Educational Consultant

                   EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT

I.  DESCRIPTION OF WORK 

Positions in this banded class provide consultative work in providing assistance to teachers, faculty, curriculum supervisors, education/departmental administrators, deans, local education agencies, and educational programs/projects at the state and local levels, in the development, implementation, and evaluation of education programs/projects. Work involves assisting in the design and implementation of  instructional strategies based on current instruction methodologies; developing, evaluating and advising on the use of curriculum/instructional materials; developing the measures and methods of evaluating the effectiveness of the educational programs and subsequent assessment of strategy effectiveness. Work may also include relating evaluation processes to specific educational placement, and planning the overall diagnostic program 

in the organization. Positions may be assigned to subject matter areas such as English, mathematics, or science or to educati on support programs, which cross curriculum lines and impact on the instructional process in all areas. Positions are responsible for responding to requests for services and for identifying service delivery requirements based on changes in the education field generally and the assigned area specifically.

II.  ROLE DESCRIPTIONS BY COMPETENCY LEVEL

Contributing	Journey	Advanced
Positions at this level provide basic consultative services to professional staff in educational roles. Techniques used include direct student contact, administration of educational tests, consultation with teachers, and observation of students in the classroom. Duties involve a close working relationship with teachers, psychologists, educational directors, and other mental health professionals and are evaluated through conferences, analysis of written reports, and progress of students.  Work involves the development of instructional materials and teaching strategies in support of educational programs.	Positions at this level provide specialized consultative services to professional staff in educational roles. They provide technical assistance in the development, implementation, and evaluation of education programs.  Positions may provide consultation in specific assigned subject matter areas such as English, mathematics, or science or education support programs which cross curriculum lines and impact on the instructional process in all areas such as compensatory education, migrant education, and exceptional children.  Positions providing consultation to institutions in the community college system are assigned to adult basic education, technological, or vocational programs. Work involves guiding the development and/or revision of curriculum, consulting on current instructional methodologies, and evaluating and advising on the use of instructional material.	Positions at this level provide advanced consultative and administrative work in the development, implementation, and administration of major education programs and/or activities. Work involves responding to requests for assistance from local education agencies, institutions in the community college system, or from other educational programs in the development and/or revision of curriculum content, administrative practices, and the evaluation of programs. Work involves directing the integration of services, assisting in the management of the delivery of services, monitoring educational trends and developments, and assisting in the implementation of program revisions.

 III. COMPETENCIES

IV. COMPETENCY STATEMENTS BY LEVEL

Consultation/Advising

Ability to provide advice and counsel. Ability to understand client programs, organization and culture.

Contributing	Journey	Advanced
Ability to assist clients in the development of instructional strategies including determining long range and immediate curriculum needs and objectives. Ability to determine instructional goals and objectives relating to specific presentations, lectures, lecture series, or entire courses and suggest the appropriate media components, material organization and design, effective communication direction, work methods and standards, and personnel resource management. Ability to review content of materials, courses, class sequences, learner objectives, and determine the most effective teaching methods to communicate concepts and the design of instructional materials for a wide variety of subject areas. Ability to develop evaluation programs to meet the needs of students either on a group or individual basis.	Ability to serve as specialist in developing programs and innovative projects designed to supplement and improve education programs/projects. Ability to assist in planning and writing of new programs and services which have agency-wide or state-wide implications. Ability to assist in the development of the mission, objectives and goals of the organization. Ability to serve as a specialist responsible for developing measures and methods of evaluating the effectiveness of educational projects. Ability to serve as test development specialist and curriculum specialist to assure that items/tests are aligned with the curriculum. Ability to determine if curriculum is being measured in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. Ability to lead advisory groups comprised of teachers and curriculum specialist in the development, review, editing and revision of performance and multi-choice test items. Ability to review courses and instructor performance and intervene when necessary.	Ability to provide advanced technical assistance and direction in broad educational programs, services or activities. Ability to serve as section supervisor responsible for setting work priorities for staff based on objectives of assigned program(s) and service(s). Ability to possibly serve as regional coordinator or assistant division director responsible for the delivery of services of the assigned region/division. Ability to provide state wide or regional consultative service and administrative support to a full range of educational programs and usually involving the coordination or management of resources involved (budgets, personnel, and equipment). Ability to provide program and policy interpretation to local boards of education, boards and trustees, and by policy making boards at the state level.

