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Business Consulting Masterclass - Key Fundamentals & Skills

Name: Business Consulting Masterclass - Key Fundamentals & Skills
Rating: 4.4 (33 reviews)

Everything you need to know about the techniques and skills of the big 4 consulting firms (incl. how to land the job).

Created byThibault Dubois

Last updated 10/2023

English

What you'll learn

Acquire an exhaustive set of consulting techniques taught by industry professionals with real-world experience.
Understand what business consulting is as well as what the role/job is of a business consultant.
Become the most valuable player on the team by applying skills such as effective teamplay, facilitation, leadership, negotiation, and teaching
Become an expert communicator by applying various skills such as verbal, non-verbal, written communication and active listening.
Understand the different types of subject matter experts that you will encounter such the industry expert, the solution expert, the methodology expert, etc.
Acquire multiple problem solving techniques such as creative thinking, conceptual thinking, decision-making, systems thinking, etc.
Understand key behavioral rules that every business consultant should apply 24/7.
Get a practical understanding of business consulting by going over real-world cases such as decision matrix, decision trees, workshop facilitation, and more.
Understand the real-life business consulting case interview processes and principles

Course content

11 sections • 58 lectures • 3h 55m total length

Introduction business consulting career1:04
After completing this lecture, you will have a small overview of what we are going to cover in this section.
Practical information on how to use Udemy1:51
Udemy review prompt0:40
Why is business consulting a great career choice7:02
After this lecture, you will have a good understanding of why a career in business consulting can be very rewarding. We will take a look at the main decision criteria being content, people, salary and future trends.
Why do companies need business consultants?3:00
After this lecture, you will know why companies have a need for business consultants when navigating change.
What is business consulting?7:41
After this lecture, you will know what business consulting is and have a good understanding of the definition's building blocks.
Who are business consultants?3:03
After this lecture, you will have a good understanding of the business consultant's roles or functions and what they studied.
What are the responsibilities of business consultants?3:14
After this lecture, you will have a good understanding of the business consultant's responsibilities that are related to his or her specialization.
Key takeaways2:16
During this lesson we will go over the main key takeaways of the section.
A small quiz

Most valuable player introduction1:23
After completing this lecture, you will have a small overview of what we are going to cover in this section.
Teamplay6:14
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the team player skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better team player yourself.
Leadership4:23
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the leadership skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better leader yourself.
Facilitation7:28
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the facilitator skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better facilitator yourself.
Negotiation5:42
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the negotiator skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better negotiator yourself.
Teaching2:58
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the teacher skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better teacher yourself.
Key takeaways1:32
During this lecture we will go over the main key takeaways of the section.
A small quiz

Communicator introduction1:08
After completing this lecture, you will have a small overview of what we are going to cover in this section.
Verbal communication6:02
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the verbal communicator skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better verbal communicator yourself.
Non-verbal communication4:11
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the non-verbal communicator skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better non-verbal communicator yourself.
Active listening3:22
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the active listening skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better active listener yourself.
Written communication5:04
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the written communication skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better written communicator yourself.
Key takeaways1:22
After this lecture, you will have a bite-sized summary of the section's key highlights.
A small quiz

Expert introduction2:38
After completing this lecture, you will have a small overview of what we are going to cover in this section.
Industry expertise3:41
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the industry expert skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better industry expert yourself.
Organization expertise4:30
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the organization expert skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better organization expert yourself.
User expertise6:14
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the user expert skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better user expert yourself.
Solution expertise4:11
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the solution expert skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better solution expert yourself.
Methodology expertise5:12
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the methodology expert skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better methodology expert yourself.
Key takeaways2:17
After this lecture, you will have a bite-sized summary of the section's key highlights.
A small quiz

Thinker introduction1:17
After completing this lecture, you will have a small overview of what we are going to cover in this section.
Creative thinking5:00
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the creative thinking skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better creative thinker yourself.
Systems thinking7:06
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the systems thinking skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better system thinker yourself.
Problem-solving thinking8:08
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the problem-solving skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better problem-solver yourself.
Conceptual thinking5:34
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the conceptual thinking skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better conceptual thinker yourself.
Decision thinking9:01
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the decision thinking skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become a better decision thinker yourself.
Key takeaways1:46
After this lecture, you will have a bite-sized summary of the section's key highlights.
A small quiz

Good soldier introduction1:18
After completing this lecture, you will have a small overview of what we are going to cover in this section.
Acting in an ethical way7:55
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the ethical acting skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become more ethical yourself.
Accountability4:27
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the accountability skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become more accountable yourself.
Trustworthiness4:02
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the trustworthiness skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become more trustworthy yourself.
Organized and time-efficient4:55
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the organized and time-efficiency skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become more organized and time-efficient yourself.
Flexibility4:40
After completing this lecture, you will have a thorough understanding of the flexibility skill including:
A description of the skill;
What the benefits are;
Some tips on what you can do to become more flexible yourself.
Key takeaways1:53
After this lecture, you will have a bite-sized summary of the section's key highlights.
A small quiz

Case in point introduction0:56
After completing this lecture, you will have a small overview of what we are going to cover in this section.
Case 1 - Refinement lifecycle4:24
After completing this lecture, you will have a more practical understanding of how to apply the methodology expertise skill to a real-life case.
Case 2 - Communication model5:06
After completing this lecture, you will have a more practical understanding of how to apply the conceptual thinking skill to a real-life case.
Case 3 - Workshop4:50
After completing this lecture, you will have a more practical understanding of how to apply the facilitation skill to a real-life case.
Case 4 - Decision matrix4:58
After completing this lecture, you will have a more practical understanding of how to apply the decision thinking skill to a real-life case.
Case 5 - Decision tree3:29
After completing this lecture, you will have a more practical understanding of how to apply the decision thinking skill to a real-life case.

