clients and engagements do not easily fit a predictable pattern. If you want flexibility you do need to have some flexibility yourself. Whatever flexibility you want from consulting is effectively a constraint on your ability to service clients. If you are clever and pragmatic there is no reason why the constraints cannot be overcome and you can manage to balance your own and your client’s desires very well. But you cannot both maximise your income and maximise your personal flexibility (unless, perhaps, you really are a world renowned industry guru). I know many people who love working as a consultant. But consulting does not suit everyone’s personalities. If you are constantly working in different organisations, it changes the relationship with the place you are working. To some extent you will always be an outsider, which does not suit everyone’s personality. Consulting can leave many people with an ongoing feeling of uncertainty and risk. As one project ends, where is the next and when will it start? If you are an independent consultant there is no career path as such – you may want to vary your work, and may over time increase your rates, but there is no management hierarchy to be promoted through. If you work in one of the large consultancies, 1 I Consultants and consultancy promotion is possible, but for most firms seniority beyond a certain level does not just depend on your consulting skills and expertise, but on your ability to sell. Consulting offers great opportunity, but it is different from other types of employment. It offers potentially high rewards and significant flexibility. If unmanaged, it can intrude into your personal life, but arguably so does any senior role. If you are pragmatic and flexible, then you can get a good level of rewards and flexibility in return. The economics of consulting The past few decades have brought an increasing stress on the work–life balance and less on the financial factors of employment. However, a key aspect in deciding whether to be a consultant is whether you will make the income you desire. Whether a career in conthis is not a sulting can provide you with the
money you want business plan for a depends on your expectations (or income needs), consulting your degree of success, but also the inherent economics of consulting. Before entering this business profession you should understand your potential income. I am going to look at this only very, very simply. This is not a business plan for a consulting business, but it does explain the basics. “ ” Let’s start by considering the case of a single independent consultant as this is the simplest to understand. I will only look at revenues. Costs for independent consultants are generally low, and most of those that are incurred are attributable to clients and can be recharged as expenses. So, I am going to ignore them for now. This is of course a gross generalisation, but it is fine to begin with as it will not change the overall outcome. There are two factors that determine how much money you generate as a consultant: 1 the number of chargeable days a year you achieve 2 your daily charge-out rate. (Not all consulting projects are charged on a daily basis, but this basis is accurate enough to understand the general economics of the business.) It is really as simple as that. So how do you know how many days a year you will work for and what daily charge-out rate you will achieve? There are huge variations between different consultants. Taking account of fee rates and number of chargeable days it is quite easy to find two apparently 17 18 Understanding consultants and consultancy similar consultants, one of whom has an income three or four times higher than the other. At the extremes, comparing the lowest to highest revenue-generating consultant then the multiples are much greater. Some estimates To estimate the daily rate you will achieve it is best to do a little research, but it is not straightforward finding accurate information. There is no easily available database of rates as there is no transparent market in consultancy, and it is generally not in consultants’ interests to make it transparent. A good place to start is the internet. There are websites dedicated to sourcing consultants and other temporary staff that will give you a rough idea of potential daily rates, but they do tend to focus on the lower end of the market. There are studies of the industry, but they are not always freely available. Even if you get hold of one, their categorisations of consultants may give you some ideas, but generally are too broad to base your own fees on. A good source of information is your personal network. Ask a few friends who hire consultants regularly, and you may be able to get a feel for the sort of rates the big firms charge. These tend to be higher than independents achieve, although this is not always true. The best way to get a feel for rates is to find someone with some experience of the industry and ask them what they think you will be able to charge. Never forget, whatever fee rate you expect or want, it actually depends on a client being willing to pay it. Next you need to estimate how many days a year you will work. If you are new to consulting, do not be overly optimistic. Can you really work 5 days a week for 52 weeks a year? That gives you 260 chargeable days a year, but you should never assume that what you make is 260 times your daily rate. You will rarely be 100 per cent utilised – and even if you can be, do you really want to be? As a rule of thumb, assume you will be busy 100 days a year. You may well be a lot busier, but if you cannot afford to be a consultant working only this many days you are taking a significant risk. Many consultants make a very comfortable living on this, and many more are busy for considerably more than 100 days a year. But it is best to be conservative at the start of your career. Other factors There are several other factors you must consider. There are possible tax efficiencies of being self-employed or running your own business. You 1 I Consultants and consultancy need professional advice to understand these fully, and tax legislation can change at any time.