Knowledge-Professional

Knowledge of and professional skills in specific area(s) and keeps current with developments and trends in areas(s) of expertise. [Note: May require certification in a specific educational area.]

Contributing	Journey	Advanced
Basic knowledge of educational/learning theories and principles. Basic knowledge of teaching methodology and techniques. Basic knowledge of instructional design systems, communications theory, and education materials production techniques. Basic knowledge of educational measurements for students with special learning needs. Basic knowledge of classroom techniques and academic activities at each educational level. Basic understanding of a wide variety of subject areas for which materials are produced.	Working knowledge of instructional methods and techniques, and of principles and theories of education. Working understanding of the program’s/project’s purpose and objectives and an understanding of public education for all areas that have a relationship to the assigned work. If assigned work is in the area of a specific curriculum, the employee must be a technical and subject matter specialist that may require special certification. Working knowledge of federal, state, and local provisions, regulations, and objectives pertaining to planning and developing educational programs and projects. Working knowledge of modern developments, trends, and theories in education and educational research. Working knowledge of the standard measures and statistical tools used in educational research. Working knowledge of the different types of research and methods of gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating data.	Full knowledge of the region/division/program objectives, purpose, educational policies and intended approaches to its service delivery. Full understanding of curricular and instructional scope of the areas assigned and/or the education support role of the division, section, or unit. Full knowledge of instructional methods and techniques and of other aspects of education as it relates to the educational services of the organization. Full knowledge of the subject matter assignment within the position’s area of concentration and educational administration techniques.

Analytical Thinking

Ability to identify issues and obtain relevant information. Ability to relate and compare data from different sources, and identify alternative solutions.

Contributing	Journey	Advanced
Ability to interpret standardized educational tests, correlate results with class observations, and recommend specific academic placement and classroom activities. Ability to interpret findings to staff planning conferences. Ability to develop evaluation instruments to measure the effectiveness of instruction. Ability to analyze course/lecture objectives and identify key concepts. Ability to analyze learning situations and educational measurements and make recommendations for placement based on sound criteria.	Ability to plan, design, and promote measures of evaluation, particularly with respect to tests, research projects, statistical analysis, and other research procedures. Ability to review and ensure consistency in standards across projects and across academic years.	Ability to provide comprehensive analysis and interpretations of state and federal laws, draft policy recommendations and proposed changes in legislation, and coordinate the more complex and sensitive program evaluations. Ability to analyze and interpret organizational and procedural problems and make alterations in existing systems.

 Communication

Ability to communicate information to individuals or groups; and deliver presentations suited to the characteristics and needs of the audience. 

Ability to clearly and concisely convey information orally or in writing to individuals or groups to ensure that they understand the information and the 

message.  Ability to listen and respond appropriately to others.

Contributing	Journey	Advanced
Ability to prepare written proposals, interim reports, and final reports, including results, conclusions, and recommendations. Ability to convey ideas, in oral or written form, on research and evaluation techniques and methodology to state and local education agency personnel. Ability to assist in writing reports and disseminating research findings at meetings and conferences and answer general questions about the reports/findings.	Ability to make presentations at the National, State, and local level to share program/project findings. Ability to collaborate with team members and advisory groups to guide and inform the work scope. Ability to co-author reports and manuscripts.	Ability to coordinate the service delivery through lower level consultants and educational specialists and other administrators. Ability to communicate with division directors, regional directors, LEA administrators, and other educators and budget officials on the total aspects of the related educational program/project.

 Training

Ability to lead and guide others to develop new skills or knowledge that will enhance their work. Ability to design, develop and/or deliver training programs.

Contributing	Journey	Advanced
Ability to plan and teach workshops related to the educational program/project.	Ability to provide in-service workshops and conferences on assessment and program improvement in specialized area of expertise.	Ability to coordinate training through lower level consultants and educational specialists and other administrators.

 Research

Ability to review and study relevant information from various sources to develop new information and identify primary and secondary authorities to validate.

Contributing	Journey	Advanced
Ability to assist in conducting research concerning best practices in media content development and production, types of instructional materials, most effective content and methods and best learning environments in the assigned education program/project area.	Ability to use methodology and techniques of educational research as they apply to planning, designing and developing agency-wide and state wide programs and projects. Ability to collaborate with teams of education and business partners exploring scope and support for educational applications.	Ability to coordinate, conduct, and evaluate research activities. Ability to formulate and supervise advisory groups concerning research, development, implementation and evaluation of specific educational programs/projects. Ability to coordinate and participate in the review and recommendation of research projects for funds to state education agencies.