Landing the job introduction0:50
After completing this lecture, you will have a small overview of what we are going to cover in this section.
Preparing for the interview8:42
After completing this lecture, you will know how to prepare for an interview in business consulting using the "why me", the "why this function" and the "why this company" method.
The recruitment process6:44
After completing this lecture, you will have a good understanding of the 5 steps in a standard recruitment process at a Big 4 consulting firm.
The offer4:46
After completing this lecture, you will know what how to analyze the job offer and whether to accept it or not.

Requirements

There are no pre-requisites for following the course. We will start from the beginning and build from there.

Description

Imagine that you could acquire the fundamental skills and techniques from top business consulting firms such as Deloitte, EY, PWC, KPMG and Accenture without even having to work there!

Business consultants are the agents of change that guide organizations in their transformational journey. They form the link between high level strategic plans and the concrete implementations and are thus instrumental in the company's ability to transform successfully.

The average annual salary in the US for any type of business consultant in 2022 lies around 100K US dollars. Whilst the entry level salary lies at around 70K US dollars a year. This amount will however quickly increase as you gain more experience and become more specialized. The top 10% are earning more than 130K US dollar per year. (source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

This shows that business consultants are in high demand given companies need to change and adapt constantly if they want to thrive let alone survive in today's fast-paced and ever-changing world.

What will you acquire after following this learning program?

Business consulting profession: you will know what business consulting is, why it so important in today’s world and how it can be an accelerator for your career.
Skillset: you will gain a deep theoretical and practical understanding of the 5 core skillsets:
- The most valuable player: teamplay, leadership, facilitation, negotiation and teaching.
- The communicator: verbal communication, non-verbal communication, written communication and active listening.
- The expert: industry expert, organization expert, user expert, solution expert and methodology expert.
- The thinker: creative thinking, systems thinking, problem solving, conceptual thinking and decision thinking.
- The good soldier: ethics, accountability, trustworthiness, organized & timely and flexibility.
Practical exercises: you will have access to some exercise in order to practice what you've learned.
Case in point: you will get insights on how the business consulting core skills can be applied in real-life cases;
Recruitment process: you will get insights into the recruitment process and how to best prepare for a job interview.
Other goodies:
- The slides of the course which you can use at your own convenience.
- Handouts and templates to help you in your day-to-day business consulting activities.
- Access to an industry expert. In case you have questions feel free to contact me.

What makes this course different from the rest of the consulting courses out there?

Knowledgeable instructor (manager in big 4 consulting firm).
Main focus lies on "business consulting" whilst other consulting courses will often focus on "management consulting".
Our program covers all essential topics and skills required to excel as a top-tier business consultant.
The training is filled with practical examples and real-world cases to make things more tangible.
The training includes projects where you can apply the skills you learned and receive feedback from an industry expert.

Why should you consider a career as a business consultant?

There are 3 good reasons that could convince you: great content, great people and great rewards!

Great content:

You'll have a tangible impact on the company you work for, your colleagues and the end-customers.
You will be able to work with different teams that have totally different backgrounds.
You’ll have a lot of exposure to management and this already at the entry level.
A day never looks the same as you will constantly learn new things and do new things.
You will have skills that are endlessly re-usable which is quite handy to leverage later in your career.
You will benefit from a lot of freedom and independence on the job.

Great people:

You’ll most definitely meet many smart people and clients that will inspire you.
You will work as teams in some high pressure environments which is perfect for creating strong bonds.
It's a work hard, play hard kind of environment (but they "play hard" can be optional...).
Consultants have, in general, a mindset that's curious, improvement-oriented and critical thinking.
Great networking opportunities as ex-colleagues go on to taking key functions in large companies later.

Great rewards:

Good starting salary package, even at the entry-level.
Good growth opportunities as you go up the ranks.
Good exit opportunities when you make a move away from consulting towards the "industry".
High job security as there is high demand for business consultants on the job market.

Your turn now!

Do you want to boost your consulting career by learning the right core skills? Then this course has everything you need!

Who this course is for:

You should consider this course if you seek to master business consulting starting from the ground up.
You should consider this if you know some consulting skills but want to get better
You should consider this course if you're a student eager to learn about job opportunities in the field of business consulting
You should consider this course if you're a professional wanting to switch jobs and make a move towards business consulting.

Business Consulting Masterclass - Key Fundamentals & Skills

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction to business consulting9 lectures • 30min

Business consulting core skillset2 lectures • 4min

Skill pillar 1 - The most valuable player7 lectures • 30min

Skill pillar 2 - The communicator6 lectures • 21min

Skill pillar 3 - The expert7 lectures • 29min

Skill pillar 4 - The thinker7 lectures • 38min

Skill pillar 5 - The good soldier7 lectures • 29min

Consulting skills assignments0

Case in point6 lectures • 24min

How to land a job in business consulting4 lectures • 21min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: