The Giga-Project Maze: Can Consultants Really Lead the Way?

Before entering the business field, whenever I heard people talking about consultants, the image of "Men in Black" would instantly pop into my mind - a sci-fi movie from the 90s about special agents in black suits monitoring extraterrestrial life on Earth. They come in, get the job done, and then leave. There's some truth to this in the consulting world: suited professionals are brought in to handle unfamiliar, "alien" situations. Armed with their slideshows, they come in, captivate the audience and sell their vision.  Typically, this is consulting for small scale projects. 

Now, let’s think grandioso. Let’s envision grand-scale projects. Today, one of the most ambitious projects is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) Vision 2030. The $1.3 trillion real estate and infrastructure giga-project aiming to transform KSA into an attractive and diversified economy independent of oil. While this project promises a meaningful legacy for KSA, but no reasonable person would believe that any country possesses the sole strategies or expertise needed for such a transformative project. This is where consultants step in to lay the groundwork for the various mega projects of Vision 2030. But can slideshows and theoretical strategies really deliver a meaningful project of such a magnitude?

To provide a comprehensive answer, it's essential to delve into the specific behind-the-scenes work consultants are performing on one of Vision 2030's mega-projects: King Salman International Airport. This $50 billion investment aims to transform the existing airport into the world's largest (until Dubai's recent announcement of their own plan to build the world largest airport. Typical Dubai!) This task was entrusted to Mace Global, a world-renowned for project delivery consultants and construction experts. An interview with Mr Rachad Hajjar, the Associate Commercial Director at Mace Group aimed to answer how can Mace lead this project maze.

Initially, seasoned consultants are approached to provide guidance. Their expertise in the field is invaluable to set the pillars of the mega-project. Such experts can grasp the project's complexities, devise a strategic plan and a management system to be able to sustain the implementation of the project. Easier said than done! But where to start? As Mr. Hajjar states, “Clear governance is essential. Who does what, who approves what? How do we manage the budget, quality, and delivery by 2030?” Governance, a term that frequently emerged in both the interview and my master's program courses, underscores its significance in such projects, especially given their division into multiple sub-projects involving additional consultants. With so many people and parties involved, it's crucial to define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders explicitly.

“Alongside, a robust project management system is developed to ensure the timely delivery of the first phase by 2030. The estimated completion date is 2050. Despite the challenges, the project must be executed without disrupting the ongoing operations of the current airport” added Mr Hajjar. That's another level of complexity that takes the game to a whole new level.   Moreover, such mega-projects often require the collaboration of international experts from diverse fields at various stages. These experts may have different business practices and come from various cultures, backgrounds, and areas of expertise. The objective is to implement a unified, efficient system that everyone understands, accepts, and adheres to, especially considering that this project will function as a program with multiple large projects running simultaneously. 

In other words, Mace consultants are entrusted to co-create with their client a strategic system that should comprehensively cover all relevant topics, including policies, procedures, governance, and standards. In addition, to set up a centralized Information System that provides a user-friendly interface for accessing project management information. 

At this point, all insinuated that they have everything under control, a team of experts stepping in ready to pull their tricks from under their sleeves. Up until Mr Hajjar bluntly said “No one in the world has worked on such a big scale project. We bring our expertise from previous smaller projects, but we have never built a project on a plot of 57km²” This statement raised eyebrows. Traditional slideshows and conventional strategies will not suffice for this mega-project. Its scale and complexity are unparalleled. It requires incorporating innovative approaches, strategies, and technologies that have not been implemented elsewhere. Ongoing proactive approaches, such as town hall meetings involving leaders from both the client and consulting firm, are essential for strategic alignment, and the development of a structured project management system for the next 25 years.

Ultimately, this presents opportunities for learning and professional growth, making such projects particularly meaningful for consultants on a personal level. Such long-term and large-scale projects goes beyond creating a strategy and a system. It links the gap between theory and practice while emphasizing on client collaboration and real engagement from multiple players to ensure that the project is well adopted and implemented. 

In conclusion, consultants are unquestionably the unsung heroes behind massive projects like those in Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. They bring order to the chaos of large-scale visionary projects by stepping into uncharted terrain with knowledge and strategic vision. It is evident from the complexity of a project such as King Salman International Airport that conventional approaches are insufficient to lead the way and deliver a meaningful project. Consultants understand the complexity, design a strategy then bridge it with execution while making sure it will be properly put into action. To ensure seamless execution over decades, these consultants must be creative, collaborative, and able to coordinate across teams. They are the real “Men in Black” of the business world, silently making a difference. 