 V.  MINIMUM TRAINING & EXPERIENCE

Master’s degree in education, special education, instructional design, educational technology, educational media, or related discipline with 

coursework in curriculum development or learning theory; or a Bachelor’s degree in the assigned discipline and two years of experience in teaching, 

educational testing, or instructional design and curriculum development; or equivalent combination of training and experience. All degrees must be 

received from appropriately accredited institutions.

Medical Consultant[2].

   MEDICAL AND HEALTH PROGRAM CONSULTANT 

I.  DESCRIPTION OF WORK

Positions in this banded class provide consultative and educational support in medical and health programs to a variety of audiences. Incumbents 

of these positions typically provide expert advice and consultation within the areas assigned. They may provide technical expertise and guidance in 

assessing, developing and implementing educational and research materials to meet public health needs.

II.  ROLE DESCRIPTIONS BY COMPETENCY LEVEL

III. COMPETENCIES

IV. COMPETENCY STATEMENTS BY LEVEL
Knowledge – Technical

Knowledge of the principles and practices of public health and public health education activities. Knowledge of emerging public health issues. 

Knowledge of educational theory and techniques in the field of public health education. Knowledge of journalistic principles and methods of  preparing subject matter in the promotion of public health activities.

Basic knowledge - The span of knowledge minimally necessary to complete defined assignments. 

      Working knowledge - The span of knowledge necessary to independently complete defined assignments to produce an effort or activity directed  toward the production or accomplishment of the research objective. 

Full knowledge - The broad scope of knowledge demonstrated on the job that is beyond journey competencies.

Consulting/Advising

Ability to provide advice and counsel. Ability to understand the community to be served or target audience, and its specific health concerns and culture. Ability to identify barriers to appropriate disease management and health promotion.

Client/Customer Service

Ability to develop and maintain professional relationships with the community or target audience by listening, understanding and responding to identified needs.

Coaching/Mentoring

Knowledge of teaching and consulting techniques. Ability to provide guidance and feedback to help the audience to strengthen their understanding of and capacity to deal with health issues.

Communication

Ability to establish and maintain effective communications and work relationships with Physicians, health care personnel, and the community.

Ability to convey information clearly and concisely either verbally or in writing regarding the public health issue or concern to ensure that the  audience understands the information and the message. Ability to listen and respond appropriately to others. 

V.  MINIMUM TRAINING & EXPERIENCE

Bachelor’s degree in public health or public health education, or equivalent combination of training and experience. 

Note:  This is a generalized representation of positions in this class and is not intended to identify essential work functions per  ADA. Examples of competencies are primarily those of the majority of positions in this class, but may not be applicable to all positions.  

Medical Consultant[1].

                   The role of the medical consultant

Internists as well as subspecialists are often asked to evaluate a patient prior to surgery. Many primary care physicians, however, feel in adequately trained to function as consultants for preoperative medical evaluations .

Additionally, a recent survey of hospitalists found preoperative medical con-sultation to be an area of importance and one in which the hospitalists felt aneed for additional training [2]. Much of the literature on perioperative medicine and medical consultation has been scattered among different disci-plines, and only recently has this information appeared in medical journals and textbooks typically read by internists.

The role of the preoperative medical consultant is to identify and evaluate a patient’s current medical status and provide a clinical risk profile, to decide whether further tests are indicated prior to surgery, and to optimize the patient’s medical condition in an attempt to reduce the risk of complica-tions. Knowledge of medical illnesses that influence surgical risk, an under-standing of the surgical procedure, effective communication and interaction with the other members of the preoperative team, and integration of a man-agement plan are crucial for the medical consultant. This article focuses on the general principles of consultative medicine, techniques to improve com-pliance, and the concept of risk assessment. Specific aspects of preoperative risk evaluation and perioperative management as they pertain to individual

organ systems are discussed in subsequent articles.

General principles of medical consultation

The American Medical Association (AMA) noted nine ethical principles pertaining to consultation . Threeof these pertain to the referring physician:

  (1) consultations are indicated on request in doubtful or difficult cases, or

when they enhance the quality of medical care; (2) consultations are primarily

for the patient’s benefit; and (3) a case summary should be sent to the consult-ing physician unless a verbal description of the case has already been given.

