THE CONSULTING PROCESS

YOUR GUIDE TO ACING YOUR PROJECT

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FOREWORD
Dear Incoming Consultant,

Congratulations on being accepted into LSC, we are very excited to be part of your growth journey. You, our LSC consultant, have passed through
our rigorous screening process and have shown immense promise and motivation to be here today.

Everyone that we accept are consultants of the highest calibre, and are among the brightest minds. Due to this, we have extremely high expectations
of you.

After all, you all are the consultants of the future.

This guide is aimed at helping you along your LSC journey and also beyond. It details out the key steps taken in a typical consulting engagement.
Please take your time to read it in depth prior to starting the engagement, and to constantly use this as a reference to guide you along.

Best of luck for your project!

Serving you,
Yongqun Lai (Yong) & Nicholas Goh
Managing Director Associate
London Strategic Consulting Committee (2017 – 2018)

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CONTENT PAGE
CONTENT SLIDE CONTENT SLIDE
The Consulting Process 4 Surveys 34

Defining the Problem 6 Interviews 37

The Initial Hypothesis 7 Creating Charts / Presentation 41

Brainstorming 12 Exhibits 44

Your First Client Meeting 15 Language Tips 51

Workplanning / Structuring your Approach 16 Checking for Hygiene 52

Workplanning 17 Before your final presentation… 53

Structuring your Approach 23 FAQs 54

Data Gathering 25

Secondary Data 28

Primary Data 33

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THE CONSULTING PROCESS

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

WORKPLANNING / STRUCTURING YOUR APPROACH

DATA GATHERING

CREATING CHARTS / PRESENTATION

FAQs

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THE CONSULTING PROCESS
The following method of completely breaking down the client’s issue and rebuilding
the solution will ensure the completeness and effectiveness of your approach. In the
following sections we will elaborate on each part of this consulting process.

DISAGGREGATION RE-AGGREGATION

Defining the Workplanning Structuring your Data Collection Data Analysis Creating Charts Presentation
Problem Approach

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THE CONSULTING PROCESS

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

WORKPLANNING / STRUCTURING YOUR APPROACH

DATA GATHERING

CREATING CHARTS / PRESENTATION

FAQs

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THE INITIAL HYPOTHESIS

As consultants, we always aim to structure our thought process clearly and

concisely. The Initial Hypothesis (IH) provides a roadmap for the entire project and
hence is of key importance. There are 3 steps to forming an IH:

Understanding the Generating Testing

Industry The IH The IH

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UNDERSTANDING THE INDUSTRY

GET A FLAVOUR OF THE INDUSTRY YOU ARE ABOUT TO WORK IN

By Reading Industry Reports By Speaking to Subject By Learning Jargons By Getting Up to Date with Current
Matter Experts Events

Have an idea on where the information sources for this industry is and what kind of data
you can tap on but DO NOT dive into finding a bunch of facts

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GENERATING THE INITIAL HYPOTHESIS

Think about your And turn them into top-

Key Drivers– Main line Actionable
issues behind the Recommendations
problem

E.g. Assuming your client is a beer manufacturer trying to increase sales, the following table
highlights the possible key drivers and its corresponding top-line actionable recommendations:
Sales Force Changing Sales Strategy for Beer
Consumer Marketing Strategy Improving Marketing Strategy for Beer

Production Costs Reducing Unit Cost of Beer

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GENERATING THE INITIAL HYPOTHESIS
Next we take the top-line recommendations and break it down further into level of issues, followed by the analyses required. This results in
the formation of our Issue Tree:

Top line Actionable Analyses

Client’s objective Recommnedations Issues
Sales Force EXAMPLE
Organisation
Change Sales
Strategy
Assuming the team believes that the firm’s
Sales Force production process is not as cost effective –
Competencies
that’s one issue. What analyses could then
Product Quality
be made to prove or disprove this belief? If
production costs are higher than the industry
Mismatch with average find out why. Could it be that
Increase Beer Improve Marketing consumers’ machines used are cost inefficient? Would
Sales Strategy preferences other machines yield a better profit per unit
produced? What would that mean for beer
Advertising sales?
Medium

Distribution Systems
Reduce Cost of
Sales
Production Process
Machine Profitability Analysis
Raw Materials
Sourcing

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TESTING THE INITIAL HYPOTHESIS
Always ensure that your issue tree is…

MECE
MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE
Is each column of the issue tree highlighting
a separate and distinct issue? Also remember that a hypothesis is merely a theory to be
proved or disproved and is not an answer itself. Never tailor
COLLECTIVELY EXHAUSTIVE your facts to fit the hypothesis.
Is every aspect of the problem covered in
this issue tree?

