Management Consulting
What is Management Consultancy?
In a basic sense, this is giving advice to clients on their business processes in return for pay. Consultants offer advice and skill in solving problems and creating solutions.
Management Consultancy firms are hired by companies that need the specific expertise a group of consultants 'bring to the table'. The company also benefit from a 'second opinion' or objective assessment of how their business is functioning.
What do Management Consultancy firms actually do?
Some top tier firms (McKinsey/BCG) specialize in giving advice on management and strategy, while others may focus more on implementation (Deloitte) or are technology specialists (Booz Allen/IBM Global). Certain consultancy firms may choose to focus on a specific area of industry (IT, finance, HR), whilst others may offer advice on virtually anything in the corporate field. The size of the consultancy firm also varies from one or two employees to a large-scale and globally distributed workforce.
The one thing that these firms have in common is the reliance on the 'intellectual horsepower' and analytical skills of their people.
A consultant is essentially a highly skilled problem-solver. Consultants offer solutions to complex problems to enable businesses to perform more efficiently.
It is useful to consider the skill set required of a management consultant and compare to this of the 'average' doctor in order to understand why this type of role is a relatively natural fit for most medics leaving the clinical environment and entering the corporate space.
| Skill Required | Management Consultant | Doctor |
| Intellectual / Academic Ability | Firms expect their consultants to have an extremely impressive and consistent academic background (2:1 Minimum) | Doctors typically have very high grades throughout their school/university careers and have passed the rigour of an advanced professional degree |
| Teamwork | Junior consultants typically work in small teams with a manager overseeing the project - it is essential that they work together in an efficient and timely manner | Doctors are required to work as part of a team on a daily basis. This involves interaction with professionals at many different levels of the medical hierarchy and allied health professionals |
| Analytical / Maths Skills | Most firms will expect a high level of mathematical and 'quantitative analytical ability. This is a crucial skill to have. | When establishing a diagnosis, doctors must perform rapid assessments using a large volume of technical information |
| Multi-tasking Skills | Consultants often need to juggle a number of tasks whilst working on the same project and must have excellent organisation skills | Doctors often have a number of patients under the care at any one time and need superior organisational skills to prioritise tasks based on clinical urgency |
| Prepared to work long hours | Consultants typically work 70-80 hour weeks, especially at the junior (associate) level | Most junior doctors are used to long hours and nights on call - this is their 'bread and butter' |