| Our specialist management consultancy columnist Mick James attends the second in a summer series of ‘Young MCA’ events, extends his network and attempts to brush up on his social skills |
| "Young MCA" – it’s never too early to spread the net. |
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| | In a world where
opportunities and
projects are both
discrete and
time-limited, networking
may be the only way you
ever get to hear of a
client in need or a
tempting opening at
another consultancy
firm.
Yet it’s an area
where a lot of
consultants struggle,
and it’s not hard to see
why. Compared with other
industries, such as IT,
consultancy is not awash
with seminars and
conferences where it’s
easy to mingle with
peers and potential
clients. Then there’s
the raw material
itself—consultancies
love to recruit from top
universities, hoovering
up graduates from an
educational background
and class background
where self-promotion is
one of the greatest
sins. When they do
recruit for industry,
it’s often to bring in
specialists who are more
used to being recognised
for their expertise than
their social skills.
The results are
disastrous, for
individuals and firms
alike. Consultants spend | |
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| | the early part of their
careers within the
narrow confines of their
firm with little
knowledge of the rest of
the industry, and often
find moving firms a
bruising and
disorienting experience.
When they strike out on
their own or with a
group of colleagues,
they find themselves
running a niche
consultancy stuffed with
skills but with no
clients. And firms find
themselves confronted
with the “hourglass”
problem when they try to
develop consultants into
partners—they’ve spent
years narrowing them
down, and then have to
try and broaden them out
again.
So it’s refreshing to
see the Management
Consultancies
Association trying to
rectify this situation.
The MCA has come on by
leaps and bounds in
recent years, becoming
not only the most
significant national
trade body for
consultants to be found
anywhere in the world,
but also something of a
model trade association
within the UK.
Traditionally its | |
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| | enormous amount of
information into an
incredibly short space
of time without being
overly prescriptive or
theory-bound. Then the
group were packed off
into the atrium to
practice their new-found
skills over wine and
canapés. Those of us who
hadn’t already
recognised themselves as
(at least one of) the
“eight cocktail party
types to avoid” outlined
by Croft surely did now,
but the evening was so
well-structured that
even the odd negative
experience translated
into useful learning.
Perhaps the most
powerful lesson from
this sort of group
experience was finding
out that what you might
have thought were
personal hang-ups or
fears over networking
are part of the common
neuroses of
humanity—according to
Croft, the thing that
people are most afraid
of after public speaking
is walking into a room
full of strangers. It
was also a reminder to
those of us in the room
who were somewhat older
that it’s never too late
to brush up your | |
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| | networking skills or
learn new ones.
Young MCA is the sort
of initiative the
industry has needed for
years. The
cross-fertilisation of
ideas and personalities
will refresh the
industry, and, as
consultants move from
firm to firm and back
into industry, create
networks that will
sustain it in years to
come. At this early
stage in its development
it is largely sustained
by the energy and
enthusiasm of its
steering group, who are
doing a fine job
reaching out into their
own firms but urgently
need to be joined by
representatives of other
MCA firms to spread the
message further. So if
your firm isn’t already
involved in Young MCA,
do something about it!
Top Consultant has
been so impressed by the
young MCA initiative
that we have decided to
sponsor their next
event, a summer boat
cruise up the Thames on
the 11th of August, that
will be free to
consultants from MCA
firms. | |
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| | activities have been
restricted to senior
management, but “Young
MCA” is an initiative
designed to bring young
consultants from MCA
member firms together,
and this summer it is
hosting a series of
networking events. After
its initial “speed
networking” event in the
BT Tower was massively
oversubscribed, Deloitte
stepped in to host a
follow up in its Strand
offices.
Rather than just
hurling young
consultants into the
fray, the evening was
facilitated by trainer
Susan Croft of ASC
Training, who kicked off
the evening with a
seminar on “How to work
a room”. Croft is a
highly engaging and
entertaining speaker,
who managed to pack an | |
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