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WHY BRAINSTORM?

Brainstorming is key in ensuring that all consultants

solutions are MECE. This helps you unlock new
mindsets and provide your clients with the much-
needed view that is not locked into their company’s
way of doing things.

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 RULES TO BRAINSTORMING

PREPARATION IS KEY THERE ARE NO BAD IDEAS OR DUMB QUESTIONS

Before the team even meets, everyone in the team should This is pretty self-explanatory. Always voice your opinions
have done their own initial research. If time allows, team and throw out any queries. This prevents the session from
members could even bring along their own “fact packs” – a ending up as a one-sided presentation.
summary of what one has researched or a likely set of IHs.

ALWAYS BE OPEN TO NEW OPINIONS HAVE A SUMMARY OF THE DISCUSSION

You may have noticed that the word “likely” above is
This is to ensure that every important point is captured
italicised. Don’t come in to the session to defend your IHs
and acts as a reference point when crafting a neater
to the death. Allowing teammates to challenge your
and more defined issue tree.
ideas is what enhances the team’s final approach.

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BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUES
Post-it Exercises Flipchart Exercise

Pass notes to all the participants who

Alternatively, one can put a few flipcharts
proceeds to write down one idea on each
around the room, each with a different
note and hand them over to the moderator
category. Participants then go around
who can arrange these notes to provide more
adding ideas to the flipchart or even
structure around the issue. Arrangement of
comment on original ideas.
the notes can be done in an issue tree format

with additional notes falling under

each heading if necessary.

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YOUR FIRST CLIENT MEETING…
Highlight understanding on the client issue.
Make sure your team have slides highlighting the summary of your understanding of what the
client’s objective is and any information they have provided you with thus far. This will ensure
you interpretation of the client issue is correct, preventing problems down the road which may
require you to rework your whole approach.

Define scope of project with client.

During consulting, it is important to have a clear end target and work towards it. This will help
in narrowing the breadth of information you require. By doing so, you potentially eliminate
cases where your client requests things that divert your teams target making it difficult for you to
achieve the project within the set deadline / timeline.

Ensure that the deliverables and deadlines are clearly agreed upon.
Your team might also want to submit your work planning schedule to the client. This will keep
your client satisfied and your team on track for the project. (Refer to Work Planning step to see
the method of drawing up a schedule.)

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THE CONSULTING PROCESS

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

WORKPLANNING / STRUCTURING YOUR APPROACH

DATA GATHERING

CREATING CHARTS / PRESENTATION

FAQs

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WORKPLANNING

Work Planning is key before every project to keep your

consulting group on track and to allow clients to track and
validate your progress.

Your team might also want to submit your work planning schedule to the client. This will keep
your client satisfied and your team on track for the project. (Refer to Work Planning step to see
the method of drawing up a schedule.)

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HOW TO COME UP WITH A SCHEDULE?

ISSUE TREE TIMELINE

CONVERT
Referring to your completed issue tree and focusing on the final Now, you will need to work with your team to arrange these tasks in
branches, identify what are the individual tasks your team require. chronological order. This is because certain tasks will require pre-
(It should be very simple to translate your final branches into tasks. requisites before you can embark on it. For example, you would
If not, it might be because further breakdown is required.) probably have to collect survey results before you could do data analysis.

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HOW TO COME UP WITH A SCHEDULE?

A good way to do this would be using the Post it Exercise

(Slide 13) – Using the last column of post-its from the
issue tree, arrange them around accordingly before
translating them into a document.

