Making Your Investment In An External Consultant Pay Off …
(With Thanks To David Maister)
Costs and expenses are going up everywhere around the world – just one more issue to keep you at night…
A member of your Board of Directors suggested you engage an outside expert to help you look for opportunities for improvement…
You are facing mounting pressures from all areas of your business – Sales, Marketing, Product Development, Product Realization, HR, Quality, Safety and Finance…
How is ‘an outside expert’ supposed to be able to help in each of these areas – without shutting down the whole enterprise – and how do you know that they can really do what they say they can?
How do you find, select, engage and manage ‘an outside resource’ truly capable of understanding and supporting you?
If you run a business – and haven’t asked yourself these questions, believe me – you will – we all do… Making your investment in an outside consultant pay off is what this discussion is all about.
Management Consulting Guru David Maister summed up what you are likely feeling in an article I’ve held onto since it was first published in 1991. I was in my second year of consulting after a successful career leading and managing high performance organizations. I knew full well what it felt like to need help and David’s article was ‘spot on’. Here are some of his observations – I think you’ll find them just as accurate today… Knowing that you feel these things should help you successfully deal with them – I’ve added some of our considerations in italics.
- I am feeling insecure. I'm not sure I know how to detect which of the finalists is the genius, and which is just good. I've exhausted my abilities to make technical distinctions. – Do the finalists offer to base their fees on results – with a portion of their fee placed at risk until the results are delivered?
- I'm feeling threatened. This is my area of responsibility, and even though intellectually I know I need outside expertise, emotionally it’s not comfortable to put my affairs in the hands of others. – Do the finalists include Advisors, Coaches and Mentors whose primary role it is to make you Successful – measurable in terms of Right Project, Right Time, Skills Demonstrably Transferred, 100% ROI, etc?
- I'm taking a personal risk. By putting my affairs in the hands of someone else, I risk losing control. – Does the Engagement Plan include daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly discussions and status reviews? Do the consultants fully engage the enterprise in the leadership, management and assessment of the projects – providing training and experience with Business Excellence – in REAL-TIME.
- I'm impatient. I didn't call in someone at the first sign of symptoms (or opportunity). I've been thinking about this for a while. – Does the Consultant ‘get this’? Are they moving from assessment to action quickly (not capriciously), engaging the project teams in ‘learn as we go’ activities instead of getting mired in analysis paralysis
- I'm worried. By the very fact of suggesting improvements or changes, these people going to be implying that I haven't been doing it right up till now. Are these people going to be on my side? – Does the consultant make it clear that ‘you’ are the client – and that their job is to make you successful – not merely satisfied? Successful means supporting you – even if your organization needs significant help. A caveat, a good consultant will not sugar coat the truth. If you have ‘messed up’, s/he should help you confront the truth and learn from it…
- I'm exposed. Whoever I hire, I'm going to have to reveal some proprietary secrets, not all of which are flattering. I will have to undress. – Have the consultants you’ve interviewed been in the same position as you – that is – have they run enterprises, sweated payroll, hired and fired employees, opened new markets… If they have – they know how you feel and won’t embarrass you with their questions or concerns
- I'm feeling ignorant, and don't like the feeling. I don't know if I've got a simple problem or a complex one. I'm not sure I can trust them to be honest about that: it's in their interest to convince me its complex. – Again, does the consultant have a stake in the outcome of the project? If so, it’s in your collective best interest to get the issues resolved – quickly and effectively
- I'm skeptical. I've been burned before by these kinds of people. You get a lot of promises: How do I know whose promise I should buy? – Tie their promises to results and pay accordingly
- I'm concerned that they either can't or won't take the time to understand what makes my situation special. They'll try to sell me what they've got rather than what I need. – Making you successful means tailoring any approach to the unique needs of your situation. If the consultant is offering a ‘commercial off the shelf’ solution to your issues (including the typical Six SigmaŽ and LEAN strategies offered today) – send them packing. Your issues are unique – even if they aren’t, and the consultant had better help you understand – that they understand this
- I'm suspicious. Will they be those typical professionals who are hard to get hold of, who are patronizing, who leave you out of the loop, who befuddle you with jargon, who don't explain what they're doing or why, who..., who ...., who ...? In short, will these people deal with me in the way I want to be dealt with? – Again, does their approach include daily, weekly, bi-weekly and monthly meetings to address Progress, Plans, Problems and Possibilities™? Do they use simple and clean language – adding terms and concepts only when they truly add value? Are they business professionals – who have been in your shoes and know how you feel? If so – get them to put ‘skin in the game’ and manage your engagement to a successful conclusion…
We hope this brief discussion has been helpful and look forward to discussing your unique needs, goals and objectives with you. If you found this information helpful, please give me a call or send me a note. I hope to hear from you soon.
Best Regards,