Remember, if you are becoming a self-employed consultant after a career in industry there are none of the benefits that you may have received in your previous job. There are no extra pension contributions, no bonus, no paid holiday, no health care or sick pay, no car allowance, etc. Additionally, you should not confuse income with cash flow. Consulting tends to pay big bills in dribs and drabs, and some clients can be very slow in delivering cash into your bank account. I am usually paid reasonably promptly, but some invoices have languished for six months before finally being paid. You need to have a float of money to cover for these periods. For a consulting firm with multiple employees the economics are much more complex. Costs cannot be ignored. Business costs for premium office space and facilities may be high. Staff you employ will naturally expect many benefits on top of salaries. There will be the costs of nonfee-earning staff and senior staff: although they may be able to charge some fees, these may not cover the full cost of their salary and expenses. Bad debt has to be considered – that is clients who will not or cannot pay. I have never (yet!) experienced this and it does seem to be rare. However, in the largest firms, simply because of the volume of work they undertake, occasionally a client may not pay. Whatever the size of firm, slow payment remains a far bigger issue. Profitability of consultancy companies can be very high when chargeable utilisation is above a certain level, but drop below this level and all those large salaries and fancy offices can soon lead to big losses. Hence the tendency of some firms to recruit heavily in the boom times, but also to be quick to make staff redundant when the economy is struggling. In the end, although an accountant could find a million flaws in my simple views, the profit of a consulting company can be approximated by a very simple piece of arithmetic: Profit = (days charged × average charge-out rate) – cost of business The rate you charge and the number of days you work are dependent on clients, but your costs are largely under your own control. With modern technology and services you can run a consultancy on a shoestring, and still look completely professional. Therefore the most important considerations will always be making sure you charge enough days at a high enough fee rate to generate the income you require. If you are committing yourself to significant costs before you have started to generate 19 20 Understanding consultants and consultancy revenue, think again. You can always make those commitments once you are sure of your income. Finally, what about the situation in which you take a job within a consultancy, as an employed consultant, rather than someone who runs their own business? Here your salary is to some extent divorced from the economics of the consulting business, and is down to what you can negotiate. The big firms tend to have a standard package for graduates. For more senior staff the salary and package will big firms tend to depend on how valuable you are to the consulhave a standard tancy and what you can negotiate. At a more package for senior level your value to a consultancy is more graduates related to your relationships and personal network than your pure consulting skills. Generally, the large consultancies pay well and provide a good set of other benefits. There are professions paying higher, but consulting has to be considered as towards the top end of the market in terms of salaries. As an internal consultant it is different, and your salary will depend on the market rates associated with your specialisation and the remuneration policies of the specific firm you are being employed by. Generally, salaries are lower than in the consultancy companies. “ ” What is a good consultant? By this point you know what a consultant is, why you might want to consider it as a profession and whether you will make any money. In this final section I want to consider what makes a good consultant.
Much of this book is taken up with giving advice on how to be a good consultant; this short section is concerned with what would be assessed as a good consultant. When I told a friend of mine, who is a successful and experienced consultant, about this book he responded with the comment that there is little to write. He said the book would only be about 10 pages long, but then went on to advise that I should not write a book, but a haiku! The truth behind this jibe is that it is quite simple to define what a good consultant is – but most of this book is about how to achieve this rather than defining it. My poetry skills are limited, so I will stick to prose rather than the haiku. A good consultant: continuously adds value to clients commensurate with his or her fees. 1 I Consultants and consultancy We will explore what adding value means in later chapters. There is a significant difference between being good at something and being a good consultant. There is an old joke, aimed rather unfairly at teachers, saying: those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. This joke can be extended to become: those who can, do; those who can’t, teach; and those who can’t teach, consult. The joke for teachers is unfair, but it hides an important truth – there is a difference between being good at something and being a good teacher. As many students will attest, being a good university lecturer is quite a different skill from being a brilliant academic. I am sure we have all experienced the giant brain who cannot explain anything, and the person with a nominally lesser grasp who explains it very well. While most teachers are perfectly capable of doing, that is not what they are employed for – they are employed to impart and embed knowledge and skills in their students. Whether or not they can actually ‘do’ is to some extent irrelevant. It is similar for consultants. There are many advantages in having management experience, but consulting is not about managing. Equally, having been a great manager is an advantage for consulting, but it does not guarantee that you will be a successful consultant. From your perspective you are a good consultant if you achieve your personal objectives through consulting. I cannot tell you what your personal goals should be, and the rest of this book is about how you can continuously add value for your clients. However, you may wonder whether you have the right type of personality to succeed as a consultant. There is no single personality type who makes the best consultant, but I will pick on a few factors which I think are important. Firstly, as a consultant you should be a people person. It is not necessary to be a natural extrovert, but you must be happy engaging with others. You will constantly be working and interacting with people, and if this does not excite you then consulting is not for you. Next, you should be flexible and adaptable. Client needs and expectations vary enormously, and you need to flex to the situation. It may surprise some people, but it also helps if you are not status conscious. Although you may end up as a hugely successful consultant earning much more than most of your clients, when you are on a client’s site you are just a consultant doing a job for them. Consultants must be orientated to resolving problems. A client has engaged you to help; there are many forms this help can take, but all of them must result in resolving a client’s problems. Next, whilst a consultant is there to help, they must not be over hasty in determining solutions. You must have the personality that wants to solve problems 21 22 Understanding consultants and consultancy properly, rather than resolve the most apparent symptoms. You want to be like the doctor who finds out why a patient has spots rather than the one who just gives a cream to make them less itchy. Finally, you must be someone who listens. To be objective and to provide a diagnosis that is most helpful to the client requires listening and assessing the situation.