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 WORKPLANNING EXAMPLE
Status
ü Completed
On Track Dark Grey Boxes are the boxes that require to be filled
At risk of not on schedule
Behind schedule

No Progress Status Event Remarks Start End Today Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12

1 Done On track Project Planning 23-Oct 27-Oct #####

2 Not Started On track Client Meeting Kickoff 27-Oct 27-Oct #####
3 In-Progress Delayed Craft Survey Questions 30-Oct ##### #####
4 Not Started At risk Execute Survey ##### ##### #####
5 Not Started Delayed Data Analysis for Market Sizing ##### ##### #####
6 21-Sep
7 #####
8 21-Sep
9 #####
10 #####
11 #####
12 #####
13 #####
14 #####
15 #####
16 #####
17 #####
18 #####
19 #####
20 #####

Mid Progress Check Case Completion

XX/XX XX/XX

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SOME WORKPLANNING APPLICATIONS…

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PICKING THE LOW HANGING FRUIT

Remember to share your work plan chart with your

client and provide regular updates on your progress.
It would also be good to organise meetings with your
clients at major checkpoints to discuss your findings
with them. Giving the client something practical before
the final presentation will enable you to gain rapport
and trust with them, giving them more incentive to
provide you with better resources throughout your
project.

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 STRUCTURING YOUR APPROACH
THE PROBLEM IS NOT ALWAYS THE PROBLEM
It is possible that at times clients might make an
incorrectly identify their business problems. For
example, a client might attribute its poor profitability
to its inability to manage costs when in fact it could
be because revenues are not growing. When such
situations occur, your team should quickly flag up the
issue to your client and propose that they take a
different direction.
NEVER TRY TO FORCE FIT FACTS INTO SOLUTIONS
When data contradicts your hypothesis, always take a
step back and re-examine the problem. While it may
be that some error has been made in the processing of
data, do not spend more time than necessary to check
through the data. Think along the lines on how this
data might fit into your initial hypothesis and if it
doesn’t, how to change your hypothesis.
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DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL
Business problems more often than not resemble each
other in some ways. Tap on existing frameworks from
consulting companies to structure your approach.
Also, look through consulting companies research
reports / case highlights for any similar issues and try
to draw ideas on how to tackle the problems from
there.
… AT THE SAME TIME, TRY TO CONTEXTUALISE
Academic ideals differ from business realities.
Businesses are filled with real people with differing
strengths and weaknesses. Companies have their own
culture and political climate. Always ensure that you
familiarize yourself with the company and keep
yourself updated with various news surrounding the
company to better tailor your solutions for them.
ENCOUNTERING DIFFICULT CASES

RE-EVALUATE THE PROBLEM

Tell the client that they were not looking at the correct problem the whole time. Make sure
that this is done early in the engagement or you risk being accused of trying to weasel your
way out.

EXPAND YOUR TIME HORIZON

Don’t worry about trying to implement the solution immediately. Should the client have
limited resources to carry out the operation, you could draw out a long-term timeline which
will help the firm reach its goal eventually, even if that goal can only be attained few years
down the road.

RE-ALIGN OBJECTIVES
Sometimes you might face resistance from certain personnel in the organisation. In this
case, try to assess what their incentives might be. For example, the cost-saving solution that
you are proposing to implement might render certain management redundant. Think about
how you can reconcile the solution to align to the objectives of these people.

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THE CONSULTING PROCESS

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

WORKPLANNING / STRUCTURING YOUR APPROACH

DATA GATHERING

CREATING CHARTS / PRESENTATION

FAQs

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DATA GATHERING

Data Gathering will often be the most time-

consuming process that your team will encounter
throughout the consulting process. As such it is
extremely important that this is done efficiently and
such that your team does not “Boil The Ocean” –
Choose and research only the relevant data that
might support of disprove your hypotheses. To do
that, remember to always refer to your key drivers
in the issue tree.

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TYPES OF DATA SOURCES

The following are possible data sources at your disposal:

PRIMARY RESEARCH SECONDARY RESEARCH

Such sources Includes first-hand Such sources includes primary research
research such as surveys, interviews done by a third party such as reports,
and group sessions newspaper articles and statistics.

