Hey there, peoples. Welcome to the first entry of 2009. I wish I had been able to post this sooner, but I’ve been really busy with the start of the year. I’ve literally had the text file for the entry open on my laptop since Jan. 1 and it just sat there with me writing a few sentences every couple of days. After almost two weeks of writing, I’ve finally got something that I can post up here. It’s a labor of love, but y’all know I do it for the people, right?
The message below is from a reader who currently works on the analytics side of the energy industry and wants to pursue a career in alternative industry consulting. As I read his email, I asked myself if I had any sort of expertise on the topic and quickly said “HECK NAW”…at least I told him as much in my response. I love that people come to me as a source of knowledge, so I often feel like I’m letting folks down when I don’t have the depth of understanding on a particular topic to give a great response. I hope he was able to get something out of my words below. If not, at least I DID try to set his expectations pretty low from the start.
Also, I should say that the reader below had originally posted his questions in a blog entry comment, but it didn’t catch my eye because my backlog of emails keeps me from giving in-depth responses to comments. So, if you ever want to get a question answered, you’ve got to email it to me. I don’t go searching through the user comments for stuff to respond to, especially if it’s in a comment from “Anonymous”.
———
CD wrote:
“Hello Marquis:
Your ability and willingness to analyze people’s situations and to convey your thoughts in an articulate manner is commendable. I’d posted the following as a comment on your post on questions from someone
in the energy sector (sorry, if I am cluttering up your inbox):
A follow-up question on energy consulting. I develop mathematical and computational models for simulating/analyzing fuel cells, solar cells etc. and plan to pursue a career in alternative energy consulting. Most top consulting companies do have alternative/sustainable energy practices mentioned on their websites, but it’s very hard to gauge (perhaps, i am not researching properly) if enough opportunities exist at these companies for a post-mba consulting career in this sector.
Any thoughts on “boutique consulting” with a focus on alternative energy vs big consulting company with a small alternative energy division.
I’d love to hear your thoughts/comments.
regards and many thanks,
CD”
———
My response:
CD,
I hope this message finds you doing well. I know it’s been a while since you sent me your email, but I’m sure you understand how tough it can be for me to get through my backlog of messages. I don’t know if you’ve made your career transition yet, but I hope I’m getting this response to you in time to be helpful in your thinking. Also, I have to admit that my knowledge on alternative energy and the consulting world as it pertains to the topic is pretty light. I know a little bit from conversations I’ve had with others, so I’ll be using that as the background for my answers to your questions. I just wanted to let you know about that limitation upfront so you wouldn’t be expecting the sun, moon, and stars from me in a response.
You basically asked me for my perspectives on the following two topics:
—–
- Do enough opportunities in alternative/sustainable energy exist at top consulting companies to support a post-mba consulting career? –> I’m not really sure how to answer this question except to say that I know that these opportunities exist, but I’m not sure if “enough” of them exist. I know several folks at the top firms who’ve focused on alternative energy and have been able to develop a great depth of expertise. In fact, one of my favorite people at McK is a guy who was interested in solar power and built up his own competency in the area from scratch. Going forward, the number of consulting career opportunities will be dependent on the number of alternative/sustainability companies and related firms who have the funding to bring in consultants. I’ve read a lot of articles recently about the current and projected growth in the industry and, with Barack Obama’s focus on alternative energy, that growth could explode in the next few years. I’d suggest reaching out to folks at a range of consulting firms to ask for their perspectives on this question because I’m far from an expert here.
- Thoughts on boutique consulting with a focus on alternative energy vs big consulting company with a small alternative energy division –> This is a great question, but, unfortunately, I’m not certain about the answer as it specifically pertains to alternative energy. Instead, I’ll think of it as a boutique consultancy with an industry focus versus a division of a big consulting firm…basically, I’m going to look at your question in terms of a general industry focus rather than only looking at alternative energy. I’m pretty sure I’ve written an entry about boutique consulting firms before, but I don’t feel like looking for it, so we can walk through some of the thinking on it here.
When weighing these options, I’d look at three factors and make a decision based on my perspective/desires in each area:
> Depth of knowledge — If you know that you’re interested in a particular industry/functional area, you can dive really deep by working for a firm that specializes in that topic. You’d develop the type of understanding of the issues, movements, and strategies for success within the area of specialization that one can’t get out of a book. Also, going for depth will likely prepare you for a host of jobs within that area of focus and companies place high value on this sort of specific knowledge combined with the range of experiences that one gets in consulting. As you can imagine, a position with a boutique firm is a great way to optimize on depth of knowledge and, if the boutique has a strong brand within the industry sector, your resume could look golden once you hit the job market. You could also develop this depth of knowledge by going to a larger firm with a specialized practice, but, if you go this route, make sure you focus the majority of your project work within that practice area and be ready to tackle pointed questions about the ins and outs of the chosen industry/functional area.
