Consulting Workshop Series 101: Tools to Generating Effective and Innovative Ideas

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Whether the focus is a strategy, operations, tax, finance, HR, or IT, management consulting firms have become a staple of corporate life. From defining strategic directions to simply serving as an additional pair of hands for outsourced work, management consultants have become inextricably linked to the success of most large organizations.

However, festering underneath the myriad consulting offerings, methodologies, and tools, management consulting firms are exposed to vulnerabilities that are unraveling the consulting business model. It is the same kind of dramatic disruption that is affecting other companies and other industries.

An industry becomes susceptible to disruption when it becomes entrenched in its longstanding solutions and financial structures. Management consulting firms are not immune to the dynamics of disruption. In an industry where the basis of competition becomes efficiency versus innovation and new solutions, disruption is just around the horizon. While many consultants and consulting firms have established practices advising clients on strategies to leverage disruptive trends and technologies, only a few apply these to themselves.

In today’s business environment, management consulting firms must be ready to address client challenges and needs that will transform their business by 10 or 100 times. Tools and methods must be scaled up to ensure applicability to the widest possible audience globally.

The Consulting Workshop Series 101 provides a good understanding of the 10 methods of conducting Workshops that are custom designed to fit specific workshop objectives. Different methods are developed for the purpose of providing organizations the most appropriate tool necessary to support organizations to achieve their strategic goals and targets.

The Importance of Mastering Consulting Workshops

Consulting Workshops are tools used to maximize performance, align strategies, and actualize potentials of organizations. Management consulting firms leverage workshops as an effective way to rapidly reach decisions within client organizations.

Workshops usually last 1 to 5 days. They are typically used to gather stakeholders who normally don’t cross paths–e.g. stakeholders from different departments, different business units, and/or different regions. Within the workshop, the consulting firm plays the role of both facilitator and external subject matter expert.

The 10 Primary Workshop Methods

The 10 Primary Workshop Methods promote the conduct of a consulting workshop that is strategic and systematic to achieve its purpose and objectives.

1. Charrette. The primary objective of Charrette is to generate consensus among diverse groups of people and form an action plan. This method is highly interactive, often involving collaborative design sessions to solve complex problems.

2. Citizens Jury. The Citizens Jury method leads participants to come up with a decision that is representative of average citizens who has been well informed on the issue. It empowers community members to contribute to decision-making processes, ensuring that various perspectives are considered.

3. Consensus Conference. Its primary objective is to come up with a consensus and a decision on a controversial topic. This method encourages open dialogue and negotiation among participants to reach a common agreement.

4. Delphi. Delphi is a method that exposes all opinions and options regarding a complex issue. It utilizes rounds of anonymous surveys to gather and refine expert opinions, leading to more accurate and unbiased outcomes.

5. Expert Panel. The Expert Panel synthesizes a variety of inputs on a specialized topic and produces recommendations. This method leverages the knowledge and insights of subject matter experts to provide informed guidance on specific issues.

6. Focus Group. The primary aim of the Focus Group is to expose different group opinions on an issue and why these are held. It facilitates in-depth discussions among participants, helping to uncover underlying attitudes and motivations.

7. PAME. PAME is Participatory Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation. PAME is basically used for evaluating and learning. It engages stakeholders in assessing project performance and outcomes, promoting transparency and accountability.

8. Planning Cells. In Planning Cells, participants are made to learn about and choose between multiple options regarding an urgent and important action. In the end, an action plan is developed. This method enhances democratic decision-making by involving citizens directly in the planning process.

9. Scenario Planning. Scenarios are used for planning and preparing for an uncertain future. This is basically vision-building. It helps organizations anticipate possible future developments and devise strategies to address potential challenges and opportunities.

10. World Café. World Café is a consulting workshop method that is used for generating and sharing ideas. It creates a relaxed, informal setting where participants can engage in small group discussions, fostering creativity and collaboration.

Each method of conducting workshop differs in terms of objective, topics, participants, and time. Understanding the differences and purpose of the Consulting Workshop Series Methods will allow organizations to conduct the workshop with the greatest impact where one is desperately needed.

Interested in gaining more understanding of the 10 Primary Workshop Methods? You can learn more and download an editable PowerPoint about Consulting Workshop Series here on the Flevy documents marketplace.

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