The other six ethical principles of consultation address the responsibilities and role of the consultant: (1) one physician should be in charge of the patient’s care; (2) the attending physician has overall responsibility for the patient’s treatment; (3) the consultant should not assume primary care of the patient without consent of the referring physician; (4) the consultation should be done punctually; (5) discussions during the consultation should be with the referring physician, and with the patient only by prior consent of the referring physician; and (6) conflicts of opinion should be resolved by a second consultation or withdrawal of the consultant; however, the con-sultant has the right to give his or her opinion to the patient in the presence

of the referring physician. The concepts for performing effective consultations were described by

Goldman’s ‘‘Ten Commandments’’ . These include: (1) determine the question; (2) establish urgency; (3) look for yourself; (4) be as brief as appro-priate; (5) be specific and concise; (6) provide contingency plans; (7) honor thy turf; (8) teach with tact; (9) talk is cheap and effective; and (10) follow-up.

Determining the question

It is of paramount importance for the consultant to determine precisely

why the consultation was actually requested. The manner in which the refer-ring physician phrases the request can influence the consultant’s response.

For example, the consultant is often asked (inappropriately) to ‘‘clear a patient for surgery.’’ Beside the fact that this phrase should never be used because it incorrectly implies that if a patient is ‘‘cleared,’’ he or she will not develop any postoperative complication, it does not specify what the refer-ring physician really wants. The surgeon may be asking for surgical risk assessment, approval to operate, diagnostic or management advice, reassurance, or documentation for medical legal reasons. Without effective commu-nication, the consultant’s response may not answer the question adequately. This need for direct communication in order to minimize the potential for misunderstanding was highlighted by two studies—the first study reporting disagreement between the requesting physician and consultant about the primary reason for consultation in 14% of cases , and the second study finding that no specific question was asked in 24% of consults for diabetic patients, and that consultants ignored explicit questions in another 12% .

Answering the question

Operative risk is the probability of an adverse outcome or death associated with surgery and anesthesia. It can be divided into four components:

(1) patient-related; (2) procedure-related; (3) provider-related; and (4) anes-thetic-related.

The consultant, in conjunction with the other members of the team, must ultimately decide, based on the patient’s risk factors, whether the patient is in his or her ‘‘optimal medical condition’’ or ‘‘acceptable’’ condition to undergo the planned surgical procedure. In order to do so, the following questions must be taken into account: (1) what is the status of the patient’s health? (2) if there is evidence of a medical illness, how severe is it, and does it affect or increase operative risk? (3) how urgent is the surgery? (4) if surgery is delayed, will the severity of the medical illness be lessened by treatment? and (5) if there is no reason to delay surgery, what changes need to be made perioperatively in the patient’s management?

An estimation of perioperative risk is based on a thorough history, physi-cal examination, review of the available data, and selectively ordered labo-ratory tests (when indicated). This information should be obtained or confirmed independently, and the consultant should make an extra effort to obtain any additional existing information felt to be necessary to the evaluation. The consultant must also be able to function in the absence of complete data as it may be lacking, unavailable, or irrelevant to the question being asked.

The consultant’s advice and recommendations need to be concise and specific to the question asked by the requesting physician. Whereas a sub-specialist who is asked to evaluate a patient’s preoperative cardiac status usually restricts comments to the cardiovascular system, general internists often are more compulsive and try to do more than they were asked. It is important to recognize that the internist’s role as a preoperative medical consultant should focus only on issues relevant to the planned surgical procedure. If other problematic concerns unrelated to the primary reason for consultation are discovered, they can usually be addressed after surgery, but the consultant should first discuss them with the referring physician. The

disadvantage of making a long list of recommendations that are not really pertinent for surgery is that the other more relevant recommendations may be ignored. Similarly, the consultant should restrict advice to his area of expertise and not make recommendations about the type of anesthesia to be given without having had formal training in anesthesiology. Comments such as ‘‘no absolute contraindication to general anesthesia’’ or ‘‘cleared for spinal anesthesia only’’ are of no value. As noted by Choi , ‘‘The prudent medical consultant is wise enough to choose the anesthesiologist rather than the agent or choice of anesthesia.’’

