Statements of Work (SoW) are difficult to do well
Once your proposal has been accepted, it’s time to write a SoW. You’d think that it would be largely a copy/paste exercise from the proposal – yes and no. Yes, we are codifying what we were thinking during the engagement. Definitely keep the parts that the client like, but now it’s time to think about the parts that you dislike. How do we write this thing so it is clear, descriptive, good-hearted, flexible, and useful? How does this serve as guardrails and a metronome for a dance, and not a checklist of “have to do”.
SoWs can be exhausting. If you Google “statement of work” and “pdf”, you’ll find some SoW examples that are 1,200+ pgs long. They almost try to do too much. A typical SoW contains: background, approach, resources, timeline, expectations, metrics, pricing, and deliverables. For professional services, it’s even more nuanced because client satisfaction = expectation – perception, all of which is extremely subjective. Namely, how do you author a piece of paper that keeps the consultant and client in sync (actions, thoughts, and feelings) for the project duration? As we all know, if it involves people – it will be beautiful, fun, and messy.
SOW vary – a lot
No surprise here. Consulting spans everything – industries, functions, and problems. It’s naive to think there is one magic template which would cover all your bases to all situations. Projects vary is size and scale from one-person giving a workshop to Accenture operating a call center here. Energy capital investment, Website restructuring, Retail footprint rationalization, Executive compensation benchmarking, M&A IT due diligence. Those 5 topics have little in common.
Collect them. For those of you joining consultancies, get in the habit of collecting deliverables, proposals, and statements of work. There are definitely similarities and no reason to reinvent the wheel. Often times, just having the outline and headings can keep you out of trouble – make sure you don’t forget something critical. Also, some of the precise wording used by your firm to describe the quality of the deliverables, and pricing can be both legally smart and expedient.
What makes a good SoW?
Here is a description, not a prescription. A good SoW sets the project direction and provides guardrails so that the consultants and client know who, what, when, and why things need to get done. The “how things get done” is where you need to gauge the client’s savvy and personality, and provide just enough detail. You don’t want ambiguity, but you also don’t want legalism. So, in many ways a good SoW helps articulate a shared understanding (better to argue / refine / complain / kvetch before the project starts, not afterwards).
Good SOW = high-level recipe
As a thought experiment, if you AND your client counterpart (the two people leading this adventure) were to disappear, leave your jobs. . . could your replacements carry on well without you?
- Understand the specific situation, context, issues you are trying to solve?
- Organize the work efficiently with little duplication of effort, or confusion?
- Agree on the high-level approach; provide a mechanism for fine-tuning of details
- Know what success looks like; align on deliverable quality and timelines
- Hold each side accountable (with both carrots and sticks)
Following through on the food analogy, “Could they cook the dish (not perfectly, not beautifully), but would it be food?” Would there be table service at the restaurant?
Co-author with the client
When possible, get your client to meet you halfway. Here’s a scenario that has worked well in the past. If you have some client rapport, credibility, and precious time:
- Flush out symptoms and root causes of the problem(s) through client conversations / meetings
- Scaffold the main points and potential solutions; consultants are wicked good at this part
- Have a point of view. For cost reduction, if this is generically what you got, go home.
- Send out the meeting minutes to prospective clients a get their feedback
- Get buy-in on Level 1 (what, who, so what). Then start breaking that down into Level 2 detail (how, when)
There’s fine tuning needed. Have them be your co-author.
From there, it’s up to them. Is there a demand? Is there a willingness to pay? Is it now? Increasingly, I believe this is about positioning. What you have is what you have (usually). At mid-career, you know what products / services / “ah-ha” you are good at. Then the question is – how to map it to what’s already in your client’s mind. Yes, inception.
Are pro-bono SOW different?
I doubt it. For those who swim in pro-bono waters, and know better than I do, feel free to comment. For me, the main difference here is the profit-motive and remuneration. All the other aspects are the same, perhaps more difficult, than one for a for-profit corporation. Clients still want to know:
- What’s in it for me? What are we getting, if this is successful?
- What will you be doing? How much of our time is needed?
- How do you work? Will you be a pleasure to work with, or a gadfly?
- How many chances will I get to (politely) redirect your work, if I think it’s off the tracks?
- How much does this cost? Do you think that’s a fair price? Why?
- What’s not included? Don’t get my hopes up, then disappoint.
Management consulting homework
Teaching management consulting this semester. In 3 weeks, the students need to write up a proposal for a fictitious company called Terrace Fitness. What advice do you have for new consultants writing proposals or statements of work.
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