Climb In Consulting

In today’s episode I speak to Chris Gibson, Partner and Managing Director at PEN. PEN are a client of ours at Create Engage and having got to know Chris and the PEN team over the last 6 months I knew that he would make a great guest for the show. PEN are a really unique consultancy – and I’m not just saying that because we work with them. PEN was founded by a collective of consultants striving to solve many of the problems that they saw in the traditional consulting model – something that we go in to detail on in today’s show. Having launched the firm in 2012, Chris and the team have gone from strength to strength - successfully growing PEN from just the founding team into a consultancy that regularly has more than 100 consultants supporting clients at any one time. While I’ve got to know Chris well over the last 6 month it was great to have a chance to sit down with him to find out more about his personal journey, learn about the PEN story and find out about many of the pieces that I didn’t know. In today’s conversation we cover a whole host of topics including: • What led Chris and his fellow partners to launch PEN and how they’ve approached the growth of the business over the last 8 years to ensure they’re able to stay ‘in their sweet spot’ for both the team and their clients. • The importance of culture and what you need to focus on to develop, and maintain, a culture you can be proud of. • And Chris’s candid perspective on the pros and cons of joining a smaller consultancy, how they’re not right for everybody and what you need to think about if you’re considering making the leap. I really enjoyed this conversation with Chris and it was great to find out more about the journey that both He and Pen have been on. PEN don’t shout loudly about it but their success speaks for itself. From their awards for excellence in wellbeing through to their successful start up (ad)ventures business. Whether you’re looking for insights to help you grow your own consulting firm, or you’re earlier in your career, and you’re trying to decide whether you should make the move to a smaller consulting firm like PEN, then I know you’re going to get a ton from today’s interview. I hope you enjoy it! You can find out more about Chris on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisgibsonpenpartnership/ You can find out more about PEN at https://penpartnership.com/

Today's episode is one I recorded just under two months ago and it’s amazing how much the world has changed in that time. For some of you listening, today’s episode could possibly be the most valuable episode of Climb In Consulting that I’ve ever recorded. And while the topics we discuss may not be top of your list right now, the principles and advice that today’s guest shares will certainly help you when we start to emerge from the current crisis. So who is today’s guest and what makes this such a valuable episode? In today’s episode I speak to Paul Collins, Founder and Chairman of Equiteq, the leading M&A Advisory firm for the consulting sector. Over the last 16 years Equiteq have helped over 100 consulting entrepreneurs successfully sell their businesses. Guiding them on what they need to do to set themselves up for sale and then helping them navigate the often-challenging sales process. Paul's journey in to the world of Consulting M&A started with his own experience when he sold his Consulting business WCI to private equity for $100 million dollars in 2002. He saw first hand how little support there was available to consulting firms in the current M&A market and decided to launch Equiteq to help fill that gap. In today’s conversation we go deep into the world of M&A and dig in to everything you need to know if you’re growing a consulting business with the view to sell it at some point in the future. Even if you’re not building a firm to sell, much of the advice Paul shares is equally applicable for you and will help you build a stronger foundation from which to grow your business. To give you an idea of what’s to come, some of the topics we discuss include: - What determines the valuation of a consulting business and how small adjustments to your business can have a huge impact on the ultimate valuation you receive. - What you need to do to set your firm up for success from the outset and the key functions that you need to establish in your business if you’re looking to sell it at some point in the future. - And Paul’s candid advice, from his own experience, on how to balance growing your business with maintaining a happy and healthy personal life. In an industry as broad and diverse as consulting there’s very few people who are known ‘industry wide’, people whose reputation precedes them and are known by firms big and small. Paul is one of those people.  You can find out more about Paul on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pecollins/  You can find out more about Equiteq at https://www.equiteq.com/home/