Improving compliance

Depending on the setting, referring physicians comply with the consul-tant’s recommendations 54–95% of the time . Factors influencing compliance are shown in Table 1  and correspond to Goldman’s Ten Commandments . As noted earlier, the primary reason for the consulta-tion must be determined and addressed . A timely response is important . Urgent or emergent consultations need to be seen promptly, and

elective in-patient consultations should usually be answered the same day as requested but in all cases within 24 hours.

The consultant’s report should be informative yet concise. It should include an overall risk assessment, status of the patient for surgery, recommendations for management of the patient’s medications perioperatively,

and recommendations to minimize risk of postoperative complications, in-cluding prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism, endocarditis, and surgi-cal wound infection. In order to highlight the most important information for the referring physician, we recommend a format where the first page of the written consultation report contains the reason for consultation, pertinent medical problems, impression as to whether or not the patient is in optimal medical condition for surgery, and recommendations for perioperative management. The history, physical examination, laboratory and test results, and additional discussion can follow on another page. Definitive language should be used , and recommendations should be prioritized, precise, and preferably limited to no more than five .

Recommendations felt to be ‘‘crucial’’ or ‘‘critical’’ are more likely to be fol-lowed , as are therapeutic as opposed to diagnostic recommendations . Direct personal communication with the referring physician is preferable to only leaving a note in the chart.

The consultant’s responsibilities rarely end with the initial preoperative consultation. Appropriate follow-up visits with documentation in the chart improve compliance  and may improve care. The patient’s medical problems and type of surgery will dictate the frequency and duration of fol-low-up by the consultant. The consultant should sign off in writing when he or she no longer needs to follow the patient, and arrangements for long-term follow-up after discharge should be noted.

Table 1
Factors influencing or improving compliance with consultant recommendations

Prompt response (within 24 hours)

Limit number of recommendations (5)

Identify crucial or critical recommendations (versus routine)

Focus on central issues

Make specific relevant recommendations

Use definitive language

Specified drug dosage, route, frequency, and duration

Frequent follow-up including progress notes

Direct verbal contact

Therapeutic (versus diagnostic) recommendations

Severity of illness

Comanagement and benefits of medical consultation

Whether or not the consultant should write orders depends on the arrangement with the referring physician. In some cases the consultant is being asked only to provide an opinion or advice that the primary attending

physician may or may not choose to implement. In other cases, the consul-tant may actually comanage the case. This latter scenario is being seen more frequently with the proliferation of hospitalists, managed care, and disease management programs. One small study demonstrated a decrease in length of stay when an internist routinely cared for patients after thoracic surgery, and comanagement of orthopedic patients with hip fractures and joint replacement surgery is increasing. Other potential benefits provided by preoperative medical consultants include findings of new diagnoses as well as assessments of preexisting conditions resulting in changes in patient management, warranting additional work-up or treatment prior to surgery. In this regard, they provide added value to the patient and referring physician. Additional outcome measures concerning quality of care should be forthcoming to determine their impact on optimal patient care.

Summary

The basic concepts of medical consultation have been reviewed. The referring physician and the consultant both have responsibilities to fulfill in order to maximize the effectiveness of the consultation in improving

patient care. The reasons for and urgency of the consultation need to be communicated to and understood by the consultant. The consultant needs to respond by promptly evaluating the patient, concisely documenting his findings, and communicating his recommendations to the referring physician. As described by Bates, the ideal medical consultant will ‘‘render a report that informs without patronizing, educates without lecturing, directs without ordering, and solves the problem without making the referring physician appear to be stupid’’ . The consultant should try to support the referring physician and comfort the patient. By following these guide-lines, the consultant will be more effective in providing useful, informative advice likely to result in enhanced compliance with the recommendations and improved patient outcome.

Job Conslultant

                      A guide to consultant job planning

1. Introduction

1.1  Healthcare across the world is under the most intense scrutiny for value obtained; 

that is, the outcomes it delivers for the investment made in it. The NHS in England 

is undergoing one of the most wide-ranging reorganisations in its history aimed 

at enhancing quality whist reducing costs. Although the landscape of healthcare 

is likely to change significantly, the aim of achieving continuous improvements in 

quality and outcomes for patients is a necessity for doctors, managers, healthcare 

staff and the public. 

