Our featured speaker of the month is Edward Bartholomew, CMC who will present on "Consulting Internationally".

Management consulting has gone global - US company consulting is being done offshore and increasing opportunities exist for U.S. based consultants of all kinds to do work overseas. Just because you have never done work internationally doesn't mean you can't start now. Find out how you can tap the international market for new and interesting opportunities. Also learn how your membership i IMC USA gives you access to ICMCI's (IMC USA's parent organization) NGO with the UN to get access to international work. Network with other IMC NCR members doing international work.

Edward L. Bartholomew, CMC is a management consultant specializing in international business development including trade, investment, joint ventures and privatization. As a senior partner of Ernst & Young, he directed their international practice for 13 years. Earlier with Booz, Allan, & Hamilton, Ed led foreign assignments in strategy development, financial analysis, and management analysis. This work took him to more than 60 countries. Ed has also been active in numerous international organizations, including the ASEAN-US Council, the International Policy Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and IMC in the USA and internationally.

Managing International Projects by Wai-Ling Pong, PMP

With the globalization of business, emerging markets opening up, and foreign capital controls and regulatory restrictions relaxed, companies find themselves increasingly undertaking projects that cross both cultural and geographical boundaries. Conventional project management methodologies were developed primarily for single-country, homogeneous cultural settings. It has been reported that over 60% of global projects fail, often because of unclear goals and/or erroneous implementation strategies. To successfully manage international projects, special considerations and experience are necessary to handle the challenges – e.g., corporate alignment, legal and regulatory landscapes, technical standards, technological gaps, social and cultural dynamics, business and religious practices, time zones and languages, etc.

To be successful, an international project must have the following: a project description and business needs, a clear purpose, specific goals and requirements, a risk assessment, roles and responsibilities of participating entities, a business case, and a budget. Post-mortem analyses of failed multi-national corporate-wide system implementation projects often indicate that the cost/benefit analysis, budgeting, and scheduling processes frequently underestimate the required extra coordination efforts, visits to local sites, and local customization work. As with any project, you need top management’s support and commitment. Global projects tend to have high visibility but this sometimes creates unrealistic expectations. Performance metrics that satisfy management are extremely important.

Each location has its own corporate culture and agenda, how does a project fit in as a collective whole? For enterprise wide projects, have assessments been made to determine the project’s applicability and operational feasibility vis-à-vis its subsidiaries? Would the project be viewed locally as an unwelcome distraction? You must get a pulse of the stakeholders and seek buy-in from all the locations. Do they see what’s in it for them with the project? You cannot motivate team members if the project is perceived as an added burden, unrelated to their benefits. Managers must understand the cultural dynamics of the team members - e.g., members’ style on planning, work, decision-making, communication, motivation and rewards, etc. in order to manage the group dynamics. Coach the project team so they are aware of the unique location-specific culture and practices. This is especially important with handoff issues if stages of the project are done in different countries.

In a virtual environment, fewer opportunities exist for informal personal communications – hallway exchanges, impromptu troubleshooting/brainstorming sessions, etc. Relationship building now requires special efforts and tools. For example, project managers must now schedule dedicated time for small talks with team members from other locations. They must establish themselves as someone who listens well and is aware of the environment. They must also have a good rapport with the line managers and senior people in the local offices since in-country personnel’s local knowledge and support can easily make the difference between success and failure.

The following checklist can serve as a generic guideline to maximize an international project’s chances of success. These considerations do not include project-specific issues that are beyond the scope of this article.

• Use consultants with specifically relevant international experience to support project planning and implementation;
• Review historical documentation and interview people (both from the home country and overseas) who have worked on similar projects – lessons learned are invaluable;
• Review the business case and the budget with in-country personnel;
• Have the local offices provide risk assessments and management plans for their locations;
• Conduct stakeholder analyses with in- country counterparts;
• Assess technical standards and interoperability issues;
• Conduct technology audits and assessment of the locations;
• Assess team members’ experience level, and technical and language skill;
• Arrange at least one face-to-face group meeting of all team members (if possible) to develop the project plan;
• Establish the communication plan, information flow processes, and document templates with project leaders;
• Track processes very closely, especially in early stages to get a sense of participants’ strengths and limitations; you will find out where you need to concentrate your attention;
• Compile lessons learned throughout the project, not at the end;
• Encourage problem sharing, celebrate successes.

Written communication is best supplemented with phone calls or discussions. Do not assume that communication styles that work well in one location will succeed with participants elsewhere. “No news is good news” does not apply. When things are quiet, the project manager needs to pick up the phone, not send another e-mail, and initiate a dialogue on status or progress. Minimize opportunities for misinterpretation. Work at building relationships. Proactively managing the details and adapting to a dynamic virtual environment are key to success for international projects.

If you have any comments or questions, please e- mail Wai-Ling Pong at wai_ling_pong@foca.us.

The analysis reports for the IMC NCR survey are available for review on the organizational website. Click on the following links to access the two reports located at the bottom of the webpage under the New (or Enhanced) This Month section. Recommendations for Improved IMC NCR Services and Recommendations on IMC NCR Professional Development Programs.

Upcoming Consulting Conference
Canadian Association of Management Consultants, Toronto; Premier Event, May 16, 2006.
Click here for more details...

