Welcome to CMCE

My name is Simon. I’m a change management consultant and I have a mental health issue.

We live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and…

This case described how the mythical and multi-talented consultant Antonia had been recruited by Alpha Associates, a professional services firm,…

A fear of newbie consultants (well, at least of this consultant when young) is being asked a question which you can’t answer. This fear dissipates…

Ahhh, the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.  A chance for Jethro to put his feet up and relax.  No invitations to tender with a due date…

In this series we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask: what would you have done?

In the mid-1990s Paul Lynch, who was later to…

This article summarises the history of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) as described in a paper by Nick Butler and David Collins of…

An introduction to online resources for consulting to charities

The Worshipful Company of Management Consultants (WCoMC), CMCE’s…

Members of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants give their time to provide pro bono consultancy and mentoring support to charities.  A…

Understanding the difference between outputs and outcomes is essential for effective charity management.  Outputs are the products or services…

In addition to outputs and outcomes, charities often monitor impacts of their activities.  Impacts are long term high-level effects, typically the…

Impact is meaningful, lasting change for beneficiaries of a charity that can be attributed to a specific intervention.  It is notoriously…

No one expects all of their predictions for the year ahead to be correct, but that was especially true for 2020.

In looking ahead to 2021…

Organisations, including charities, have a natural lifecycle.  Eventually they may lose their relevance or run out of resources.  Sadly Covid-19…

This newsletter’s main article (Selling Consultancy into Large Organisations) reminded me of my time in a ‘big4’ consultancy (PwC) selling into…

In this series we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask what would you have done?

These are based on a series written in the mid…

On November 3 CMCE hosted a showcase where we shared the results of Prof Joe O'Mahoney's ongoing research that has examined how some consulting…

The Consultancy.uk website recently published the results of a survey of over 900 independent consultants worldwide, including in the UK.  The…

The opening sentence of L. P.Hartley’s The Go-Between “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there” is well known. But is the…

A useful summary of the disadvantages of working from home, reporting the findings of a survey in the US.  The biggest challenges to working…

The Concise Consultant, a series of videos providing an introduction to management consulting and basic consulting skills, has been produced by…

This article summarises the history of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) as described in a paper by Nick Butler and David Collins of…

In an article published in the Harvard Business Review, Nada R. Sanders and John D. Wood argue that the most important factor in successful…

A report on the skills that management consultants will need to sell and deliver assignments in the future.

In 2018 the Centre for…

A report on the skills that management consultants will need to sell and deliver assignments in the future.

In 2018 the Centre for…

The banking sector is one of the major adopters of AI, and predictive analytics is a key application.  H.P. Bunaes, industry veteran and founder…

A study of how remote working affected managers’ and employees’ work, well-being, and productivity during the Covid-19 epidemic was reported in…

An interesting case study of a hospitality sector business that has flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic: https://go.cmce.org.uk/qdp .

In an earlier article (‘Do you understand the mind of your buyer’, April 2020) I explained why consulting firms need to ready themselves to deal…

In this series we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask: what would you have done?

This month our case study places Antonia as…

It is said that a consultant needs three kinds of expertise: a general understanding of management and organisations, knowledge of a specialist…

One of my colleagues says that if you rearrange the letters of the word ‘consultant’ it spells ‘scapegoat’.

In Biblical times the…

These cases are based on a series written in the mid-1990s by Paul Lynch for Management Consultancy magazine in which he posed ethical dilemmas…

Slides from a seminar on 'Making a success of Home Working' can be found here.  They include some excellent points and useful tips as well as…

CMCE was pleased to host its September 2020 Showcase: Building the AI Highway: Opportunities and challenges in data and analytics. The guest…

Hamlet never had to deal with pandemic restrictions.  Thank goodness.  He had other issues to tend to.  And yet the return to the office is a…

In this series we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask: what would you have done?

Our ubiquitous management consultant Antonia…

So as we workers get ready to emerge from lockdown and go back to our offices (realising some are already back, some have a while to wait, and…

Every crisis is an opportunity, including a pandemic. While we are seeing many positive adaptations to our ways of working – plus a number of…

In this series we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask: what would you have done?

In last month’s dilemma, our versatile…

CMCE held its first virtual Showcase on July 28th on the very popular topic of cyber-resilience, with two expert speakers on our panel: Mr Kevin…

Consultants must embrace professionalisation to survive
 
Whenever I tell people that I’m a member of the Worshipful Company of…

In this series we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask: what would you have done?

Background

A medium sized company had…

The use of technology during the Covid-19 pandemic has led to significant speculation about its role in the Post Covid-19 “New Normal”. Will we…

In this series we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask: what would you have done?

