Tools for Project Management, Workshops and Consulting

A large number of business people have made use of consulting work in recent years: they have either been exposed to consultants on the job, or were responsible for hiring them. At the very least, however, they would have heard of consulting work and results through somebody they know. Not often, though, is the consultant’s job really understood. We are currently in a business phase where people enquire about, even question and study at depth, the apparent ‘magic and secrets of consulting’ in order to demystify, better understand and be able to question what consultants are doing, in order to potentially do the job themselves.

A typical customer of this book is:

• A practising consultant who wants to find other tools and techniques to complement his portfolio and to have a source of reference
• An employee in an internal consulting department (the new trend!) who wants to study and learn the portfolio of tools
• A manager who wants to know more about the ‘secret consulting weapons’ and the consulting buzz-words and techniques
• An individual who wants to solve business problems himself without the use of an external consultant
• A business student who wants to learn some smart and effective tools for his (case) studies or who is interested in systems thinking or management consulting
• Hopefully lecturers and teachers who want to expand their knowledge beyond the ‘BCG matrix’ and include this approach in their lectures
• Not a business novice

There are many benefits to the user and reader of this book:

• The book provides an extremely simple, structured and useful system to identify and select the right tool for the job. Two different tables provide an overview of the tools which are grouped and categorised by the purpose of the tool, its position in the problem solving cycle and its areas of application. There is also a rating by ease of use and effectiveness for each tool.
• This book is not just a list of tools. First, the book explains and illustrates an overarching problem solving framework to which the tools are assigned. It then shows when and why and how a tool is best used.
• Each tool was selected based on its practicality, value-add and usefulness. Many years of research and experience have gone into it.
• Each tool is illustrated in a concise and structured way and supported by examples and/or templates.
• On a practical basis, the book combines basic 'how-to' information, such as checklists or typical business scenarios (scenarios with suggested activities and a compilation of recommended tools), together with a rich library of tools and techniques from different disciplines.

Either browse through. Look for what you know and what you still want to know more about. Several techniques might be familiar to you some way or another. Build on this familiarity and combine old and new. If you are relatively new to this field, you might want to read it cover to cover to gain an overview of what is available. As a more experienced user, you might want to dive into those points that attract your interest - perhaps more complex techniques and new approaches.

Use this book as your toolbox. Every experienced user has his own well-developed toolbox of his personal favourite tools and techniques. This book is designed to provide you with valuable tools and information to create, develop and enhance your own toolbox over time. Be innovative, open and creative. You might find additional applications for some of the tools somewhere else or with a different objective. Take on new ideas and perspectives to enhance your portfolio of tools.

It is intended that readers use the provided guidelines on how to identify the type of tool or techniques required and then test it - while using examples and templates - before applying it in their daily professional life.

A word of caution. Tools are not the solutions to a problem; use them to become more effective and efficient and focus on the real insights.

The book has a chapter that explains how to find the right tool. Tables, overviews, diagrams and a decision-tree help you to find what you are looking for.

As long as you are not an absolute novice in this field and have had some business exposure, most of the tools should not be too much of an intellectual challenge. The focus of the book is on practicality, not complex theory.

Given its scope, allocating 30 minutes to the book depends very much on the reader's background. Novices to the field should read Chapter 1.5. ‘Skills and competencies for your personal development’. More experienced readers might go directly to chapter 2 - ‘The concept and application of this book’, then read 2.4 ‘How to select the right tool’ to understand how and where to help themselves. Experienced readers could go directly to the ‘brief content’ table and identify the required tool within a very short time.

This book is an important reference work on consulting, project management and work-shopping. Written by a professional management and IT consultant and executive coach, this is a reference work and a guide both for those who want to learn about consulting and project management, and for those who are actively practicing consulting, project management, workshop facilitation or problem-solving in general. The book’s main focus is on tools and techniques, based on a framework for problem solving.

First, the handbook is unique in its pragmatic approach to the field of consulting and problem-solving as well as its thoroughness as a compendium of tools and techniques. On a more thematic level, the book provides one of the most practical and no-nonsense ‘ready-to-go’ concepts for consulting, workshop and project management tools.

Focusing on the very real issue of excelling in problem-solving. This is a truly unique competence that - together with other competencies - will give you the edge. In this respect, Nicolai Andler’s work differs from many other consulting and project management textbooks, which focus primarily on how to run a consulting practice or manage a project. Although his work focuses mainly on tools and techniques, its power lies in acknowledging that these form part of modern days management competencies.

Project management section

More and more company are introducing a project-based organisational work structure, hence project management becomes daily life for most employees. In addition, most project have an underlying ‘problem solving’ aspect included. The tools are aligned with a problem solving process and project management is one of the categories of tools, which makes this book the perfect combination.

Leadership development section

Currently most leadership initiatives and books focus on the interpersonal competency. ‘Emotional intelligence’ and ‘people skills’ are some of the key words in the literature. It is overlooked that leaders and role models also need to have a certain ‘technical’ competency. This book helps when you need to get your hands dirty and show how things are done.

General management section

No modern days manager can be successful without continuous learning and ‘up-skilling’ himself. There is more to business these days than being able to understand the ‘BCG matrix’. This book provides a compilation of the most essential tools every successful manager should know about.

Consulting section

Management and business consulting has become an essential part of the modern business world and many companies ‘cannot live’ without the external consulting help. Many young students also aspire a career in consulting, although universities hardly prepare for the particular requirements of consultancies. This book provides a great insight into the toolset of consultancies.

Problem solving section

"It is amazing and comforting to see how this book creates such clarity about the ramifications in the problem solver's mind. And it is hilarious to realize how straightforward dealing with problem and project situations can be." Read complete preface by Tom Sommerlatte