Mr. Prasad's talk on move from Corporate to Consultancy world

Prasad Sant is a senior management professional with 28+ years’ experience in Industrial Automation & Product Engineering and has worked with Tata Honeywell, Patni Computers, EcoAxis & Performix. He has quit corporate life recently and has set up ConverSant Consulting Services, focussing on Management & Technology consulting as well as recruitment & executive search. 

Here is abstract of discussion we had with him on his move from corporate to consultancy world, you will certainly find it useful and interesting.

Q1.      How is your transition from corporate life to consultant?

It’s been pretty good actually. I don’t miss corporate life with its associated stresses one bit. Currently am working from home, so I am able to achieve a much better work life balance.         

Q2.      Management & Technology consulting is a pretty diverse field. What areas are you focusing on ?

            

I have been in senior management positions in Automation engineering & new product development space for over a decade now. I am basically drawing upon and leveraging my experience in these areas to offer services to potential clients.

SME companies in Automation space often struggle with strategy and business growth initiatives, which is one of the areas I am focusing on at present.

New Product Development is also in its infancy in India. There is a lot of innovation and ideation out there, but the struggle is to manage the NPD process, product management & launch and commercialization of products. This is an area where I believe I can make a difference.

Q3.      Why recruitment? It’s a pretty crowded space with a lot of service providers….

               

In my opinion, there exists a significant gap in terms of a good fit between client requirements & candidate profile, which I am seeking to fulfill. I am leveraging my experience in engineering, manufacturing and technology to understand the clients JD, and do a thorough screening & evaluation of each candidate.

Q4.      LinkedPune has initiated part Time CEO concept for startups not able to afford full time qualified CEOs and not interested in consultant without execution responsibility. What is your view on this concept?

I think this is a great idea. I would personally endorse this concept… there will obviously be some challenges to convert this concept into a workable model, but I believe this can be done..

Q5.      There are many senior professionals in the group who wants to take retirement and start offering consultancy. What would you like to guide them from your experience?

I think that this move from corporate to consulting should be carefully planned especially from income perspective. I am mentally prepared to brave it out for 12-18 months without any income if necessary… one has to give that kind of time frame for this kind of initiative.

The other thing is to focus on your core competencies and offer services around the same, as opposed to doing too many things at one time.

Contact Mr. Prasad at santpras@gmail.com