As primary research is more time consuming to administer, always try to

exhaust your secondary research before moving on to primary research.

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 PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCHING SECONDARY DATA
USE THE ANNUAL REPORT
Annual reports contain a great amount of
information apart from financial details and is
easily accessed. Use it to obtain information about
the company’s business units, processes and
locations of it offices / warehouse, etc.
80/20 RULE
You might notice that much of your data seem to fit
this ratio i.e. 80% of your sales came from 20% of
the customers. Why is it that there is so much more
demand from these set of customers? Are you able to
tap on the remaining 80% of the customers to
increase the sales of your client’s company? By
looking out for this ratio, you will be able to identify
both problems and potential opportunities for your
client’s firm.
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LOOK FOR ANOMALIES
Try looking for data points that stand out whether
they are good or bad. For example, after averaging
the sales of each geographical division of your
client’s company and sorting it from highest to lowest.
Look for the 2 -3 best / worst figures. From there, you
could proceed to identify the reasons for these
anomalies which will shed further insight into your
project.
LOOK FOR BEST PRACTICE
Identify firms that are in the same industry which are
performing better and imitate their practices. Talk to
subject matter experts or leverage on previous reports
done by consulting firms to obtain better insights on
the industry. Sometimes, best practice can also be
found within firms i.e. a sales team of a particular
geographical region might be outperforming other
teams. Figure out the reason and how to implement it
across the rest of the company’s teams.
UCL’S DATA SOURCES
You could access the following link for some of the databases that UCL offers:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/electronic-resources/databases

Here are some of the suggested databases:

Contains business reports highlighting Contains macro-economic data of 197

Contains information on companies
information on various industries countries.

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GOOGLE SEARCHING TIPS
Using “operators”, we can enable our search to be more efficient:

Search for exact Shows all results within

Only searches word/phrase designated time range
pages of that site

Site:guardian.com ~Financials “Revenue” -Germany 2015..2017

Search for words,

Excludes terms from
including related words
this search
Replaces itself with common terms in
your search e.g. inelastic, price elasticity
Designate file types

filetype:pdf demand and supply intitle:stock *elasticity

Searches for particular word in the title

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GOOGLE SEARCHING TIPS
Also, do not use questions in your search. Think about how answers would be
phrased and search for that instead.

1) How many hospitals are in the UK? 1) Number of hospitals in UK

2) What is outlook of the logistics 2) Logistics Market 2016..2016

market for Germany in 2016? “Germany”

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CLIENT’S SECONDARY DATA

Most clients would have already been doing some

prior research into the project that you are working
on. Therefore, it would be good to check with your
what data they already possess and just tap on
those data. This prevents double work and ensures
that you truly value add to the client’s project.

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PRIMARY RESEARCH
Most of the time, should you wish to find more granular details than those typically
found in the web, you might have to conduct primary research to obtain such
information. The following are steps to conduct your research efficiently:

Set goals Select medium Formulate Questions Validate Questions

Refer to your issue tree and

Think about the main target
consider what are the
audience and who might
information you require. Validate this set of questions with
have access to this
Next, pick out the 2-3 key Based on your goals, craft your client to ensure that these
information you require.
things that are most a basic outline of the are in line with the kind of
Can your information be
important - these are the questions you might ask. information your client is trying to
obtained through surveys
things that you will try the obtain.
or internal interviews which
hardest to obtain during
are easier to administer?
the primary research itself.

