everything you wanted to know about consultants but didn’t know to ask
TRANSCRIPT
Everything You Wanted To Know About Consultants
But Didn’t Know To Ask
Background/Disclaimer
❖ 10 Years in the Public Sector
❖ 5 as a cop
❖ 5 in emergency management
❖ 4.5 Years in Consulting
None of this represents former employers, but my own opinions and thoughts.
Two Kinds of People Use Consultants
1. You know how to do it. You know exactly what you want. You simply don’t have time or the ability to clone yourself.
2. You don’t understand a project and require subject matter expertise or…
You know what happens when you don’t spend the money
Times Have Changed
❖ The Feds caught on a little late about the money going to toys.
❖ Plans aren’t fun. Plans are for consultants.
❖ Plans are hard. If done right.
Choose Wisely
There essentially two types of consultants.
❖ National large firms
❖ Local small companies
They both have pros and cons and will try and sell you on those advantages or disadvantages.
Large Firms
❖ Examples: SAIC/Leidos, Booz, James Lee Witt, CRA…
❖ Advantages: Knowledgeable SMEs; Good Experience running complex programs; Deep bench for full-scale exercises; Slick production values.
❖ Disadvantages: Generally not local; Usually more expensive due to higher overhead; Greater chance of cookie cutter plans/exercises.
❖ Restaurant Equivalent: Cheesecake Factory
Small Local Firms
❖ Examples: Whatever name your former chief decided to call it when he retired.
❖ Advantages: Usually have a good working knowledge of the area and the players; Usually cheaper due to lower costs; Able to spend more in person time with you as they are closer.
❖ Disadvantages: Less experienced, especially with larger projects; Light on staffing; Experience can be limited to the area; Fewer resources available for marketing or IT.
❖ Restaurant Equivalent: The awesome burrito place in the gas station
Pre-Award
❖ This is the person works in Business Development. Their job is to win the job.
❖ This is the person who is going to be working on the project.
❖ In big firms, these two might not talk very much.
Oral Presentations
If you have oral presentations, which you should, ask for the following to be there:
• Project Manager: The person you’ll be spending a lot of time with
• Junior Staff/Analyst: Person who is going to be spending a lot of their time on this.
Also for key staff, ask where they are located and how many other projects they are currently on.
Phase 2
If you have a project and you call it Phase 1, you will be able to get a lower price many times.
Simply by using the term “Phase 1”, companies are going to assume there is a Phase 2.
This is called “follow on work” and it’s like a homerun in consulting.
Successful Partnerships
❖ To be successful with a consultant, you need to remember that this is a partnership and requires work on your part.
❖ How much time do you plan to spend with the person writing the plan?
❖ Less time = Bigger pile of horse crap
❖ Consultants aren’t paid to care for you.
Tips and Tricks
❖ Check “Properties”
❖ Don’t pay someone to advance slides.
❖ Tell the consultant about issues/problems before meetings
❖ Open the scope to more than just plan creation.
Questions? Angry Yelling? Horror Stories?
