XLRI’s Jamshedpur PGDM (GM) Kautilya Consulting Club successfully concluded its Consulting Conclave – FULCRUM themed “Decoding the Future of Consulting” during 19th and 20th of November 2022.

Fulcrum “Decoding the Future of Consulting” serves as a forum for stimulating discussions on new upcoming age issues. The event brings together Strategists, Consulting Evangelists, Thought Leaders, Entrepreneurs and Professionals who are pioneering change to evaluate real-world business dilemmas, reflect on their social impact and spark significant conversations. Inquisitive minds will have the opportunity to meet with and be inspired by these consulting industry luminaries at the conclave.

The conclave was held hybrid (Nov 19) and online (Nov 20) with Prof. Rajeev Roy, Prof. Apalak Khatua, and Prof. Munish Kumar Thakur as Faculty Moderators for the sessions. Students Mr. Tarun Tulsyani, Ms. Tarasha Vatsal, Mr. Abhineet Sinha, Ms. Kitty Kar, Ms. Aparajita Chaudaury, Mr. Souradeep Mukherjee and Mr. V Aravind, were the host and co-host for the event.

It started with the lamp lightening ceremony followed by the Inaugural Address by Fr. S George, Director, XLRI Jamshedpur. Father George addresses the audience and stresses the need and importance of consultancy in today’s society. He highlighted the challenging nature of jobs in consulting and the importance of B-schools in training students to become consultants.

It was followed by an address from Dr. Sanjay Patro, Dean Academics, XLRI Jamshedpur. Dr. Sanjay Patro addresses: "2000 years back Kautilya led the foundation stone of Taxila University and coined the subject of Arthashastra. The name of the club suggests thinking over the changes that Chanakya’s contribution has made in the world. Today innovation can come from anyone; whether in a Village or town sitting in your room. Digital Era principles are very different, things are changing from the contemporary books. Guidance from the Industry Leaders shades new light over the future. Strategy is about looking over the uncertain and ambiguous world. World is coming to India for the Talent not only for the cheaper labour."

It was followed by the address from Chief Speaker, Mr. Ganesan Ramachandran, Managing Director, Tech Strategy and Advisory, Accenture. He enlightened us on the topics Future of Consulting. Mr. Ramachandran addresses the audience and talks about the future of consulting. He stresses that consulting is like developing a toolkit to solve the client’s problems. Consultants should have the motivation to solve customer problems. Consultants can no longer be “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Consultants today need to have deep knowledge about a few topics and surface-level knowledge about a range of topics. He added that consultants must curate their solutions to the client’s needs. A consulting firm should not recommend standardized solutions to all problems to its clients.

It was followed by the address from the Speaker, Mr. Prakhar Tripathy, Partner, Consulting, Deloitte India. He enlightened us on the topics for Decoding synergy and unlocking talent potential in M&A. According to him, the biggest challenge is the unpredictable process of the merger and related to it the reaction of the employees. Depending upon the business model and size of the organization there are various types of Mergers and Acquisitions: Bolt ON, Tuck IN, Transformation or Consolidation. All of these interventions are different depending upon the Value opportunities that they create. It could be any one of these: Market Share, Cost Synergies and Business Connectivity. Talent Retention and Preserving Value is the most driving objective of these mergers and acquisitions. The Biggest Query in the mind of employees: Where do I fit in this myriad of structures, comparison with peers and what is next for me in this integration? These concerns need to be catered by the Human Resource involved in M&As by wearing two hats of supporting the organization through transformation and be the change manager in the integration.

It was followed by the address from Mr. Abhishek Trigunait, Chief Product & Technology Officer Principal, ZS Associates. He enlightened us on the topics for Navigating the new frontiers of Consulting He talked about the paradigm shift in the consulting industry. He gave an example of change in the organizational structure of consulting firms in which companies have moved from a structure of few senior partners working with many smart and competent junior associates to a structure with few senior and junior partners and many mid-level managers. He also said that consulting firms now have a focused approach and give differentiated and customized solutions to their clients rather than just giving standardized solutions to the clients, as was the case in the past.