One of the great things about running this podcast is I get to speak to inspiring leaders in our industry to get their inside track on what it takes to succeed in consulting. I try to interview guests on this show that I look up to and know others do too, so it was great to have a chance to interview one of my old mentors - Someone who taught me so much about consulting and who’s career has gone from strength to strength since I worked for him. Today I go back to my old consultancy to interview Alex Gurr, Partner and Head of Insurance at Baringa Partners. I worked closely with Alex on a number of projects during my time there and learnt a ton from him. Over the last five years, Alex has gone from junior partner to Head of Insurance, and working with his fellow partners has grown the insurance team from around 15 when I left to over 50 of them now. There’s so many things that I’d always wanted to ask Alex, to find out how he did what he did and how he’d been so successful. It was great to get the chance to sit down with him and go in to detail on many of these topics for the podcast. We cover a whole host of things in today’s conversation and there’s so much valuable insight for you including: How Alex turned a series of fortunate opportunities in to a successful career and his advice for you if you’re looking to climb to the top of the consulting ladder. How Alex’s upbringing influenced his approach to leadership and the values that he sees as key for any successful leader. And the importance of Diversity and Inclusion in consulting; what senior consulting leaders need to think about when it comes to D&I and what Baringa are doing to promote diversity and inclusion across their business. I really enjoyed going back to Baringa to speak with Alex. It’s been almost 5 years since I left and, while it only feels like yesterday, it’s been great seeing how the business and the insurance practice has grown in that time. Alex has a ton to share and this interview was a chance for us to sit down and get some of the great insights that I benefited from when I was at Baringa out there for all of you to hear. You can find out more about Alex on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-gurr-8ab82310/ You can find out more about Baringa Partners at https://www.baringa.com/

In today’s episode I speak to Ian Price, the leading sales expert , performance psychologist and author. Ian is a CEO-turned business psychologist specialising in helping organisations both develop effective sales processes and build the mental toughness needed to achieve it. Having previously worked in consultancy and in a number of executive roles across the telecoms and technology industries, Ian has become an expert in selling and business development. Specialising in helping professional services businesses improve their own internal sales capability. This is an episode I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Sales is often seen as a ‘dirty’ word in consulting but it’s a key skill for anyone who has ambitions to get to Partner In the increasingly competitive business world, the ability to sell is essential for success. However, sales can often be an intimidating task for consultants so it’s great to have professionals such as Ian to help take that fear away and provide a fresh approach to selling. During our conversation we discuss a number of topics that will help you improve your selling including: • The difference between zero sum and positive sum selling and how it can help you get over your fear of selling. • Ian's practical advice for building an effective lead pipeline - even from a standing start. • And the processes and systems you can use to help supercharge your selling, whether you're running a whole firm, running a practice or just trying to sell more yourself. It was great to meet with Ian and hear his thought-provoking views on how best to approach the often-daunting task of selling. I hope you enjoy today’s episode and that Ian’s advice will encourage you to develop your own effective sales process, boost your own business development pipeline and help you to grow your career. You can find out more about Ian on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ijprice/ You can find out more about Recludo Consulting at https://www.recludoconsulting.com/

In today’s interview I speak to Irene Molodtsov, CEO of Sia Partners UK, Having started her career in manufacturing Irene quickly found her calling in management consulting and moved to KPMG to pursue her passion. When KPMG was sold to Atos, Irene and her co-founder decided the time was right to strike out on their own and do what they loved, helping organisations deliver major business transformation project. This led them to launch Molten which was subsequently acquired by Sia Partners in 2016. On joining Sia Partners, Irene took on the role of CEO of their UK business, continuing to build on the great work that she’d begun at Molten. In this conversation we dig in to a whole range of topics including: How Irene fell in love with consulting and how she decided to make the jump from a comfortable career at a global firm to launching Molten. Irene’s take on Diversity and Inclusion in consulting and what the industry needs to do to help improve it. The future of the consulting industry, why it needs to be regulated and the importance of what Sia Partners have termed, Consulting 4.0, the next generation of consulting. I really enjoyed this conversation with Irene and it was great to get her candid take on where consulting is going and what firms across the industry need to be thinking about as we enter the next decade. You can find out more about Irene on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/irenemolodtsov/ You can find out more about Sia Partners at - https://www.sia-partners.com/ Specific things we discuss in the show: Loosing My Virginity by Richard Branson - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Losing-My-Virginity-Richard-Branson-ebook/dp/B005F3GMAO The Dark Side of Camalot by Seymour Hersh - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/000653077X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_BD9vEbJM4AYMQ This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy.