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SURVEY GUIDELINES
INTRODUCTION
1 Start of by enabling respondents
to have an idea of what the
survey is about
START WITH EASY QUESTIONS
Do not start with open ended or
3 This is to enable the respondent
complex questions to avoid losing
interest of the respondent
FILTERING AND BRANCHING
5 Respondents should only be
asked questions that are
applicable to them
KEEP YOUR QUESTIONAIRE SHORT
7 Avoid making your
questionnaire too lengthy to
avoid respondents losing
interest. Conduct another
survey if it is really necessary
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SURVEY SECTION TITLES
2 Prime the respondent to
This survey is meant to assess the overall quality of various fast understand what each section
food chains. of questions might contain
This first section aims to determine quality of food served by fast
food chains.
HAVE CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS
Section 1: Product Quality 4
to know exactly what to do
1. Which of the following would you regard as important qualities of
food serve in fast food chains? You may circle more than one option.
SMOOTHEN TRANSITIONS
Taste Variety Packaging
6 Consider including verbal
transitions to better prime
If you select none of the above, skip to Question 3.
respondent
We will now move on to the assessing customer service quality of
fast food complexes. PUT SENSITIVE QUESTIONS AT THE END
This is to avoid putting off your
…
8 respondent at the start of the
survey. They are also more likely to
Could you please specify your income range? answer with a better understanding
of the type of information your team
is trying to acquire.
SURVEY QUESTION TIPS
RULES FOR SURVEY QUESTIONS
Avoid Technical Terms and Jargons
Avoid Vague or Imprecise Terms
Define Things Specifically
Make Sentences Short and Direct
Avoid vague scales
Avoid Double-Barreled Questions
Use Neutral Messages
MECE
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WRONG EXAMPLE
Do you support or oppose quantitative easing?
What is your favourite brand of soap?
Which of the following brackets does your
income fall under?
Over the past 30 days, how many hours do you
spend watching TV?
How many restaurants are there in your area?
Many, A lot, a few, little
Do you think that the government should increase
spending and reduces taxes?
Do you agree that the government should never
accede to any terrorist threats?
How frequent do you get food deliveries?
Everyday, 1 – 2 days, 2– 6 days
CORRECT EXAMPLE
Should the government purchase securities from
the market to lower interest rates?
What is your favourite brand of dish soap?
Which of the following brackets does your
income in 2015 fall under?
How many hours will you spend watching TV per
day?
How many restaurants are there in your area?
1 – 9, 10 – 19, 20 and above
Do you think that the government should increase
spending?
OR
Do you think that the government should reduce
taxes?
Should the government consider negotiating with
terrorists?
How frequent do you get food deliveries?
Everyday, Every 2 -3 days, Every 4– 7 days,
Others, Rarely
IMPROVING SURVEY RESPONSE RATES
CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE
Cater your surveys to the needs of your target audience. For example, should you wish to
interview students, you may choose to do the survey on a weekday near school where
there would be a higher traffic of students.

CONSIDER OFFERING INCENTIVES

Offering a small incentive is usually very effective in improving response rates. For
example, providing food vouchers, etc. You may wish to negotiate with your clients as to
whether or not this might be a feasible option.

SENDING REMINDERS
This is especially important for those surveys carried out online. Sending reminders to
those who have yet to respond to the survey will more often than not boost response
rates.

INCLUDE OPTION TO NOT RESPOND

When sensitive questions are asked, it is best to include the option of choosing to not
respond to the question. This is to prevent people from dropping out of the survey due to
discomfort.

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INTERNAL INTERVIEWS

Always begin by trying to get internal interviews

within your client’s office. These interviews are
relatively easy to administer compared to external
interviews. You may wish to express your interest
early for these interviews to give ample time for your
client to set them up.

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FINDING INTERVIEW CONTACTS
Should you wish to setup external interviews, you may consider
the following mediums to contact the companies:

COMPANY WEBSITES EMPLOYEE DIRECTORY GOVERNING ASSOCIATIONS LINKEDIN / HUNTER.IO

The easiest way is to locate
a company’s general hotline
off their website. However,
there is a higher chance of
response if you know the
name / designation of the
person you are contacting.
Employee directories can
sometimes be found on the
internet or even the
company’s website. However,
do not invest too much time in
finding a compiled list as it
does not come by very often.
Industries in various countries
usually fall under some
association. You may try
contacting them to obtain a
contact list of their member
firms. E.g. British Independent
Retailers Association
Linkedin is a suitable platform to look for the
names and designations of related personnel in the
target companies you want to interview. There is
also a useful Google Plugin called hunter.io which
might allow you to obtain the person’s company
email from their Linkedin profile.

