Enterprise external brain service consulting refers to the service of enterprises to provide professional advice and solutions in strategy, management, technology, market and other aspects by hiring external professionals or institutions. Enterprise external brain service consulting can help enterprises improve their competitiveness, innovation ability, risk management ability, etc., but there are also some challenges and difficulties, such as how to choose the right consulting organization or person, how to ensure the quality and effect of consulting projects, how to establish good cooperative relations with consulting institutions or people. From the perspective of enterprises, this paper summarizes the eight skills to improve the effect of enterprise external brain service consulting, including defining consulting objectives and needs, selecting suitable consulting institutions or persons, formulating reasonable consulting contracts and fees, establishing effective communication and feedback mechanisms, actively participating in the consulting process and result evaluation, protecting intellectual property rights and business secrets, maintaining long-term partnership, continuous learning and improvement, etc, combined with the specific case of Shangpu consulting service customers, a simple analysis is carried out in order to provide some reference and enlightenment for the practice of enterprise external brain service consulting.

Enterprise external brain service consulting refers to the service of enterprises to provide professional advice and solutions in strategy, management, technology, market and other aspects by hiring external professionals or institutions. This kind of service can help enterprises cope with the complex and changeable market environment, solve the shortage of internal resources and capabilities, and improve competitiveness, innovation ability, risk management ability and so on. According to the International Management Consulting Association (IMCA) statistics,2019The global management consulting market reached approximately5000Billions of dollars, expected2023By the end of the year it will grow to about6000Billions of dollars.

Champ Consulting (Shangpu Consulting) is an organization that provides enterprises with a full range of external brain services and consulting, established in2008years, currently has more200Senior industry experts and consultants, covering manufacturing, finance, education, medical, e-commerce and other fields. Shangpu Consulting is customer-centered, problem-oriented, and result-oriented. It tailors external brain service consulting solutions suitable for customers at their development stages and characteristics, and ensures that customers achieve their expected goals and values through continuous follow-up and optimization.

However, in practice, there are also some challenges and difficulties in enterprise external brain service consulting, such as how to choose a suitable consulting agency or person, how to ensure the quality and effectiveness of consulting projects, and how to establish a good cooperative relationship with consulting agencies or people. If the enterprise can not effectively deal with these problems, it may lead to the failure of the consulting project, and even cause the loss and risk of the enterprise. Therefore, companies need to master some skills when conducting external brain service consulting to improve the consulting effect and achieve a win-win situation.

From the perspective of enterprises, this paper summarizes the eight skills to improve the effect of enterprise external brain service consulting, including defining consulting objectives and needs, selecting suitable consulting institutions or persons, formulating reasonable consulting contracts and fees, establishing effective communication and feedback mechanisms, actively participating in the consulting process and result evaluation, protecting intellectual property rights and business secrets, maintaining long-term partnership, continuous learning and improvement, etc, combined with the specific case of Shangpu consulting service customers, a simple analysis is carried out in order to provide some reference and enlightenment for the practice of enterprise external brain service consulting.

1. clarify consulting objectives and needs

Before consulting on external brain services, companies first need to clarify their consulting goals and needs, that is, why they want to consult, what problems to solve, and what effects to achieve. This can help enterprises to select the right consulting institutions or people, as well as to develop a reasonable consulting program and budget. At the same time, it can also provide a clear basis and standard for subsequent communication, collaboration, evaluation, etc.

For example, Champ Consulting once provided external brain service consulting for a small and medium-sized enterprise producing high-end medical devices. The company has a certain reputation and advantages in the market, but due to irregular internal management, it has led to low production efficiency, high costs, and reduced profits. The company hopes to find ways to improve production efficiency and reduce costs through external brain service consulting, and to optimize its management system and processes. Therefore, when approached with Champ Consulting, the company clarified its own consulting objectives and needs, and worked with Champ Consulting to develop specific consulting programs and indicators.

