Interviews
»One on One with KCRA’s Paul Gronwall
Perhaps no industry has seen more dramatic upheaval and uncertainty over the last few years than Financial Services. Though, through all the volatility, the sector has not only survived, but its thrived. But what's the status of the market now, and what does the future hold for consultancies in this sector? Those are the question answered in Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory's latest research report—Financial Services Consulting Marketplace: Key Trends, Profiles and Forecasts.
»One on One with Mission Measurement’s Pranav Kothari
One effect of the economic downturn has been a significant slowdown in the flow of public and private charitable dollars. Pranav Kothari, Managing Director of social impact consulting firm, Mission Measurement, says the firm helps clients quantify the outcomes of their philanthropy work.
»One on One with AlixPartners’ William Callender
Following its August acquisition of retail financial services consultancy, Mercatus, AlixPartners continues to broaden its footprint in the financial services sector, this time by hiring William Callender as a Managing Director of the firm’s Financial Services Practice.
»One on One with Cliff Consulting’s Robin Nasatir
Not many management consultancies can say they got their start during the Nixon Administration, but Cliff Consulting can. In 2012, Cliff will celebrate its 40th anniversary and President Robin Nasatir says the Oakland-based firm has big plans to celebrate the start of the firm’s fifth decade in business.
»One on One with UMS Advisory’s Rakesh Kishan
UMS Advisory is an Arlington, Va.-based firm focused on the real estate and facilities management market. The niche firm serves mainly the global Fortune 200, including Pfizer, Kraft Foods, Sprint, Morgan Stanley and Toyota.
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Cmag.com Exclusives
»Paradigm Partners: Is the IC-DISC Export Benefit for You?
What is an IC-DISC? An Interest Charge—Domestic International Sales Corporation (IC-DISC) is a little known, but increasingly popular, export
incentive for U.S. companies.
»How to Achieve an ROI for Healthcare BI
As hospitals make significant investments in electronic medical record (EMR) technology, along with related updates to hospital billing, materials management, costing, and quality systems, they typically find that the promised analytics and reporting are not adequate. To tie together data from these disparate systems and even to optimize access to data within an integrated system, a Business Intelligence (BI) strategy is needed.
»Bold Predictions for 2012: It Will Not Be a Quiet Year
Will 2012 bring the end of days? The Mayans thought so, but I’m not convinced. The coming year is certain to see major events play out on the world stage that may forever alter our course in history. So what can we actually expect as we start this turbulent year and how will it impact our lives?
»Looking for 'Superstars' in All the Wrong Places
Many sales gurus and consultants suggest we study (for several hundred thousand dollars) how these superstars sell and then train everybody else to use the same techniques. But the average performers, no matter how many new sales techniques they learn, never produce even half as much as the superstars.
»Forecast & Pre-Empt Top Performer Defection Using Analytics
There is ongoing concern that consultants are leaving the consulting profession for industry roles. Analytics can provide critical insight into solving this difficult problem of losing consultants to industry.
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»Data Watch: 91% of Execs Expect Revenue Growth in 2012
»Which best describes how leadership treats ethics at your firm:
Focus: Client Industries
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Retail
»What Keeps Retailers Up At Night?
As a prominent consultant put it recently, U.S. retail executives experienced more of a wake-up call in 2011 than they have in the past decade combined. Consulting recently caught up with Lisa Feigen Dugal, PwC’s retail and consumer advisory leader, to chat about what’s keeping retail executives awake at night—and how firms and practices are working to help them get a better night’s sleep.
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Packaged Goods
»Griffin CEO: Acosta Acquisition Creates Plenty of Opportunity
Griffin Strategic Advisors LLC, a Chicago-based strategy and operations firm, announced earlier this month that it had been acquired by Acosta Sales & Marketing, a sales and marketing agency in the consumer packaged goods industry.
