Essay On Consultanting

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As a consultant, there are processes that vary in the number of steps, however for the purposes of this paper the following steps will be addressed; initial contact, decision to work together, preliminary analysis, formal proposal, project charter, in-depth analysis, implementation, delivery, and follow up (Frankl, 2014, p. 3). The consulting process starts with the initial contact and the opportunity to sit down with a senior level manager to engage in dialogue around the organization. Management may not be aware of problems or issues and without one there is no consulting job. This is where the consultant’s communication, active listening, and selling skills come into play. Through engaging conversation and open ended questions the consultant can ascertain areas that require further exploration and potentially a consulting role. When managers are aware of concerns or issues, the conversation can quickly steer in the direction of collaborating on how the consultant’s services can be helpful or add value. Active listening and watching the manager’s body language help to sort out what the real concerns are. The consultant needs to determine if the manager is requiring a coach, informational, decisional, supplementary, complementary, differentiating, integrating, and enhancing (Frankl, Ch-01_The_nature_of_mgt_consulting.pptx [Power Point Slides], 2014, p. 17). The continually question of the consultant is, how can I add value, is the need in the form of strategy (business, marketing), or business proposal (new market, information system, cost reduction, regain loss markets, innovation, organizational change) (Frankl, Ch-02_How_consulting_adds_value.pptx [Power Point Slides], 2014, pp. 5-10). The consultant and the manager determine ... ... middle of paper ... ...ancy as “demons”, “thieves”, destructive to organizations. Consultants that make claims of being experts or promising the ultimate solution and do not deliver deteriorate the creditability and trust of consultancy in general. The out-of –the-box solution does not work for every situation and when it does not work the consultant lacks the external resources (or knowledge) to support the need. A clear and concise process with the necessary resources to support the consultant’s claim is essential to being successful for the client and themselves. Building a relationship based on trust and creditability is as equally important as follow thorough and honesty (Zipursky, 2014). Until organizations hiring consultants spend more time validating the creditability before hiring (to weed out the weak) and the consulting industry sets standards, anecdotes will continue to exist.

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