2. choose the right advisory body or person

After clarifying their consulting goals and needs, companies need to choose the right consulting agency or person based on their actual situation and budget. A number of factors need to be considered here, such as the background, qualifications, professional field, experience, reputation, cases, service quality, price, etc. of the consultant or person. Enterprises can understand and compare different candidates through a variety of channels, such as Internet search, word-of-mouth recommend, industry evaluation, etc., and further confirm whether they meet their expectations through interviews and trials.

For example, when providing external brain service consultation for the above-mentioned small and medium-sized enterprises producing high-end medical devices, Shangpu Consulting fully demonstrated its professional knowledge and experience in the medical industry, as well as its successful cases and methodology in production management, and provided a detailed consultation quotation and contract, which won the trust and choice of the enterprise.

3. develop reasonable consulting contracts and fees

After selecting a suitable consulting agency or person, the company needs to sign a reasonable consulting contract and fee with it to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties, as well as the scope, content, process, time, quality, results, and cost of the consulting project. This can avoid unnecessary disputes and misunderstandings in the later period, and can also protect the interests and credibility of both parties. At the same time, enterprises also need to arrange the payment method and time of consulting fees reasonably according to their financial situation and expected return, such as one-time payment, installment payment, progress payment, effect payment and so on.

For example, when Shangpu Consulting provided external brain service consulting for the above-mentioned small and medium-sized enterprises producing high-end medical devices, it signed a detailed consulting contract and cost with the enterprise, which stipulated the objectives, scope, content, process, time, quality, results, etc. of the consulting project, and agreed that the consulting cost was the total project budget.10%, in which50%Paid at project initiation,30%Paid in the middle of the project,20%Pay at the end of the project and adjust according to the actual effect of the project.

4. establish effective communication and feedback mechanisms

In the process of consulting on external brain services, companies need to establish an effective communication and feedback mechanism with consulting agencies or people to ensure that both parties can exchange information, coordinate actions, solve problems, and adjust plans in a timely manner. This can improve the efficiency and quality of the implementation of the consulting project, and also enhance the trust and satisfaction of both parties. Specifically, enterprises can establish effective communication and feedback mechanisms through the following aspects:

Set up a special consulting project organization and management organization, such as project leader, project team, project committee, etc., to clarify their respective responsibilities and powers, and hold regular meetings or reports.

Develop a unified consultation project communication plan and specifications, such as communication frequency, communication methods, communication content, communication records, etc., and ensure that both parties comply.

Establish multiple communication channels and tools, such as telephone, email, WeChat, video conference, etc., and choose the appropriate method according to different communication purposes and scenarios.

Encourage both parties to actively put forward opinions and suggestions, and give timely responses and feedback, and confirm and record important decisions and changes.

Regularly evaluate and supervise the consulting project, summarize and improve according to the evaluation results, and report to the relevant parties in a timely manner.

For example, when providing external brain service consultation for the above-mentioned small and medium-sized enterprises producing high-end medical devices, Shangpu Consulting has established an effective communication and feedback mechanism with the enterprise, including:

A project committee, co-chaired by the director of Shangpu Consulting and the general manager of the company, has been set up to guide and supervise the consulting project and hold monthly meetings.

A project team composed of the Shangpu consultant team and the heads of relevant departments of the enterprise has been set up to be responsible for the implementation and coordination of the consulting project and hold a weekly meeting.

The communication plan and specifications for the consultation project are formulated, which stipulate the frequency, method, content, records, etc. of communication, and communicate through email, WeChat, video conference, etc.

Both parties are encouraged to put forward opinions and suggestions during the communication process, and respond and feedback in a timely manner, and confirm and record important decisions and changes.

Evaluate and supervise the consulting project regularly, summarize and improve according to the evaluation results, and report to the project committee in a timely manner.