Post Lunch Sessions started with an address from the Speaker, Mr. Arjun Vaidyanathan, Chief Operating Officer, KPMG in India. He enlightened us on the topics for Decoding the future of consulting. He decodes and deciphers the foundation of Consulting and its requirement in the current Business Scenario, the paradigm shift in consumer behavior across the segments and its linkage with the industry's evolution. Digitalization of government services is another frontrunner in the wind of change-all the factors leading to the adaptation of consulting services. He emphasizes that Digital transformation is going to stay. He also talks about how consultants must stay ahead of the curve, learn more, imagine more, and produce more innovative ideas to solve the problem. For the solution to be holistic, he highlights the need to have Real-world problem-solving experience. Skill sets must be dynamic, and the future of Consulting is how we are improving our skillset continuously.

It was followed by a fireside chat from Mr. Anurag Malik, Partner & National Leader – Workforce Advisory, EY. During the discussion, he talked about shaping successful business transformations with people at the center. He pointed out that consultants should be motivated to solve their clients’ problems. This is the key to thriving in the consultancy environment. He further stressed that the evolution of Cloud Technology and its reduced cost has given rise to the digital transformation of traditional companies and that has helped in the growth of consulting firms. Nowadays, consulting firms have taken an end-to-end approach to solving clients’ problems and have now integrated solution implementation into their services.

Day 2 of the event started with the address from Chief Speaker Mr. Arun Maira, Chairman Helpage India International, Former member, The Planning Commission of India, and Former Chairman, Boston Consulting Group, India. He discussed on the topic “What should consultants learn to do in a rapidly changing world”. He explained the bold concept of Knowns and Unknowns and then connected it to Climate Change, and Sustainability, and Social Responsibility. He explained that no one knows the whole truth and we can be better consultants by listening to the people. He continued by defining system thinking and emphasizing the necessity for consultants to develop their system thinking skills to address the problems faced by the world today.

It was followed by the address from Mr. Nitin Chandra, Managing Partner- South East Asia, Kearney Singapore. He says that the industry is constantly changing due to disruptions. However, consulting has been the one constant in this ever-changing world and has been helpful in transforming the business of its clients. He further adds that consulting firms have always been successful at pivoting their business strategies in line with client demands. According to Nithin, nowadays, a successful consultant must have deep-subject knowledge rather than surface-level knowledge about a range of topics. This change has happened because clients don’t just want reports or presentations from consultants anymore. Clients now want consultants to help them with business transformation. He also candidly answered various questions from the audience related to consulting

It was followed by a panel discussion on topic “Sustainability: The neoteric playground for next-generation consulting leaders” by Mr. Praveen Pajiar, Managing Director and Partner, Alvarez and Marshal, Mr. Kartik Nagarajan, Managing Director, Nexdigm (SKP), Ms. Dayoung Lee, Partner, Dalberg Advisors, Dalberg, Mr. V Ramkumar, Senior Partner, Cedar Management Consulting and moderated by Prof. Rajeev Roy, Faculty, XLRI Jamshedpur. The panel discussion was started by Prof. Rajeev Roy mentioning, corporates have been looking at the dark and it has been consultants that hold their hands and handed over to the Panelist to give their views. Mr. Praveen Pajiar articulated that “Although the subject of sustainability has been discussed for several decades, it has only recently come into sharper focus. Business executives have demonstrated a desire to work toward net carbon neutrality. However, they frequently are unsure of how to achieve net zero carbon emissions while complying with ESG standards. At this point, businesses require consultants to show their customers how to become ESG compliant.” The speaker Mr. Kartik Nagarajan advised the aspiring consultants to learn how to make such areas sustainable for the customers of consulting businesses. He explained how important the digital transition is to attaining sustainability. Mr. V Ramkumar emphasized on the importance of CSR to embed sustainability in the organization. He took an execution-oriented approach while explaining Sustainability as part of an integral part of the behavioural change of an organization. He explained how an environment-friendly approach towards the planet enables people, who are the foundation of the organization, to meet financial goals. The outcome of business ie stakeholder management comes from sustainability. Ms. Dayoung Lee goes into great length on a variety of subjects, including the inclusion of diversity in the workforce and the effects of climate change on schooling. She commented on the importance of innovation and technology in problem-solving, saying that while these factors cannot be ignored, it is crucial that the solutions offered by technology be practical and pertinent for its users.

