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My Illinois Business Consulting Projects
Teresa S. Spicer, PhD, [email protected]://www.linkedin.com/in/teresaspicer
Outline
What is Illinois Business Consulting?
University institute part II
Internet startup company
University institute part I
Fortune 500 insurance company
Projects where I was a consultant
Projects I managed
Why I and others join IBC
Hiring IBC Students
What is Illinois Business Consulting?
Illinois Business Consulting is the largest student-run, project-based consulting firm in the nation
Student Run
• 200 to 250 students per year
• Students are peer-selected and peer-promoted
• Revenue generated provides scholarships
•40 projects per year
•750 projects completed since 1996
•Teams comprised of diverse talent
• 500 clients since 1996, including:
• Fortune 500 companies
• Consulting firms
• Government, universities and not-for-profit organizations
• Start-ups
• Operates under the College of Business
• Access to the research and expertise of U of I
• Faculty guidance and oversight
Project Based Company Focused University Sponsored
We do real work for real clients.
IBC enables top students to gain work experience
• IBC has a rigorous application and interview process
• Top undergraduates and graduate students are extended an offer to join
• Students come from top undergraduate and graduate schools such as the College of Business, the College of Engineering, and Library and Information Sciences
IBC history
• Founded by Dr. Paul Magelli in 1996 as the Office of Strategic Initiatives of the MBA program
• Extended to other graduate students and undergraduates in 2003
MBA Undergraduate Other graduate
Right: Lobby of the Business Instructional Facility, home of the IBC offices.
Value proposition
• Access to top talent
• Real value added business solutions delivered at a fraction of the market cost
• Ability to take advantage of diverse resources of the University of Illinois, including library and faculty
• Ability to work on international projects with exceptional language capabilities
• Creative, fresh ideas and approaches
• Quality deliverable or end products
Organizational structure
John ClarkeExecutive Director
Cathy BallewAssistant to the Director
Ron WatkinsLiezl Bowman
Associate Directors
Carissa HollerResearch Manager
Student Executive Director
Marketing Manager Training Manager Operations Manager Senior Manager (6)
Dan Broadhurst, Huron Consulting GroupMichael D. Lyman, BearingPoint
James D. Lynch, FTIDave Markham, Lockheed Martin Corp.
Courtney Price, VentureQuest Ltd.Jill B. Smart, Accenture
Linda Toops, Clerestory ConsultingRichard F. Westenberger, Hewitt Associates
Advisory Board
Student-held position
Consultant career path
Consultants
Senior Consultants
Project Managers
Leadership Team
Performance-based promotion
Roles and Responsibilities
Consultants
Senior Consultants
Project Managers
Leadership Team
Bring relevant skills, knowledge, provide the required effort and energy
Support Senior Managers in project execution, quality, client satisfaction
Responsible for project quality, client satisfaction, and the students’ experience
Oversee, manage, and support
Sample client list
Allied Signal AerospaceAllstateAT&T SolutionsB. F. GoodrichBank OneBASFBaxterBearingPointBoeingCaterpillarCisco SystemsDeloitte Consulting
Lockheed MartinLucent TechnologiesMcDonaldsMicrosoftNASANissanNortelProcter & GambleWalgreensWhirlpool
DelphiDisneyDow ChemicalEatonFord Motor CompanyFrito-LayGeneral ElectricGeneral MotorsHoneywellIBMJohn DeereKKRKraft
Why I and others join IBC
Why students join IBC
• Work experience
• Real projects - real clients
• Career opportunities
• Professional development
• Business acumen / industry exposure
• Consulting skills
• Differentiated experience
Why I joined
• Work in a fast, enjoyable environment• Work in a team setting with others rather
than alone in a lab
• Learn from others on the diverse teams
• Get a chance to practice leadership
• Work in a results-oriented environment
• Get clear feedback on performance
• Make a difference in solving someone’s problem
• Be involved with business strategy in a hands-on way while still in academia
• Get to work on a range of different problems - new client, new problem
• Reap the lifelong benefits of formal project management training
Projects I contributed to as a consultant
Business plan for internet startup company
Young internet entrepreneur had a novel idea and an investor, provided they had a formal business plan. IBC was hired to develop a solid
plan for the client.