In today’s episode I bring you not one but two guests as I speak to Rob Ferrone and Adam Blomerley of Quick Release. Having started out as contractors, Rob joined forces with his co-founder, Adam Grant to launch Quick Release in 2003. In Rob’s own words they were ‘two Excel types who saw a gap in the market and wanted to create a fun company of like-minded data geeks’. It was shortly after this that Adam Blomerley joined the business with his famous ‘5 year plan’ - something we discuss in today’s show. This saw the start of the transformation of Quick Release, moving them from a provider of quality automotive Change Management resource to a fully-fledged Product Data Management Consultancy. Over the following two decades Rob, Adam and Adam set about scaling firm to help them achieve their goal of ‘world domination’, growing from a team of four into a global consultancy of over 200 people. Rob and Adam were fantastic guests and share some hugely candid insights into their journey and what it takes to grow a successful consulting firm. In this conversation we go into detail on a whole host of topics including: The early days of QR and how they were able to go from day rate contractors to building and scaling a successful consulting firm. The lessons they’ve learnt over the last two decades building Quick Release and the key steps that helped them grow to the size they are today. And Rob and Adam’s detailed advice for anyone looking to build a successful career in consulting. I really enjoyed this conversation with Adam and Rob. One of the key values of Quick Release is that they are ‘Quite Refreshing’, that they dare to be different, bringing a new approach and a fresh perspective and they certainly delivered that in this conversation. You can find out more about Rob on his LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-ferrone-quick-release/ You can find out more about Adam on his LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-blomerley-338a2a48/ You can find out more about Quick Release at - www.quickrelease.co.uk

In today’s episode, the first of 2020, we’re heading back to our usual format as I chat with a fantastic new guest. I was introduced to today’s guest by our mutual clients, Stephen Aldridge and Denver McCann at Numeritas who, having worked with him first hand, knew that he’d make a great guest for the show. Today’s guest is Rob Garner, serial consulting entrepreneur, board advisor and most recently founder of Garwood Solutions, the advisory enablement and delivery consultancy focused on performance improvement in the professional services sector. Having climbed the ranks in KPMG Rob left to launch his first business, Avail, with his business partner Martin. From a standing start they grew the business to over 70 people in just 5 years. Ultimately selling the business to the Tribal group in a rather unique deal that we go in to detail on in today’s show. In joining Tribal Rob took another step up, taking on the Managing Director role for their newly formed, 350 person consulting business and faced the daunting task of consolidating a collective of previously distinct public sector consultancies while also steering the business through one of the worst markets the sector had ever seen. Having started his own firm, built and sold a second and now advising a range of consulting business on how to successfully grow, Rob’s seen a lot and has wealth of experience that he shares in today’s conversation. We cover some really interesting topics in today’s conversation, including: The unique deal that Rob and his co-founder created with Avail and the importance of building the right operating model when it comes to scaling a consulting business. How Rob and his management team were able to successfully navigate the public sector downturn during his time with Tribal and his lessons to others facing tough times in their businesses. And the advice Rob gives to the consulting businesses he works with and what you can learn from his experience to help you grow your own business and career. I really enjoyed speaking with Rob, he has a ton on of advice and insights to share from his journey and it was great to get the chance to dig in to these and learn the key principles that have helped him build the career he’s had. I hope you enjoy today’s conversation and that hearing Rob’s story will encourage you to take that next step in your career, be it within your firm or striking out on your own. You can find out more about Rob on his LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/garnerrobert/ You can find out more about Garwood Solutions at - https://garwoodsolutions.com/ This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy. Specific things we discuss in the show: Numeritas - http://numeritas.co.uk/ Tribal Group - https://www.tribalgroup.com/ Mind Mapping by Tony Buzan - https://www.tonybuzan.com/ Garwood Solutions - https://garwoodsolutions.com/