1.2  The distinction between the management of care and the management of resources 

is becoming increasingly narrow. Now, more than ever before, consultants and 

managers (medical and general) have a joint responsibility to work closely together 

to provide the best possible care within the resources available to them. The 

consultant job plan, the central plank of the consultant contract, is a key mechanism 

through which this shared responsibility can be agreed, monitored and delivered.

1.3  A job plan can be described in simple terms as a prospective, professional 

agreement that sets out the duties, responsibilities, accountabilities and objectives 

of the consultant and the support and resources provided by the employer for the 

coming year. However, in order to drive measurable and sustainable improvements 

in quality, an effective job plan needs to be more than a high level timetable 

which sets out in general terms the range of a consultant’s activity. It is vital that it 

articulates the relationship between the organisation and the consultant and the 

desired impact on patient care. The key to this is the use of SMART objectives 

(see Section 3).

1.4  The job planning process should align the objectives of the NHS, the organisation, 

clinical teams (and in the case of clinical academics, their higher education 

institution) and individuals in order to allow, consultants, clinical academics, 

managers and the wider NHS team to plan and deliver innovative, safe, responsive, 

efficient and high-quality care. At the same time the job plan should provide 

opportunities to develop both personally and professionally to help drive quality 

improvement in line with the present and future needs of patients. 

1.5  Consultants are crucial to the success of the NHS. The move towards the majority 

of care being delivered by fully-trained doctors requires consultants to deliver 

more hands-on care than might have been the case before. This requires a more 

innovative approach to the working life of today’s consultant.

1.6  The prospect of revalidation will drive a greater transparency with consultants 

demonstrating that they remain fit to practise, bringing a renewed focus on 

professional development and demonstrating improved outcomes for patients.

1.7  All consultants work as part of a team of consultants, whether this is to provide 

emergency cover as part of a rota, or, as is increasingly seen, working as part of 

a multi-consultant team sharing the day-to-day responsibility for patients. A team-based approach to job planning, where these responsibilities are shared by all 

the consultants is being increasingly used to deliver more efficient and effective 

healthcare. Matching workforce availability to activity will bring greater efficiencies 

and quality to patient care, as well as making allowances for a better work–life 

balance for consultants. 

    

2. The job plan in context

A consultant job plan should be a prospective agreement that sets out a consultant’s duties, responsibilities 

and objectives for the coming year.”“…consultant job plans should set out agreed personal objectives and their relationship with the employing organisation’s wider service objectives.”

3.Preparing for the job plan

3.1  Preparation is the key to effective job planning. The teams (consultants and general managers in the NHS and fellow academics in the higher education sector) should meet beforehand so that job planning flows naturally from organisational and team objectives and that job plans are not drawn up in isolation. Some of the areas the team should explore include:

• mapping the current commissioning and contracting environment, including expectations for the coming year and beyond

• reviewing the previous year and identifying what went well and where there might be areas for improvement across the organisation/directorate

• identifying the actions and resources needed to improve quality

• reviewing areas of strength and weakness and methods to maximise the opportunities and minimise the possible threats

• identifying the priorities the organisation(s) and the team(s) want to deliver and the shared objectives which might influence job plans

• setting out what will be needed to meet clinical governance requirements, including education, training and research

• improving the use of data in setting objectives and the job plan. The BMA’s consultant job planning diarycan help to provide information on work load 

• linking to personal objectives around appraisal

• determine any known or likely significant demands on consultant time away from the trust (for example, senior college roles) that will impact on service delivery.

3.2  Organisations can take practical steps to ease the assimilation of job and business planning by harmonising the job planning and appraisal cycles and strengthening the link between personal development plans and business plans where appropriate. Induction programmes can provide an opportunity to emphasise 

the importance of the job planning process as a means of linking the aims and objectives of the service to individual activity.

3.3  Teams could also consider benchmarking their job planning framework with those of others within the organisation, or even in different organisations, to secure consistency and benefit from good practice. Transparency of the outcome of job planning allows consultants to have confidence in the process. For example, integrating job planning across teams in different specialties can lead to improved theat are use and reduce delays. Teams should reflect upon what they want to achieve over the year, their shared objectives and link the outcome to individual job plans.

Business Consultant

              A Brief History of Business Strategy Consulting

Professional Business Strategy Consulting began in 1963, forty eight years ago.  Prior to that date the term strategy was used exclusively in the military lexicon.  The concept of strategy as applied to business is still relatively new phenomenon. I’ve written this white paper in an effort to create a brief but meaningful overview of the development  and practice of business strategy.


