Consulting Essentials: The Art and Science of People, Facts, and Frameworks

by Jeff Kavanaugh

How do you become a world-class consultant? This is the question on the minds of thousands of young consultants as they graduate from the classrooms of the world's business schools to the offices of top consulting firms. Yet, few of them have been formally trained on the concepts that elevate consultants to the top of their field. Drawing on his experience as a senior partner at a multi-billion dollar consulting firm and adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Dallas MBA program, Jeff Kavanaugh is ready to share the tools of the trade for young professionals to quickly scale the consulting learning curve. Pulling together the best content from his own experience, as well as other world-class consulting leaders and industry professionals he has worked with, Kavanaugh has distilled the lessons into the key skills that separate the best from the rest.

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2018

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book validates every nasty thing that has ever been said about consultants. It is full of lots of bloviating, meandery prose that does not get to the point. Rather, it just throws words together in order to milk a bit more out of you.

You begin to think that this person must be here for a good reason; listen to how many buzz words they are able to stack, one atop the other. It took me a bit to be convinced that this book says nothing. Much of the portion that I read spoke of nothing more than Kavanaugh’s personal upbringing and how it prepared him for the career of consulting. In other words, it was completely irrelevant.

What does it add to our understanding of consulting that, early in his career, he got his hands on tapes by Earl Nightingale, who explained the concept of grateful service. He does not develop the topic beyond telling us briefly what the concept means. He soon switches on to a different topic. There may be consultants who are not long-winded and full of hot-air that gains you nothing and loses you some money, but this book suggests that the industry is dominated by those sorts of people.

[Tom Sieron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stopped about 2/3, too obvious, superficial, generalistic, couldnt make myself finish it.

[Denis Romanovsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for beginners or old school guys who want to change. For guys in the middle most things are obvious, most topics are shallow... Some good things from time to time to think about, though. In general, a good overview of a consultant job and skills needed.

[Stephanie Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeff Kavanaugh synthesizes a wealth of business knowledge, making Consulting Essentials a valuable tool for enhancing one’s productivity. The author takes readers by the hand, offering insight on how to prioritize education and earnings and how to communicate in person and in writing. Kavanaugh even shows readers how to design and use decision-making matrices and when to deploy 20 different types of charts. Consulting Essentials is not only for those involved in consulting, but for professionals beyond the consulting industry.

[Jeroen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik kon wel genieten van dit boek over consultancy. Vooral omdat ik vind dat het zoveel breder gaat dan consultancy alleen. Als handboek voor beginnende consultants zou het zelfs tekortschieten, omdat het vooral vrij breed en high-level de consultancy mindset bespreekt. Wie het boek leest staat niet meteen klaar om een eigen consultancy business te starten. (voor zover er al een boek zou zijn dat daar wel voor kan zorgen).

Wat Consulting Essenstials wel goed maakt is dat het op een vlot geschreven manier een soort vaderlijk inzicht geeft in de skills die eigenlijk iedereen kan gebruiken. Informatie verwerken, analyseren met frameworks, luisteren en communiceren, ...

Je voelt dat Jeff Kavanaugh een zeer diepe ervaring heeft die hij graag deelt om anderen een voorsprong te geven, zonder belerend over te willen komen.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm returning to consulting after 15+ years and thought this book might serve as both a refresher of basic skills and a guide to how things have changed during my time away. I was disappointed on both fronts.
While there are some useful insights, most of the material is long-winded, high-level treatment of broad topics. There is very little here of a truly practical nature. Anyone looking for a real toolbox would be better off reading The McKinsey Way.

[Todd Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

An updated collection of thought models to maintain a velocity of change adoption in a complex organization. If interested in expanding perspectives or developing new methods to approach challenging technology adoption problems this book can provide the new frameworks.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeff Kavanaugh presents skills that every professional should know. His writing is clear and concise. This is a fantastic book that I highly recommend.

[Angela O'Meara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful

A playbook of ideas to expand thinking on such areas ranging from a professional consulting career to starting a business. Great reading.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone interested in Consulting- and a great refresher for those of us knee-deep in the profession.

[Edgardo Rivas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

This is a great book for anyone that wants to continue to learn, change and grow. I am definitely going to recommend this book to my employees and my friends.

[Felipe Camolesi Modesto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simples, direto e necessário para o mundo dos negócios e das atividades ágeis. Um livro de técnicas para o pensamento estratégico e problem solving.