Climb In Consulting

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/

Today’s episode is a first for the show as I get to give you part two of the story that one of my guest’s started way back at episode 2 of Climb in Consulting. If you’ve been with the show since the start you’ll know that my second ever guest was Dom Moorhouse, founder of Moorhouse consulting. As Dom explained in his interview he eventually sold the business to BT before departing in 2011. I know that many of you have wanted to find out what’s happened to Moorhouse since then and to tell part two I reached out to today’s guest to see if he’d come on the show to share it with you. Today’s guest is Richard Goold, Managing Partner at Moorhouse, the dynamic consulting firm, focused on delivering change. Over the past 8 years Richard has spearheaded the people and talent agenda at Moorhouse, championing the focus on developing extraordinary leaders. He is known for his commitment to developing agile and courageous companies that have the ability to recruit, develop and excite their people. Having joined the firm as one of their new leadership team in 2009, Richard was part of the group that successfully led a management buyout from BT in 2014 with the goal of growing the business and taking it to the next level. This growth led to Richard and the team selling Moorhouse to Expleo in 2018. In our conversation Richard shares journey he’s been on with moorhouse and how he and the leadership team have continued to grow the firm since Dom left. As my first guest who has been part of a management buyout we go in to detail on this and spend a good chunk of our interview talking about how this process worked and Richard’s advice for you if you’re thinking of doing the same for your firm. This interview isn’t just focused on the financial side though and we also dive in to Richard’s management philosophy, his approach to leadership and his advice on developing a successful career in Consulting. I really enjoyed this conversation with Richard and I’m sure you will too! You can get in touch with Richard on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gooldy/ You can find out more about Moorhouse at - https://www.moorhouseconsulting.com/ This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy. Specific things we discussed in the show: The 100-Year Life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott - https://amzn.to/2m0gVaz Career Rocket Fuel by Brian Fetherstonhaugh - http://bit.ly/2m8JHWf Clear Water International - https://www.clearwaterinternational.com/uk Morgan Lewis - https://www.morganlewis.com/

For regular listeners you’ll now that I ask my guests the same question at the end of each episode of Climb In Consulting. I find these answers hugely beneficial for my own career and I know that many of you do too. Earlier in the series I did a recap episode where I distilled all of my guests advice in to one, consise, episode. Last time I did this it got some great feedback so I wanted to do it again to give you a second dose of career advice from some of the best in our industry. As a recap, or for those of you who may not have listened to any of my other interviews before, the question that these guests are answering asks for one piece of advice for three different people: The first is someone who's just starting their career in Consulting - anywhere from 0 to 2 years in. The second is for someone 'in the middle' of their Consulting career - 4 - 6 years in to Consulting. The third is for someone who's approaching Partner or considering going out on their own to create their own business. In today’s episode you’ll hear from: Jeff Welstead (07:38) David Lancefield (11:31) Matt Rogan (13:27) Tony Restell (16:29) Andrew Denton (23:09) Karina Brown & Jim Stitchbury (24:04) Gian Power (27:05) Seb Chambers (29:29) Michael Zipursky (30:10) Harry Gaskell (36:03) Adil Khan (38:04) Lyndsey Oliver (42:03) Charles Vivian (43:02) and Michael Mahony (45:18) There are so many great pieces of advice in this episode and some really interesting common themes and principles that have helped my guests get to the top. I hope you enjoy it.

