Andrew Zimmerman, CEO of Journey, has had a fascinating career in consulting. He launched Accenture Interactive, turned around Frog design agency twice, and now focuses on customer experience in Web 3.0 with Journey. They explore his personal journey, success in turning around Frog, startup experience with Accenture, and the goals of his latest venture, Journey.

In the latest episode of Climb in Consulting, Nick is joined by Michael Simmonds and Manfred Abraham, who are both Co-CEOs at Yonder Consulting. We don’t often have two guests appearing at once, but this episode really does demand it! Their story, and that of Yonder, makes for a fascinating case study in how, by combining complementary skill sets and businesses with shared values, you're able to create something that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Having worked closely together in their previous businesses, Michael at Populus and Manfred at BrandCap, they decided to join forces to form Yonder back in 2020. Fast forward to 2022, and Yonder is thriving. Despite the challenges of bringing their businesses together during the pandemic, they’re now a growing firm of over 150 people, with offices across London, New York and Hong Kong. In this conversation, Nick chats with Michael and Manfred as they explore their journey to co-running Yonder. They discuss the lessons they’ve learnt along the way, including: - How they successfully merged their businesses and launched Yonder during the pandemic, the challenges both of these things caused for them and how they overcame them. - How Michael and Manfred are able to make co-running the business work, the structures they use, and their advice to others thinking of following a similar approach. - And how they’ve approached diversity and inclusion at Yonder. The practical steps they’ve taken and advice for others looking to create more of an open conversation about diversity and inclusion in their firm. If you want to understand how you can make a merger work - whether you’re merging firm, practice or team - the advice that Michael and Manfred share in this one will give you a lots to think about. Enjoy the show! Reach out to Michael: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simmondsmichael/ LinkedIn: michael.simmonds@yonderconsulting.com Reach out to Manfred: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manfredbrandcap/ Email: manfred.abraham@yonderconsulting.com Learn more about Yonder: https://yonderconsulting.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwm8WZBhBUEiwA178UnKZqrA0l7dGAX9vp1jwsR8ZFM_4GRqSrDy11rXHwXbj3zIk7UpATsxoCbxEQAvD_BwE Specific things discussed in the episode: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcom Gladwell https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blink-Power-Thinking-Without/dp/0141014598 Stolen Children by Michael Wood https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stolen-Children-gripping-addictive-thriller-ebook/dp/B084ZB444L Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Circle-Maggie-Shipstead-ebook/dp/B08CMLCFWM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=IOXAFVFB8N6Q&keywords=the+great+circle+by+maggie+shipstead&qid=1665066034&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjMyIiwicXNhIjoiMi4xMiIsInFzcCI6IjIuMTYifQ%3D%3D&s=digital-text&sprefix=the+great+circle+by+Maggie%2Cdigital-text%2C59&sr=1-1

In the latest episode of Climb into Consulting, Nick is joined by Keith Burgess, Head of Management Consulting Development Curriculum at IBM consulting EMEA. Having spent the best part of two decades as a consultant himself, Keith moved into training and over the last 10 years has helped shape and deliver the full gamut of training for IBM - from basic consulting skills through to Partner level development. As someone who’s played a leading role in shaping the training for 1,000s of consultants across the globe, both internally at IBM and externally with the Chartered Management Consulting award, it’s fair to say Keith knows what it is that people like you need to focus on if they want to reach the top. In this conversation, Nick and Keith discuss a whole range of topics that will help you in your journey to Partner and beyond, including: - The important skills that consultants need to learn to set themselves on the path to success. - How to make the leap to Partner and what holds people back from getting there. - Why the industry has developed the The Chartered Management Consultant Award and how it could help you advance your career. - And why you need to be thinking about work-life balance if you want a long and successful career in consulting. Whether you’ve just started in consulting, or looking to make the step up to Partner, this episode offers tons of advice and insights to help you on your way. We hope you enjoy the show! Find out more about Keith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-burgess-22529a1/details/experience/ Specific things discussed in this episode: Heather Townsend: https://www.howtomakepartner.com/author/heather-townsend/ Arbinger Institute: https://arbinger.com/Landing/books.html Perry Holley: https://www.remarkablemanager.com/ Paul Maltby: https://www.paulmaltby.com/ Graham Allcott: https://www.grahamallcott.com/ Paul Crick: https://theelevatepartnership.com/team/ ChMC Framework: https://www.managers.org.uk/~/media/Files/Chartered-Management-Consultant/Competence-Framework.pdf Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument: https://www.thinkherrmann.com/hbdi “The New Leaders” by Daniel Goleman: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-new-leaders/daniel-goleman/richard-e-boyatzis/9780751533811

Professor Joe O'Mahoney and Rob Garner discuss the inner workings of consulting M&A and the factors involved in building, buying, or selling a consulting firm. They explore the value of a consulting business, common areas assessed in deals, and hidden benefits. Other topics include productizing consultancy services, building a strong leadership team, benefits of professional service automation software, and growth areas in a consulting business.