The second panel discussed “Innovation and Technology: AI and the Future of Consulting” by Mr. Kamlesh Meshram, Managing Director, PwC., Mr. Rishi Aurora, Sr. Partner, IBM Consulting & FSS Sector Leader IBM, Mr. Aditya Priyadarshan, Managing Director, Strategy & Consulting, Accenture, Mr. Avinash Chandra, Sr. Director, Capgemini and moderated by Prof. Apalak Khatua, Faculty, XLRI Jamshedpur. The panel discussion was started by Prof. Apalak Khatua giving a brief on the topic and its importance before handing over to the panel to put forward their views. Mr. Kamlesh Meshram articulated the future of Cloud and AI and the scope of growth of the tech industry in India. He said, “The innovations in Cloud and AI will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. Cloud will continue to grow at a rate of 15-20% every year and has the potential to become a 500 Billon Dollar industry. 60-70% of the tech work done for the big companies of the world is from India. He mentioned that there is a bright future for the tech industry in India.” Mr. Rishi Aurora emphasized Transition and Adoption Challenges: AI initiatives will be measurable in the coming few years by the return on Investment. AI will not be active in measuring the tangible and intangible benefits like customer experience and accurate tools for benefit measurement. The set of massive algorithms where the significant challenges are data accuracy and duplication, and organizations must address these challenges of the data. The second challenge is the skillsets requirement. The real benefits organizations can derive if they embark on enterprise-level implementation, the adoption will be successful. Organizations are making investments to circumvent these challenges. Mr. Aditya Priyadarshan talked about the need for trustworthiness and accuracy of data for AI to give accurate and reliable results. He further pointed out that companies need to be patient for the AI engine to pick up patterns from the data provided. He further talked about the social impact of the deployment of AI in the industry. He said, “The social impact of deployment of AI has to be dealt with cautiously since AI will completely transform the nature of jobs across the industry.” Mr. Avinash Chandra stressed how Startups, nowadays, start with massive data. AI is an era of technology; it is embedded in ways in our daily lives that we don’t even realize. He gave the example of Revenue Optimization, where earlier we used the Waterfall model, which required waiting for the data to generate insights. Today, data comes in a lovely, packaged form with the help of AI. It helps the client to decide where they need to tweak the change. Because of one engagement, a client is getting benefits in the area. In primary and secondary research, generative AI is a Win-Win for the consultants and a challenge for them. Overall, for the ecosystem, you are generating value with the help of AI.

The results of the Fulcrum Consulting Case Competition were announced with 2nd runner up – Team Heartbreakers - IIM Rohtak(Team Members: Parth Rastogi, Mehul Mehta, Nishant Gupta),1st runner up - Team Finsoc – Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC)(Team Members: Neha, Sanskriti Joshi), Winner/Champion - Team Incognito – IIT Indore (Team Members: Vasu Agarwal, Shruti Jain, Aditya Naik) This was followed by an address by Mr. Vivek Adhia, EAD - Climate & Sustainability, BCG on the topic “Role of Tech and AI to accelerate Sustainable Transformation”. He enlightened us on the topic related to environmental sustainability. The blending of Climate, Sustainability, AI, and Future Consulting. He emphasized the idea of conversion of the biggest challenge to the biggest opportunity to make a difference. Observing, thinking, talking, and acting on climate change was his remarkable sentence which inspired the audience in the session. He delivered the ideas and framework for using AI to combat Climate Change. What and how different tools and approaches are being used by BCG for making a difference in the field of climate sustainability? He stressed that we need to look for opportunities in Climate and Sustainability development where strategy can be used to solve these challenges. Strategies add value in a three-dimensional way: significant change that needs to happen, multidimensional solution, losing on time, we have to be fast enough with the Climate challenges. It starts with baselining, measuring, mapping, accounting, and identifying the hotspots. Net Zero, Science-based targets, context-based goals, and renewable energy commitments – all enhance business stakeholder management.