Solutions must be tailored to the specific context. There are many other factors which influence your ability to be a great consultant, but the above are critical. Summary If you are new to consulting there are some essential concepts you must understand. You should now be familiar with the main concepts covered in this chapter. They are: I The role of a consultant and the difference between it and other roles, especially that of a line manager. I The skills of a consultant in relation to those of other professions such as contractor or interim manager. I The core consulting jargon. I The variety of consulting organisations. I Why you want to be a consultant and whether it is a profession that can fulfil those needs. I The economics of consulting. I What a good consultant is. The rest of this book explains how to be a good and successful consultant. chapter 2 Why does anyone buy consultancy? C onsultants regularly present the consulting profession as highly intellectual and just a little bit special. Yet underneath the hype, management consulting is merely an industry providing a service in response to a customer’s need. All the normal lessons from sales and marketing apply. The customer may be called the client, but it is only on this client’s willingness to provide money in exchange for the consultant’s service that the industry is built. Selling consulting is not especially difficult, but it is essential for anyone who wants to succeed as a consultant. If you never make a sale then even the best consulting skills in the world are only of theoretical value. In this chapter I explore the basis for selling consultancy – a client who buys. Later in this book we will discuss interesting and powerful ideas about consulting, but I want to start relatively simply and prosaically, as success as a consultant must start with your feet firmly on the ground! Although the chapter is aimed at external consultants, the lessons are applicable to internal consultants. Whilst the challenge of ‘selling’ services internally within an organisation is different in some respects, for instance the lack of a formal contract, the essential need to identify opportunities and encourage a client to ‘buy’ is still there. No matter how wonderful, unique or valuable your skills are, no one buys consultancy simply because of your abilities. Clients buy consultancy because they have a need or desire which consultancy is perceived to be capable of fulfilling. This chapter explores what these needs are. One of the fundamental mistakes new consultants make is to misunderstand that it is 24 Understanding consultants and consultancy not skills that create the opportunity for consulting services, but client needs. Skills are required to market and deliver consulting, but if you do not understand your client needs, then you will struggle to sell an engagement. Before you spend time perfecting skills, gaining qualifications or acquiring accreditation you should heed the most basic marketing lesson: to understand what your customers desire. Having a need is an essential part of a client buying consultancy, but there are additional prerequisites which determine whether a client can and will buy the service you offer, even if it fulfils their it is useful to look needs perfectly. Before considering what makes a at the prerequisites for client buy, it is useful to look at the prerequisites for purchase. I explain these in the first two secpurchase tions of this chapter. “ ” Much of this chapter considers the client as if there is an obvious individual client. The final section of this chapter looks at one of the possible minefields of consultancy, in answering an often surprisingly complex question: who is your client? The prerequisites for selling consultancy What are the prerequisite conditions which must be met for it to be possible to sell consultancy? I have identified eight basic prerequisites which must be present in order to sell a consulting engagement: 1 There is a client.
2 The client has a currently unfulfilled need. 3 The client believes that they require help to resolve this need. 4 The client knows about you and your services. 5 The client perceives that you are capable of fulfilling this need. 6 You (or someone else acceptable to the client) are available to fulfil the engagement. 7 The client has a budget/finances to pay for your services. 8 The client has authority to spend the budget/finances. Without over analysing these prerequisites let’s quickly review them. The first prerequisite is the most obvious, so obvious it can seem like it need not be stated. Hidden in the obviousness is an unchallenged assumption. The assumption is: if I have business knowledge and skills I can 2 I Why does anyone buy consultancy? be a successful consultant. Documenting prerequisite 1 may appear unnecessary, but I know of consultants with all sorts of esoteric and interesting skills, for which there is no client. So, unsurprisingly, they do not find work. They moan and ponder about how to increase their skills further, thinking ‘surely then I will gain work’, without noticing that there are many more poorly qualified, but highly successful consultants. Before you spend time analysing and perfecting your service line, check that there is likely to be some form of client. Whatever skills or service line you have – no client, no income! When there is a potential client, to sell a service, they must have a currently unfulfilled need, and a belief that this need can be fulfilled by consulting. Unfulfilled needs exist aplenty in business. Ask most managers if there is anything they would like help with or problems to be rid of, and you will soon get a very long list. This list radically shortens when you ask them which of these problems is a candidate for resolution by a consultant. Let us suppose we have met the first three prerequisites. There is a client with an unfulfilled need that they accept they need help fulfilling. We are getting closer to the possibility