Tuesday 21st Feb, 2017
By Edward Haigh.
A few years ago I attended an analyst summit organised by IBM Global Business Services in Madrid. For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to attend an analyst summit, they’re basically designed to allow a consulting firm to show off its capabilities in order to make sure that analysts understand what it does and are minded to say nice things about it to clients.
IBM’s analyst day was, typically, a beautifully organised event at which analysts were treated like royalty and swept from room to room to meet leaders and luminaries, before being served an extremely agreeable dinner in the sophisticated surroundings of an elegant hotel.
Monday 15th Aug, 2016
By Julie Ahadi.
At the core of every firm, big or small, there are a handful of people who are not only responsible for directing the growth of the business, but who, by default, set the tone of the firm’s culture. Leading by example is not just a cliché, it is the life source of an organisation, and all that transpires emerges as a direct result. Greed and a disregard for professional ethics did not worm its way into and corrupt the global banking system from the outer edges, for example. Its leaders had themselves been the torchbearers of such behaviour and by doing so, actively or not, encouraged others to act this way. Just as a child’s behaviour is often judged as a product of a parent’s example, so too can the conduct of a company’s employees be seen as representative of that of its inner circle.
A few years ago, in an attempt to capture the essence of what made Source Source, the directors of the business created a bio of a virtual employee (“Judy Bright”). Judy’s personal and professional characteristics summed up those of our then-employees just as they do today, five years on. The initiative provided our customers and new recruits alike a sense of our unique culture, and the values we as a business hold dear.
Wednesday 6th Jul, 2016
By Fiona Czerniawska.
Sub-branding is all the rage. Whether they’re doing it loudly or quietly, externally or internally, there’s hardly a big consulting firm on the planet that’s not spawned a few sub-brands in the last couple of years.
To sub-brand, or not to sub-brand, is of course a difficult question in its own right. Firms that have fought to integrate acquisitions or operate on more global footing are rightly nervous that they’ll pave the way to brand-related chaos. Sub-brands are like herds of sheep and require careful shepherding. It’s not enough to drive them out into the field and leave them be: You need to check that they’ve not hurled themselves from precipices or trapped themselves in dead-end ravines. For all that, this is an argument that seems to have been won overall: Sub-branding is now an accepted aspect of the way a consulting firm presents itself to its clients and future employees.
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