Book before

One-day masterclass 8 January 2010

11 February 2009 to receive your
Rydges Melbourne early bird discount

The Independent Consultant

Succeeding in assignments; succeeding in the business

Masterclass leader: “Full of energy, good storyteller, full of experience of real life
situations, excellent presenter” – AMP Capital Investors

“Graeme has a wealth of experience and his ‘real time’ stories

Graeme Simsion
Director, Simsion & Associates and
Senior Fellow, University of Melbourne
were interesting to listen to. His flexibility in accommodating the
needs of the audience was much appreciated.” – Centrelink
“Very professional presentation with good use of real life stories
and experience” – PricewaterhouseCoopers

This highly interactive masterclass covers essential consulting and

business development skills for the independent consultant. Facilitated
by an experienced consulting manager, who now works as an
independent consultant himself, it will provide you with practical tools Build and
and techniques to: expand your
consulting
ƒƒ Position yourself in the market business
ƒƒ Win work
ƒƒ Plan and run consultancy assignments
ƒƒ Understand and meet client expectations
ƒƒ Deal with common problems Plan and run
ƒƒ Ensure deliverables are accepted – and used successful
ƒƒ Build long-term client relationships consulting
assignments

Supported by:

BUSINESS AND IT MANAGERS

Official Media Partner: Produced by:

w w w.a rkg ro u p a u s t ra lia .c o m . au

 Please note: Due to
the interactive nature
of this event numbers
are strictly limited

The Independent Consultant

Succeeding in assignments; succeeding in the business

Why is this masterclass relevant to you?

This masterclass is for business and IT consultants who work
independently or in small firms. Most of them have learned -
sometimes the hard way - that there is more to the job than
having the right answer or delivering a technically good
product.
Success just as often depends on “soft skills”: marketing,
setting and managing expectations, negotiating with the
client, dealing with difficult people, etc. This masterclass fills
that critical gap.
Developed and facilitated by a seasoned consultant and
consulting manager, the course packs a wealth of practical
advice, frameworks and tips into a highly interactive one-day
programme. It uses a combination of formal material, stories,
lectures, group exercises and case studies to cover the key
challenges of independent consulting.
While there is some discussion of marketing, the emphasis
is on practical techniques for delivering effective consulting
services that will lead to referrals and return business.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own stories and
problems for discussion.
Expect to leave this masterclass with ideas and techniques that
you will use throughout your professional life.

Who should attend?

This masterclass is for independent business and IT consultants who provide services to clients, such as:

ƒƒ Advisors and Consultants in a ƒƒ Business Consultants ƒƒ User Liaison Managers

range of subject areas ƒƒ IT Consultants ƒƒ Project Managers
ƒƒ Business Managers ƒƒ IT Managers/Directors ƒƒ ICT Relationship Managers
ƒƒ Business Analysts ƒƒ CIOs

The course will also be of interest to professionals who are planning to establish or work in small consultancy
practices.

About your masterclass leader: Graeme Simsion

Graeme Simsion has over 25 years experience as a consultant and CEO of a successful consultancy. Director, Simsion & Associates and
After working as an internal consultant, managing a technical team, he founded Simsion Bowles Senior Fellow, University of Melbourne
and Associates in 1982. He built the consultancy to some 70 staff in three capital cities, selling to
a US company in 1999, and then working as a business unit manager within that company for a
further two years.

Since then he has continued to consult, oversee consulting assignments and deliver education
in Australia, North America and Europe. His one-day consulting skills workshop has been voted
“best presentation” at four major conferences in the UK and the US and he is the leader of
the Professional Consulting course for the Master of Information Systems at the University
of Melbourne. He is currently working with Deakin University to develop their management
consulting program.

Graeme is one of Australia’s best known presenters on IT topics and has published and
presented widely. He holds postgraduate qualifications in both information systems and
business administration, and a number of academic and industry appointments.
Ask the expert
Attendees are invited to submit specific consulting challenges that they would like to have discussed during the masterclass.

Please email your challenges to arootes@arkgroupasia.com at least one week prior to the workshop. If you do not want your organisation
identified, use a pseudonym such as BigBankCo, or SmallRetailCo to indicate the industry involved and the size of the organisation.