of selling an engagement. Prerequisites 4 and 5 relate to you personally. The client must know about you. A client cannot buy goods and services they know nothing about. This is a common problem in consulting. If you happen to be working for a major international consultancy most potential clients will have heard of you – although even then, they may well not know your full range of services. On the other hand, if you are a small consultancy or an independent consultant most of your potential clients have no knowledge of your existence. Clients not only need to know about you, but to even get a sniff of real work you need to be perceived as potentially capable of fulfilling their needs. Simply put: are you a known and credible supplier? Unlike the first three prerequisites, prerequisites 4 and 5 are largely in your control and depend on your marketing and networking skills. If you are in a situation in which the answer to this question is no, the follow up is obvious: what will you do to become a known and credible supplier? (See chapters 3, 5 and 9.) Of course, to perform an engagement you, or someone else you can put forward who meets prerequisites 1 to 5, need to be available to do the work. Consultants use the term availability to refer to time when they are available to work on a live engagement – i.e. time when the consultant is not working on another engagement, busy with business 25 26 Understanding consultants and consultancy development, sick or on holiday, etc. Availability is difficult to predict. Engagements don’t just end on a fixed date, and the time it takes to sell a consulting engagement does not usually neatly align with the time it takes to complete whatever else you are working on. Get your timing wrong and you may win some work when you are still busy with another client. You do not actually need to be available to perform the engagement to sell the engagement to a client. It is possible to sell work without being available to deliver
it, but unless you can make yourself available quickly, the sales activity is a waste of your and your client’s time. Prerequisites 7 and 8 relate to money. You are a commercial business, and therefore are only going to work if there is access to finance to pay your fees. There are obvious situations in which this is not going to be true; for instance, companies going bankrupt or organisations with very restricted budgets. Commercially, these are to be avoided. As an exception, you may choose to take on some pro bono work for a good cause. I say as an exception not because I want to put you off undertaking pro bono work, but for the simple reason that unless you are privately wealthy it can only be a small proportion of your work or you will not stay in business long. A more common problem is not that an organisation has no money to pay your fees, but that the individual manager who is your potential client has no direct access to a budget or no ability to influence someone else to spend. It is always useful to ascertain early in your client negotiations if a client has sufficient money which they are authorised to spend. In this section I have summarised the core prerequisites for a client to buy consultancy. Without these prerequisites being in place, no matter how hard you try, there will be no sale. But there is another side to the equation. Not the client perspective, but yours. Although it is not a prerequisite for buying, it should be a prerequisite for selling – that the client can provide you with whatever you need to do your work. Few consulting engagements can be undertaken without any client support. For instance, you may need access to human resources, almost always require some data and information, and will always need time to complete your work. Clients may not want or be able to fulfil all your prerequisites. As a consultant you must be flexible as a consultant and often ingenious in finding ways to complete you must be flexible engagements without all the ideal things you and often think you need to do your work. However, whilst ingenious you may be able to compromise there are some “ ” 2 I Why does anyone buy consultancy? minimal prerequisites that must be met. If the client cannot fulfil these prerequisites for the work, the engagement should not progress (see Chapters 5 and 12). Obstacles to selling consultancy The existence of an opportunity, which meets the prerequisites outlined above, is the starting point for a sale. We are going to look at identifying opportunities and selling consultancy in detail later in the book (Chapter 5), but just because there are opportunities does not mean you will necessarily gain work. Clients have choices. There are many consulting companies, and there are thousands of individual consultants. For every opportunity there are also many possible obstacles to sales What are the main impediments to selling consultancy? Here are some key obstacles to sales: I You may not convince your client that you are the right choice. Clients will not just select you – you have to overcome the obstacles of their natural scepticism and doubt. Doubt may arise if you do not have a sufficiently established reputation, or if you write a poor proposal. Scepticism of your skills will be reinforced if there is bad chemistry between you and the client. The latter is one of the most difficult issues to deal with. Each of these problems can be overcome, but each reduces the likelihood of a sale. I You are often in competition, and each credible competitor is an obstacle to your sale. You not only have to be able to meet the prerequisites of a sale, but you must be the best from a competitive position. What the client regards as the best will vary from situation to situation. A key activity in a competitive situation is to extract the client’s decision-making criteria for selecting a consultant. Typical criteria are your fee rates, experience and skills, availability, and your demonstration of your understanding of the situation.