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Financial Services
»Out of Office: Mesirow Financial Consulting's Jack Williams
Any consultant worth their salt has the ability, and frequently the occasion, to wear many hats. Jack Williams, senior managing director at Mesirow Financial Consulting, who also works as a full tenured college professor at Georgia State University College of Law, must have a closet full of them.
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Healthcare
»Case Study: Huron’s Software to Assist Financial Disclosures for Children’s Hospital
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) was looking for a way to automate financial disclosures required for all research within the institution. The center was looking for a solution to be implemented before the new HHS rules on conflict of interest go into effect in August 2012.
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Focus: Service Lines
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Operations
»North Highland’s $1 Billion Goal
North Highland grew 38 percent in 2011 and finished the year with revenue in excess of $300 million. But don’t expect anyone at North Highland, especially CEO Dan Reardon, to stop there. If everything goes according to plan, North Highland, an employee-owned firm that began with a single office in Atlanta 20 years ago, will be generating $1 billion by 2020.
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Strategy
»Kennedy Corner: Do Your Roots Determine Your Future?
This time of year, I’m planning my annual pilgrimage to a handful of business schools. It’s part of my give-back in terms of helping educate future practitioners. The forums are extremely satisfying—I provide insights on an industry that will employ more than a third of those graduates; and the students ask questions that more seasoned professionals would never deign to consider.
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Travel Advisory
»New Editions: Marriott Unveils Luxury Properties
Last month, Marriott International announced five new hotels for Edition, its luxury lifestyle hotel brand created in concert with hotelier Ian Schrager.
»London Calling: Come For the Consulting, Stay For the Steeplechase
Worried about getting that hotel room near London during the Olympic Games? While it still won’t be easy (or inexpensive) to find a room in London during this summer’s Olympics, at least it won’t be impossible.
»An International Building Boom
As the economy recovers, hotel chains are expanding international portfolios. While there’s not a lot of new hotel construction going on here at home, there’s plenty of activity offshore, particularly in Europe, China and India. Here’s just a brief recap of some of the hotels that are expected to come online over the next few years.
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Book It!
»Q&A: A Real ‘Optimization Imperative’
The upper echelons of analytics is where winning companies gain competitive advantage.
»Review: Reimagining Japan
Reimagining Japan is a McKinsey-inspired treasure trove of great ideas.
»Review: Reinventing Professional Services
In Reinventing Professional Services, recognized business and career development expert Ari Kaplan presents the ideas and information that you need in order to stay successful.
»Review: Pricing and Profitability Management
In Pricing and Profitability Management, Deloitte practitioners and authors Julie Meehan, Mike Simonetto, Larry Montan and Chris Goodin bring decades of experience in pricing and profitability management to support their perspectives on pricing.
»Review: Managing the Risk of Fraud and Misconduct
In Managing the Risk of Fraud and Misconduct, a pair of KPMG advisors lay out a roadmap for business leaders who are looking for an integrated and comprehensive approach for cutting through the complexities.
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Consultants on Consulting
»Publish & Prosper: How to Leverage Your Publications
Publish or perish. The axiom of tenured college professors must also be the mantra of all consultants. Yet, while getting published may be the end-all for the professor, it is just the beginning for the consultant. Leveraging your publications is the key to success. Without doing that, you too are merely going through an academic exercise.
»How Do You Measure Value Delivered to Clients?
Clichéd as it may sound; a management consultant is hired by a firm to ‘add value’. But what is value? How is it measured? And how can the consultant process and articulate such value to her client in simple, non-confounding terms?
»The Business Benefits and Risks of Cloud Computing
What is Cloud Computing? Why is it important? Why should businesses care about this new technology? These are some of the many questions that all organizations and their leaders are asking. The answer is clear.
»What Did You Say? The Language of Communication
How easy is it to talk to someone and really think that your message got through? How do you know for sure? If they didn’t look at you quizzically, how do you know that they simply didn’t want to ask you to repeat, for fear of appearing unintelligent?
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