5. active participation in the consultation process and outcome evaluation

In the process of external brain service consulting, enterprises should not only passively accept the suggestions and solutions of consulting institutions or people, but should actively participate in the consulting process and result evaluation to ensure the fit and effectiveness of consulting projects. Specifically, companies can actively participate in the consultation process and outcome evaluation through the following aspects:

Provide sufficient information and data, such as the background, current situation, problems, goals, needs, etc. of the enterprise, to help consulting agencies or people better understand the actual situation and needs of the enterprise, and develop appropriate consulting programs.

Assist the consulting agency or person to conduct on-site research and analysis, such as providing relevant personnel, equipment, venues and other resources to help the consulting agency or person have a deeper understanding of the operating conditions and problems of the enterprise, and put forward feasible suggestions and solutions.

Actively implement the suggestions and solutions put forward by the consulting institution or person, such as cooperating with relevant training, improvement, adjustment and other activities, so as to help the consulting institution or person to promote the implementation of the consulting project more effectively and achieve the expected goals.

Timely feedback on the implementation and effectiveness of the consulting project, such as providing relevant data, reports, opinions and other information to help the consulting agency or person more accurately assess the quality and effectiveness of the consulting project, and optimize and improve it.

For example, Champ Consulting has been actively involved in providing external brain services to the above-mentioned small and medium-sized enterprises producing high-end medical devices, including:

Provides information and data on the company's background, current situation, problems, goals, needs, etc., to help Champ Consulting better understand the actual situation and needs of the company and develop appropriate consulting solutions.

Assisted Shangpu Consulting to conduct on-site research and analysis, and provided relevant personnel, equipment, venues and other resources to help Shangpu Consulting to more deeply grasp the operating conditions and problems of the company, and put forward feasible suggestions and solutions.

Actively implemented the suggestions and solutions put forward by Shangpu Consulting, and cooperated with relevant training, improvement, adjustment and other activities to help Shangpu Consulting promote the implementation of consulting projects more effectively and achieve the expected goals.

Timely feedback on the implementation and effect of the consulting project, and provide relevant data, reports, opinions and other information to help Shangpu Consulting more accurately evaluate the quality and effect of the consulting project, and optimize and improve it.

6. protection of intellectual property and trade secrets

In the process of consulting on external brain services, enterprises need to protect intellectual property rights and trade secrets with consulting institutions or people to prevent their core competitiveness and interests from being damaged or infringed. Specifically, companies can protect intellectual property and trade secrets:

When signing the consulting contract and fees, clarify the rights and obligations of both parties in terms of intellectual property rights and commercial secrets, such as the ownership of the results of the consulting project, the scope of use, the authorization method, the confidentiality period, the liability for breach of contract, etc., and ensure that both parties comply.

When providing information and data, distinguish different levels of confidentiality, such as open, internal, confidential, top secret, etc., and take different protection measures according to different levels of confidentiality, such as encryption, watermarking, numbering, etc., and ensure that both parties comply.

When communicating and giving feedback, be careful not to disclose or expose your or the other party's intellectual property and trade secrets, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, technologies, strategies, customers, partners, etc., and ensure that both parties comply.

After the completion of the consulting project, timely recover or destroy all information and data related to the consulting project, such as documents, materials, equipment, software, etc., and ensure that both parties comply with them.

For example, when providing external brain services consulting to the above-mentioned small and medium-sized enterprises producing high-end medical devices, Champ Consulting has protected intellectual property rights and trade secrets with the enterprise, including:

When signing the consulting contract and fees, the rights and obligations of both parties in terms of intellectual property rights and trade secrets are clarified, which stipulates that the results of the consulting project belong to the company, and Shangpu Consulting can only use it within the scope of the company's authorization, and Promise that it will not use or disclose it after the end of the consulting project, and bear the corresponding liability for breach of contract.

When providing information and data, different levels of confidentiality are distinguished, and different protection measures are taken according to different levels of confidentiality. For example, for top-secret information and data, they can only be transmitted by encryption and can only be transmitted by the project leader. View.

During communication and feedback, be careful not to disclose or expose your or the other party's intellectual property rights and trade secrets, and record and confirm important communication content.