But there will be less tangible factors as well, such as how much the client likes you. I Your needs and the client’s may not match. This is explored in more detail in Chapter 5, but is summarised here. A client does not just have a need to buy, but you must have a desire to sell. An opportunity not meeting your needs can be an insurmountable obstacle. A client may not be offering a high enough fee rate to interest you. There may be some physical or geographic prerequisites 27 28 Understanding consultants and consultancy you are not willing to commit to – working at nights or thousands of miles from home. I There is another more complicated reason why an opportunity may never become a sale. Imagine your client meets all the prerequisites to sell to. Further than this, you have had a series of productive conversations during which you have reached a mutual conclusion that you can help the client and they will meet your prerequisites of engagement. What can go wrong now? Client needs can change. During the process of engaging and selling to a client it is not unusual for needs to change. This is particularly frequent if the sales process is protracted. The reasons are many and varied. Common reasons include a change in the client’s business circumstances, an evolution in understanding of needs as your discussions become more detailed, or the involvement of another stakeholder with different ideas from the original client. In the first two sections of this chapter I have explored the various prerequisites that must be met and obstacles that must be overcome in order to make a consultancy sale possible. It may be that after reading this list you think it is never going to happen. Don’t despair – these prerequisites are regularly met, which is proven by the vast volume of consulting sales that are made all the time. I have listed them not to put you off, but to enable you to align all your ducks in a row, painlessly. On numerous occasions, I have seen consultants (including, on reflection, myself) making epic efforts to gain a sale, only to end up wasting time as one or more of these prerequisites was not met. This cannot always be prevented, but frequently the wasted effort is avoidable. It is often determinable early in the sales process that some crucial prerequisite cannot be met. Frequently, getting a client to answer a simple question like ‘what budget is available for this work?’ is enough to determine there is no real opportunity. Unless you have some power to change the situation, then you are much better off moving on to the next opportunity than working hard where no engagement will be available. I have never heard of a client deliberately wasting a consultant’s time – as it is their time too – but sometimes it can feel as if they are! A client may simply have not thought through all the implications of engaging you, or sometimes they value just talking to a consultant without committing. 2 I Why does anyone buy consultancy? The client’s explicit needs for buying consultancy Let’s explore prerequisite 2 from the list earlier in this chapter in more detail: the client has a currently unfulfilled need. This is the most complex and important item on that list, and the one that consultants spend a significant proportion of their time identifying and exploring. What sort of needs do clients have? Clients have a huge variety of needs and desires. I cannot write a list of all the possible client needs that exist, but I can place them into a short set of categories. These are not mutually exclusive, but the core needs clients typically fall into one of more of the following categories: I The client thinks something along the lines of: ‘I have a problem which I want solved – and I think a consultant would be able to solve it for me.’ This is the traditional reason for buying consultancy. Variations on this theme include: – I want a bit of fresh creativity, innovation or new ideas which I cannot find in my existing employees. – I need some facilitation or workshops to solve a problem.
– I want access to some specific IP (intellectual property), tools or techniques that a consultant has. I A client has a new or ongoing initiative/project but does not have all the required resources. They think: ‘I will ask a consultant to fill a role on the project.’ Depending on the precise type of work this may be truly consulting, but more often it is really contracting. However, if the work is interesting and the fee rate is right there is no reason not to pursue it. I A client has some operational work and the normal manager is away, unavailable or still needs to be recruited. Alternatively, there is a temporary operational role to fill. This is the realms of interim management, but the boundaries between interim management and consultancy are fluid and many consultants make excellent interim managers. I A client has too much to do, juggling too many tasks at once and needs a little bit of relief or else risks dropping one of the balls. The client wants a consultant to come in and seamlessly take control of one or more of the juggling balls so they can give a bit more time and attention to the remaining ones. This is a factor in many consultancy sales. 29 30 Understanding consultants and consultancy I Occasionally, a client may be told to get some assistance from a consultant. This instruction may come from a supportive or frustrated senior manager telling a subordinate how to fix something that should have been resolved long ago. Alternatively, it may be a demand from an external source, such as an industry regulator telling a company to quickly become compliant with an area of regulation. I Finally, a need can be created. Consultants with time to spare and a bit of creative insight can come up with all sorts of appealing and exciting service lines. Occasionally, a client will listen to a cold sales pitch and be interested enough to buy your service. The client may not have known they had a need, but after listening to the consultant’s pitch finds that they do. It’s like advertising: you did not know you wanted chocolate until you saw the advert! However, unless you have a strong relationship with your client, this is a hard act to pull off. It is possible, and successful consultancies do regularly achieve this. One of the reasons for fads in consulting services is to establish competitive differentiation and to create demand. Chapter 9 explores the situations in which this is possible. Hidden grounds for buying consultancy What a client tells you, when discussing their needs for consultancy, may provide a clear and complete picture of why they are considering your services. However, this is unusual. Most people have other grounds that they do not divulge. Sometimes they are embarrassed to tell you everything or maybe they feel it is better if some things remain confidential. They may think if they tell you the truth you will not do the work. Sometimes they do not tell you because they do not realise the information is relevant or important to you. Often they do not tell you because they have not analysed all the reasons they want to use a consultant and are not consciously aware of the grounds themselves. Irrespective of the situation, you will usually start a consulting engagement with an incomplete and sometimes incorrect understanding of why the client is engaging you. In practice, this is neither always avoidable nor necessarily an intractable problem. But, generally, you are in a better position to fulfil the client’s needs if you understand what the hidden grounds are. You may not understand all aspects of the client’s grounds for buying consulting because the problem is complex and cannot be easily fully 2 I Why does anyone buy consultancy? involvement can only happen when the engagement starts “ explained without some time involved in the organisation. This involvement can only happen when the engagement starts. It is not unusual for understanding of needs and selection of approaches to fulfilling these needs to change as the consultant fulfils the engagement.