The history of strategy consulting begins with a man named Bruce B. Henderson. The son of a Nashville bible salesman, Henderson lived from 1915 to 1992 and is universally considered the father of business strategy.  Henderson was trained as an engineer, which was and remains today a standard entry level occupation for many consultants. Another recurring theme was Henderson’s advanced business training at the prestigious Harvard Business School, although he left the school ninety days before completing the program.  He began his working career at Westinghouse Corporation, then moved to Arthur D. Little management services. Next, after a challenge by the CEO, he accepted a position at the Boston Safe Deposit Trust Company, a money management trust company.  He worked in the consulting arm of the trust company until 1963 when he left to establish the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which became the first national consulting firm to develop an exclusive strategy consulting practice.


Henderson’s fundamental theory focused on two of the three “Cs” of consulting, competition and cash -  the third being the customer which would not come into play until later years.  His policy was to hire the absolute brightest business school graduates, usually Harvard Business School summa-cum-laude’s,  and pay them top salaries.  He developed the “Experience Curve”(EC), which was his version of the learning curve.  The EC was based on the work of another American engineer, Frederick Taylor, best known for the assembly line process. In 1915 Taylor invented a mathematical formula that calculated production costs based on repetitive steps in the manufacturing processes.  Taylor’s theory was that as you became more proficient in
the process, you could make the process less costly, thereby passing the reduced cost on the customer while simultaneously remaining profitable by selling in large volume. This resulted in a significant pricing advantage over competitors.  Today we see this inthe lowest-price concept practiced by Wal-Mart and Dell.  The concept was new in the 1960s because it required studying the market and knowing and understanding the
competition at a depth unheard of previously. By engaging the practice of studying the competition, the Boston Consulting Group offered their clients a service that wasnonexistent.  The firm became enormously successful, both nationally and internationally. Today BCG produces 2.7 billion dollars in annual revenue and has 4,400 consultants and 71 offices in 41 countries.One of the brightest stars in Henderson’s group was William Bain.  Born in 1937 to a Tennessee food wholesaler, Bain was Phi Beta Kappa majoring in history at Vanderbilt University and graduated in 1959.  One of the few BCG team members who wasn’t an
engineer, Bain was a masterful salesman and led the company in producing the largestpercent of billable assignments.  However, he became disenchanted with Henderson’s policy of research and reporting.  With the firm’s practice of sending a report, walking away, and leaving the implementation up to the client, he was concerned that they wereleaving too much “on the table” – in effect leaving behind considerable repeat business opportunities.  Bain’s focus was on the customer and competition. In 1973 Bain resigned from BCG to start his own strategy consulting firm, Bain & Company . He quickly took on Black & Decker and Texas Instruments, which were BCG clients he had developed.  He hired six of BCG’s employees.  His primary idea was to pick one firm per industry then create a long-term partnership for many years with that
firm, making sure that their consulting was being put to optimal use and execution by his consultants.  Bain’s new company diverged from other consulting companies and for many years would only accept assignments that reported directly to the client’s CEO. He later developed a private equity firm called Bain Capital which bought failing companies, improved them, and resold them.  Today Bain & Company produces two
billion dollars in annual revenue and has 5,000 employees and 46 offices in 30 countries.

McKenzie Consulting was formed in 1926 and ultimately became the premier consulting firm in the US and globally.  The firm’s founder, James O. McKinsey, was an accounting professor at Chicago University.  He is considered the father of managerial accounting.  McKenzie’s operational approach was solving issues of concern to senior management primarily in the areas of finance and budgeting services.  Their recruiting practice is more widely diverse than their competitors, including not only the field of engineering but science, medicine, and law as well.  McKinsey has produced more CEO’s than any other company, including more than seventy past and present CEO’s at Fortune 500 companies.It wasn’t until 1988 that the firm, under the leadership of Fred Gluck, seriously entered the strategy market.  This happened mainly as a result of being jolted by the success of BCG and Bain & Company.  Unlike Henderson and Bain, Gluck, who was managing director of the firm from 1988 to 1994, didn’t form his own company but instead took a much more difficult path – leading a revolution to bring a storied firm into the modern age. Over a period of time he managed to successfully shift the organizational focus to include a strategy practice and bring its considerable resources and talent to the world of strategy consulting.  Due to its size and influence the firm focused on all three “Cs”:
customer, competition, and cash.  Today McKenzie has annual revenues over five billiondollars, 17,000 employees, and 100 offices in 45 countries.


