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References

The references here are on: project management; risk management; consultancy; accountancy, finance, and economics; report writing; and resources for International Women's Day, 8th March.

Project Management 

• The handbook of Project Management Kogan Page 1998 0-7494-2843-0
• Project Management Case Studies, Vol. 2 HMSO 1995 0-11-330677-6
• Chief Executives’ View on Project Management Performance MCA 1993 0-902231-75-8
• Managing Successful Programmes CCTA 1999 0-11-330016-6
• The International Journal of Project and Business Risk Management
• Project Manager Today Publications Spring 1997 ISSN 1366 2163
• The International Journal of Project and Business Risk Management
• Project Manager Today
• Control of engineering projects Thomas Telford 1989 0 7277 1387 6

Risk Management

Accountancy, Finance and Economics

Reference: The Bank of England

There are many standard texts on accountancy, finance and economics. An additional reference is the Bank of England's website, www.bankofengland.co.uk. Since about 1995 I have been able to attend the quarterly briefings held by the Bank of England Agency for Greater London at which the influences on the economy are discussed. The Bank has Agencies throughout the UK through which they gather their own research with companies in each of the regions.

One of the most revealing features of their reports is the use of fan charts which are a very clear way of showing the range of possible results arising from a deep scenraio analysis. The graph of, for example, inflation over a period of time is shown as a solid bold line, and from the current date of the graph the lines fan out to show the range of possible expectations.

Imagine that for a small company you are considering the future income and outgoings, the variety of things that could affect it, and the probabilities of each. This is relatively easy: you might be able to assess the effect of weather, transport, general market conditions, prices of labour and material. You would then come up with a range of predicsiton based on combinations of worst/average/best cases. You could do the same for a larger company and hone in on the greatest influencers over the short or long term to produce a business model depicting this. While working with Ernst & Young a team of us did this for a major company looking at a 20 year time period.

Now try doing the same thing for the UK economy, which is influenced by a very wide range of changes worldwide, some of which are relatively predictable, and others which are not. The Bank of England produces fan charts for this in green for GDP and red for inflation. Along with a wide range of other material and publciations you can find them on their web site, www.bankofengland.co.uk

Structuring Reports and Presentations

And any other articles or publications

Wheneer we write a report, an article, or presentation we are intending to influence our audience. It is vital that we structure and phrase our message for our audience. How can we do this effectively?

The Pyramid Principle

The main reference I use is Barbara Minto's The Pyramid Principle. Regardless of complexity, it is vitally important that the main point is clearly set out - the top of the pyramid - and that everything from the base upwards supports the point directly above, and, ultimately, the main point.

We then have a logical structure for the whole document or presentation, reaching a clear end which matches our stated intentions.

The Kipper

There is another model for structuring reports, presentations, articles but I have never found a written version of it. In Ernst and Young, pre-1993, we called it The Kipper. The gist is that in order to get the whole story right, the idea (the eye if I recall correctly) has to be planted in the audience’s mind at the beginning; everything from the head to the tail needs to be connected; the ribs provide support to the main points on the spine; and you cannot begin without knowing how the story will end (the tail). So all stories can only start if you know how they will end.

Therefore, when producing a story, start with the end in mind.

An example:

A generic outline might therefore be as follows.

 

• This report establishes....We can state this at the beginning as we might in, for example, an executive summary or the outline of a text book.
• The background is...
• Key considerations are....
• Research and evidence is....
• Analysing this produces.....
• The conclusion and recommendations are.... This last point matches the stated objectives in the first point.
• Appendices - but these must never be required reading. The main text must be self-sufficient.

While this looks easy it rarely is, especially when we need to consider audience requirements including their time, their existing knowledge, and their purpose as well as our objectives in relating our message. For complex messages and important communications set aside plenty of time to ensure that you consider all of the issues. It is often helpful to have someone to facilitate a discussion to create documents. Independent and impartial views can draw out the key messages and ensure that your communications fully address your requirements.

Please contact us for a confidential discussion without obligation.

 

Interested in Consultancy as a profession:

Try this blog by Elevation Learning:

http://elevationlearning.wordpress.com/consultant-reading/

 

8th March 2013 - International Women's Day.

There is some free research information available through Wiley, here http://www.wileyiwdresearch.com/