This is one reason why it is often effective to start a large engagement with a smaller scoping exercise, when both the specific problem and nature of the client’s organisation are explored. ” There are many other motivations for employing consultants which will not be immediately apparent when you are first engaged. Typical examples of hidden grounds for buying consulting include: I Risk reduction: a client does not know how to overcome a problem, does not have confidence to so, or thinks there’s too much risk in doing it themselves. These are perfectly valid grounds for engaging consultants. As a consultant, if you do not reduce a client’s business risk as part of your work – for example the risk of taking the wrong decisions or performing a poor implementation of change – then you have not really added value. If you have a very strong relationship with your client they may admit this, but reducing business risk is rarely explicitly stated as a rationale for engaging you. I The client has tried already, but has failed or is struggling to overcome a problem. Rarely will a client admit this directly to you, but it is important to try and ascertain if this is the case. If a client has previously failed to resolve a problem then their need for help increases, but their emotions towards the work and the consultant are easily prejudiced. Although this situation is common it does need to be treated with care. If mishandled, you can be perceived as positioning yourself as ‘better’ than your client. This is never popular with clients! I The client wants to gain buy-in to an idea or project. A client can simply want something confirmed that they already know. They may ask for advice, when what they are really asking for is your agreement to their existing position. A client is unlikely to say directly to you: ‘I am engaging you to confirm my opinions.’ This can be tricky, as of course you may not agree with their standpoint, and can easily stray into an ethical dilemma (see Chapter 10). I Clients sometimes engage a consultant because they need to be seen to be doing something, not because they actually want anything done. Clients have many stakeholders they need or want to keep 31 32 Understanding consultants and consultancy happy. These include more senior managers and external stakeholders like regulators. By explicitly employing a consultant, to perform an engagement which the client has no interest in, they can sometimes artificially satisfy such stakeholders. The risk to the consultant is limited, other than that findings and advice may never be implemented by the client. This is by no means an exhaustive list. The central point is to be alert for the true, covert motivations clients have for engaging you. The only way to understand the hidden grounds is by observation and entering into exploratory dialogue with the client. If you meet all their explicit needs, but never fulfil their hidden needs, you will not satisfy your clients – and often the hidden needs are more important than those explicitly stated. As all good marketers know, client satisfaction is a crucial element in a successful business. In Chapter 5 we will explore this further. Having sold an engagement to a client, the subsequent challenge for a consultant is to continue to remain involved. There are many reasons why a client may retain a consultant, the most obvious being the need to follow on from a completed engagement. A less overt reason is that the client values the ongoing advice and support of the consultant. Much of the value of consultants can come in peripheral activities: extra value that the client gains simply by the consultant being around. This can be small tips, advice, problem solving, tools and so on. Who is your client? New consultants often talk about their client as if it is always absolutely clear who the client is, and also use the term client and the name of an organisation interchangeably. As in ‘my client is XYZ Corporation’. Your fees will be paid by XYZ Corporation.
XYZ is the client organisation, but you cannot interact, advise or have a relationship with an organisation. Your client is one or more human beings. There are many situations in which there is clearly one client, and you can be sure that the interests of the client and the client organisation are aligned, but often this is not clear cut. This can result in two related problems: firstly, the difficulty of identifying the true client, and secondly, conflict in the views of different stakeholders and clients. You need to know who your client is because the client is the person (or group) who your consultancy is aimed at. The client is the person who will judge whether the consultancy has been successful or not. If you do 2 I Why does anyone buy consultancy? not clarify who the client is you may never be judged to have completed your work successfully. A different problem is that without a clear-cut client different people in an organisation can legitimately ask you to do all sorts of work. Not having an unambiguous and single client can be compared to the situation in which as an employee you do not know who amongst a group of managers is your boss. One reason for this lack of clarity is that there are often multiple stakeholders in a client organisation who have different views and interests in a particular engagement. Although it is theoretically meaningful to differentiate specifically between a client and other stakeholders, in reality the boundaries are not always clear cut. There can be a wide variety of interested parties in any consulting engagement. there are often On some engagements this is a minor issue. On multiple stakeholders others, different clients/stakeholders can be in direct and explicit conflict over the needs and in a client direction of a consulting engagement, with the organisation consultant left like some UN arbitrator in the middle trying to resolve the dispute with limited resources. The conflict may be explicit, but sometimes it is hidden, which is worse, as the consultant can progress the engagement with one understanding and only in the latter stages when feeding back to one client comes against another stakeholder who denigrates the work. “ ” Another situation arises when the person who engages you, who you take to be the client, is actually hiring you under the direction of a more senior manager. The senior manager is really the client. The person who engages you may not accurately represent the true client’s needs. This can lead to all sorts of misunderstandings and problems. Different stakeholders are quite likely to have different views on what is required from an engagement, and even how the work should be approached. Some stakeholders may think you are the ideal candidate to perform an engagement, others may doubt your suitability to do the work. Various stakeholders will have all sorts of different decisionmaking criteria. Ideally, you need to clarify all of this. Another source of confusion is the difference between a client and an organisation. A client is a tangible person. You can speak to them and through dialogue get an understanding of their wants and desires, needs and wishes, interests and foibles. An organisation is an abstract entity, and if such an entity can be said to have interests you can only determine them indirectly – by speaking to the staff and managers of the 33 34 Understanding consultants and consultancy organisation. Problems arise because the interests of the individuals in the organisation probably never align with those of the organisation. Even if a member of an organisation’s staff is trying to be objective and ignore their own interests, they will be constrained in achieving this by their biases, inherent assumptions and lack of full understanding of what the interests of an organisation are. One reason for clear and simple vision and mission statements in organisations is that all staff can then determine what the interests of the organisation are and are not.