These are based on a series written in the mid…

The City Values Forum worked to embed the principles of trust and integrity in the financial and business services sector and to improve business…

In this series we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask: what would you have done?

We introduced the series with The Case of the…

The case examines the need for B2B sales teams to delve into a customer’s real requirements before proposing a solution.  Accepting the stated…

COMATCH is an online market place where clients can find independent consultants.  What it means for established consulting firms is analysed here…

Aristotle's approach to ethics provides useful insights for management consultants.  It suggests virtues that consultants should adopt in their…

Transparency Lab’s mission is to develop a model of ‘automated consultancy’.  The company’s main focus is on licensing its technology to…

Source Global Research published a detailed report on the UK Consulting Market in 2020, researched before the Covid-19 pandemic.  An extract,…

A tool for helping businesses manage a portfolio of innovation projects has been developed by the originators of the Business Model Canvas.  You…

An essential guide for the boards of financial services companies, enabling them to provide robust, rigorous leadership and effective oversight of…

A unique training course and qualification designed to equip current and aspiring financial services managers with the core skills and knowledge…

A guide for senior management, HR professionals and line managers, showing how to embed values and their associated behaviours in every aspect of…

Calvert Markham, Director of the Centre, introduces the Historical Archive:

We aim to gather items in the Centre’s historical archive that…

A brief but powerful modern statement of personal commitment which can be used in a wide range of contexts to express what the individuals and…

Richard Popple, past President of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC), remembers how the IMC introduced a more rigorous system for…

A guide to board leadership in purpose, values and culture: click to download document pdf.

A timeline of management ideas, prepared by Professor Bob Garratt and showing the development of management thinking from 1950 to 2000, can be…

A timeline of management ideas, prepared by Professor Bob Garratt and showing the development of management thinking from 1950 to 2000, can be…

Richard Popple is one of the first contributors to this section of the web site, and in the related correspondence noted that he became President…

The text of Professor Bob Garratt's presentation to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Corporate Governance can be found here.  Professor…

Some questions a board might ask of itself and the executive team: a practical tool.  Download here.

A Roadmap for Governing Culture: a practical tool.  Download here.

In this series we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask: what would you have done?  Each dilemma is followed up with a commentary.…

Today’s marketplace requires dynamism and agility. Buying organisations are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about their options and much more…

This is the first in a series in which we confront readers with ethical dilemmas and ask: what would you have done?

In the mid-1990s Paul…

'Professional occupations and organisations' by Daniel Muzio, Sundeep Aulakh and Ian Kirkpatrick is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to…

Useful tips for new consultants based on a survey of 50 partners in top firms can be found here.

This is what the future of consulting may look like at entry level.  Today’s data scientists are leading the way.  One aspect of the consultant’s…

This is what the future of consulting may look like at entry level.  Today’s data scientists are leading the way.  One aspect of the consultant’s…

University courses on management consultancy are available at the following universities in the UK, Europe and North America:

…

Management consultants and academics studying management share a common topic.  In principle, the insights of each should be helpful to the other…

Useful websites for consultants and students:

www.top-consultant.com/  (UK based Industry insights as well as trainings and webinars)…

A list of the most recommended books on consulting, based on a synthesis of 20 of the supposedly most valuable lists of best consulting books…

A list of the most recommended books on consulting, based on a synthesis of 20 of the supposedly most valuable lists of best consulting books…

Useful websites for consultants and students:

www.top-consultant.com/  (UK based Industry insights as well as trainings and webinars)…

Brief descriptions of 20 useful consulting tools and techniques and some helpful concepts.

Distinguishing complex from straightforward…

Human Resources (HR) are the people employed by an organisation, and Human Resource management is those aspects of management specifically…

The main news items that appeared in Management Consultancy magazine month by month were as follows:

September 1993

The topic of Systems Thinking and Managing in the Context of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). is deep and wide, and…

Bain carries out a regular survey of management tools and techniques and has published a booklet with definitions of the 25 most important…

Karol Szlichcinski presents a different view.

The earlier blog draws a distinction between the quality of consultants and consulting firms…

With the launch of this new Centre for Management Consulting Excellence, this is a relevant question.

There are plenty of standards for…

Joe O’Mahoney and Calvert Markham (2013) Management Consultancy. Oxford University Press. It is aimed at students of…

Mick James looks at the past – and perhaps the future – of the big consulting practices.

Recent corporate scandals have provoked…

“I could tell you were a management consultant as soon as I saw you!”

This was the director’s greeting when I arrived on set for a…