IBM continues to surprise me: this time with its super-collaborative culture. I see multiple partners working on deals together, bringing business for different groups at the company. They are able to position services throughout the lifecycle of initiatives: starting with strategy setting to implementation to business process outsourcing. In addition, they tap into an enormous range of in-house software products and technologies available to create industry-edge capabilities for clients.
Many projects at IBM have large-scale technology implementation aspects to them. My group – the Strategy & Transformation practice – usually comes in at the beginning of a project to lay out strategic direction, business case, high-level design and transformation planning. I am currently advising the corporate communications team of a global manufacturer in integrating messaging and brand-building across all regions under a global umbrella. I am redesigning the organization, designing processes for content creation and localization, defining governance framework to maintain consistent brand image, and creating strategies to win the hearts and minds of stakeholders. I hate to admit it, but a big part of my work on this project is MO. I’m building upon concepts in that class to deal with real-world challenges. I am very impressed by the detailed transformation methodologies used by IBM, which dive deep into stakeholder management and communication methodologies (remember EIS simulation?).
As you decide which consulting firm to work for, two important factors are location and work-life balance. IBM is extremely flexible in terms of location. You can stay wherever you want as long as you can fly Monday-to-Thursday to your client. That gives you immense flexibility in terms of moving around with your partner. Also, you can work from home on Fridays if there are no events or meetings, which can help offsetting the travel fatigue and balance the work-life equation a little bit.
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