IMC USA Academy Class: Sales Strategies for Management Consultants
Presenter: Michael W. McLaughlin. Michael is a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP who has worked with diverse clients for more than 20 years. He is the co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants. His blog, "Guerrilla Consulting," was named the best B-to-B marketing blog in 2005 by MarketingSherpa.
When: Three Tuesdays: May 9 & 23, 11 a.m. to Noon; May 16, 1 to 2 p.m. PST –OR– Three Wednesdays: May 10 & 24, 11 a.m. to Noon; May 17, 1 to 2 p.m. PST
Part 1: Manage the Client Sales Process— Don't Let It Manage You. You'll learn specific sales management strategies that allow you to pursue not just any projects, but the right projects.
Part 2: The Ideal Proposal. You'll learn how to convert your proposal into a powerful selling tool, not just a summary of the client's project.
Part 3: Selling After the Sale. Because it is less costly and more effective to build a pipeline of new opportunities from existing clients than to begin with a new prospect every time, you will learn how to grow a resilient consulting practice through client level marketing and sales.
Cost: $149 for members; $169 for non- members

The Volvo ‘Round the World Race by Enuma Onyeukwu. Special thanks to Susanne Max, President of the Trumpy Yacht Association, for providing the story content.

The 2005-6 Volvo Ocean Race Baltimore/Annapolis stopover has arrived! Officially billed as the Volvo ‘Round the World Race, the event lasts for 9 months, runs for 9 legs and covers nearly 33,000 miles of ocean territory. The traditional boat class – a 60-foot sailboat with a 60-foot mast has increased this year to a 70-foot sailboat with a matching sized mast. There are 7 participating Volvo vessels (six under sail and one being shipped) and Walt Disney owns the sole U.S. boat, Pirates of the Caribbean. The Spanish boat Movistar, pictured above, won the Baltimore In Port race over her rivals.

The sailboats began with an In Port race at Sanxenxo, Spain, and then moved out to Cape Town (Leg 1), Melbourne (Leg 2), Wellington (Leg 3), Rio de Janeiro (Leg 4) and are now in their fifth leg in Maryland. The 3-week stopover, which began on April 18th ends on Sunday May 7th. Then they will leave the Chesapeake Bay, bound for New York City.

The city of Annapolis has set up an outdoor stage to gear up for the kick-off of the sixth leg of the race. World–famous Annapolitan Gary Jobson will be on hand to introduce the international crews from Spain, Brazil and Holland (to name just a few countries). The former presidential Trumpy yacht, the U.S.S. Sequoia, will be there as well.

There are additional reasons to come out and join in the festivities. The fifth Annual Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival created in 2001, takes place at the city dock of Annapolis. The festival runs from May 4-7th and is free, open to the public, and handicap accessible. Alternatively, you can board the John W. Brown Liberty ship on May 7th and go sailing for the day. You'll be back in plenty of time to catch the restart of the Volvo race. Call (410) 558-0164 for reservations. Or you can take the family on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Walk strolling from Annapolis to Kent Island. The bridge, rising 186 feet above the water has an excellent view of the starting line and will be one of the destination spots on May 7th!

China is undergoing great change. In terms of physical evidence, there are new buildings, new technology and new fashions. When I was first in China in 1983, the only people who could have cars were military and government officials and most people dressed in the gray and blue style that looked like a uniform. My last trip to China in 1999 revealed a very different picture -- traffic is like most western cities, there are thousands of skyscrapers, and people dress like westerners. Change is very evident at the socio-cultural and economic level. For example, in 1979 4.7 % of Chinese marriages ended in divorce. By 1997, the national divorce rate was at 14% and 25 % in Beijing. There used to be an old Chinese expression about marriage: " If a woman marries a dog, she should stick with the dog; if she marries a chicken, she should stick with the chicken." This view is dying. While allowing women to break from their marriages is a sign of progress to some people, it also obviously leads to problems. China is rapidly experiencing the socio-cultural and economic problems common in western nations.

The rise of marital problems as well as business expansion and associated adjustment problems led to the development of the Beijing Stress Management Company --a company that I was asked to assist as a management consultant and advisor. The company was developed to engage in what in the US is called the human capital development field. Services provided by the company were in educational, psychological, and business development services to individuals and families in Beijing.

The company's programs were developed and designed under a very important assumption-- concentration was initially focused on women because women are more receptive to educational and counseling services. The business hypothesis was also that once women began to participate, they would lead men to the services-- which is what happened. Women in Beijing faced the greatest changes in terms of family and societal status. They were marrying later and becoming the largest group of laid off workers from state run organizations. After doing concept research and business planning, the company organizers decided to run the programs based on an educational rather than a medical model because this allowed for greater freedom of operations and avoided the burdens of licenses. Decision was also made to locate the programs' facility near business organizations so that it was especially convenient for working women (and later men) who wanted to work in companies.

What is revolutionary about the Beijing Stress Management Company is that it ran as a privately owned organization. This reflects the entrepreneurial trend stimulated by China's free market reforms and privatization of state industries that has been sweeping through China in the last few years. My role as management consultant was advisory and its scope was very broad-- from concept development, planning and testing, to delineation of and flow charting of programs, investor development, marketing research and development, identification of model programs and implementation as well as consultation on people problems related to staff conflicts and client relations. I worked directly with the principle owners and many staff associates.

The company planning group had its struggles with such start-up activities as getting a team together, defining what they would do, organizing themselves and marketing activities. It is important to note that the mind set -- the thinking, planning, and activity scope of a person who operates as an owner of an entrepreneurial organization is much different from one who works for a government organization. One major role I had was helping individuals make the shift from state owned enterprises to private entrepreneurial activity -- for many of the individuals and groups that I worked with, it seemed to come naturally due to its consistency with their family histories. The Bejing Stress Management Company got off the ground and very quickly folded into IBM China and the programs and underpinnings became what developed into a manager development center for IBM.

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