Key learnings from my Consulting Project with Parva Consulting

In Semester 2 of my Master's journey at UCD Smurfit, I was fortunate enough to do a consulting project with a boutique Italian financial services consulting firm. After an in-depth reflection of the project, an ongoing pandemic and four months of continuous learning with Parva Consulting, I have listed down the key takeaways to be incorporated in my career as a future management consultant.

➢ Solution-focused research

During one of our initial client meetings, our team received feedback stating that the information presented to the client was very general, i.e. not solution-focused. Soon afterwards, we made it a point to always ask ourselves the fundamental “So What?” question. While using the ‘So-What?’ method, we realized the importance of conducting research and presenting it in a solution-focused way. After that, the weeks that followed, helped us to better understand the project from a commercial opportunity perspective, which was ultimately the critical deliverable required by Parva. I realized that presenting the client with vast information and research can be quite overwhelming to them; hence it becomes necessary to always show how the research relates to the final objective of the project and consequently how it can benefit the client.

➢ Agile teams

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, all of us learnt that teams must be able to adapt and be flexible amongst any given situation. Thankfully, our team was very flexible from the very beginning, which did not hamper any functioning among ourselves. However, in the upcoming times of uncertainty, it becomes very crucial for teams to be agile and flexible in order to work the most efficiently and deliver to the best of their capabilities.

➢ Communication is the ultimate key

Clear communication within our teams and with the client played an integral role in the successful execution of our final deliverables. As we progressed with the project further, we understood how important it is to express ideas clearly within our teams plus with the client. Clear communication not only includes proactively participating but also actively listening to what the client wants. That way, expectations are managed rightfully by both the client and the consultant. Thus, building effective communication will be crucial key learning to take from this project.

➢ Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Initially, in our project, our team was very timid and afraid to ask for help, simply because of the presumption that the client might think that we are amateurs. However, as the project progressed, it became very crucial for us to ask from the client, at each step, for what is required and what resources do they have at their disposal for us. Through this, I learnt that, as a future consultant, I have to always be curious and ask the client’s help, if needed, in order to curate the best solutions for them.

➢ Always be open to learning

Never in my life, I would have imagined that I would be learning about software testing! This project helped me understand that one should always be open to new learning and experiences. This was even stressed further by our client, as he and his team delivered two workshops on Software testing and Process improvement. Due to such dedication shown by our client, our team also up-skilled on Process Improvement and Six Sigma via LinkedIn certifications, on our part. Consequently, this made the overall experience very nourishing and complete.

➢ Important to harness what each team member brings to the table

MBTI profiling further helped our team to understand each other. Moreover, gradually as we progressed with our project, each team member brought their own skills and expertise to the table. Eventually, this led to everyone learning from each other and thus, making it a fruitful experience. Therefore, I have learnt that it is imperative to embrace individual talents in a team towards the fulfillment of group goals.

➢ Always validating assumptions

This is something that we learnt along the way while working with Parva Consulting. Our client constantly mentored us on how to effectively put forward our thoughts and always validate any assumptions that we made from the research. This way, it ensured that each and every piece of information was thoroughly researched, evidence-based, solution-focused and ultimately led to a succinct presentation of data.

➢ Always taking criticism positively

Finally, last but not the least is the golden rule of taking criticism positively, always! Without the initial objections from the client, our team would not have experienced the learning path that it did by the end of the project. Most importantly, not only accepting the criticism but also ensuring to reflect on them with a positive mindset and how to apply them in the future workspace. The very success of our final presentation and the positive client feedback at the end showed us how important it is to embrace criticism constructively and integrate it into our working styles. Constructive criticism has always been, and always will be very integral to my personal growth.

To conclude, I am really happy with my learning experience with the team and the client throughout this project. To top the cherry on the cake, we received an A for this project and huge appreciation from our client amidst the challenging circumstances during the pandemic!

I shall incorporate the critical insights at my future workplace and career and I also hope this article was a valuable treat to the readers as well!

UCD Smurfit Project Team - Parva Consulting

A snapshot from one of our virtual project meetings