Consulting in an ever evolving World with Vishal Sharma

IIMB's MBA-PGPEM cohort hosted Mr. Vishal Sharma on 21st August 2022.?

PGPEM (Post Graduate Program in Enterprise Management) is India's top MBA program for working professionals.??

Mr. Vishal Sharma - an IIT-Kanpur, IIM-C alumni is the National Managing Director & President at Deloitte Consulting India Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Sharma also serves on the management committee of 德勤 Consulting LLP and is also on the boards of HashedIn by Deloitte Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ad2Pro Global Creative Solutions Private Ltd, and Ad2Pro Technology Solutions Private Ltd. In his 20+ years of experience, he has led several enterprise-wide transformation engagements for clients across diverse industries like healthcare, life sciences, and technology.

The session was moderated by Professor Dr. Prateek Raj , an Assistant Professor in Strategy at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore . Dr. Prateek Raj earned his B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) in 2010 and his Ph.D. from the University College London (UCL) in 2018.

In the session, which saw participation from PGP, and EPGP along with PGPEM students, Mr. Sharma discussed various trends which are currently disrupting the consulting industry and their implications on a consultant.

“Disruption is a good thing! Disruption means Transformation, and Transformation means opportunities to help clients innovate, build new business models and stay ahead of their competition”, said Mr. Sharma talking about the trends disrupting the industry.

He spoke about the increased focus on Fields of sciences like biology, nanomaterials, and quantum computing, pointing out that these coupled with the advancement in computer sciences would propel us all towards a tech-driven future.?

“Traditional Management Consulting engagement model was mostly about advising clients. Clients today need the full spectrum - Advice, Implement and Operate model,” Mr. Sharma said while talking about the changing landscape of the consulting industry.??

He mentioned that information today is available to everyone; what is required is to make a clear tangible thread of traceability from the advice you give to the clients to building the systems and platforms that are needed so that the value of the consulting services could be measured and adapt as the external environment continues to change.??

The other clear and important trend, he said was the focus on ESG. Environmental Social and Governance criteria are becoming more and more important to all key stakeholders of an organization.?

“Key stakeholders of a company - customers, investors, employees, and the regulators are all demanding focus on ESG. Governments are asking companies to report sustainability goals and progress against them, and employees are asking about the purpose of the organization. Investors and customers are asking for increased transparency on what stand a company has on ESG related topics” he said. Mr. Sharma further added that the consultants need to educate themselves and develop skills and strategies to help clients on these issues.?

Like many organizations, Deloitte has long had purpose embedded in our business. Purpose comes to life in how we serve our clients and communities, how we operate as an organisation, and how we treat each other.?

Some of the other trends he spoke about were the emphasis on consulting companies creating a network of alliances to create a knowledge-based ecosystem that can help their clients in all aspects of their business.??

Mr. Sharma also spent time answering specific questions from the students in attendance.?

On the question “How does Deloitte learn?”, Mr. Sharma pointed out that the traditional way of learning by gathering information and then analysing and presenting them will have to be tweaked. He spoke about microlearning, seeking information when required, and building a network of alliances that can help you with required skills to solve problems as some of the ways in which Deloitte learns. He said that Deloitte has an ‘open learning environment’ and advocated the same to the cohort.?

?On the question "Consultants are in the news for working on controversial projects and how do companies handle this?", he explained that Deloitte has a 'Chief Purpose Officer' role with clear objectives of monitoring the external environment & defining and communicating Deloitte’s purpose. The teams are required to run all projects, where there is a dilemma, by the CPO to ensure alignment. If no alignment is found, Deloitte walks away from the project.?

Mr. Sharma ended the session by sharing tips to become successful. What has helped him over the years, he said, is continuous learning and having a 360 degree network of colleagues and actively seeking their help in learning from them.??