We are therefore in a situation of imperfect information and limited consensus. One of the tasks a consultant initially has in any engagement is not only to understand the client’s wants and needs, but to clarify who the client is. Ideally there is one clear client who has the remit and authority to describe exactly what you should do. In practice, this is not always achieved. Power in organisations does not always fit the organisational hierarchy, and you will not always be so lucky as to have one main stakeholder in your work. Why is this a problem? Because a lack of clarity over who the client is, and no real understanding of the client’s need and desires, leads to all sorts of other difficulties. Your engagement may be perceived as a failure if you please one person you perceived as a client, only to find someone else – who is really the client – is displeased. You cannot complete an engagement successfully without understanding client needs, which you won’t do if you have not identified the client correctly. You may have difficulty finishing your work as you try to satisfy more and more client stakeholders. If you are working to a fixed fee, trying to satisfy everyone causes you to lose money. There are many variations of these sorts of difficulties. How can you solve this issue? There is no foolproof way to resolve it in every situation. Your role as a consultant may be explicitly to help reach consensus between all stakeholders. But it will not always be, and even if you are there to drive consensus your role can never be to sort out all the differences of opinion in an organisation. However, you do have to achieve at least a sufficient consensus to be able to complete your engagement effectively. There are five main steps to achieving this: 1 Openly discuss the issue with whoever first engages you, and try to get them to support you in identifying and resolving any differences of opinion. If this is not possible, you should strive for the manager who engages you at least to accept the implications of an imprecise understanding of needs. 2 I Why does anyone buy consultancy? 2 Understand who might be clients and stakeholders in the work, and then explore and analyse the specific situation, identifying true clients and exploring their needs. 3 Ideally, identify one primary (or ‘real’) client who will resolve any conflicts and arbitrate in any disputes with other stakeholders. 4 Take a commonsense check. When you do have an understanding of the different client and stakeholder needs, do they form a coherent and consistent set? Can you fulfil this set of needs in a sensible and achievable engagement that feels right for the organisation? 5 Write down your understanding of the situation in your proposal. Then if things are not as they appeared to be, you at least have a document you can point to with your understanding as agreed with the client. However, for some sensitive needs this is not possible. We will look at the points in this list again in Chapters 5, 9 and 10. For now, I want to focus on step 2. Who might your client be? This will vary from situation to situation, but the choice of the person who is your client starts by considering the person who first engages you. Typically you will be approached by an individual about the work the client organisation wants performed. This person may or may not be the ‘real’ client. I call this person the client interface. Another possible client is the manager who has instructed the client interface (usually a more junior manager) to engage you. In some situations, it was a personal decision of the client interface to engage you, but it is quite common for a more senior manager to direct the client interface to hire a consultant. This senior manager is the real client. Ideally, you want to develop a direct relationship with this person, as they are the one who really wants the work done and are likely to be the judge of its success. There will often be senior managers or executives
with no direct involvement or interest in the work you do, but who influence the work indirectly by being concerned or even assessing the performance of the manager who engages you. This is the underlying client. The underlying client is important, as in the end this is the person or group your real client mostly responds to. There are budgetholders and approvers who need to be convinced before you invoices are paid. You are a commercial business and need to be paid for your work and therefore must be comfortable that such people will authorise your invoices. Usually the person you work with as a client is 35 36 Understanding consultants and consultancy whoever authorises your bill is the financial client “ ” also the person who authorises your bills for payment, but not always. Whoever authorises your bill is the financial client. The financial client is important as of course you want to get paid! Finally there is a whole host of other client staff who review, approve or may simply be asked an opinion about your work. They may also work for you on the engagement. Such staff are not really clients, but you cannot ignore them as they have the ability to influence the judgement of your client both positively and negatively. Behind these various people lies another group, who will be more or less important depending on the nature of the engagement. These are the client organisation’s stakeholders. These include external groups who may have an interest in the work, for example shareholders and owners, and for some industries, regulators. Many consultants never interact with these groups, but for some consultants they are a major influence on the success of the consulting engagement. A typical set of clients is shown in Figure 2.1. The solid lines represent typical direct relationships relevant to the engagement. The dashed lines represent other possible relationships relevant to the engagement. When considering this set of clients and stakeholders the following points should be taken into account: I The client is always a person. You may be paid from a large corporation’s bank account, but you are engaged by, interact with and take instructions from an individual or group. An individual or group responds to your advice and accepts your invoices. For many reasons we may say ‘my client is XYZ Corporation’, but in reality it is always a person. I Ideally there is one client, which is sometime achievable, but there will always be more than one stakeholder. I The bes… CLICK HERE TO GET A PROFESSIONAL WRITER TO WORK ON THIS PAPER AND OTHER SIMILAR PAPERS CLICK THE BUTTON TO MAKE YOUR ORDER Related posts: PHC 215 Saudi Electronic University Personal Interviews Discussion Questions (Mt) – University of Arizona Risk Assessment Discussion Questions (Mt) – University of Colorado Management Discussion (Mt) – University of Arizona Stakeholder Management Discussion Questions
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I posted 49 times in 2021
44 posts created (90%)
5 posts reblogged (10%)
For every post I created, I reblogged 0.1 posts.