If you’re a regular listener, you’ll already know what this episode is about. But for those of you that are new or have only started listening recently, you might need a few more details. Now and again, we like to switch things up from our usual format to give you something a little different, and this episode is precisely that! Our guests provide so much great advice and nowhere is this truer than in their answers to one very important question. “What one piece of advice would you give to someone just starting their career in consulting, someone at Manager level and someone approaching Partner?” We love hearing the varied and insightful responses from our guests, and we know you do too. That’s why we’ve put them all in one place in a useful round-up episode! Today you’ll hear from some fantastic guests from the past eight months of Climb In Consulting. These guests come from a huge variety of backgrounds and a range of different consultancies, and they all have unique perspectives on what you can do to accelerate your career. In this episode, you’ll hear from: - Rob Chapman, CEO and Partner at Founders Intelligence - Hugo Walkinshaw, Business Transformation Leader and Client Partner - Alison Esse, Co-Founder and Director of The Storytellers - David Liddle, CEO of The TCM Group - Mark Campbell, Chair at Wondrous People and Business advisor at Winfo Solutions - Remco op den Kelder, CEO of Putnam Associates - John Howard, CEO of Channel 3 Consulting - Lawrence Hutter, Chairman of The Brand Experience Group and Senior Advisor for QR and A&M - Miriam Hall, Partner at Chartwell Consulting We really enjoyed listening back to these episodes as they remind us of just how much advice is on offer. We hope you find it as useful as we do!

In the latest episode of Climb in Consulting, Nick catches up with Miriam Hall, Partner at Chartwell Consulting. From an early age, Miriam knew she wanted to make an impact, and it was her early entrepreneurial venture – Awesome Storage – that gave her a taste of both the business world and the importance of process and efficiency. This is something that would go on to be a key theme throughout her career. Fast forward and having, in her words, ‘been made available to the job market’, Miriam took the opportunity to do something very few early-twenties consultants would do. She launched her own operational improvement consulting firm – a business that would see her packing up her life in the UK to take on a project at a laser manufacturing company in Estonia. While that may sound a little crazy, it was a period that was the making of Miriam’s early consulting career. It was her work with her own business that led to a friend introducing her to the founding team of Chartwell Consulting, which she joined as one of the most junior members of the team in 2014. Since then, Miriam has gone from strength to strength, climbing rapidly and becoming a Partner in 2020. In this conversation, Nick and Miriam explore her fascinating journey and talk about the many inflection points and crucial steps that have helped her get to where she is today, including: • Her decision to start her own consultancy, what she learnt from the experience, and her advice for others thinking of launching their own businesses • The secret sauce that Miriam uses with her clients to help them achieve productivity gains of up to 50% in less than 6 months, as well as the common issues she sees and how you can fix these in your own firm • Her candid take on the challenges that she faced being a new Partner during the pandemic, how she was able to overcome them, and her advice to other new Partners who may be struggling to fill their sales pipeline Nick and Miriam cover so much ground in this episode, and there really is something for everyone. Whether you’re still at university and considering your options, or you’re running your own consulting firm and want to know how you can make your operation more efficient, there’s tonnes of advice in this interview that you’ll be able to learn from. We hope you enjoy the show! Get in touch with Miriam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriam-hall-2930165a/ Learn more about Chartwell Consulting at: https://www.chartwell-consulting.com/en/

Lawrence Hutter, a seasoned consultant, shares the secrets of growing a $6 billion consulting business. He discusses launching his own consultancy and scaling Deloitte's global consumer practice. The conversation delves into building successful consultancies, strategic leadership, and aligning global teams through narrative storytelling.

In this episode, John Howard, CEO of Channel 3 Consulting, joins Nick to share his journey from junior IT project manager to the CEO of a rapidly growing boutique consultancy. After starting out in teaching, John moved in to sales, where a chance encounter with consultants that were working with his business exposed him to the industry he’d go on to work in for over two decades. With over 25 years’ experience that’s spanned Big 4, boutique firms and a few industry roles in between, John’s journey is packed full of lessons and advice to help you if you’re looking to climb in consulting. In his current role as CEO of Channel 3 he’s led the management buyout from the firm’s founders and is now leading the team through a period of rapid growth, a journey that that John and Nick go into detail on in today’s episode. In this wide ranging conversation John shares many of the lessons and pivot points that have helped him get to where he is today, including: - How John got his start in the industry and his advice to others looking to break into consulting. - The invaluable lessons John learnt as a salesman, and his advice on how to overcome many of the barriers that hold consultants back when it comes to selling. - And the vital piece of career advice that ultimately led to John becoming the CEO of Channel 3. Regardless of where you are in your consulting career, John’s advice will help you take your career to the next level. We hope you enjoy the show! Find out more about John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-howard-b7b11215/ Get to know Channel 3: https://channel3consulting.co.uk/

In the latest episode of Climb in Consulting, Nick is joined by Remco op den Kelder, CEO at Putnam Associates. Remco’s journey in consulting started with a temporary relocation to America, with a view to staying for 3 or 4 years, and over 20 years later, he’s still there, now as CEO of the firm he joined as a graduate. In a world where people move firm every few years, Remco’s story is something of a rarity. Even though he’s stayed at one firm his whole career, his journey from Analyst to CEO has been a rich, rewarding, and varied one. And proof that there’s many different ways to climb to the top in our industry. Over the time Remco’s been at Putnam, it’s seen significant growth, particularly over the few years, scaling from just over 100 consultants to over 400, in less than 36 months. During this conversation, Nick and Remco discuss his fascinating career journey, and talk about many of the challenges that come with scaling a rapidly growing consultancy including: - How to manage growth at the Partner level, and the important change to their leadership approach that has helped Putnam scale as fast as they have. - The challenges of recruiting into a growing business, and why growing talent within your firm is crucial to your success. - And the role of the office in the post-Covid world, how Putnam are changing their physical environment to respond, and what you should be thinking about for your own consultancy to ensure your office gives your team what they need to be effective. When you’re mapping out your career in consulting, the idea of staying with one organisation doesn’t always appeal to many. But Remco is proof that you don’t need to hop from one firm to another to achieve career success. Whether you’re on the path to CEO and what to learn the secrets to reaching the top, or you’re already there and want to hear the advice of a peer who’s achieved the growth that many firms are looking for, this conversation is going to be one that you’ll really enjoy. We hope you enjoy the show! Find out more about Remco here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/remco-op-den-kelder-a7341b/ And discover more about Putnam Associates here: https://www.putassoc.com Specific things discussed in the show: Gorillas Can Dance by Shameen Prashantham: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gorillas-Can-Dance-Corporations-Partnering/dp/1119823587

The latest episode of Climb In Consulting is taken from our very first Bristol and Bath Marketing Mixer, where Kevin Matthews, global head of marketing at Deminor, topped the bill. What should you do now that in person events are an option? Should you run them, should you not, and if you do, how can you make the most of them? Now you may not expect this as a digital marketing agency, but we are big fans of in-person events. When they’re done properly. Sadly, too often they’re treated as a one off and not considered as part of a consultancy’s broader marketing strategy. If you take this approach they become hugely expensive and ultimately limit the ROI that you can generate. So what should you do instead? Well this episode is an example of exactly what you should be doing if you are choosing to run in person events and how you can repurpose these events as part of your broader digital marketing activity. This presentation was recorded at our recent Bristol and Bath marketing mixer, and we’re bringing it to you here as a podcast. With decades of experience building marketing functions for boutique professional services business with global ambitions, Kevin knows exactly what to focus on to deliver maximum return for investment. In this conversation you’ll hear Kevin’s brilliant step by step guide to building the marketing function for your consultancy, what you should be focusing on, and the pitfalls to look out for on that journey, including: - Where to start and the common mistakes that new Heads of Marketing make when they go in to a professional services business - How he engages colleagues internally to help drive his firm’s marketing and generate the great content he needs to grow their reach. - And why CSR is a key focus for him and how he’s been able to maximise its marketing benefits for both the firms he’s worked for and the communities he’s worked in. Whether you’re a Head of Marketing who needs to create an impact on a limited budget, or you’re a partner, responsible for marketing in your firm, Kevin’s talk will give you plenty of food for thought. Get to know Kevin a little better: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrmatthews/ Find out more about Deminor: www.deminor.com/en Mic for reference: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B093L9GJG8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1