Overview:

Each year, hundreds of HBS students walk across the Commencement stage with plans to take on an advisory role, whether consultancy or joining a partner-based organization. In addition, many more also prepare to enter other careers where their roles will be more advisory than operational. In most cases, these students have no direct advising background whatsoever. For those who have worked as an analyst or summer intern, never has their prior experience had less bearing on their post-MBA career. Before these students lies a daunting challenge: facing the most challenging market conditions in over a decade, they must quickly prove themselves as a skilled advisor to executives, relying only on introductory firm training and apprenticeship learning. This course thus aims to address a critical and timely need within the HBS curriculum by offering students a comprehensive and integrated approach for attaining success in their post-MBA role as advisors and counselors.

Given the ongoing challenges of today’s landscape, Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) seeks to develop critical consulting skills among a core group within the EC: aspiring, committed consultants who need to build competency to immediately add meaningful value to their teams, client organizations, and firms. By focusing on applied skills and fundamental mindsets, MCAS aims to differentiate students from the pack and prime them for impact from Day 1.

This course addresses a growing demand within both HBS and the consulting firms many HBS students join after graduation. It was created by Senior Lecturer David Fubini, who spent 34 years at McKinsey & Company, during which time he established and headed the firm’s Boston office, as well as led a number of critical organizational and strategic practices. Professor Fubini developed the course with input from HBS students, who wanted to chart fulfilling and successful careers in consulting, and from Partners at major consultancies, who recognized that many MBAs arrive unprepared amid a changing professional services landscape. The course design also builds on the historically successful EC course Professional Firm Management, and leverages learning from the Leading Professional Services Firm Executive Education course. The outcome is a course curated by and for aspiring-consultant students, that is taught by a deeply experienced practitioner, and which fills a critical white space within the HBS curriculum.

Career Focus:

Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills seeks to help students gain a comprehensive knowledge of the tools, skills, frameworks, and mindsets required to be successful across all facets of their advisory/consultative roles. While many consulting firms’ initial training programs highlight the skills required to complete key tasks—performing analyses, building models, crafting presentations—they are, by necessity, short and introductory only. This course goes deeper. Grounded in the understanding that relationships are paramount to success as an advisor, this course covers how to manage teams, partners, clients, firm politics, and the consultant’s life and career. Understanding the complexities of the role, this course will present students with complex and difficult situations to develop strategies for dealing with industry-specific dilemmas. The course covers this material through a mix of cases, workshops, and discussions.

This course provides students with an academic and pragmatic lens to consulting in order to create a comprehensive toolkit they can use in both consulting and industry roles. Importantly, it does so in a foundational way that will build on summer internships and other consulting experiences, while still remaining accessible to committed newcomers. It moreover does so as a short course in order to deliver on only the most essential learnings. With this course, students can start their careers with a meaningful set of skills they can apply before formalized training even begins. Put simply, this course will help students master consulting and advisory skills.

Educational Objectives:

MCAS has the following key learning objectives:

1. To equip students with the tools, skills, frameworks, and mindsets to quickly add value by tackling business challenges in a structured, methodical, and logical manner.
2. To get students closer to mastery—to go beyond any prior consulting experience and firm trainings to prime them for differentiated impact in their organizations from Day 1.
3. To illustrate the core differences between the “operator” and “advisor” role, as well as the benefits and limits to each.
4. To assess and address the tasks, relationships, and dilemmas consultants may face.
5. To apply and practice many of the core skills that will make students more successful as counselors and advisors.

Grading / Course Administration:

Class participation, a series of assignments, and a final paper are the three evaluation methods used in MCAS.

Class participation will comprise 50% of the grade. Participation will be evaluated for both frequency and quality. Absences and lack of preparation will have a significantly negative impact on participation grades. Students will also be asked to submit thoughtful, relevant questions in advance of designated guest visits.

A series of three assignments will comprise another 25%. These assignments will be clearly specified as additional submissions on their Canvas page.

A final paper of roughly 1,500 words will comprise the remaining 25%.

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