I added 220 tags in 2021
#fanart - 34 posts
#illustration - 32 posts
#shadow and bone - 26 posts
#alina starkov - 25 posts
#leigh bardugo - 24 posts
#grishaverse - 23 posts
#digital art - 20 posts
#darklina - 13 posts
#the darkling - 13 posts
#the grisha trilogy - 10 posts
Longest Tag: 24 characters
#shadow and bone spoilers
My Top Posts in 2021
#5
Hello it’s time for Wu Zetian with fox ear hair because I thought it would be fun to lean into that hulijing persona. We love a girlboss and her supportive husband 👌���️
Wu Zetian and Li Shimin from Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao ❤️
Btw I absolutely need to do one with Yizhi because he’s bae and you know what they say, the triangle is the strongest shape 💪
895 notes • Posted 2021-10-29 14:41:54 GMT
#4
“I am not ruined. I am ruination.”
We love Genya Safin in this house 👏💙
1048 notes • Posted 2021-01-21 10:20:44 GMT
#3
“We could have had this. You could have made me your equal.”
AU where Darklina are actually a happy couple for a change. Anyway this show destroyed me and I’m going to be drawing even more grishaverse art for a while because Darklina is my muse.
1158 notes • Posted 2021-04-29 04:55:41 GMT
#2
Alina Starkov in traditional Chinese hanfu! I wanted to remind myself that I come from an old, proud people who have made incredible art for millennia. I love my culture.
The world is ugly and more than a little terrifying right now, but I refuse to let anyone make me feel like my Asian heritage is a curse rather than a great blessing. I wish the best to the eight grieving families in Georgia this week. What happened was a tragedy.
1492 notes • Posted 2021-03-18 09:40:47 GMT
#1
Dropping some Dark Alina cuz I saw that new still with Jessie and thought “wow I have been blessed” first and then thought “but what if she was Dark Alina” so here we are.
I’m ready to get absolutely decked by this show on Friday y’all don’t even know—
9090 notes • Posted 2021-04-21 05:44:21 GMT
Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →
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I posted 4,407 times in 2021
49 posts created (1%)
4358 posts reblogged (99%)
For every post I created, I reblogged 88.9 posts.
I added 141 tags in 2021
#lyf is talking - 63 posts
#tma - 26 posts
#tma spoilers - 13 posts
#hace can draw - 9 posts
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#this feels like relating back to a fandom i’m familiar in the ‘jon is stupid’ thing like. if you know the thing with that i think you’ll get
My Top Posts in 2021
#5
Jonah is such a selfish bastard he’s been alive for 200 years and DIDN’T fucking use that time to master some instrument slowly to just. Blow people away. What an asshole
67 notes • Posted 2021-06-28 01:25:26 GMT
#4
See the full post
123 notes • Posted 2021-04-29 06:37:44 GMT
#3
Music (loosely) from podcasts that has no reason to slap as hard as it does:
Fuckin Ruby 7 from The Penumbra Podcast
Little Clone Baby. Stellar Firma. How is it so good.
The intro to Rusty Quill Gaming is... GOD I can listen to it for hours I wish there was an extended version
That bit in The Magnus Archives eppysode 200, where it’s mentioning the Slaughter and those god damn PSEUDO-DRUM HITS AAAhHHRHR makes me go wild, every time.
Similarly, Episode 11 of Old Gods of Appalachia, the metal beats roughly 2 and a half minutes in. God they rock.
The song in the background of the Season 1 intro of The Penumbra Podcast is so nice.
Honorable mention to the intros of any Rusty Quill podcast, the ending of Old Gods of Appalachia S1, and every track from the Juno Steel stories because.... theyre so good how....
176 notes • Posted 2021-05-25 03:25:42 GMT
#2
POV you are an evil manager and the gays you’ve hired are confronting you about your various murders / POV you’re a giant fucking eyeball and a group of people who are neither cis nor straight are plotting your demise
MAG92 and MAG198
aka my exuses for full cast drawings lol
Also! December to March as well. I have improved.
211 notes • Posted 2021-05-05 03:45:06 GMT
#1
See the full post
220 notes • Posted 2021-05-05 02:37:19 GMT
Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →
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