Dual C Business Solutions

Consulting Success Equation

Below is the equation that I have on my office wall to ensure the proper mindset for being a consultant.  I've got 2 chapters completed of a book outlining the equation and the application of it to consultants wishing to take their practice to the next level.  Stay tuned for more information. 

Passion + Relationships + Value= Satisfaction + Profit

[Actions]

Passion: Intense, subject matter enthusiasm.  I am passionate about Organizational Development and Technology.  Are you passionate about your career choice?  If not, make a choice to change.

Relationships: See “But enough about me” outlining the value of relationships in consulting.  Relationships are built on trust and nurtured through authentic communication.

Value:  Confidence is required that you can bring the value of your passion to your clients.  I believe it was Dr. Alan Weiss who wrote, “The first sale is to yourself”, which reflects the need for supreme, self-confidence regarding implementing your subject matter to improve your clients.  If you are passionate about playing golf on the moon, it is unlikely that will translate into a specific value to a client.  

[Results]

Satisfaction: This is the feeling in knowing that the client has realized the value of your consulting.  People talk about job satisfaction and life satisfaction.  Since a consultant’s life is intertwined with his or her passion, separating these measures of satisfaction is useless.  “If you enjoy your job, you never have to go to a day of work.” – Someone wiser than I

Profit: One of the benefits of pursuing my passion is that the quality of my work will be significantly higher than any other career choice.  A higher quality of work means increased client satisfaction and thus more profit.

Warning!

Fully adopting the attitude and approach above will result in having much more fun!

Top 5 Client Resistance Justifications

Below are the Top 5 client justifications for resistance to positive change along with responses.

1.    Client: "We don't want to stir the pot."

a.    “Are you more concerned that you will stir up something unpleasant or that you will have to eventually replace the pot?”

b.    “The only result of stirring in cooking is a better tasting soup.”

c.    “Put away the spoon and start cooking with a hammer.”

2.    Client: "We've always done it this way."

a.    “That would only be effective approach if all of your competitors felt the same way but I’m positive they don’t.”

3.    Client: "That would harm an internal relationship."

a.    “How much harm will be created by allowing dysfunction to fester?”

4.    Client: "This message should be softer.”

a.    “When has a soft message resulted in meaningful change?”

b.    “The only thing that can result if professional candor is not encouraged is mediocrity through sycophantic, decibel-driven decision making.”

5.    Client: “Leadership would never approve this approach.”

a.    “Why?  I’d love to illustrate the value to them.”

b.    “If the concern is how you’ll look if this idea is rejected, then you are not the correct person driving this change through.”

Be prepared, objective, candid and professional. 

Your attitude will set the state for your partners to act in the same manner.

The best advice I can give in overcoming resistance is to confront without being confrontational.

OD in IT Value Proposition

http://dualc.com/organizational-development-consulting.html

Outlines my OD consulting practice and value proposition.

Consultant Interview Questions

This last week I was asked what questions a client should use to interview a potential consultant.  We’ve all had consultants come in looked fantastic on paper but had no practical experience.  I recall interviewing a project manager who couldn’t handle a question regarding scope creep and managing client expectations.  One technical architect claimed six years of Microsoft.NET® in 2004, which was odd considering it was released only two years earlier. 

Note: These questions are geared towards Change Management and Organizational Development consultants rather than technical contractors and staff augmentation.

Additionally, the requirement of being able to work closely with the consultant in a mutally respectful manner is implied.

Experience Questions

1.    Have you successfully addressed this issue for other direct clients? Please provide the contact names and numbers.

2.    What type of interventions did you use?

3.    If you have not addressed this specific issue, what similar experience would you be able to leverage to address this issue?

4.    What resistances did you face in implementing the intervention(s)?  How did you overcome them?

5.    What other industries have you worked in besides mine? 

a.    Specific industry experience is not necessary but there are might be optimal practices that exist elsewhere that you can leverage.

6.    What is the value of the largest change you’ve helped a client realize?

7.    Describe a change or intervention that was not successful.

a.    Humility is important.

b.   Applied learning is equally important.

Process Questions

1.    What is your process?

a.    “It depends.” Is not an acceptable answer.  Dig further for examples.

2.     What level of partnership will be required and at what levels?

a.    Look for incongruence between the issue and the expected level of partnership.

b.   The board of directors does not need to be interviewed to address a line manager’s performance.

3.    How do you define success?

4.    How will you make your recommendation?

5.    Are you willing to train our internal staff for the implementation?

a.    An excellent consultant will say “Yes”.

6.    How would you verify the results of the change?

What consultant interview questions do you use? 

But enough about me

I attended a panel discussion about raising venture capital.  Another attendee and I met when we both asked the concierge where the conference was being held.  After some small talk, the usual questions arose about careers and the reasons for attending.  The following exchange was approximately verbatim.  I think that is a oxymoron but just go with it.  I’ve changed his name and services to protect the guilty.