The third panel discussed “Future of Consulting: Bridging strategy and implementation” by Mr. Devroop Dhar, Co-Founder & MD, Primus Partners., Ms. Neelakshi Kotnis, Founder, Thoucentric, Mr. Sudipto Ray, Managing Director, Cloud and Digital, Acceleration Centers in India, PwC, Dr. K.Ganesh, Senior Knowledge Expert and Associate Partner, Mckinsey & Company, Mr. Vasant Mugada, Sr. Director, GEP and moderated by Prof. Munish Thakur, Faculty, XLRI Jamshedpur. The panel discussion was started by Prof. Munish Thakur giving a brief on the topic. Mr. Devroop Dhar highlights that the world of strategy is changing, and clients want consulting firms to partner in the challenges they are facing and be part of their risks and rewards. Strategy with implementation has to be Agile and be able to bring out scenarios, pilot, learn, adapt and make changes. Digital is the first thing client wants to talk about, and they are earnest about the impact it would have on Climate and sustainability. Ms. Neelakshi Kotnis mentions the changes in the strategy implementation practice. She talks about the IT Revolutions that started happening 3 -4 decades ago and also brought to the forefront the advantage of consulting experience. She says “"To be a problem solver for the client, we need to be better equipped with both, the set of solutions for building strategy and the ways to solve those problems. Understanding clients’ ecosystems and then translating solutions favourable to them". Mr. Sudipto Ray talks about dealing with people with different thought processes and removing constraints. The present consulting world has moved from value creation to convergence with impacts on individuals and society. He highlighted the importance of innovation with the help of the human mind augmented with top available tools. Dr. K.Ganesh started with how the market has changed, with consumer behaviour going through a 91% shift from previous patterns. All the economic shocks, one month of disruption, every 3.5 to 3.75 years, leads to 45% of one year of EBITDA per decade. With these high stakes, we must focus on resilience, market volatility and sustainability. These are the most important drivers that interest clients in thinking over the business with consulting firms. Mr. Vasant Mugada articulated about how culture is way more important in today’s world due to people working from different locations and how compliance of implementation is becoming an important factor in the field of consulting. He also highlighted about the change in the consulting process where nowadays lot of time is needed in the initial phase to understand the client culture and to ensure that the cultures continue.

It was followed by the last address of the event, from Mr. Alan Weiss, President, Summit Consulting Group Inc. Author: Million Dollar Consulting., on the topic “Why value is what you create and not what you do”. He elucidates on the point of understanding your buyer and what the value business is going to create for them. Only presentations are not going to make the changes that are expected; Logic makes people think but emotion makes them act. One should go for peer-to-peer business evangelism. You should have answers ready for these questions before making any consulting decisions to list a few: Should I use Alan? How should I use Alan? What value is he going to bring to the table? Alan continued by mentioning disruption and volatility being with us forever, you can’t hide from it. Examples of Apple, Amazon and HP were born out of disruption. You need to be the centrepiece of disruption in the world. Objectives should be clear, metrics are the indicators of the objectives, and finally, these metrics lead to the values that it creates. Conceptual Agreements make things proceed very quickly. Values can also be monetized.

The grand event was concluded with a Vote of Thanks by the Kautilya Consulting Club PGDM (GM) of XLRI summarizing the whole session & bringing it to a delightful close.