The Consulting Continuum 2011 saw a wide array of speakers speaking on the topic “Changing times, Evolving minds” – the theme of this year’s continuum. The session drew participation from a lot of speakers belonging to consulting companies dealing with management consulting, technology consulting, financial services consulting, energy sector consulting and so on.. The consulting continuum provided a unique platform for the students of SJMSOM to interact with the industry stalwarts and get acquainted with the current best practices and areas of concern in the field of consulting in India.

The Consulting Continuum 2011 was inaugurated by Dr. Anand Patwardhan, Professor, IIT Bombay. Speaking on the topic, he mentioned that nothing is more permanent in this world as change. He instigated the young minds to ponder if the human minds are really evolving. He said that every generation is learning from scratch and ways should be found to transmit the learning of one generation to another.

The first speaker of the day, Mr. Sabyasachi Chaudhury – India Head, consulting, Capgemini said that we are living in a generation of opportunity where India is seeing a high growth phase coupled with technology and regulatory inflection points. He also told that the value model for any company should pertain to access, experience, price, product and service. In addition, he shared with the audience the customer relevancy model and its implications.

Ms. Rachna Nath, Partner, Executive Director, consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers had an interactive session with the audience where she suggested the five step model for effective consulting – adding value to the client, communicating it with impact, innovating continuously, disruptive thinking and building a relationship based on trust with the client.

Mr. Ganesh Ramachandran, General Manager, Wipro Consulting, enlightened the audience on the 21^st century virtual corporation. He insisted that agility is very important for a new organization and that the consulting industry has shifted from a fairly matched demand –supply scenario to an uneven one and that this calls for staying dynamic and flexible.

The fourth speaker of the day, Mr. Prakash Jayaram , Senior Principal, Infosys Consulting spoke about the services offered by Infosys consulting. He stressed the importance of building a competitive advantage and increasing the shareholder value to create a successful organizational empire. He cautioned the students that they should be flexible to unlearn and relearn to suit the changing environment, but at the same time, to unlearn selectively.

The post-lunch session of the continuum saw an engaging and interactive session by Mr. Akshat Rathee, MD, NODWIN group. He opined that when a country seems to have a host of problems such as corruption, poverty, lack of infrastructure, it provides a plethora of opportunities for the entrepreneurial minds. He made the young minds understand the nuances of consulting by engaging the audience in virtually creating a start-up on the spot.

Mr. Rajeev Kakkad, Associate Director –Protiviti Consulting gave insights to the students of SJMSOM on the niche sector of energy consulting. He shared with the students the existing policies, the power generation and transmission opportunities and felt that the key challenges are posed at the stage of project execution, equipment shortage, land acquisitions and environmental clearances.

Mr. Satish S. Nair, Partner and Associate Director, MITKAT advisory services, advised that the following three points to be kept in mind for effective consulting – Changing landscape of consulting business which makes it mandatory for the consultant to reach out to the client, moving towards value based fees rather than a “running meter” and the need for domain knowledge instead of a ready-made frame-work based solutions.

The Consulting Continuum 2011 was a grand success with the student community gaining a lot of knowledge and insights into the current trends in the industry.