Studying the business consulting field, Harvard Business School (HBS) is widely recognized as one of the top graduate business schools in the world.  Established in 1908, today the school has developed an academic staff of 200 and an administrative staff of 1,100. Their average student enrollment exceeds 1,900 annually.  In addition to its academic programs, this institution also includes research and publishing arms
which are considered preeminent breakthrough business  reference sources.  Its star-studded list of alumni include major Fortune 100 CEO’s, and diplomatic, military, andacademic personalities across all disciplines and countries.  From its inception HBS has made a significant contribution to the development and success of the business domain around the world.  During It’s early history, HBS , like other business schools, did not welcome new or modern concepts or ideas that strayed from its traditional format. Their scorn extended particularly to scholars who endeavored to bring the new concept of business strategy into their hallowed halls.  Michael Porter was one of those scholars who met with intense resistance from the established elders who gave no credibility to free thinking upstarts.  He fought for his job and later his tenure, and eventually became the most famous business school professor of all time.It wasn’t until the 1970’s that any mention of strategy entered into the Harvard lexicon. The basic and most fundamental course offered was their Business Policy course.Michael Porter, born in 1947 and the son of Georgia Tech professor, majored in aerospace engineering at Princeton.  He matriculated to Harvard Business School for his MBA and later his PhD in economics.  Porter became a proponent of the idea that each company was different and that formulaic approaches could be misleading.  He developed the Five Forces framework:  suppliers, buyers, new entrants, industry competitors, and substitutes. This was his effort to bridge the two worlds of economics
and business practice; however that effort was not well received by the faculty, whowere committed to the continued teaching of the mainstay Business Policy course.  The new HBS dean John McArthur became a supporter of Porter and allowed him to teach a non-degree program where he could pursue his research with practicing managers.  He created a course titled Industry and Competitive Analysis, which became an instant hit, silenced his distracters, and gained him creditability. The essence of Porter’s work laid down the academic substrate that enabled a well-educated manager armed with the right analytical techniques to chart strategy even without a wealth of experience.  His next major contribution was the creation of the
value chain theory.  An antidote to the low-pricing theory, the value chain theory asserts you can create a product of such value that the public would pay more for it.  Examplesinclude Lexus and Apple.  Porter heads a list of the most frequently cited experts in academic literature on strategic management and, since the death of Peter Drucker in 2005, as today’s most influential management guru.In this overview of the development of business strategy I’ve focused on the primaryplayers.  There were of course many other brilliant and provoking thought leaders who’s impact ranged from ideas that crashed as quickly as they were offered, to ideas that have provoked new thinking and experiments for the greater future of both
business and society.  These include Jim Champy’s Reengineering, Tom Peters and Bob Waterman’s In Search of Excellence, Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad’s Core Competencies. In addition, the decisive work of Frederick Reichheld, of Bain and Company, who broke new ground with his research and writing on the Loyalty business model and marketing. In creating the idea of customer relationship management
(CRM), Reichheld is responsible for bringing the human element to the table where management began to realize their greatest assets are the people they manage and the customers they serve.


SUMMARY
What’s the point of studying history if it can’t provide some guidance in the present.One benefit is to study how committed people approached pressing issues in the past that could be useful today.  I do not mean to suggest that strategy is a perfect science that cures all ills.  Nor is this a process of looking backwards, but of looking forward. However, there is a saying that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to
repeat it.  What strategy does is foster an intellectual curiosity, imagination, and a belief in the potential of possibility and people. Additionally, strategy creates a climate that empowers getting out on the skinny branches and taking risks. Taking calculated risksis an expression of freedom from the self-imposed boundaries generated by our past experiences.  Ultimately, the primary advantage of strategy is the creating of a roadmap for success and a platform to chart new paths that weren’t going to happen.
Amazingly, one can create a future without knowing how to make it happen. Often the result exceeds our original expectation because we learn as we play the game.  In fact, in the mere saying, a new future starts generating reality; because we now have the idea and a new inspiration to be in action to produce the results we’ve declared.  Our country was built on dreams of achieving the impossible.  This game of creating
unimagined futures has resulted in over seventy years of American leadership in the world.  We’ll need to rediscover that spirit now to continue our leadership role in the future.