After the end of the consulting project, all information and data related to the consulting project were recovered or destroyed in a timely manner, and this was confirmed and recorded.

7. maintain long-term partnerships

In the process of external brain service consulting, enterprises should not only regard consulting institutions or people as one-time service providers, but should regard them as long-term partners to establish lasting trust and mutual benefit. Specifically, companies can maintain long-term partnerships through the following aspects:

After completing the consulting project, express gratitude and appreciation to the consulting organization or person, and give appropriate rewards or recommend.

In the follow-up business activities, maintain contact and communication with the consulting agency or person, and timely feedback to the long-term effect and impact of the consulting project.

When encountering new problems or needs, give priority to cooperating with consulting agencies or people again, and give more trust and support.

When there is an opportunity, have more exchanges and interactions with consulting agencies or people, such as participating in related activities, training, seminars, etc., and share your own experience and insights.

For example, after providing external brain service consulting to the above-mentioned small and medium-sized enterprises producing high-end medical devices, Champ Consulting has maintained a long-term partnership with the enterprise, including:

After completing the consulting project, he expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Champ Consulting, gave certain bonuses and gifts, and recommend the services of Champ Consulting to other colleagues.

In the follow-up business activities, maintained contact and communication with Champ Consulting, and timely feedback to the long-term effect and impact of the consulting project, such as improved production efficiency.30%The cost is reduced.20%Profits have increased.50%Wait.

When encountering new problems or needs, we gave priority to cooperating with Shangpu Consulting again, and gave more trust and support. For example, when carrying out market expansion and brand building, we once again hired Shangpu Consulting to provide professional advice and solutions.

When I had the opportunity, I had more exchanges and interactions with Champ Consulting, such as attending industry seminars and customer salons organized by Champ Consulting, and shared my own experience and insights.

8. continuous learning and improvement

In the process of external brain service consulting, enterprises should not only rely on the suggestions and solutions provided by consulting institutions or people, but should improve their knowledge, ability and quality through consulting projects, so as to realize self-development and improvement. Specifically, companies can continue to learn and improve through the following aspects:

When accepting the advice and solutions provided by consultants or people, we should not only pay attention to the results, but also pay attention to its principles, methods, logic, etc., and try to understand and master them.

When implementing the suggestions and solutions provided by consulting agencies or people, we should not only follow their steps, but also pay attention to their causes, purposes, effects, etc., and try to analyze and evaluate them.

After completing the consulting project, we should not only summarize its results, but also summarize its experience, lessons, enlightenment, etc., and try to use and promote it.

In the follow-up business activities, we should not only maintain its effect, but also pay attention to its changes, problems, opportunities, etc., and try to adjust and innovate.

For example, after providing external brain service consulting to the above-mentioned small and medium-sized enterprises producing high-end medical devices, Champ Consulting has helped the enterprise to continuously learn and improve, including:

When accepting the suggestions and solutions provided by Champ Consulting, he not only paid attention to its results, but also paid attention to its principles, methods, logic, etc., and understood and mastered it through training, guidance, etc.

When implementing the suggestions and solutions provided by Shangpu Consulting, we not only followed its steps, but also paid attention to its causes, purposes, effects, etc., and analyzed and evaluated through monitoring and testing.

After the completion of the consulting project, not only summarized its results, but also summarized its experience, lessons, enlightenment, etc., and through the report, sharing and other ways to use and promote.

In the follow-up business activities, not only maintained its effect, but also paid attention to its changes, problems, opportunities, etc., and adjusted and innovated through optimization and innovation.

In short, enterprise external brain service consulting is an effective way to enhance the competitiveness and innovation ability of enterprises, but it also requires enterprises to master some skills to improve the consulting effect and achieve a win-win situation. From the perspective of enterprises, this paper summarizes the eight skills to improve the effect of enterprise external brain service consulting, and makes a simple analysis of the specific cases of Shangpu consulting service customers, hoping to provide some reference and enlightenment for the practice of enterprise external brain service consulting.