> Breadth of knowledge — The other side of the coin to depth of knowledge is to pursue a broad set of experiences during your time in consulting. In this case, you’d have the opportunity to learn about a wide range of topics and, hopefully, be able to apply those lessons later on when you leave consulting. At a larger consulting firm with a specialized practice, you’d have the possibility of stepping away from that practice area and broadening your experience set with projects in different industry or functional areas. I knew several folks at my former employer who were aligned with a practice that took advantage of this option when interesting projects popped up and enjoyed the change for a short period. You might be able to get a breadth of experiences at a boutique with an industry focus, but this would probably be more difficult. If you go the boutique route, you’d want to make sure that your project experiences expose you to as many different types of experiences as possible. For example, if you go to an alternative energy-focused boutique, get on projects that cover a range of topics like market entry, profitability, operations, finance, sales & marketing, corporate development, etc.
> Exit options — This is a highly important factor because many people work in consulting for a few years and then move on to positions that have different lifestyle and work characteristics. This applies to the question at hand because the two options could prepare you differently for exit options. Starting off at a larger consulting firm could give you a broader set of experiences and a more well-known brand that could prepare you to move into a wide range of positions in several different industries. On the other hand, starting at a boutique with an industry focus might not give you the widespread brand recognition, but the depth of knowledge gained could set you up for a very well-placed position at firms within the company’s industry focus area. There are some outher nuances to consider here, so I realize that I’ve oversimplified this age-old question, but it is sometimes best to make things as basic as possible to start and then dig deeper as you consider it more.
I won’t tell you which route (boutique with alternative energy focus vs. big consulting firm) to take because that’s a decision that you’ve ultimately have to make for yourself. Hopefully, the points above will be of some use as you think through your options and set up your professional roadmap for the future.
—–
You didn’t say whether you were looking at business school in your email, but, if you are, I wish you luck in your application process. If not, then I’ll just leave you with my well wishes in transitioning into alternative energy consulting. It’s a VERY important topic in the world today and, if you can help companies in their alternative energy efforts, you’ll be doing a great service to all of us around the globe. Take care and happy new year.
-Marquis
The message below is from a reader who currently works on the analytics side of the energy industry and wants to pursue a career in alternative industry consulting. As I read his email, I asked myself if I had any sort of expertise on the topic and quickly said “HECK NAW”…at least I told him as much in my response. I love that people come to me as a source of knowledge, so I often feel like I’m letting folks down when I don’t have the depth of understanding on a particular topic to give a great response. I hope he was able to get something out of my words below. If not, at least I DID try to set his expectations pretty low from the start.
Also, I should say that the reader below had originally posted his questions in a blog entry comment, but it didn’t catch my eye because my backlog of emails keeps me from giving in-depth responses to comments. So, if you ever want to get a question answered, you’ve got to email it to me. I don’t go searching through the user comments for stuff to respond to, especially if it’s in a comment from “Anonymous”.
———
CD wrote:
“Hello Marquis:
Your ability and willingness to analyze people’s situations and to convey your thoughts in an articulate manner is commendable. I’d posted the following as a comment on your post on questions from someone
in the energy sector (sorry, if I am cluttering up your inbox):
A follow-up question on energy consulting. I develop mathematical and computational models for simulating/analyzing fuel cells, solar cells etc. and plan to pursue a career in alternative energy consulting. Most top consulting companies do have alternative/sustainable energy practices mentioned on their websites, but it’s very hard to gauge (perhaps, i am not researching properly) if enough opportunities exist at these companies for a post-mba consulting career in this sector.
Any thoughts on “boutique consulting” with a focus on alternative energy vs big consulting company with a small alternative energy division.
I’d love to hear your thoughts/comments.
regards and many thanks,
CD”
———
My response:
CD,
I hope this message finds you doing well. I know it’s been a while since you sent me your email, but I’m sure you understand how tough it can be for me to get through my backlog of messages. I don’t know if you’ve made your career transition yet, but I hope I’m getting this response to you in time to be helpful in your thinking. Also, I have to admit that my knowledge on alternative energy and the consulting world as it pertains to the topic is pretty light. I know a little bit from conversations I’ve had with others, so I’ll be using that as the background for my answers to your questions. I just wanted to let you know about that limitation upfront so you wouldn’t be expecting the sun, moon, and stars from me in a response.