Thursday, 11 February 2010

8.00 Registration and refreshments 1.15 Setting expectations

8.30 Introduction and welcome
Graeme will introduce the masterclass objectives and
outline how the day will proceed. Attendees will participate
in a “getting to know you” exercise, to share backgrounds,
experience and expectations of the masterclass.
8.40 Understanding consulting
The title or role of “consultant” brings with it a specific set of
challenges and expectations. In this session we look at the
nature of consulting, deal with some myths of the profession,
and broadly identify the practices and behaviours that lead to
successful assignments.
Ask any consulting manager for the key to consulting success,
and they’re likely to answer “managing expectations”. In this
session we identify the questions you need to ask to establish
mutual expectations as a basis for planning, pricing and
evaluation.
ƒƒ What managers want – beyond “delivering value”
ƒƒ Establishing and verifying expectations – checklists and
frameworks
ƒƒ Pulling it together in a consulting plan
ƒƒ Assignment initiation – getting off on the right foot
2.45 Afternoon refreshments and networking

10.30 Morning refreshments and networking 3.00 Delivering consulting services

The next two sessions cover the day to day practices of good
10.45 Building your practice consulting, with a focus on meeting client expectations and
In this session we look at how to establish mutual building relationships.
expectations and keep them up to date, so that at every
stage of the assignment both client and consultant can We cover:
be confident in a successful outcome. ƒƒ The psychology of consulting and of giving advice
ƒƒ Effective consulting practices: habits that distinguish the
ƒƒ Defining your niche professional
ƒƒ Selling consulting: how the professionals do it ƒƒ Staying on track
ƒƒ Tactics for the independent expert ƒƒ Managing risk
ƒƒ Networking ƒƒ The most common consulting mistakes
ƒƒ Writing effective proposals ƒƒ Keeping expectations aligned
ƒƒ Dealing with government
ƒƒ Negotiation essentials 4.30 Short rest interval
ƒƒ Working with others – subcontractors and employees
ƒƒ Growing a practice 4.40 Delivering consulting services (continued)

12.30 Networking lunch We cover:

ƒƒ Workshops and interviews
ƒƒ Common problems – and practical solutions
ƒƒ Dealing with difficult people
ƒƒ Maintaining integrity – and still keeping the stakeholders
happy
ƒƒ Achieving closure
ƒƒ Follow-up

6.00 Wrap-up and end of masterclass

Ark Group reports - Strategic resources for consultants

*Delegates at The Independant Consultant masterclass are entitled to receive a substantial discount on one of the following three
Ark Group reports. Please see registration page for details, or follow the links below for more details for the reports on offer.

Being a Successful Knowledge Leader Negotiating IT Contracts Business Process Management

Author: Arthur Shelley Author: Kit Burden Author: Imre Hegedus
Pages: 280 Pages: 96 Pages: 150
Standard Price: A$ 495 + GST Standard Price: A$ 495 + GST Standard Price: A$ 695 + GST
Delegate Price: A$ 295 + GST* Delegate Price: A$ 295 + GST* Delegate Price: A$ 495 + GST*

For more details including an For more details including an For more details including an
excutive summary visit: excutive summary visit: excutive summary visit:
http://tinyurl.com/yzmp8tt http://tinyurl.com/yjqwg42 http://tinyurl.com/yjfnxbv
 5 way s to boo k yo u r p l ace AT t h is e v e n t
Phone: +61 1300 550 662 Fax: +61 1300 550 663 Email: aga@arkgroupasia.com
+61 (02) 8913 4000 +61 (02) 8913 4099 Web: www.arkgroupaustralia.com.au

Post: Send the completed registration form to Ark Group Australia Pty Ltd, Main level, 83 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060

The Independant Consultant AG-WEB

11 February 2010, Rydges Melbourne

put your details here:

Organisation Name

postal address

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I would also like to purchase one of the following Ark

Masterclass Group Reports with the masterclass delegate price:
o $1195 + 10% GST = $1314.50
Standard Pricing o Being a Successful Knowledge Leader - Arthur Shelley
$295 + GST
Early Bird (exp: 08/01/2010) o Save $100
Not valid with any other offer $1095 + 10% GST = $1204.50 o Negotiating IT Contracts - Kit Burden
$295 + GST
Member Discount (exp: 08/01/2010) o Save $150
I am a member of, ABAA, ACS, ALIA, ASTC (NSW, VIC) $1045 + 10% GST = $1149.50 o Business Process Management - Imre Hegedus
$495 + GST

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1. Bookings can be submitted at any stage prior to the ƒƒ For cancellations received less than 30 days prior to
event, subject to availability. A limited allocation is being the event, the full delegate rate must be paid and no Group Discount
held and booking early is therefore recommended. In refunds will be available.
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2. Payment must be received in full prior to the course. 6. All cancellations must be received in writing. for free!
3. All speakers are correct at the time of printing, but are 7. Ark Group Australia will not be held liable for
subject to variation without notice. circumstances beyond their control which lead to the
4. If the delegate cancels after the booking has been cancellation or variation of the programme.
accepted, the delegate will be liable to the following 8. All bookings, whether Australian or overseas will be
cancellation charges: charged Australian GST at the prevailing rate at the
Sponsorship or Exhibition Opportunities
ƒƒ Cancellations notified over 45 days prior to the event time of booking.
will not incur a cancellation fee. 9. Delegates are responsible for their own travel, If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at this event
ƒƒ In the event of a cancellation being between 45 and accommodation and visa requirements.
30 days prior to the event, a 20% cancellation fee please contact Michael Moorcraft:
will be charged.
Phone: 1300 550 662
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