Today’s guest is Dave Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Storm Consultancy, Chairman of CiteAB and non-executive director at I Am compliant. Storm are a software consultancy that help clients create web apps, digital platforms and website designs to engage their audience, elevate their brand, and ultimately grow their business. Dave’s story is a truly unique one and having got to know Dave over the last couple of month I knew he’d make a fantastic guest for this show. Unlike many of my guests who’ve started their businesses having spent years in their field Dave and his co-founder Adam launched Storm, straight out of university, deciding that they’d give it a go and if it all went wrong they’d call it a gap year and go back to the graduate milk round. Needless to say it worked out for them and Storm is now a thriving consultancy with clients ranging from cutting edge start ups to global brands including Samsung, Yamaha and Ubisoft I regularly get messages from listeners considering what to do after they leave university and in this interview Dave shares some great insights on launching your own business and why doing it straight out of university may be one of the best opportunities you have. This interview isn’t just for new graduates though. In growing Storm Dave and his co-founder Adam have built a successful business based on practices that many would not think could work in Consulting, including not working Friday afternoons and unlimited holiday allowances. We go in to detail on Dave’s management philosophy during this conversation and why practices like these and the principles that underpin them have helped Storm achieve the success it has. I really enjoyed this conversation with Dave and it was fascinating to hear how he’s successfully built the business that he wants and a business that clients love while shunning the norms of the traditional consulting model. I hope you enjoy it. This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy. Specific things we discussed in the show: Ryan Carson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancarson Treehouse - https://teamtreehouse.com/ Executive Foundation - https://www.executive-foundation.com/ Shaw & Co - https://www.shawllp.co.uk/ Jim Shaw - https://www.shawllp.co.uk/about-us/our-people/jim-shaw/ Turning the Flywheel by Jim Collins - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1847942555/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_oXH-CbKEK4GXT Yena - https://joinyena.com/ Storm - https://stormconsultancy.co.uk/ And their address if you want to go and get your copy of Turning the Fly Wheel - https://stormconsultancy.co.uk/contact/

Today’s guest is Charlie Hodgson, former England international and Saracens number 10 and founder of Charlie Hodgson Performance, his leadership coaching business.             As a professional rugby player Charlie achieved everything you could want to over his 16 year career. He won multiple premiership titles with his club Saracens, played for England and went on the 2005 Lions tour. If this wasn’t enough, he is also the all-time record point scorer in the premiership with 2,625 points scored. To put this into perspective if you don’t follow rugby, the closest player too him who’s still playing professionally has 1,569 points – almost a 1,000 points behind Charlie. As I’ve said before on this podcast I’m a big believer that you can and should learn from the best, regardless of their industry, and sport is no different. Given the hyper competitive nature of elite sport, teams are always looking for an edge and given Saracens success over recent years it was fascinating to sit down with Charlie and get his first-hand insights and advice of what led them to be so successful. Since retiring from professional rugby Charlie has combined his experience of developing winning teams at the top level of elite rugby with his coaching training and launched Charlie Hodgson Performance to help executives and their teams leverage the leadership principles from professional sport to develop their own high performing cultures. Charlie shares so many fascinating insights from both his sporting and business careers in this interview including: How his club Saracens were able to go from a midtable side to the best team in the league  and the off field changes they made that were critical to this success. The importance of developing a positive and supportive culture in your organisation and the key elements to consider if you want to develop your own high performing team. How you can break down barriers between the different areas in your organisation and start to help your teams work together better. And much much more! It was great to get the chance to sit down with someone who has spent so long at the top of elite sport and learn what it takes to succeed at that level, both individually and as a team. There’s so much in this conversation that you can apply to your career and your business and I know you’re going to get a lot from what Charlie has to say. You can get in touch with Charlie via email at charlie@charliehodgsonperformance.com And you can find out more about Charlie Hodgson Performance at https://charliehodgsonperformance.com/ This episode is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy. Specific things we discussed in the show: Sarcens RFC - https://www.saracens.com/ The Forgotten Highlander by Alistair Urquhart - https://amzn.to/2Jqsylz Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl - https://amzn.to/2WPH3Ce I used to be a miserable F*ck by John Kim - https://amzn.to/2LQqhCc

Specific things we discussed in the show: What Price Climate Change? by Alex Cameron and David Archer - Click here to download Engaging Boards With Climate Change by Alex Cameron and David Archer - Click here to download Engaging Company Boards with Climate Action research by William Cross, Diane Mouradain, James Roberts and Sudhiksha Unnikrishnan for Imperial College Business School - Click here to download The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells - https://amzn.to/2Ur4dgk Accounting for sustainability - https://www.accountingforsustainability.org/en/index.html Task Force on Climate Change Related Disclosures - https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/ How to Set Up Effective Climate Governance on Corporate Boards: Guiding principles and questions by the World Economic Forum - https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/how-to-set-up-effective-climate-governance-on-corporate-boards-guiding-principles-and-questions