Elevator Arrival: “Ding” – Anthropomorphizing slightly here. 
Him: “So what keeps you busy during the day?”
Me: “I help organizations plan for their future through strategic investments in their people, processes and technology.”
Him: “Wow, that’s cool.  It must be interesting.”
Me: “It sure is, and how -“
Him: (interrupting and accelerating) “Thanks for asking, my name is Mr. Blah and I am super passionate about how I can help companies such as yours with its a, b, c things.”
Elevator Departure: “Ding”
Me: “Who is-“
Him: “Did you know that 55% of all widgets are inverted or whatever and there are so many opportunities?”
Me: “Um, no I didn’t. What is a widget?”
Him: (nodding sympathetically) “Of course you didn’t, no-one does.”
---Fast-Forward or TiVo® through about 5 minutes of information later when the panel was beginning.
Him: “Counter intuitive widget knowledge enhancement through ROI super awesomeness or whatever.”
Him: “Here is my card, a few brochures, a DVD, a self published book and a CD in case you or your network would be interested.”
Me: (sigh of relief) “Wow, the panel is starting already.  Let’s listen in.”

I can’t be completely ungrateful for this fellow.  He really drove home two important lessons in building relationships which are the foundations of consulting engagements.  On a side note, he continues to call me to this day asking for referrals.

The first rule of selling comes down to knowing who is a current customer or potential customer and who isn’t.  If you are in an environment where your customers are not, don’t waste your time selling.  A panel discussion regarding raising capital in which the attendees were primarily broke entrepreneurs who are seeking investment is not a great place to target new business.  Many of these individuals have boot strapped their businesses.  Don’t waste your time on selling items to others who will never be clients.  In this case, I did not need any widget services or products.  The idea of A.B.C. or Always Be Closing is ridiculous.  The importance of qualifying questions cannot be overlooked.  Potential clients are not stupid.  If I wanted to listen to a scripted speech about all the functions, benefits, or value of your product, I would… well I never would.  A client wouldn’t either. 

It sounds like I’m against networking and that is far from the truth.  Networking is a vital part of any business.  Simply be mindful of those you network with to ensure your circle of professionals all have the same highly ethical standards.  Birds of a feather…

The incredible second rule.  If the potential client looks uncomfortable it is for one of the following reasons.  Make sure to find out why before proceeding.
1.    The lack of interest in your product or service has gone from moderate to monumental resulting in physical discomfort.
2.    The client has a question.
3.    The client might be concerned since you haven’t taken a breath in the last 750 words or 3 minutes and is considering the liability if you pass out.
4.    The Super Duper Burrito was a bad call for lunch.

Being able to sense the tenor of the discussion and respond effectively to client concerns is much more effective than ripping through three hundred Microsoft Power Point® slides complete with transitions.  Nothing in a presentation will build a relationship.  It might build trust or establish expertise but it does not build a relationship.

I recall one very effective relationship where our first meeting was only 20 minutes long.
The client asked 2 questions:
1.    How can you make this project/process/implementation more effective?
2.    If Monday was your first day, what are you doing?
To effectively answer these, the rest of the meeting was discussing the current client challenges.
I asked the client after a few years about why there were only 2 questions.  The answer taught me many things.  The Client said: “You explained that you didn’t know exactly how to improve my condition but the knowledge exuded through your questions indicated that you were the right choice.”  This specific relationship was created through questions. 

But enough about me…

Lessons Learned:
1.    The questions you pose provide a better gauge of your knowledge than any presentation ever could.
2.    It is not about you.
3.    I’m serious, it is not about you.
4.    Relationships exceed all other forms of sales tools.
5.    Obsequious sycophants cannot build relationships.

Arbys, Patterns and Poisson

Poisson not Poison.

One of the top skills that differentiate excellent consultants is the ability to quickly recognize patterns.  Reincarnating Rorschach isn’t necessary.  The ability to identify inefficient patterns of behavior is based on your knowledge and experience.

The recent Google Wave® application platform changed the collaboration model by allowing multi person editing or real time chatting.  Real time chatting is a game changer.  I can see what you’re typing instead of waiting for you to hit enter.   Google® recognized that the currently acceptable interface of seeing “Someone is typing” is inefficient. 

I was recently ate at Arby’s® and noticed a rather inefficient pattern.  Three individuals were taking orders and giving out the receipts with the appropriate numbers on them.  There was the usual snaking pathway to reach the registers.  The line moved quickly; which was good.  However, there were only two line cooks who were unable to keep up with the amount of orders.  After being properly routed through the ordering process, the customers were expected to create a melee at the end of the routing to collect their order.

It would make more sense to extend the line waiting time, an ordered process, to minimize the unordered process of food collection.  Add to the consternation was the soda machines was at the beginning of the melee.

I don’t need to be an expert at the Poisson distribution or queuing theory to recognize the idea that maximizing known, ordered events is more efficient that relying on unknown, unordered events.

Do I have the best answer for Arby’s®? 

Probably not, but here is what comes to mind.  Intuitively, the order would have at least 2 statuses; In Progress, Complete.  The metrics should be available to say the optimal amount of orders, perhaps even to the specific line cook.  If the total of the “In Progress” orders exceeds the ability for the line cooks to efficiently keep up then new orders should not be accepted or at least entry should be slowed.

When my Grilled Chicken Bacon & Swiss Sandwich and curly fries finally arrived it was delicious.

What inefficiencies have you observed?