Today’s episode represents a huge landmark for the show and I can’t believe we are here already. Today is episode 50 of Climb in Consulting and it’s crazy to think that something I started as a little side project almost two years ago has grown to where it is now. Specific things we discuss in the show: Wacky Rally - http://www.wackyrally.co.uk/ Baringa Partners - www.baringa.com Good to Great By Jim Collins - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0712676090/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Lf--DbZB0NR45 Anything You Want by Derek Sivers - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241209048/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_kg--DbGEQ8FQ2 The Hard Thing about Hard Things - Ben Horowitz - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0062273205/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Wh--DbW4Z6BN0 To celebrate episode 50 and do something a little different I decided to turn the tables and take a dose of my own medicine. Today’s episode is taken from a live YouTube recording we did a couple of months ago and sees me interviewed by my good friend, create engage client and host of the fantastic 40 minute mentor podcast, James Mitra from JBM. Over the last two years I’ve spoken to countless listeners on all sorts of topics relating to climbing in consulting. Everything from my advice for getting in to the industry to the reasons I left and more recently, people asking for my advice on how to start their own businesses. I wanted to bring all of this together and give you a chance to find out a bit more about me, find out about my journey and hopefully learn a few things that may help you. As this was being recorded live for youtube there are a few audio hick-ups at the start so please bare with it. After the first 10 minutes or so, everything is just as you’d expect from an episode of climb in consulting. Likewise, James and I had had dinner, we’d had a few non-alcoholic beers and were both nicely relaxed by the time we came to the interview. We jump around a little but stick with us, we cover some hugely important topics and ones I know many of you will be struggling with. I really hope you enjoy this episode and that hearing my journey inspires you to do whatever it is you’ve been holding back from doing! This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy.

Today’s episode is one that I’ve been meaning to record for almost a year! Since starting the podcast I’ve had so many people ask me about how to launch their own podcast and my top tips from almost 50 episodes of Climb in Consulting. to answer these questions and help you if you’re thinking of launching your own podcast I recorded today’s episode. In today’s show I walk you through the exact process you’ll want to follow if you’re thinking of launching your own podcast including: How to develop your own USP and a podcast that will appeal to your target niche. How to get yourself a killer guest list that people will want to listen to. Everything you need to know about the technical side of producing a podcast and the tools you can use to do it all for free. And the most important part of all, successfully launching your podcast and making a splash - This is the exact strategy I followed to get in to the iTunes top 100 business charts when I launched Climb In Consulting. I hope you take a ton away from today’s episode and feel inspired to launch your own podcast! if it’s already on your new year’s resolutions list let me know. I’d love to support you and share your show when you launch. If you’re looking for any of the links I reference in the show you’ll find them below. Specific things I mention in the show: Tim Ferriss - How to launch your own podcast - https://tim.blog/2016/04/11/tim-ferriss-podcast-business/ The detailed overview of the kit to use for your podcast - https://tim.blog/podcast-gear/ the video overview of the exact Kit tim uses - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRxVEcbh-Dk Squarespace - https://www.squarespace.com/ Canva - https://www.canva.com/ Unsplash - https://unsplash.com/ MS Teams - https://products.office.com/en-gb/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software Audacity - https://www.audacityteam.org/ How Noah Kagen launched his podcast - https://sumo.com/stories/how-to-launch-a-successful-podcast This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy.

Today’s interview is one that’s been a while coming, having recorded it back in August and I can assure you it’s been worth the wait. I’ve had a number of listeners ask for more guests from the strategy end of consulting and I always try my hardest to give you the guests you want. Today’s guest is Jess Frame, Partner and Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group. Jess was introduced to me by former guest Lyndsey Oliver after I asked her for recommendations for inspirational female consulting leaders that I could interview for the show. Jess has had a fascinating career that’s taken her across two continents and seen her move out of and back in to consulting, not once but twice. Having left consulting to work for Tesco she went on to run two multi-million pound businesses before going back to consulting as Partner and Managing Director in BCG’s Retail and Consumer practice. Jess was a brilliant guest and we had a great time recording this interview. In today’s conversation we cover so many important and impactful topics in including: Planning your career and how moving out in to industry can actually help you progress within consulting. Understanding why you’re pursuing the career you are and the questions you should ask yourself before committing to the road to Partner. Jess’s advice to junior consultants looking to set their career up for success. And Jess’s take on diversity in consulting and what the industry needs to do to improve it. I really enjoyed this conversation with Jess. Whether you’re male, female, just starting your career or have already made partner, I know you’ll take a ton away from this and I hope Jess inspires you just as much as much as she inspired me when we were having this conversation. You can find out more about Jess on her LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaframeceo/ You can find out more about Boston Consulting Group at - https://www.bcg.com/