You basically asked me for my perspectives on the following two topics:
—–
- Do enough opportunities in alternative/sustainable energy exist at top consulting companies to support a post-mba consulting career? –> I’m not really sure how to answer this question except to say that I know that these opportunities exist, but I’m not sure if “enough” of them exist. I know several folks at the top firms who’ve focused on alternative energy and have been able to develop a great depth of expertise. In fact, one of my favorite people at McK is a guy who was interested in solar power and built up his own competency in the area from scratch. Going forward, the number of consulting career opportunities will be dependent on the number of alternative/sustainability companies and related firms who have the funding to bring in consultants. I’ve read a lot of articles recently about the current and projected growth in the industry and, with Barack Obama’s focus on alternative energy, that growth could explode in the next few years. I’d suggest reaching out to folks at a range of consulting firms to ask for their perspectives on this question because I’m far from an expert here.
- Thoughts on boutique consulting with a focus on alternative energy vs big consulting company with a small alternative energy division –> This is a great question, but, unfortunately, I’m not certain about the answer as it specifically pertains to alternative energy. Instead, I’ll think of it as a boutique consultancy with an industry focus versus a division of a big consulting firm…basically, I’m going to look at your question in terms of a general industry focus rather than only looking at alternative energy. I’m pretty sure I’ve written an entry about boutique consulting firms before, but I don’t feel like looking for it, so we can walk through some of the thinking on it here.
When weighing these options, I’d look at three factors and make a decision based on my perspective/desires in each area:
> Depth of knowledge — If you know that you’re interested in a particular industry/functional area, you can dive really deep by working for a firm that specializes in that topic. You’d develop the type of understanding of the issues, movements, and strategies for success within the area of specialization that one can’t get out of a book. Also, going for depth will likely prepare you for a host of jobs within that area of focus and companies place high value on this sort of specific knowledge combined with the range of experiences that one gets in consulting. As you can imagine, a position with a boutique firm is a great way to optimize on depth of knowledge and, if the boutique has a strong brand within the industry sector, your resume could look golden once you hit the job market. You could also develop this depth of knowledge by going to a larger firm with a specialized practice, but, if you go this route, make sure you focus the majority of your project work within that practice area and be ready to tackle pointed questions about the ins and outs of the chosen industry/functional area.
> Breadth of knowledge — The other side of the coin to depth of knowledge is to pursue a broad set of experiences during your time in consulting. In this case, you’d have the opportunity to learn about a wide range of topics and, hopefully, be able to apply those lessons later on when you leave consulting. At a larger consulting firm with a specialized practice, you’d have the possibility of stepping away from that practice area and broadening your experience set with projects in different industry or functional areas. I knew several folks at my former employer who were aligned with a practice that took advantage of this option when interesting projects popped up and enjoyed the change for a short period. You might be able to get a breadth of experiences at a boutique with an industry focus, but this would probably be more difficult. If you go the boutique route, you’d want to make sure that your project experiences expose you to as many different types of experiences as possible. For example, if you go to an alternative energy-focused boutique, get on projects that cover a range of topics like market entry, profitability, operations, finance, sales & marketing, corporate development, etc.
> Exit options — This is a highly important factor because many people work in consulting for a few years and then move on to positions that have different lifestyle and work characteristics. This applies to the question at hand because the two options could prepare you differently for exit options. Starting off at a larger consulting firm could give you a broader set of experiences and a more well-known brand that could prepare you to move into a wide range of positions in several different industries. On the other hand, starting at a boutique with an industry focus might not give you the widespread brand recognition, but the depth of knowledge gained could set you up for a very well-placed position at firms within the company’s industry focus area. There are some outher nuances to consider here, so I realize that I’ve oversimplified this age-old question, but it is sometimes best to make things as basic as possible to start and then dig deeper as you consider it more.
I won’t tell you which route (boutique with alternative energy focus vs. big consulting firm) to take because that’s a decision that you’ve ultimately have to make for yourself. Hopefully, the points above will be of some use as you think through your options and set up your professional roadmap for the future.
—–
You didn’t say whether you were looking at business school in your email, but, if you are, I wish you luck in your application process. If not, then I’ll just leave you with my well wishes in transitioning into alternative energy consulting. It’s a VERY important topic in the world today and, if you can help companies in their alternative energy efforts, you’ll be doing a great service to all of us around the globe. Take care and happy new year.
-Marquis
