Business operations can be broken down into basic workflows that are applicable across industries. Understanding these workflows involves identifying who performs what tasks, when, with what tools, and what information they use. For example, in a hospital one can map the workflow from a patient's check-in to check-out, identifying the roles of the front desk, nurses, doctors, and how patient information is recorded. Similarly, in academia one can map the student workflow from application to enrollment to attending classes. Relationship management is also crucial, using soft skills like listening, understanding others' perspectives, and presenting viable options to address concerns. These skills combined with operational knowledge allow for effective management consulting across different business domains.

1. Business is business, no matter what the business is. Business skills
are learned and utilized in every industry. Operations can be broken
down to the basics of what is going on during any given hour of the
day. People interact in the workplace based on their roles and rank.
The key to successful transitioning of business consulting skill use to
another industry is understanding how these basic premises can be
applied across a spectrum of industries and settings.
Businesses operate based on norms. As a general rule, businesses
have policies and procedures. These define the workflows of the
business. We need to know who does what task or performs what role,
when they do those tasks or perform those roles, what tools they use
and what information do they use or have as an outcome.
This provides us a general template, while a simple one, that can be
used in any industry setting. For example, in hospitals one must
identify what is happening to a patient from the time they walk into
the medical setting to the time they walk out. Management must know
who is seeing that patient, how are they interacting with them, what
are they performing, and what are they doing with the information
that has come out of the encounter with the patient. For example, a
patient comes into a clinic, they check in with the front desk, a nurse
brings them back to a room and asks medical questions of a clinical
and historical nature, the physician sees the patient and confirms the
information that the nurse provided as well as collecting their own
information, and that information is put into a patient health record.
This is one of the more simplistic healthcare examples.
Another example is the academic setting. A potential student applies
for admission to the academic institution, they are evaluated by the
institution for meeting of defined criteria for admittance, notified of
acceptance, obtain financial aid thru a defined process, register for
classes, attend classes, and complete the course for a grade which is
then posted to an electronic portal for the student to access. All along
the process different people are involved, such as an admissions
officer, financial aid advisor, professor, and an information technology
professional.
When management understands the workflows in their business they
are better able to monitor and adjust business to be more efficient,
effective and create a positive work environment. This enables the
business to be more profitable, serve its clientele at a higher level of
satisfaction and retain internal talent. Operation based on norms also
provides industry specific and operational benchmarking. We can apply

2. what the rest of the industry is doing or achieving to what we are
doing or achieving. We can also learn how similar businesses operate,
the quality of their operations and even the failures of their operations.
One of the most important aspects of business is relationship
management. This can be broken down into skill sets that include what
is termed “soft skills” and what I would term “bargaining”.
Soft skills are often defined as habits, attitudes, personal qualities, and
social graces. I further define soft skills to include listening,
understanding, clarifying and repeating. When interacting with an
individual or a group, through methods such as one-on-one
conversations, group meetings, or emails, we need to ensure that we
are listening to what is being said.
Often, we must see past the emotion that may be present, good or
bad, to what is actually being said. People usually have passion for
their jobs and this comes out in the interactions. Getting past that
emotion and not reacting immediately to it is of importance. After the
listening we must come to an understanding of the core statement or
issue is that is being communicated. An excellent way to ensure that
you understand is to clarify or repeat. For example, “I believe that you
are telling me that this product is not functioning as to your need of
XYZ. Is this correct?”
Once you have confirmed that you have identified the core statement
or need then you can work on a solution or options, which leads me to
the “bargaining” skill. We cannot always meet the expectation of
others and, in all fairness, we need to give options to meet the needs
that are reasonable. Part of the delivery of the options includes
exhibiting emotional understanding. Letting the person, or group,
know that you understand the frustration or confusion (whatever the
emotion might be) is key. You have acknowledged their passion. Then,
in essence, to prove that you have listened and also acknowledged
their emotion, you are now presenting viable options to address the
need.
A term that I have recently become acquainted with is “executive
functioning”. This includes the skills of memory, planning, reasoning,
and problem solving. These are considered crucial to management
success, as you might deduce from the term. These functions or skills
also apply to the relationship management that I have outlined above.
Utilizing the relationship management skills with operations
management knowledge and experience as the foundation of any

3. management consulting enables you to provide the client exceptional
services. Regardless of the industry, understanding that all business
operate with core workflows and being able to identify those workflows
and the outliers is critical to assisting the client with managing and
enhancing their business operations. Interacting with the client using
soft skills ensures that you are forming collaborative and functional
relationships.