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 INTERVIEW TIPS
INTERVIEW IN PAIRS
Interviewing in pairs is recommended as it might
be difficult to juggle recording interview notes and
asking the right questions at the same time.
Interviewing in pairs also provide multiple
perspectives to what is covered in the interview
LISTEN RATHER THAN SPEAK
Say enough just to keep the interviewee on track –
remember that you are here to extract as much
information as possible. To facilitate this always ask
open-ended questions. Also, show the interviewer
that you are interested in what they are saying by
adopting positive body language such as nodding or
taking notes.
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CONFIRM UNDERSTANDING
It is difficult to structure one’s thoughts with extreme
clarity during an unprepared conversation. As such, it
is important that you paraphrase the interviewee’s
answers, allowing them to confirm your understanding.
You might also wish to ask questions you already know
the answer to as this will provide insights on the
interviewee’s knowledge or even an alternative
opinion.
ALLOW INTERVIEWEE TO FEEL RELAXED
Don’t treat your interview as an interrogation or you
might end up with your interviewee not wishing to
disclose any further information. Focus on just your 2 –
3 most important points rather than trying to extract as
much information as possible. As people feel more
comfortable outside of an interview context, you could
even try the following techniques: Before you leave just
ask if there is anything they would like to add or drop
them a message post-interview saying you had a
question you forgot to ask.
POST-INTERVIEW

After the interview, remember to exchange contacts

with your interviewee as you never know when you
might require to contact them again for further
information. It would also be good to send a short
thank you note to thank the interviewee for their time.
You may wish to include a corporate letterhead if you
have contacted this interviewee with representation
from your client’s company.

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THE CONSULTING PROCESS

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

WORKPLANNING / STRUCTURING YOUR APPROACH

DATA GATHERING

CREATING CHARTS / PRESENTATION

FAQs

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STRUCTURING YOUR FINAL PRESENTATION
There is no value in having a bunch of great insights only to fail to properly convey
your message to your client. The following steps will help you to ensure that your
final presentation is structured with maximum clarity:

Refer to Issue Tree Create Straplines Fill in Content

Refer to your issue tree and Begin by writing the key

try to arrange the
information you have
acquired in a logical order.
Allow your client to follow
your logic as to how you
tackled your case in a step
by step fashion.
message and heading on Based on the key message
each slide. E.g. Sales can per slide, fill in the content
be increased should the required in each slide with
company alter its sales the most appropriate
structure. Remember to medium to convey that
keep to one message per message.
slide.

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WRITING STRAPLINES
Ensure that your straplines conveys a message and is not just a categorical
heading. If possible, include actionable words within your straplines.

1) Forecast of economic impact of 1) By 2025, these technologies could

technology have an economic impact in the
trillions.

2) Pricing Models 2) XX will need to change its pricing

model in order to increase revenues.

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TYPES OF EXHIBITS
Here are the typical exhibit mediums you would be using for your presentation:
DATA CHARTS
Hard data charts mainly
includes your quantitative
data. E.g. Revenues, Costs.
The main purpose of these
charts is to condense a huge
number of values into key
messages.
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DATA TABLE
When there is a mix of
quantitative and qualitative
data, sometimes data tables
might be a better option.
However, avoid using data
tables if there are too many
data points.
CONCEPTUAL
Conceptual charts are usually
used for qualitative data. E.g.
Comparison of degree of
maturity which is hard to
quantify. Such charts are only
limited by imagination.
Matrices are commonly used.
TEXT
As much as this is the most
visually unappealing medium,
it is inevitable that you will
have text in your slides.
Methods to make text look
more interesting will be
discussed later.
DATA CHARTS
Single Bar Chart Variable Width Multiple Bar Table or Table with Circular Area Line Chart Column Chart Line Chart
Column Charts Charts Embedded Charts Chart

1 Variable 2 Variables Few Items Many Items Cyclical Data Noncyclical Data Single or Few Items Many Items
>3 Variables
Many Periods Few Periods
Scatter Chart Static Comparison Changing Over Time Column Histogram Line Histogram

2 Variables
Relationship DATA CHARTS Distribution
Few Items Many Items
1 Variable
Bubble Chart
3 Variables Composition 2 Variables 3 Variables
Scatter Chart 3D Area Chart
Changing Over Time Static
Few Periods Many Periods