Oussama TANNOUS

Dans le cadre de leur MSc Business Strategy & Consulting, les étudiants d’Audencia participent à un concours d’articles portant sur les enjeux liés à l’organisation des cabinets de conseil et aux carrières dans ce domaine. Chaque semestre, le sujet est différent. 
Lucie Noury, responsable de ce cours et spécialiste du conseil, invite les étudiants à développer un point de vue réflexif sur les tendances du secteur, en lien avec les apports du cours. Les étudiants sont appelés à trouver un angle intéressant et original sur le thème qui leur est imposé, à interviewer un ou plusieurs professionnels du conseil sur ce sujet et à en tirer des conclusions argumentées pour y porter un regard nouveau. L’objectif est double : aider les étudiants à développer un point de vue critique sur les actualités du secteur, et mûrir leur projet professionnel. 
Ce semestre, les étudiants ont été invités à s’interroger sur le sens dans le conseil à travers le thèmes « meaningful consulting ». C’est un sujet particulièrement d’actualité dans ce secteur, que ce soit à travers des enjeux de renouvellement des pratiques de travail et de management dans le but de rester attractif et de retenir les talents ; ou bien à travers la question de l’impact du conseil sur les organisations clientes et les parties-prenantes externes. 
Les six meilleurs articles ont été sélectionnés. Trois d’entre eux seront publiés par le Management Consulting Journal, formidable vitrine pour les travaux de nos étudiants :
•    Rita Dakkoune, Elie Barakat & Lily Atteia, for their article entitled “How to: Keep your head up in public and find meaning in your consulting work “
•    Noah Malka & Guillaume Rogeau, for their article entitled “Independent Consultant: Myth of Freedom or Reality of Overwork?”
•    Marion Grange, Quentin Hoang & Inès Rambaud, for their article entitled “Big Three or NGO? When the quest for meaningful work becomes a dilemma…”
Trois autres sont publiés ici :
•    Oussama Tannous, for his article entitled “The Giga-Project Maze: Can Consultants Really Lead the Way?”
•    Manoli Arora, Christopher El Khoury El Melki & Julia Jankovic, for their article entitled “Consulting’s Dilemma: Loving the Craft, Loathing the Game”
•    Antoine Bouat, Vlad Avarvari & Gaspard Pochy, for their article entitled “Battling the Quiet Resignation: How consultants confront brown-out in client organizations”
Tous articles abordent le sujet sous des angles variés, allant de la question de l’image du conseil et des consultants, à celle de l’impact des cabinets de conseil en stratégie, en passant par la réalité des consultants indépendants, les enjeux liés à la perte de sens dans les organisations ou encore la difficulté de faire sens de projets de très grande ampleur à l’échelle individuelle. 

As part of their MSc in Business Strategy & Consulting, Audencia students are taking part in an article competition on the issues surrounding the organization of consulting firms and careers in this field. Each semester, the topic of the competition changes. 
Lucie Noury, head of the course and a consulting expert, invites students to develop a reflective point of view on trends in the sector, in line with the course content. Students are asked to find an interesting and original angle on a given theme, to interview one or more consulting professionals on the subject and to draw well-founded conclusions for a fresh perspective. The aim is twofold: to help students develop a critical viewpoint on current events in the sector, and to mature their career plans. 
This semester, students were invited to consider the theme “meaningful consulting”. This is a particularly topical issue in this sector, whether in terms of new work and management practices to remain attractive and retain talent, or in terms of the impact of consulting on client organizations and external stakeholders. 
The six best articles were selected. Three of them will be published by the Management Consulting Journal, a great for our students to showcase their work:
•    Rita Dakkoune, Elie Barakat & Lily Atteia, for their article entitled “How to: Keep your head up in public and find meaning in your consulting work “
•    Noah Malka & Guillaume Rogeau, for their article entitled “Independent Consultant: Myth of Freedom or Reality of Overwork?”
•    Marion Grange, Quentin Hoang & Inès Rambaud, for their article entitled “Big Three or NGO? When the quest for meaningful work becomes a dilemma…”
Three others are published here : 
•    Oussama Tannous, for his article entitled “The Giga-Project Maze: Can Consultants Really Lead the Way?”
•    Manoli Arora, Christopher El Khoury El Melki & Julia Jankovic, for their article entitled “Consulting’s Dilemma: Loving the Craft, Loathing the Game”
•    Antoine Bouat, Vlad Avarvari & Gaspard Pochy, for their article entitled “Battling the Quiet Resignation: How consultants confront brown-out in client organizations”
All the articles tackle the subject from a variety of angles, from the image of consulting and consultants, to the impact of strategy consulting firms, the reality of independent consulting, the issues linked to the loss of meaning in organizations, and the difficulty of making sense of very large-scale projects from an individual perspective.