The team:
Senior Manager, MBA Candidate from the US
Project Manager, MBA Candidate from the US
MBA Candidate from the US
MBA Candidate from the US
Me
Business plan for internet startup company
My contribution: estimate the global market size for the client’s product
• I used the information-seeking skills I use to do scientific literature searches to find • Analyst reports from firms like Gartner and Forrester
• Newspaper and magazine articles from lay and trade publications
• Demographic data
that could be combined to calculate an estimate
• I wrote a report on my findings, citing all the sources and assumptions used in calculating the estimate
75.5 million people, it turns out.
Feasibility of new degree issued by university institute, phase I
A university institute wanted to issue a new type of PhD specialization. IBC was brought in to conduct a feasibility study, internal and external
benchmarking, and gauge industry trends for that type of specialization.
The team:
Senior Manager, engineering undergraduate from the US
Project Manager, MBA Candidate from the US
MBA Candidate from the US
Engineering undergraduate from India
Me
Feasibility of new degree issued by university institute, phase I
My contribution: evaluate possible industry and academic career paths for potential graduates with the new specialization
• I used the information-seeking skills I use to do scientific literature searches again to find • Analyst reports from firms like Gartner and Forrester
• Academic papers published on similar topics recently
• Professional societies dedicated to similar topics
• Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
which pointed to great interest in both academia and industry in people with in-depth knowledge of the specialization
• I summarized my findings in a few slides, which I presented to the committee planning the new specialization
Projects I managed
Feasibility of new degree issued by university institute, phase II
Our university institute client wanted to know more about how others had executed similar plans and what kinds of jobs graduates could expect to find.
IBC was re-hired to interview directors of similar programs as well as potential employers.
The team:
Senior Manager, MBA Candidate from the US
Project Manager I, MBA Candidate from Korea
Project Manager II, Me
Physics Doctoral Candidate from Greece
Finance undergraduate from Korea
Bicultural Indian-Dutch computer science and mathematics undergraduate
Engineering Doctoral Candidate from China
Feasibility of new degree issued by university institute, phase II
My contributions:
• Replaced the first project manager mid-project, leading the team to successful completion of the project
• Supported and encouraged the team when potential interview subjects did not return calls
• Coached team members on finding contact information and interviewing as needed
• Led the final presentation of our findings to our client’s committee
• Led the weekly client meetings
• Communicated and focused the team on the deliverable requirements
• Conducted performance reviews with team members
Agent recruitment strategy renewal for Fortune 500 insurance company
Young internet entrepreneur had a novel idea and an investor, provided they had a formal business plan. IBC was hired to
develop a solid plan for the client.
The team: Senior Manager, MBA Candidate from the USProject Manager, MBA Candidate from the US
MBA Candidate from the USMBA Candidate from the US
Me
Our client needed to replace thousands of retiring agents in the next five years while simultaneously expanding, and wanted to supplement their existing
recruitment method. IBC was asked to develop a new marketing strategy for recruiting insurance agents.
The team:
Senior Manager, MBA Candidate from the India who was a PMP
Project Manager, Me, also a PMP by now
MBA Candidate from Thailand
MBA Candidate with a PhD from India
Business undergraduate from Singapore
Business undergraduate from Singapore
Agent recruitment strategy renewal for Fortune 500 insurance company
My contributions:
• Created a project plan and an issue tree together with the Senior Manager
• Walked the team through the issue tree and solicited valuable input from them
• Led the weekly client meetings
• Followed up on project execution with team members, ensuring on-schedule completion of project
• Encouraged the team to be creative, resulting in a team member making one of the client’s favorite suggestions
• Stayed process-focused and supportive with the team when obtaining important information became nearly impossible
Hiring IBC Students
Hiring IBC students
• Real-world experience
• Dealing with clients
• Working as a team to pull together the deliverable
• No set formula or answer to the problem
• Working in a consulting firm framework
• Motivated candidates - no course credit for IBC work performed
• On the students’ own time
• In addition to the already demanding workload
• Pre-selected the best students
• Less risky hire
• Students who have shown commitment
• Ability to perform
• Work ethic
• Essential training
• Ability to contribute more revenue or drive performance more quickly
• IBC work and training is verifiable
Contacting IBC
• Website - http://www.ibc.illinois.edu/
• Contact the IBC team at 217-244-1286
• Questions
• Feedback
• Verification of résumé or employment
• Email Ron Watkins at [email protected], Liezl Bowman at [email protected], or Cathy Ballew at [email protected]