Only Relative Relative and Absolute Only Relative Relative and Absolute Simple Share Accumulation or Components of
Differences Matter Differences Matter Differences Matter Differences Matter of Total Subtraction to Total Components

Stacked 100% Stacked Column Stacked 100% Stacked Area Pie Chart Waterfall Chart Stacked 100% column chart
Column Chart Chart Area Chart Chart with subcomponents

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UNCOMMON DATA CHARTS…
WATERFALL CHART
CIRCULAR AREA CHART (SPIDER CHART)

Waterfall charts are useful for highlighting the aggregation /

Spider Charts can be used to highlight divisional budgets or to evaluate a
disaggregation of values leading up to the final value. These graphs are
product based on different metrics. They are also commonly used for
usually used to depict profit and loss statements, changes in inventory
cyclical data if data is recurring over multiple periods.
stocks, etc.

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UNCOMMON DATA CHARTS…
BUBBLE CHARTS

Bubble charts come into use when we want to compare data points based on 3 variables. Bubble charts work the same way as normal scatter charts
where data points are placed based on their x and y values. However, in this case a third variable can be included which will vary the size of the circle.
Circle charts can also be used on its own without axes to show difference in magnitude as seen in the top right graph,

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TIPS FOR DATA CHARTS
EMPHASISE MESSAGE
Ensure that your graph clearly shows the main
message you want to convey through bolding,
colouring or adding lines to highlight main focal
points. Also ensure that each chart is highlight only
one key message.
SORTING MATTERS
Bar charts should be sorted from high to low values
or vice versa based on the main message of the
chart. This is mainly done to ensure neatness and
clarity of your message. Consider putting categories
such as “Others” in the corner so that they do not
obstruct your key focal points.
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INCLUDE ADDITIONAL LABELS IF NECESSARY
Labels that add value to your key message should be
included in the graph. Values such as mean, median or
growth rate percentages might be useful to further
augment the message that your graph is trying to
convey.
DO NOT OVERUSE CHARTS
Charts are effective at focusing and sending across key
messages, but too many will bore your audience. Use
the absolute minimum necessary to make your point or
you risk losing your client’s attention.
CONCEPTUAL CHARTS
2X2 MATRIX FLOWCHARTS

Matrices are a very popular tool among consultants. Matrices can be Flowcharts are also another common conceptual chart used by
used to compare items based on 2 qualitative variables. E.g. Degree of consultants. They are able to clearly elucidate each step of the logic flow
Maturity, Structural Advantages etc. and can also be used for breakdown of information.

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MAKING TEXT MORE INTERESTING
Here are the ways you could make your text more visually appealing:

CONCEPTUAL CHARTS TEXT BOXES AND TABLES TYPOGRAPHY INCLUDING IMAGES

Try to convert text into some
form of conceptual chart if
possible i.e. Process Flows,
Mindmaps, Timelines, etc.
Include text boxes or tables
that can help segment
information. This helps to
better organise your logic as
well.
Use different fonts and
colours for headings and
subheadings. This can also
bring out focal points that you
may want to highlight.
Including images alongside
words make them look less
like a wall of text. Just make
sure that the images are
relevant. Check out
flaticon.com for some images.

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LANGUAGE TIPS
COMMON PITFALLS WRONG EXAMPLE CORRECT EXAMPLE

Quick service and low prices are top needs of

‘Motherhood’ Statements The needs of customer segments differ
largest segment
A key area of potential profit improvement is
improving the effectiveness of field sale
The sales force should be reorganised to match
Wordiness organisation to reflect the need for redefined
the trade environment
selling missions dictated by changes in the trade
environment
Reduction of prices has been the main factor
Market leadership has been achieved through
Convoluted Phrasing behind the achievement of leadership within the
price reduction
market
XX performance improvement opportunity Report of the Committee to identify opportunities
Noun-Stacking
identification committee report for improving performance at XX
Cross group sourcing clout should be identified A taskforce should pursue the benefits of group
Jargon
and leveraged via an over rider taskforce sourcing scale
Resources are deployed against the most active
Passive Voice The most active systems require more resources
systems
Most available evidence appears to point to the
Weak Statements potential emergence of an almost fully We expect an almost fully electronic future
electronically connected environment eventually
The team will facilitate a decision on how best to The team will decide which initiative to pursue
Hiding the Action
proceed first

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CHECKING FOR HYGIENE
CHARTS PAGE OBJECTS OTHERS

ü Ensure sources are included for ü Ensure strapline is present ü Check for Spelling
each chart
ü Ensure sources and footnotes re ü Check for Grammar and
ü Check that units and titles are included Punctuation
included
ü Ensure Page numbers are ü Check that sequencing of slides
ü Check that labels are present present are correct
and standardised
ü Ensure that LSC Logo is included ü Ensure that content page is
ü Check that number formatting is on each slide present
consistent (Number of decimals)
ü Ensure Consistency by the use of
ü Ensure that values across templates / master slides
different charts match (Revenue
should be the same in different
graphs)

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BEFORE YOUR FINAL PRESENTATION…

It is always good to have a meeting with your point of

contact before your final presentation with the
company's executives to run through your slides. This
way there will be a common understanding of what is
to be presented to top management. This will prevent
any form of contradiction and will smoothen your
presentation process.

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THE CONSULTING PROCESS

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

WORKPLANNING / STRUCTURING YOUR APPROACH

DATA GATHERING

CREATING CHARTS / PRESENTATION

FAQs

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FAQs
1) What should I expect from a LSC project?

Our projects allow you to hone both your soft and hard skills and enhance your commercial awareness through the solving of ”real-life” business
problems. Our clients provides current and challenging problems which will further stretch your abilities and you will also have access to networking
opportunities with your LSC mentors and fellow aspiring consultants. Of course, this will be a great addition to your CV and will make a great
conversation topic during interviews!

2) How much must I commit to this project?

Time spent will vary largely based on complexity of the cases, how well your team tackles the case and personal time management. LSC Consultants can
expect to spend about 5 – 7 hours each week working on the project. You might also need to spend time organising meetings to update your clients.
Projects usually last for an entire term. You are expected to meet project deadlines unless there are extenuating circumstances in which you are to inform
your LSC Client Liaison immediately.

3) What is the project’s timeline like?

You will start by attending LSC Induction Day where you will meet other LSC consultants and participate in a short workshop to kickstart your project. You
will then be working on your project all the way up to your final presentation. There will also be a midterm check where your team will share your
findings with the LSC Consultants.

4) What skills do I need to excel at LSC?

Apart from a strong interest and passion for improving and working with businesses, there are no pre-requisites for joining a project. It will be beneficial
to go through consulting case studies, especially if you have no prior background in consulting. Attending networking events to chat with professional
consultants will also allow you to better understand the consulting process. Ability to collaborate is of key importance as you will be constantly working in
a team.

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FAQs
5) Will I get client exposure?

As LSC, we firmly belief that the opportunity to interact with a real business in solving a real problem will provide you with an unrivalled learning
experience. As such, your team will be given the independence of liaising with the client for the project. Should you face any difficulties with the client
such as being given work out of your job scope, please contact your client liaison immediately.

6) Where can I get additional guidance?

There are 5 main sources of guidance:

• LSC Induction Day – There will be talks by LSC Mentors who will give you an overview of consulting based on their professional experience
• This Handbook – This will provide you with most of the rough details on ho to approach and tackle your project
• Your Mentor – Be proactive and keep in contact with your mentor as their real industry experience will be really valuable. Ensure that you act
professionally and only contact mentors during appropriate business hours.
• Internet – There are heaps of information online about consulting that you could find.
• LSC Committee Members – Participate in the events hosted by LSC or UCL Business Society to chat about consulting and feel free to drop one of us a
message as we are always willing to help.

7) Is this project “TOP SECRET”?

You will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement which will state clearly what you should or should not talk about. Feel free to talk about the project in
general terms but keep all insider information safe and out of the public eye and ear. Only include the company name in your CV if the information is
publically announced, if not it will be best to leave it in general terms.

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 WISHING YOU ALL THE BEST WITH
YOUR CONSULTING PROJECT!

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